More Mail Art

I titled this one the love envelope for obvious reasons. The front side featured an Indian inspired stencil. The recipient liked elephants with trunks raised. She also liked all shades of blues and bright colors. After lettering the envelope, I was lucky to find that the only elephant stencil I had was one with a slightly raised trunk. I placed it in the lower right corner knowing that it would not be obscured by the postage and tracking labels used by the post office.

Front detail

For the back, I had this ready made envelope (discussed here). This was an experiment with a stencil within a stencil technique. I placed the heart stencil in place first and outlined it with pencil. I placed the paisley stencil on top and inked the pattern within the heart. I then placed the original heart stencil back on and inked the outline. The solid shapes were colored with Copic Markers and the heart background plaid was done with Micron pens. The blue background plaid was done with Copic Markers.

Back detail

Another Envelope

Nine by Twelve inch envelope front detail

This was another quick envelope that was hand delivered. I am working on the proportions of this particular alphabet style. After lettering the envelope, I took a stencil and alcohol inks to provide color. The only problem is that the envelope was larger than the stencil. Since it was a repeating pattern, it was easy to cover the envelope in two steps. First I colored the left side of the envelope (and masked off the right side edge). I then move the stencil to the right so that it finished the pattern (and making sure that I didn't spray off the left side edge). Once the pattern was continued, I colored the background with a light blue color.

Back side envelope detail

The back of the envelope was a simple two step process. Place the stencil on top of the envelope and provide the background colors (and establishing the positive and negative space). I removed the stencil and did a general wash to to highlight the positive space.

More Mail Art

Recent Mail Art

This envelope was used for a flat envelope swap. I had to send 3-5 unused postcards to my partner. She likes pink, purples and flowers. I used flower Forever stamps for the postage.

Front side detail

Back side detail.

I used a new technique for the back of the envelope. I crosshatched the stencil shapes. I then took the original stencil and placed it back on the envelope. I used alcohol inks to add color to the shapes and the background. It was easy to follow the repeating pattern when replacing the stencil on top of the original outlines.

Mail Art

Six by Nine inch envelopes ready to go

Someone asked me the other day, how I have time to make all of the envelopes and mail art that I send. The short answer is that it really doesn't take me that long to do. The longer answer is a bit more detailed.

I don't like to have a lot of idle time on my hands because I would just waste it. So when I am in  between projects, I either organize future projects/supplies or I doodle and prepare envelopes. I take my binder full of stencils and a stack of envelopes and just start doodling/outlining different designs. I don't have a goal in mind; I simply want to get designs on white envelopes. Depending on how much time I have, I will either decorate 9 by 12 inch envelops, 6 by 9 inch envelopes or business size 10 envelopes. I only decorate the reverse (or flap side).

When it comes time to decorate an envelope for use, I hand letter the front of the envelope. If I am using the envelope for a swap, I read my partner's profile to pick a color palette. I will then letter the front and decorate it with alcohol inks to apply a background to the lettering.

After the front is dry, I then color the back of the envelope with markers and then I have a completed envelope. I usually have a stash of 10 to 15 envelopes shelved in the studio just waiting to be used. If I in a bind or don't feel motivated to color, I will use one of my recycled paper envelopes. I have these lying about in dozens just waiting to be used.

Business envelopes ready to color

More business envelopes

Even more mail

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Another day, another piece of Mail Art. This is another 6 by 9 inch white envelope. I wasn't too happy with the lettering colors chosen because they seemed to wash out once the stencil and alcohol inks were applied to the front. To provide more of a contrast, I outlined the letters with a black Fine Tip Sharpie to make them easier to read. The lettering for this envelope was done in Sharpie Fine Tip markers.

Front detail

For the obverse, I used Copic Markers and a paisley inspired stencil. I really liked this color palette but I don't know exactly why it appealed to me, though.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

More Mail

I haven't totally disappeared. I just needed some time away to get ready for Halloween and the craziness that was in store. Here is some more mail that I have been sending out as part of swaps. This is a 6 by 9 inch white envelope.

Front detail

For the front of the envelope. I hand lettered the address. I then took a stencil and my alcohol inks to decorate the background. I just can't send out a plain white envelope.

