Last Two from Me - Dec 2018 Exchange

My last little gingerbread house stamp. (Little teardrop emoji)

☹️

When I tried to insert that emoji - I could not find it. Closest I could get was just sad. And - wowza- I wish I could show you the feature that pops up when you try to insert an emoji in blogger - they give you a little box to draw your own and then they offer something that might be what you want.

I've never seen such a thing.

More vintage - clearing out.
The wheat is a favorite - as is the moon.

Here endeth the envelopes I sent out in December of 2018.
I'm writing this on Jan 18, 2019. Government shutdown has become longest shutdown ever. NPR news is not encouraging. Gee - I wonder how the rest of 2019 has gone. Guess I will either be laughing or not laughing when I read this.

Great Font from Tina

This font is fantastic. Her outline of it on the envelope was a very clever way to coordinate.

Then, there are the stamps - so pretty - and fun for us to see stamps from England.

*****

 A real time P.S.
Atlas Obscura has so many fun items. I hope I remember to go back and follow some of the links in this article. The concept of decorating one's floor with a bunch of trompe l'oeil trash is something that I seriously considered many years ago when I had small kids who left all kinds of stuff on the floor. I seriously wanted to decoupage images of food on the kitchen floor. The only thing that stopped me was that Mr Wilson was not fond of my alternative ideas.

Anyhow, there are all kinds of interesting tidbits about ancient (not sure that is the right word) Greeks and Romans in the linked article. In many ways, they seem just like us. And how can I be in my late 60s and just learning that the Vatican has a Profane Museum. Profane just means, not-religious in this context. Must be a quirk in translating. I surfed around the website - and it would be on my bucket list, if I had a bucket.

Trompe l'oeil floors

Bonus Post - Chuck's Nov/2018 PTEX Turkey (Wilson T-day story)

The November exchange envelopes were scattered about - but I thought it would be fun to post this one on T-day.

Hope everyone is having the type of day they prefer.

Today's regular post is right below.
(Below the off topic story that I am adding here.)

*****
I have forgotten if I posted this story on this blog. It might be on a different blog. The mention of pizza reminded me that during the years when my kids were teenagers and would roll out of bed on Thanksgiving around noon, they would always want pizza to tide them over before we went to the Wilson grandparents at 4pm. Mr. Wilson would go out driving around looking for pizza and come home and tell them that everything was closed. This went on year after year. Every year I would tell them that everything is closed, but they would not believe me. Finally, in 1999 I had the calendar for the new year ready to go and I organized a family meeting and told them to watch me write this on the calendar.

2000 was probably the year that I figured out how to order their favorite sandwiches from a local deli. I'd get the buns wrapped separate from the meat and cheese - and then assemble them the next day. The owner of the deli knew my kids and thought I was the best mom ever to provide the favorite sandwiches for Thanksgiving. It is possible that I am. Although *best* is subjective.

It is really bugging me. I am sure I have typed out this story previously - but I can't figure out where it is. Obviously, if it has already run - I will figure it out when I see this. Or if it pops up again, all y'all can ignore it next time it runs.

That calendar page on the right is another note off an old calendar illustrating how I used to document when and where information needed for taxes had been handed over to Mr Wilson, who would file it, then lose it, then suggest that I had never handed it over.

There is another story about taxes that is a doozie. Maybe I will post it as my Christmas Eve story. It's a nice story about a nice gift.

Why am I photographing odd things like this? Because I have random files with random scraps of paper that amuse me. I am trying to put them all on blogs so that my poor kids do not have to sift through a bunch of weird stuff when I fall off my perch.

I am trying really hard to not make weird little scrapbooks that I can save to read when I am really old.

DuBosch Jubilee with a PITT Big Brush

Love it.
Would be happy to do lots more like this.

Do people think I'm lazy when I do something this simple?

Circles from JeanR

I love this one. As mentioned too many times, these stamps did not inspire me - but this is a perfect design.

The card is pretty, too. The two discs were floating around in the envelope - so they must have been adhered and came loose.

I placed one of the discs in the middle of the circle to photograph it.

All of the components are just lovely. I'll flag this one as stealworthy - for me - or those who have put in some serious time with pointed nibs. Not exactly stealworthy for beginners - but it should inspire you  - if you have any interest in pointed nib work.

Shimmer + Dolls to Carolyn

It's hard to part with the doll stamps. The design isn't anything special - but it's playful and it's making its contribution to my greater goal: hoard reduction.

For anyone with ornery little kids or grandkids, you might want to consider the tip.









 Not all of us have open flames in our homes - so we'd need to work around that.

I get a lot of mileage out of pulling out my phone and taking a video of my grandson when he is not cooperating. It stops him in his tracks.

Here is my other favorite tip for the season. Store all your tree ornaments in gift boxes with lids. Wrap just the lids with pretty wrapping paper so that when the ornaments are on the tree, you can just put the empty box under the tree and store it there until it is time to take the tree down. My boxes were Harry and David fruit boxes which were perfect. Every year as we opened presents, Mr. Wilson would say, "Hey, there are more presents under the tree." And we would tell him, "No, those are just the boxes for the ornaments." Seriously, he did it every year. I'm sure his head is very full of important information.

