Category Archives: calligraphy

February 15, 2013 · 9:44 am

PIE!

Pie envelopes… you knew they were coming. Thank goodness!

First we have another take on the bakery box concept. Check out this adorable blueberry pie envelope from Kelly Synnott in Washington, DC. This has been one of my favorites since last summer when she sent it to me…

pie mail art

I love the red and white gingham background,
and the lovely hand lettering of the address.

Next up is a really brilliant one from Amy Nicole Powell in New York City. This one is just so original, yet so simple. Behold:

pie mail art

First of all, the front must have taken some planning – she’s made a paper basketweave pastry topping, with paper whipped cream to hold the address. Then – oh check out the back! (The stamp must have fallen off…)

pie mail art

It’s an actual paper plate that she’s painted gray to look like a pie plate. So this thing arrives in your mailbox looking like an actual pie! Like, it’s three-dimensional! I think this is absolutely genius, Amy. It would be so fun and inexpensive to recreate for a birthday party (or even some guerrilla pie-shop marketing – hmmm…).

Finally, we have super duper overachiever extraordinaire, Stevie Hopwood,from London. You may remember she also overdid things with these fabulous Olympic Bunny, Grizzly and Kitty envelopes. I’m not complaining…

Here’s how it arrived in the mailbox:

pie mail art

When you open it, the full pie is revealed! And some tiny treasures pop out too…

pie mail art

And of course the back, designed like a record. All watercolored by hand. Amazing.

pie mail art

I’m really so, so flattered by all the creativity and love you put into these projects. THANK YOU!

Hope you have a great weekend. Rest up because next week? Is CAT WEEK. I’m not 100% sure what that means either, but we’ll figure it out and it will be fun :) Until then, don’t forget to check out and maybe enter my give-away over on Catsparella! Tuesday is the last day to do so ;)

–Tara

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Filed under calligraphy, crazy!, painting, paper craftiness, upcycling, watercolor

February 7, 2013 · 8:05 am

Free wedding envelope calligraphy???

YES! Free wedding envelope calligraphy. And it’s pretty nice too…

seattle calligraphy

Order or pre-order your wedding stationery from Ephemera
by February 14, 2013, and I will hand-address
your first 35 envelopes at no charge.
(a $105 value)

seattle calligrapher

I love calligraphy, and was obsessed with it for a long time before taking the plunge to learn the basics a few years ago. Over time I’ve developed my own spin on “pointed pen.” I can easily say sticking with it and getting better has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. So yeah, I love it! Your 35 envelopes will probably take me 3 hours to do, yet it doesn’t even sound like work – sounds like fun. (Partly because I’ll probably watch The Bachelor while I do it.)

ANYWAY, this offer applies to save-the-date or invitation orders placed on or before February 14, 2013. Pre-ordering is possible for those clients not quite ready to start their projects, but who want to take advantage of an offer and/or secure their place on our press calendar. Click here to get started!

–Tara

PS. Can I get a show of hands in the comments about who might be interested in some virtual calligraphy lessons from me? Not teaching official Copperplate (there are better teachers for that out there), but more of a primer for those who just want to try it and see if they like it. Think: “How to Calligra-fy Your Own Writing.” This would be kind of an intro to my favorite tools, tricks, and resources. Maybe templates. What do you think?)

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June 19, 2012 · 11:36 am

a knee-slapper (a cute one)

Sometimes my sense of humor veers into the Very Cheesy.  So my own Elevated Envelopes from the Spring exchange made me snortlaugh a little.  I am such a nerd!

The Elevated Envelope Tara Bliven

My envelopes were decorated with more envelopes.

Flying envelopes…

Elevated envelopes.

GET IT?!!

The Elevated Envelope Tara Bliven

I used leftover kraft-colored A7 envelopes, stamped them with my super cool Calligraphy Address Stamp (ahem), and then got out the spray paint again.  I can confirm that Angelique was right – there is a whole world of artsy spray paint out there.  The Montana Gold colors were verrry tempting, but I had to stick with their basic white.  (The envelopes are meant to by floating high through misty clouds, after all.)

I made the actual envelope shapes with some faux gold and silver leaf – something I’ve always wanted to experiment with.  I used an old paintbrush to paint the adhesive on in little freehand rectangles and/or envelope outlines.  Then I applied the leaf, and brushed away the excess (very messy – gold bits everywhere – keep your vacuum handy).  For the solid envelopes, I scraped away the actual envelope flap shape after the fact with a metal scoring tool.

(It honestly took forever… So if you try this, just know that upfront.)

The wings were made out of 2 tiny hand-carved stamps (fun and easy!), then I used a little more spray paint, and then I wrote the addresses in calligraphy.  Helpful Hint:  Do your spray painting after you do your calligraphy.  Duh!  Obviously the spray painted surface was uneven and hard to write on.  The ones that came out better are shown here ;)

The Elevated Envelope Tara Bliven

They took so long that I only did about 25 total – 15ish for random early bird participants, and the rest for a few friends.  Oh, plus 4 for the backlog of prize envelopes!  (February-May)  Did you get one? What did I send you?  I can’t even remember ;)

–Tara

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Filed under calligraphy, metal leaf, rubber stamps, spray paint

May 23, 2012 · 9:32 am

Wendy Xu is awesome.