Back detail

For the back, I took a stencil and my Copic Markers to add some color.

Week of Swaps--Day 5

This is the last of swap postings. The day has been dedicated to making envelopes. These envelopes are approximately 6 by 7 inches. They are made from an old book that was left out in the elements by a Goodwill store. Many of the pages were water damaged or warped so I took the book home hoping that I would be able to do something with it.

I cut the spine open so I could separate the pages without getting a jagged edge. This is important because you need all clean edges because of the size of this envelope.

For this swap, you send your partner a postcard that you want returned to you. You place the postcard in an envelope and then address and stamp the envelope. Your partner will take the postcard you have addressed to yourself, write something on it and place a stamp on it. The card will receive local postmarks and stamps. Of course, rather than send a plain envelope I had to send something special and I included some miscellaneous items for my partner to keep.

More envelopes

Even more envelopes

Week of Swaps--Day 4

Today's swap was a homemade postcard swap. Since I post about coloring often, people always send me coloring sheets like the above. I have hundreds of them. Unfortunately, many of them are patterns that I don't care to color. For coloring, I tend to gravitate to larger open areas that I can work on technique or amend with my own doodling. I am always looking to find something to do with these coloring sheets.

The first step is to design the color palette. I used three yellow/orange shades for the random teardrops/dots.

I used four green/blue shades for the smaller amoeba shapes. For the larger  amoeba shapes, I used a reds, greens, blues, and purples. I used five shades of each color to complete each palette. Granted I could have stopped here, made one postcard and have been done.

Color palettes completed

I chose to continue using the same color palettes but reversing darks and lights. Once the top half was completed, I could have stopped which would have provided several options for a single card.

Top half completed

I continued to fill the entire sheet. The goal was to make two separate postcards.

Full page complete

I then ran my postcard watercolor stock through the Xyron machine and mounted the cards to the coloring sheet using a light box to get the best placement possible.

Two postcards

Postcard front and back

All I need to do is clean up this mess of a desk. As you can see, I keep notes for reference during the project. I also keep all of the markers out and available until the project is completed. After getting to the end of the full page coloring, I realized that I had forgotten to color a single teardrop shape. I had the gold yellow marker still available. If I had to search for it, I would have taken a few more minutes to locate it. This is the main reason why I always keep a project reference sheet. Could you image trying to find the exact color that was used if I hadn't kept notes?

Time to mail out some postcards.

Week of Swaps--Day 3

Bunny Postcard

This swap was for two handmade postcards to a single exchange partner. I really like using postcard blanks because they are guaranteed to be an appropriate thickness to send through the mail. My partner like bunnies and coloring.

For the postcard above, I simply ran the postcard through my Xyron machine and then applied the card to this cute Japanese paper. I rounded the corners of the paper to match the postcard blank.

For the second card, I took one of my smaller stencils and used a extra fine tip Sharpie to trace the pattern onto the front of the card . Since my swap partner likes to color, I left it as is so she could provide the color and send it out to someone (should she choose to).

A quick and easy swap.

Week of Swaps--Day 2

Beach front envelope

Today's swap was a "doodled" envelope swap with items. The idea was to doodle on an envelope and then fill it with two items from a list of items that  your partner would like to receive. Of course, because I have so much product, I always try and send more items than required. On these types of swaps, I put a limit of $3 on postage (although, it would be quite less if I simply sent the two items).

The swap organizer does not stipulate what size envelope to send. I think the goal is to send a business sized envelope and the additional ounce stamp (70 cents) so that the cost isn't prohibitive. I always shoot for 4 ounces (which is the $3 limit including postage for a rigid/thick (more than 1/4 inch) envelope). The envelope is 6 by 9 inches.

My partner liked the beach so I used some stencils and alcohol inks for the front of the envelope. Here is a starfish and a shell.

Envelope back

For the back, I chose a radiation type of stencil and decorated with my classic crosshatch doodling. And of course, I had to generate a plaid of some sort for the background. These were done with Tombow dual tip markers. My swap partner doesn't like neon colors so I used a primary color palette.