We do not do a traditional tree anymore. I gave the tree and all the boxes to younger son. I have an alternative tree that I will post after I get some mail. It is an envelope holder. It's probably on the blog. I'll look and see if I can find it. (tic-toc-tic-toc) I did not find one. That does not mean it is not there.

Dec PTEX from Janet

 Vintage stamps inspired a color scheme that is a not the traditional red and green - and very pretty. It's such a shame that the postal worker had to scribble over the stamps.
Janet always puts a very nice detail on the back. 

The dove is from JeanR's card. I was not sure if one or both of the circles fell off. You'll see her card and envelope on Wednesday.

Add caption

Vintage Montage to Fatima + Thankful Border to Alex

Is montage the right word for the 4 stamps in the corner? I don't think so.

This one is a bit lame, so I will add one that does not deserve a solo post.

It started out OK - but then took a wrong turn. But, I has spent so much time on the border that I made myself use it.

I wonder if dots would have resolved it. I doubt it....





























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If any of you know Rosemary Buczek, you may be interested in the GoFundMe for her son. I am not inclined to post these kinds of items on the blog - but I met Rosemary at my first IAMPETH conference in 2001. She has been a devoted participant and teacher in the calligraphic community and anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting her would agree that she is a female version of Mr. Rogers - for adults who like penmanship.

Occasionally the calligraphic community reaches out to help one of their members. Alan Blackman and Charles Pierce are two people who were able to make it through some medical challenges with a little help from their friends.

Buczek GoFundMe

Two from Leslie K

Leslie was having so much fun that she ended up with two for me. This is very nice lettering. Leslie's taken formal classes - and we can tell.

When I photographed them, the shimmery ink reflected the light and I liked it both ways - so will just post both of them. Once again - I hope to start shooting some of the mail in video as I think you can get a better idea of how pretty the shimmery inks are.

It was nice on the top one how the cancel did not smudge up the design - although it made a mess of the bottom. Both of these envelopes show that keeping any of the address above the bottom half-inch is worth considering.

Bonus Post - Fashion report

It's been a long time since I've posted a fashion report. Clothing with lettering (and scribbling) has always caught my eye and I have a fair number of pieces in my closet. Not designer pieces - just random things collected over the years.

This caught my eye on Pinterest and I followed it to the Vogue page (linked below) that shows 40 looks. There are a wide range of items, not all with lettering. Some lettering is very minimal - and all of them are further out than anything I would wear. But, they are fun, if you like lettering on clothes.

https://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/spring-summer-2020-resort/stella-mccartney/collection

Why do models usually look so peeved or unhappy. Doesn't it seem like a fun job? Obviously someone has told them what expression to put forth. What's the story behind the *looks*? I'm refraining from asking Google.

My 6 year old granddaughter asked me how old Santa is? I said I did not know and she said, "Ask Google." At 6, kids already know who to ask - or they have learned where adults go for answers. The answer is 1,478 years old. Who knew.

Today's regular post is right below.

Hmmmm - Merry Jerry to Lauren

I have forgotten the story behind this one....

so I will add another one that suggests I might be a closet hippy.

I am not.

I ruined the mushrooms by coloring them in and did not photograph the colored version. I also have an odd feeling that I already posted this.

Circles from RachelD, Janna, and KathyS

From RachelD

In addition to vintage stamps, trees, and holly, circles showed up several times in the December exchange.

Rachel D had a circle on her card and a portion of the motif on the envelope.

Janna's circle is filled with my name - stealworthy idea. Another nice circle/snowflake was tucked inside.

And Kathy's card had a circle. Her envelope has already been posted and the reason they are not posted together has to do with technical difficulties, batteries, and I'm hungry - waiting for Mr. Wilson to grill. That's right, it is still Jan 15th as I compose this post and he felt like grilling. Note to self, insist that all winter grilling happens at lunch time.

From Janna

Card from KathyS

Bold Border + Santa to CathyO

Coulda-woulda-shoulda.

This might have worked if I had taken time to make the lines more precise.

I do not want to talk about the dots - Maybe if I had not mentioned you would not have noticed how completely bizarre they are - but if I did not mention them and you noticed that they were wacko - you would wonder if I actually thought they are fine.

They are not.

Holly & Wreaths - RachaelT and Maggie

Rachael and I have conversations through email about the amount of time spent on envelopes. She has lured me into some very time consuming envelopes. Her goal for Dec was to keep it simple - HA!

She could take a tip from Maggie - below - and start with a rubber stamp. Although, there is something very satisfying about drawing holly. I know I have been mesmerized by the shapes in the past.

Rachael's little detail that is stitched onto the card is quite lovely.

Maggie has some fun vintage stamps, too.

