Galaxy+Pitt to Candy

The white Faber Castell Pitt brush markers are so cool - as are the others. I have about 30 of the 60 colors and was experimenting with something bold, that would look nice with a layer of white. The black outlines were too heavy. It would have been better to show a progression - so I will do some more experiments with these markers. I used a Galaxy marker for the outline which is more of a paint marker. They are more opaque. But, I do not know where to get them. They aren't the best in terms of durability. Some of the nibs fall off. Many places stopped carrying them. I'll try to do something that does not rely on black - or find a better opaque black marker.

new - shaky start

this is the first new envelope since i crashed out the may exchange envelopes. so, it's a bit shaky. the scan won't show the sparkle ink.

and i am using up every single stamp in the stash before i let myself buy any new stamps. uh...not sure that is even possible - but, it is my current nutty-challenge that i am layering on all the other seemingly impossible challenges....like getting tidy. yes, i have fallen under the spell of the magical tidy lady. can't say it's done, but it has been enjoyable to at least get started.

unfinished feb exchange

it took me forever to come up with an idea for the february exchange. this started with chunky brush marker. i added some outlining. did some layering. pondered filling in the *counters* (official name of an enclosed space in a letter) this is not finished....

the street address and zip will go in orange above the blue jay.

cathy's colored counters (feb-ex)

finally - one where the counters have some color. i used colored pencils and am fine with the result. two of the chair stamps might have been better. how i do the address and zip will make or break this one.

wish me luck.

lilli's brush stroke

way back when i started this experimental series, the first one was done in chunky squares with a brush marker. lilli's name always asks me to play around with the fence post nature of l-i-l-l-i
and so i do
but
this is not my favorite
not my least favorite...
the address will stack under the nn
wish me luck.

bundle of works in progress

 three more in the series of experiments and using up excess stamps. we are nearly through with this series. thanks for your patience.

http://stamps.org/US-New-issues

above is a link to all the new stamps that are coming out this year. i am not a trekky - but these would be perfect with this style of lettering.

alison's eames stamps

the big swoopy curves were just perfect for those stamps. once again, i am tempted to add some color to the lettering. maybe a touch of the wooden color... are any of the blog readers going to try this style? i have about 5 more to post. if you are really tired of them, hang in there...i imagine there is a new binge right around the corner.

janet's eames with apples

while doing almost 20 of these experiments, i was sure i would be coloring a lot of the counters, but when it came right down to it, i chickened out.

somehow the black and white with some dots of red was the right amount. you can see the pencil line where the address will go.







this just in
for people who like postcard projects:

http://stripygoose365birdsmigration.blogspot.com/2016/03/365-bird-postcards-migrating-into-post.html

susan's 4 owls (feb-ex)

after i did the chunky squares which morphed into the thinner chunkies, i compressed the idea into these. still in the series where i did all the lettering without looking at stamps, when i saw the feathers, it seemed the feather shapes went with the lettering. added bonus, smash-girl is a big fan of the owls.

the address will go between the 2nd and 3rd S's. might put a pale blue or green stripe in wide marker. seems like a horizon might add - hope i don't ruin it....

lynne's eames+peto

another one where i did the lettering, then found a stamp, the upper one - which gave me a detail to use on the lettering. then i had to find one more stamp. it was very hard to part with that stamp. i probably have another one. i am completely stumped on where to put the street address. i might go rogue and put it in the bowl of the Y.

rachael's eames dots

this is a combo of a couple earlier ideas that i had for the feb exchange. square-ish, but with a thinner marker.

i did 20 envelopes without thinking of stamps. then, it was fun to find stamps that would work. i really wish i had two of the upper stamp. but the camera is OK. the dots tie the two together.

the address will go above the zip code.

unfinished feb exchange

another work in progress. this time i did some chunky/geometric writing with a fine tip. the street address is in red, under a piece of white tape. if i had time, i would pull some details off the zip code stamp and tuck them into the name.

carolyn evans

the 4th belated birthday envelope for carolyn evans --made with the super wide copic marker. i need to buy a bottle of ink to refill it. once again, i like the puzzle aspect to thinking of ways to make the letters that also make the lines come out even.

the address will look like the blue lettering on barbados. i guess i could have done a fake address since that stamp isn't going to be mail-able.

tomorrow will be the official envelope that will envelop the first 4.
should i add - happy belated birthday?
i like the simplicity of this one and not taking risks today.

rerun friday - stripe variation with flag

here is a variation of the elizabeth that i ran on jan 1st. this one is more elongated and sloppier. while i am not a big fan of flag stamps i'm sure there will always be a flag option so it's probably a good idea to have some stripe ideas on hand.

desk cleaning jimi to elizabeth

no recollection of where i was going with these letters. those Es are distinctive, but they don't intrigue me enough to do any more of them. i was happy with the stamp and that pale green. happy to clear the desk.

pink parabolas to carol

another desk cleaning envelope. it had just the border and i had no idea which marker i had used. i grabbed a crayola and it seemed to be a perfect match. they are not  waterproof, so i blended them with a pale pink tombo - also not waterproof. i had the stamp in mind for the O in carol, but it wasn't as strong an O as i had hoped. the space that the L leaves bothers me. but i like the way the Cs, As, and Rs work together. L tends to be a bit of a problem when you are doing pictures. it is hard to substitute a lower case L because it looks like a capitol I.
in general, i find the parabolic lettering to be nearly fool proof. and once again, don't look down on the crayola markers. they are one of the very few inexpensive art supplies that holds their own when mixed with the better art supplies. not archival, but good enough for envelopes.

it would have been better to make the O - and then the L could have a very short cross bar. 20/20 hindsight.

smash candy corn flowers

i was going for candy corn, but the colors were too light and i couldn't find any good stamps so switched to a flowery look. this is a variation of that one i posted two days ago. that address line doesn't go. i feel like tim gunn telling myself to edit-edit-edit and use the wall of u.s. postage stamps very thoughtfully.

nancy's phlox

the concept of these letters is easier than actually doing them because it is hard to get the spacing right. the red brush strokes need to be done very quickly to look lively, but then it's hard to get them in the right place. it's probably one of those ideas that just needs time - as opposed to those other ideas that are instant. i put colored pencil over the red tombo to try to pull it together with the stamp. not very successful. note to self: pick the stamp first.
the letters just look like drippy blood to me. i need some of those dracula stamps. the curls don't even work to lighten things up.

the whole alphabet if anyone is interested

barney google - kathy

i forgot what i called this style of writing. currently, i am just using up stamps as fast as possible. i need a grief counselor to help me when i part with stamps like this. luckily, they are going to a good home. this one, will go in a larger envelope as the stamp is insufficient.

i used a silver gel pen to mimic some of the cool tiny lines on the cartoon. dang. i wish they had gone to forever a long time ago.

smashing opportunities

on a rainy staurday in april, i was getting a lot done, then during a break i decided to surf through the new font section on dafont.com
i found
DK Dortmunder Ecke

the designer is david kerkfoff
from the netherlands and has a ton of fonts. i wrote all the characters in the pangram sentence
so, you can give them a try.
i forgot to finish the K, so it is after the word quickly.

there are a gazillion ways to finish this envelope....when i finish it, i will probably do a phone posting.