Week of Swaps--Day 1

Japanese setting sun

This week, I wanted to share with you some of the swaps that I have completed on swap-bot. The first was a postcard challenge. The theme was "put a map on it. " My swap partner has an aversion to anything purple so I had to get creative.

My partner likes blues and greens though. I knew that I wanted to do something with some scraps of Japanese paper that I had laying around. First I used my stencil that simulates the Japanese setting sun. I used alcohol inks to provide color. The layout worked in reverse than I wanted. Rather than start over, I simply decided to reconsider.

To simulate the sun, I decided to use my paper scraps to represent the sun's rays. I chose three coordinating papers and used the stencil to cut out the rays.

Sun's rays

I wasn't quite happy with the half-round shape that I achieved. I took a red crane piece of scrap paper and used a hole punch to punch a circle. I pasted it in place and trimmed so it was flush with the card.

Much better

The upward flying crane is a symbol of good luck and it seemed appropriate.

I still needed to add a map so I took the circle punch and added the two maps to fulfill the theme of the swap. One was in black and white and I was sure to use a non-purple section of the Tokyo Metro map. I added three other images from a free guide booklet to complete the front.

Getting there

I had picked out some postage stamps to use but I just couldn't figure out where to put them. The front of the card still needed something so I dug through my stash of decorative papers and found this metallic speckled mulberry paper. It is a see through paper normally used as an overlay in Japanese gift wrapping. The gold and silver flakes are supposed to be good luck for the recipient. I ran the card through the Xyron machine and placed the paper on top of the card. Unfortunately, you only get one chance to get this right. There was a lot of deep breathing during this stage.

Finished card front

Mulberry paper detail

It then came time to concentrate on the back of the card. I had the perfect stencil to use--a koi stencil. I used my alcohol inks to create the koi. Remembering that my partner liked blues and yellows, I used those colors to fill in the background. My partner also collects used postage stamps so I added some Japanese stamps from my collection. I used the US-Japanese Cherry Blossom Forever stamp to apply postage (since the card is oversized, it requires first class postage).

Finished card back

I hope my swap partner likes the card. It is on its way to Belgium.

More Mail Art

Another bird in the mail (front)

For today's mail, I had to do some research to determine the largest sized postcard that can be sent in the mail. The answer is 6 1/4 inches (short side) by 11 1/2 inches but you have to use first class postage. To use postcard postage, the postcard can be no larger than 4 1/4 inches (short side) by 6 inches. I was OK in that my postcard was 6 by 9 inches.

I had a leftover piece of this decorative paper that I wanted to use and it fit perfectly on the postcard. The image is too large for most applications but this worked out perfectly. I then used a hummingbird stencil to alter the paper. The recipient also likes used postage stamps so I looked through my stash to find bird postage stamps including a US hummingbird stamp to match the stencil.

Another bird in the mail (back)

Because I was afraid that the postcard wasn't sturdy enough to make it through the mail, I glued a piece of card stock to give it some heft. I then used some clear stamps to stamp the images. I colored the stamped images with Copic markers. I added two more used postage stamps to complete the postcard. I wanted to add more stamps but I realized that I needed room for the address and the greeting. Sometimes deciding when enough is enough can be very trying.

Since I had never dealt with this card stock, I didn't know how the Copic markers would react with the paper. Whenever I am unsure, I do a color study on a scrap piece of the same material. This way I can finalize the colors and see how they react with the paper and the paper's color.

Color Study 1

Color Study 2

The color designations refer to Copic markers.

Mail Art

Birds in the mail (front)

I realize that I have been away from blogging for an extended period. With the holiday this past Monday, I just couldn't get things together to post. The biggest problem is that I forgot what I had already posted so I had to review the blog to see what I had already done. I have been sharing posts on Instagram so I get a little confused as to what has already been posted and where.

Today's and tomorrow's post will be mail art that I am sending out. This week it seems that everyone on my swap-bot feed is into birds. This person likes birds and bird houses.

Birds in the mail (back)

For the front of the envelope, I lettered the address and then used a stencil and alcohol inks to decorate. The recipient likes blues and pinks.