(That is really the best title possible for this post.  Also, I’m tired!)

LOOK AT THIS!

Wendy Xu is a letterer and designer from Los Angeles whose envelopes were inspired her recent visit to The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. The museum boasts something called The Neon Boneyard.  LET’S GO NOW!!!

There she is!

Check out ALL the different envelopes Wendy made below.  I’ve gotta go – need to buy markers.  LOTS of markers.

Thank you, Wendy!
–Tara

For the other 10 envelopes Wendy lettered, click here.

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May 22, 2012 · 3:38 pm

if wishes were horses, beggars would ride

(And I’d be able to paint like this lady!)

From the wildly talented Michelle René of Arteriole, “Who hasn’t, at some point in their lives, wished for a pony of their very own?”

watercolor horses

I love to keep up with Michelle’s artwork on her blog, Arteriolesque - it is extremely inspiring.  So I actually got a sneak preview of what was on its way to me.  Or should I say who was on his way?  I couldn’t wait for him to arrive.

Ta daaa!

His name is:

And he came with his own stable and everything!

horse stable envelope by michelle rene of arteriole

Here’s a better photo from Michelle that shows the stable’s window.  (I can’t believe I took the above photo wrong!)

Michelle used brown paper bags and painted original watercolored horses for each person on her list – she did this in order to spread awareness about her favorite cause, the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses  (CANTER).

Horseracing is a multi-million dollar, time-honored industry. Mint juleps, giant hats, and fists full of betting cash make for a dramatic three-minutes. It’s similar for the horses – the first years of their lives are fast and dramatic, but their actual racing careers are just a brief blip in a horse’s naturally long life. Even the fastest, most athletic thoroughbred is retired from the racetrack by the time he or she is 8 years old. After that, the rest of the horse’s life is a gamble. CANTER finds them new homes so they can avoid a tragic, untimely end.

I love animals – I love this envelope.  Thank you so much, Michelle.  If this inspires you to dust off your watercolors, check out this quick lesson from Michelle herself.  I think I’ll do some painting tonight.  Join me?

–Tara

another gorgeous photo from Michelle (can I get a photography lesson next?! ;)

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Filed under calligraphy, i love my cat and i don't care who knows it

May 10, 2012 · 7:33 am

Dragon Post

Today’s envelope is absolutely gorgeous – it’s from my friend and mentor, Brigitte Hefferan – a top notch calligrapher up here in the Seattle area.  It celebrates the Year of the Dragon:

chinese dragon calligraphy envelope

The background of the “D” is shiny gold gouache – you can’t quite tell in my photos, unfortunately.

I really like it when you all share a bit about how you made what you made.  From Brigitte:

Pointed pen gothic using McCaffrey’s ink.
Batarde with versal “D” using gouache.
Hand carved dragon stamp.

Not listed: DECADES of calligraphy experience!

dragon post chinese envelope calligraphy

year of the dragon mail art

After seeing this, I gave a little shine to my own elevated envelopes, and also made a hand-carved stamp to finish them off.  (You’ll see…)  Thanks for the inspiration, Brigitte!

–Tara

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March 13, 2012 · 7:15 am

Cherry Blossom Envelopes (a semi-tutorial)

In the Seattle area, we had a rotten spring and summer last year.  Winter was pretty mild, so I think we’re all hoping that means some stretches of decent weather soon – because when it’s nice in Seattle, it is SO nice.  This spring actually marks 10 years in Seattle for me.  One of the things I love about springtime here are the cherry blossom trees – pretty pink proof that we ain’t in Texas anymore.

Our January prize envelope winner was Ashley Horiuchi, and I waited so long to get around to making one for her, that a springy design seemed pretty appropriate.  Here’s what I made:

calligraphy address stamp

It was actually really easy!  You dilute some gouache with water until it’s an inky consistency (or you can just use ink).  Dribble a couple of drops onto your paper.  Take a plastic straw, and blow the branches into place.  They pretty much paint themselves, and end up going in all sorts of unpredictable directions – perfect for tree branches.  Then you can just dot in the blossoms or leaves wherever you feel like it.

calligraphy address stamp

I stumbled onto Ashley’s blog, and found out she and her husband, Bryan, have a nickname for themselves: Jensiuchi.  So, I secretly made her one of our brand new Calligraphy Address Stamps as her prize. Neither of the addresses above were written, but stamped!

So there you have it.  A really cool envelope design that doesn’t require any artistic ability at all.  What do you think, will you give it a try?  I’ve got big plans for more straw-blown branches.  Stay tuned!  If you want some more Elevated Envelope inspiration, here is a great round-up of designs sent to the LWA in Chicago.

