Messages

1

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Letters variations

« on: September 28, 2023, 06:38:53 PM »

That's so exciting to hear, Erica! You have one purchaser for sure!

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Show & Tell / Re: My Left-handed Pen Adventures

« on: November 20, 2015, 09:56:57 PM »

Beautiful calligraphy and photo styling!

- A fellow lefty

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Tips for Lefties / Re: Left-handed tips from Master Penman John DeCollibus

« on: October 03, 2015, 11:23:56 PM »

Wow! How I wish I had seen this earlier!!!  When I first started out, I was trying to decide between straight and oblique holders... I ended up going with straight, but I have always wondered about the pen angle being too "high" to get smooth lines (something I really struggle with). And I can totally relate to flourishing away from yourself -- much easier, I've noticed.

Thanks so much for posting! I wonder how long it would take me to re-learn my muscle memory if I switch...    I do my broad pen at that 90 deg angle towards myself, so maybe it wouldn't be as unfamiliar as I think.

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Old v. New | Serif v. Sans

« on: September 29, 2015, 02:09:18 AM »

Normally I'm a fan of sans serif fonts, but not in this case. I prefer the old serif logo.  The new sans serif letters are a little heavy looking to me and not as readable. Google supposedly did this to make it better for mobile devices. I sure don't recall the old logo ever not looking good on my phone, though!

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Flourishing / Re: Offhand Horse Flourish

« on: September 29, 2015, 02:00:54 AM »

Gorgeous! As a calligrapher and horse owner, I love it!!

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Exchanges - General Info & Questions (Start here.) / Re: How do you store all the lovely snail mail you receive?

« on: August 31, 2015, 06:20:17 PM »

this website (or blog) has a pretty good tutorial for a book that is even easier to use as a base for a book of envelopes.

http://g45papers.typepad.com/graphic45/2012/06/marvelously-magical-mini-albums-a-tutorial.html#comment-captcha

The second book is really similar...  Except instead of attaching card stock or paper to the pleats, you would attach the edges of the cards and envelopes. Once you're done, it's not really an accordion album, correct? The "spine" on the end makes it flip like a regular book?

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Exchanges - General Info & Questions (Start here.) / Re: How do you store all the lovely snail mail you receive?

« on: August 31, 2015, 02:57:35 AM »

At my last calligraphy guild meeting, I saw an idea I absolutely loved. You bind a little book, but the pages are just "stubs". To each stub you attach a card or envelope, so you can flip through the cards like a book.

I have the instructions and making some books is on my "to do" list...  Which means it might be quite some time before it actually gets done.   But I will definitely post photos when it does!

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Workshops & Conference News / Re: Skillshare Stronglines Class 2 with Alice Young is up for subriscribers!

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:41:54 PM »

I've never done a skill share class....  Are they recorded so you can do them anytime? (I.e, you could start with Class 1 and then do Class 2?)

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Workshops & Conference News / Re: Illuminated Initials Class Sept. 2015: MP Harvest Crittenden, Acorn Arts

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:36:03 PM »

I'm signing up too. Even if I don't have time to practice or work on the homework as much as I would like, I still feel like I learn so much from her classes.

10

Tools & Supplies / Re: Heidi Swapp Foil Applicator

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:33:14 PM »

I've been wondering about this too, since the Minc was just on sale for $99 recently.

I was at a scrapbook retreat this past weekend (where I did mostly calligraphy, of course!) and had one lady tell me that her $25 Scotch-brand laminator from WalMart worked great for foil. She did say she had found that some sheets of foil that were defective -- even after running it through a heavy-duty laminator at work, it wouldn't stick. She also said she runs it through inside a folded piece of thin parchment paper as a carrier. And that you have to make sure to give the laminator plenty of time to warm up to maximum temperature. She was so certain about it that I think I'll risk $25 to give it a try...  But I'm not doing client work like Sybille...

11

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Sad state of affairs?

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:19:14 PM »

I admit I have a formula for thank-yous:

- Say thanks
- Give them a little detail about how I'll use the item
- Thanks again with a slight twist (about their generosity/support/thoughtfulness, etc.)
- If I recently have seen/will see them, how much I enjoyed it/look forward to it

It manages to fill up a small note card with minimum insincerity. 

I still get a laugh out of the card we got from one high school senior. After thanking us for the gift, she said, "Thanks for being a good friend to my dad. He needs one."

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Sad state of affairs?

« on: August 13, 2015, 05:03:35 PM »

It would probably have come more naturally if I had learned the skill as a child (although, really, there's only so much to say about bamboo cooking utensils, especially when you put them on your registry, "Thank you for buying that thing that I put on my registry because I really wanted it and now I have it.").

I agree it's something of an art. It does get easier with practice (and receiving good examples). My sister-in-law, who was an English major, always writes great thank yous.

But!  Writing letters is different.  I used to love writing letters (and still do to a certain extent).

I have all the letters my grandparents and I wrote back and forth to each other when I was living at the American Embassy in Moscow during the Cold War. That was before the internet, and international calls were outrageously expensive. It was the only way to communicate. I tell myself someday I'll use them for my memoirs. (Ha - like that will happen!)

It's too bad your parents don't write back. Besides being great encouragement, it would be a meaningful keepsake.

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Sad state of affairs?

« on: August 13, 2015, 04:50:30 PM »

Same here and I agree. I actually don't even mind an email thank you! LOL! As long as there is a thank you. For those nieces and nephews and others who don't send a thank you OR EVEN SAY THANK YOU IN PERSON AFTER I HAND THEM A GIFT, I no longer give gifts, just cards. Is that wrong? I give generously and one of my ultimate pet peeves is being taken advantage of so if the person is old enough to know better...

I understand completely, Erica. I asked my teenage daughter her opinion, and after giving it serious thought, she said she wasn't sure it was fair to punish my nieces and nephews because their parents had never taught them to write thank-yous. But I have to admit, last time I just never quite "got around" to sending that graduation gift...  It's at least as much work for me to get the card and check and send them off as it is for them to write (or email or even text) a thank you! I just don't like rewarding poor behavior.

14

Kind Critique / Re: GoT inspired postcard

« on: July 08, 2015, 11:24:09 PM »

ThIs is so cool, Natascha! I couldn't think of any suggestions, but now that I see Sybille's suggestion about the left flourish mirroring the right one more, I totally agree. ☺

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Completed/Past Exchanges / Re: Local Culture, Landmark, History Exchange Sign Ups Now Open!

« on: July 08, 2015, 03:12:03 AM »

Sandee, there's a good chance yours has arrived, but I'm out of town for another week. I'm so glad I have something to look forward to when I get home... it's always hard to get back to real life after being on vacation!