Candy Cane and Santa to Chuck

This was my first idea for the holiday envelopes - but I ended up with a bunch of bird stamps and only a few Santas - so ditched the idea. Maybe the Santas will be available again this year and I can do more of this style.

Four Holiday Envelopes with Trees

There were four envelopes in the Dec exchange with trees and I have to gang the December mailings - so this seemed like a fun way to compare a few different ways to represent trees.

Fatima's trees are on the back - and there were a couple with holly - so I guess I could gang hers with the holly themes, too.

And then there were a couple with groupings of vintage stamps....

OK - no trees - but they are on the back.

Fatima's trees.

Heidi's trees

Jessica's trees

Parallel Trees with Poinsettia

I like the way these trees go off the bottom of the envelope and the stamp is fabulous. In a perfect world, I'd have a stamp budget that would allow me to spend over a dollar on each outgoing holiday envelope.... I think the international stamps were $1.15.

I think there are fewer dots, too, which I prefer.

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PS - today --
I'm sorry for all these trees that are too similar.
This is the last one.
There will be more variety starting tomorrow. I should not have given the trees so many days....

Red and Green from Finn and Patty

These two are so pretty together. The simplicity. The tidy lettering. The *white* space - not that it is literally white - but it is space.

Finn's might have come in November...but took forever to show up.

Pretty little lettering is always nice to see. I hope it inspires those of you who have never thought about your plain printing. It's not rocket science. If anyone wants a refresher course....le'me-know.

HoHum Tree to GraceE

I was not crazy about this tree - but it was not bad enough to toss. The problem is not just the tree - it is the hodge podge of styles. The tree wants to be somewhat traditional - then the decorations are scribbly - then the presents are too small.

But - that is an exact representation of how I bumble through the month of December.

Holiday mail from Chuck, Finn and KathyS

Nice envelopes from three long-timers. People who have been exchanging since the very beginning.

Once again, I am so proud of Finnbadger's lettering. Chuck and Kathy have both taken formal classes - but Finn's completely self taught.

KathyS's doesn't show up very well in the photo - but it was one of my favorites with those stamps that I never warmed up to. They are so murky. guess they need a murky envelope.

Copic Trees to Holly

Another variation on the triangle trees. Again - letting them be a little looser. I tend to like anything that gets looser and more playful.

*****

Nov 4th - add on.
I review posts right before they are ready to pop up to see if they need editing - or additions. I think my series of Copic trees is really boring. But, I do not have time to insert more art - so if you need something else to look at today - here is a link to all kinds of information about penmanship. I have no idea if any of it is true. I found it fascinating. But it's a pretty obscure topic.

Atlas Obscura did a very good job with their name. What kind of people are drawn to useless, obscure topics? I have to stop thinking about that - as it tends towards implying that we are fairly useless members of society. Or perhaps we are just super careful about making contributions that will only backfire.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-hidden-messages-of-colonial-handwriting

Tina's Armistice Day Card and Envelope

Tina sent this envelope and card for the November exchange last year. There was also a nice note explaining that she had pondered doing a Thanksgiving card, but since she has never participated in that holiday was not sure where to start.

Armistice Day is the holiday that resonates with people in England in November. The silhouette is called "Tommy" and there are life sized silhouettes along their roadsides.

Tina did not get to the PO in time to get any of their poppy stamps, but the one she did get is a meaningful. There aren't that many stamps that feature quotes.

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns.  A line from Anthem for Doomed Youth, by W. Owen

Anthem for Doomed Youth

Parallel Copic Trees

These were made by doing a tap-tap-tap with the green marker. The trunks are silver Sharpie.

After I did Phillip's, I thought they were a little tight - so I loosened up and left more space between the branches.

I'm undecided on whether or not the trees are better with the dots at the baseline.

Love the birds

Delicate Holly from Miss Cathy

Cathy is a frequent member of the let's steal her idea list. I love the delicate little holly and plan on stealing it.

The card - not going to get put on my let's-steal-it list. I love it - but it's way more complicated than anything I could manage in the time I allow myself. The whole thing was a self mailer. I would need to shoot a video for you to see how it all goes together.

I am writing this on Jan 15, 2019. Yup. I figured I would just get 'er done. One goal for 2019 was to get back in the groove on shooting videos - wonder how that's going??

What I found when I slit the *envelope* open.

What I found when I opened the house panels.

Detail of the greeting. Dang - she's got that figured out....

Copic Trees - to Lynne and ??

The trees were made with the widest Copic marker. I bought a refill of green ink. There are so many ways to decorate trees. These are not done on the icky shimmer envelopes. I had a stash of nice envelopes that I knew would be friendlier with the Copics.

I was tempted to do all 25 exchange envelopes like this - but then I wouldn't have enough variety for the blog.

Which do you like better? The more traditional stars or the more graphic dots?

I definitely like the dots better. But do not be offended if I sent you the star one. I like it, too. And there is no calculation on my part about who gets the best envelopes. It is completely random.
Often times the length of a name will determine which envelope goes to which exchanger.