–Tara

PS. Our February and March winners were Kate Knolls and Jonathan Schwarz.  Better get cracking on those…

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March 7, 2012 · 6:16 am

SURPRISE! Rocky Mountain Columbine

Remember this?

It’s Teresa Banman’s prize-winning envelope from the summer Elevated Envelope exchange. Teresa is the elementary art school teacher who painted a summer scene that fit into an envelope-turned snow globe.  Here’s what she said:

Summertime in the Rockies

Greetings from Kremmling, Colorado.

Living at an altitude of 7364 ft.,
the summer is so short here…

I wish we could…

Bottle it.
Savor it.
Cherish it.

Put it in a snow globe to enjoy on one of those cold days!

She won SURPRISE! letterpress stationery inspired by her design.  Her full painting depicted the Colorado state flower, Rocky Mountain Columbine:

I had the idea to go further with the snow globe idea, but decided to keep it simple in the end.  So I drew my version of the Rocky Mountain Columbine (ahem aquilegia caerulea), and came up with this:

rocky mountain columbine stationery

Teresa loved the color choices, but I really just used what I had too much of – it worked out.  I liked the idea of the summery flower, but in sort of neutral, winter colors.  And of course, you can never go wrong with silver ink on dark paper, especially when you use it to “pre-elevate” envelopes for someone.

I really enjoyed making SURPRISE! stationery – meaning Teresa didn’t know what was coming.  I just used her envelope design as inspiration and did whatever I wanted.  (No wonder I enjoyed it!)  So, the winner of our current exchange will win the same thing – SURPRISE! stationery inspired by whatever they send.

This time I’m going to need to assemble a panel of Seattle-area judges to help with the awarding of prizes.  Who wants in?!

-Tara

PS. If you’ve been thinking about getting some personalized stationery for yourself, please submit an inquiry so we can chat about the possibilities.  I’d love to make more creative things like this for people who love snail mail.

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Filed under calligraphy, letterpress

February 16, 2012 · 9:40 am

I am behind and stuff.

Good morning!  I promised a post about prizes for The Elevated Envelope, but I realized I can’t really detail them yet because so much is up in the air.  You see, we have over 200 people signed up (WOW!), and who knows how amazing these entries are going to be?  I am sure they will all deserve prizes.  And only have so much budgeted for them ;)   So I think I’ll have to wait until they’re all in to really decide how many and what.

So that’s that.

I can tell you that the grand prize from the last round was a surprise set of personalized stationery based on the winner’s envelope design.  It’s completely designed, just waiting in the queue to get printed.  Once the winner (Teresa Banman) has received it, you can bet I’ll post some pictures.  For now, here’s a little teaser:

You like?  Then sign up for The Elevated Envelope (last day to do so is Friday, 2/17 – that’s tomorrow!)

-Tara

ps. I’m also a bit behind on the January prize envelope which Ashley Horiuchi won.  But it’s worth the wait – I will reveal it soon and draw a February and March winner at the same time too!

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December 14, 2011 · 7:49 am

my favorite save-the-date EVER (and how to get $100 off yours…)

Today I wanted to share a wedding project I shipped out a couple of months ago – I had to wait until they had all been mailed out by the happy couple, Alix and Brandon.  It was kind of killing me because this may be my favorite save-the-date of all time:

photo strip letterpress save the date

Alix and Brandon had engagement photos taken by Anna Page Photography (in Wisconsin).  They had this fun idea to fake some old-fashioned photo booth strips, and crop things so that Alix was walking into Brandon’s frame with Brandon.  I thought it was so clever!

photo strip save the date

We adhered the photos with washi tape, which was a perfect choice since Alix is half Japanese, and adores the Japanese aesthetic.  Alix asked me to design a letterpress card for these photos that was clean and organic, yet incorporated the chrysanthemums and succulents that will be at her reception next August.  Kind of a tall order – but we made it work by sticking with a monochromatic look, and lightening the ink so it was nice and subtle.  The type floats in the lower right corner and balances out the design overall.  The couple’s names are highlighted in my calligraphy – I love this script – my own creation – kind of upright and angular.  I think it looks particularly good in all lower-case like this.

letterpress chrysanthemum

The finishing touches were coordinating gray envelopes, a matching letterpress wrap-around return address label, and hand-lettered guest addresses in white ink.  Alix and Brandon also got super-simple thank you cards.

I can’t wait to start on the invitations with them in a couple of months…  More on this design in 2012!

–Tara

PS. If you’re getting married in 2012 too, and are starting your search for letterpress wedding stationery, you should know that Ephemera is offering $100 off your project when you book before the end of the year.  It’s so easy to get started: Just complete our Custom Inquiry Form to give us an idea of what you need.  I will reply to you within a couple of business days with a comprehensive custom proposal and complete details about the offer, and we’ll go from there.

wedding envelope calligraphy

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