Calligraphy Crush Issue 8

Issue 8 – Decorative Mail Art

The thrill of receiving beautifully-addressed mail art never gets old! Issue 8: Decorative Mail Art features artists who design beautiful envelopes that celebrate friendships, special events, and the joy of sharing art with others.

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COVER ARTIST - Lindsey Bugbee

Need inspiration for envelope layouts or illustrations to gift to your favorite humans? Look no further than The Postman’s Knock blog, lovingly curated by calligrapher and illustrator Lindsey Bugbee since 2012.

MAIL ART TIPS - Lindsey Bugbee

Learn how to boost your chances of successful mail art delivery, crack the mystery of postal rates, and find encouragement to think outside of the box with your envelope designs.

NONCONFORMING MAIL ART - Mike Moore

You'd be surprised what unusual items you can send through the mail.

GRACEFUL ENVELOPE CONTEST - 26 Years of Legendary Mail Art

A magazine about Decorative Envelope Art would not be complete without including the exceptional calligraphic wonders entered annually in the Washington Calligraphers Guild’s Graceful Envelope Contest.

AUDACIOUS ENVELOPE EXCHANGES

One of the most popular community activities on Erica McPhee’s Flourish Forum is the Envelope Exchanges among forum members.

LETTERLOCKING: Ancient Letter Security

Letterlocking.org defines it as “the technology of folding and securing an epistolary writing substrate to function as its own envelope,” and these methods date back centuries.

FINDING INSPIRATION FOR ENVELOPE DESIGN

10 tips for getting inspired to create amazing envelope designs.

TUTORIAL - Painting Fairytale Floral Cakes - Phyllis Macaluso

In this tutorial, Phyllis shows you how to make and decorate a beautiful cake that’s both elegant and fun, and suitable for any happy occasion or fairy tale princess.

TUTORIAL - Copperplate with Brush Pen - Sharisse DeLeon

Copperplate with brush pen? Absolutely! Sharisse offers tips on pen hold and writing this beautiful script with brush markers.

TUTORIAL - Folding Envelopes from Letters - Anne Elser

Anne Elser teaches how to fold envelopes from letters using the Corner Tuck and Stamp Closure techniques.

PRODUCT REVIEW - Eclectic Inks for the Discerning Calligrapher - Serge "Mr. Fox"

"Mr. Fox" of Fox & Quills shares about his passion for manufacturing and beautifully packaging iron gall and pigmented inks.

PRODUCT REVIEW - Fast Easy Custom Envelopes

Maureen demonstrates how to create envelopes in less than 5 minutes using an Envelope Punch Board.

TIPS & TRICKS - Demystifying Copperplate Ligatures - Antonio Da Silva

Paul Antonio explores ligatured letters, why they look the way they look, and how to form them correctly. The main script focus for this study will be Copperplate script.

TIPS & TRICKS - Pointed Pen Uncials - Mike Kecseg

IAMPETH Master Penman Mike Kecseg adapted Uncial into a modern pointed pen alphabet and graciously shares his exemplars with us plus some tips for writing this beautiful hand.

TIPS & TRICKS - Envelope Resources

30+ Online Resources for Envelopes

BEHIND THE SCENES - Ask a Stationer: Envelope Liners - Alex Schwenke

Liners are a wonderful way to keep an invitation traditional while tying in elements that have already been created for an event such as the color palette, monograms, florals, venue illustrations, and save-the-date artwork.

BEHIND THE SCENES - Wedding Welcome Mirror - Maureen Vickery

Learn Maureen's method for designing the layout and writing on a mirror.

LOVE YOUR BIZ - 5 Questions Every Website Should Answer - Rachael Kay Albers

How do you know if your website will attract customers? Answer these five questions and that’s all you need. Everything else is fluff.

GALLERY - More Envelope Art!

Lindsey Bugbee, Kathy Milici, Schin Loong

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