For the back of the envelope I did something a little different. I outlined the images with a Micron .01 pen. I then placed the stencil back on the envelope and sprayed alcohol inks to color the images. This was done in three stages. I used brown for the bird and bird house (while masking the bottom of the stencil). I then covered the top of the stencil and colored the pink flowers on the bottom of the stencil. I removed the stencil and sprayed a purple ink over the entire envelope.

Day 29--30 Day Coloring Challenge

Today's coloring challenge is another extra large postcard from the postcard watercolor block discussed here.  I also wanted to discuss some new handmade watercolors that I ordered from Rachel Beth at her etsy store. Disclaimer here: I have purchased these watercolors on my own and I am not receiving any compensation for this review. To get straight to the review of the product just skip to the end of this blog post.

I have started collecting the watercolors and I am working with the ones that I have on hand. I purchased the half-pans which will be plenty for my use. This is the first time that I have used pan watercolors. Normally, I use Dr Martin's concentrate.

As you can see, 14 half pans can fit in a regular sized Altoid tin. Each pan is labeled with the color and has a small sheet magnet on the bottom of each tin. Using a small tin is the perfect way to carry your watercolors when traveling (which was one of the primary reasons I chose Rachel's shop).

When I work on a project and decide on a palette, I get a scrap of paper similar to the paper that I will be using. I then make a color sample to reference the colors used.

Today's color palette

Here is the sample color palette.

Sample palette

Rachel provides you a reference color dot of each color on the outside of each pan. She also provides you a color sheet for each set. In another post next week, I will share with you my storage system for the unused pans and why these color dots are so important.

Water color tray

When I get started, I mix colors in my tray. To get these colors, I add water to the tray and then lift color from the half-pan. If I want an undiluted color, I work directly from the half-pan with water on my brush.

The first step of any painting for me is a color sample on the actual paper that I will be using. Here, I mist the paper to remove any sizing and to get the paper to relax. I also mist the back of the paper so it is easier to manipulate. Usually I will tape down the project but today's project had no margins so I had to work on a loose piece of paper.

Paper and watercolor sample

When I work on the sample, I try to work wet on wet and let the colors blend themselves to see how saturated the diluted color is. I am a big fan of diluted colors. If I had know how well the above sample would have turned out, I would have masked out a monogram or something. Once I know how the materials work with each other, I set up my station.

Today's project

Here is my setup. The tin of half-pans are just to the left of the color tray. To begin, I outlined a stencil onto the watercolor paper with a Micron .05 black marker.

All color added

The above image are the shapes with all of the colors from this particular palette. Each color was used in some way or another.  The image below shows the differences in colors from the half-pan (undiluted), those from the color tray (diluted), and those colors that were blended (two diluted colors layered on top of each other, wet on wet). If there is no designation, then the colors fall into the third category. See below for the designations.

Pure vs Diluted vs Layered Colors

Once the colors were dried with a heat gun, I decided to add color to the background with water soluble crayons from Caran d'Ache.

Finished Project

PRODUCT REVIEW
I can't explain how pleasant of an experience that I have had when dealing with Rachel. The dedication and presentation of her product cannot be overemphasized. The colors are amazing and a dream to use. Usually when product lines are in this amount (I think she has nearly 100 color choices), many times there are so many similarities in colors that it is hard to distinguish one shade/color from another. This isn't the case here. The blues aren't interchangeable. The greens aren't either. The colors have a creamy consistency that make them easy to remove them with your brush from the pans. The colors are colorfast and blend beautifully together. More importantly, for me, is that I tend to layer colors rather than blend them. This product is perfect for that and then when they are are the page they are easy to feather into one another. Because they are so easy to layer, this product is perfect for creating shadows similar to those available with blended colored pencils. Several of the arcs above where done with this procedure: base color (often diluted), layer of shadow color (vanilla frosting), third color. Once excess moisture was removed, I feathered the colors into each other with a dry brush. In closing, I can't recommend this product any more highly. Great product, great shop, great seller/owner.

N.B. Please disregard any fault with my watercolor technique. My lack of technique should cause no adverse critique of the product.