Addressing 111 envelopes for wedding

Long weekend...sunny out...I may have gotten a tan from the lightable. Nice area, isn't it?

I've discovered what works best for DOING MULTIPLES; first spend 2 days creating guidelines. Not necessary, but it helps, especially when you're in a hurry. OK. For addressing envelopes, draw guidelines in pen on tracing paper. Want perfection? Use the Ames lettering guide. Trim tracing paper so it's bottom edge lines up with the bottom edge of the envelope. Fold the bottom edge of a wide sheet of paper over about an inch. Find the sweet spot on the table, which is directly in line with your eyeballs if you were to lean over and touch the paper with your nose. Tape it to the light table. No, not your nose! Set the guidelines in the pocket and tape in place. Now you can slip your blank envelopes into this pocket & get them perfect every time. Not the lettering, that's a different story; perfect envelopes, dummy! You don't even have to tape them! Tape paper around the rest of the area so the light doesn't hurt your eyes.

PROCEDURE: Blank envelopes & response cards on the left. Ink & pen on the right. List of names standing (or sitting, but in a book stand) in front of you, with a sticky note on it placed under the name you'll be working from. Pick up blank envelope with left hand, set into pocket. With right hand pick up pen, dip into dinky dip (perfect 'cause you can't dip the nib in up to your elbow!) of ink, letter (it helps to turn the light table on), put pen down, pick up finished envelope with your right hand, place it on your right while picking up the next blank envelope with your left hand. Works great.

If you're lettering with gouache you'll need to brush the gouache on the nib so that's a whole other deal. I always try to convince the client to go with brown so I can use walnut ink.

Star Book for Gillian

View from the top
14 days since my last post and I'm still knee deep in the Phenomenal Woman pieces, hence the lack of posts. So, dug in my files and found this star book; Gillian was born a few years ago in Qatar, and I had the BEST time creating a baby book commemorating the event. A star book is basically an accordian book of 5 folds with the front & back tied together for display. They're usually 3 layers. The front outer layer (shortest) of the building silhouette, is Tyvek paper with Walnut Ink and a copper metallic rubbed in. Same with the covers. That paper is rip free; necessary for the tiny openings to survive repeated openings (of the book). The draft was figured out on 1/8" grid paper. The middle layer is a golden brown Thai handmade paper, but the artwork's not mine.

I "google imaged" for camels, then "borrowed" them. They were photocopied & placed image down on the Thai paper & rubbed with oil-free nail polish remover, which transferred the image. I wet the paper with a brush to be able to tear bits away. The back inner layer (longest) has walnut ink letters in Legende style on "marble" (looks more like clouds to me) card stock.

The whole thing stands about 6" tall.

Click on the pictures to see a larger image.