Messages

16

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: April 04, 2022, 09:24:04 AM »

@K-2 I ordered the text that you recommended & it came in on Saturday.  I am excited to start working through it!  Thank you for the recommendation!

Janis

17

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Mailing place cards done with Pearl-Ex

« on: April 03, 2022, 10:26:26 AM »

@jeanwilson :  oh, my gosh!! What a nightmare!  I think I might have PTSD after that!! I avoid Cranes whenever I can! (Crane Lettra is my arch enemy!  I’ll hate it until I die!).  I strongly preferred Arthur Court, but Cranes closed them down in 2021. I’m now looking for a new favorite brand!  I put slip sheets with thermography invitations. Yes, I agree that it’s silly & unnecessary. Probably ridiculous. But, I see it as stylish. (Is that just me?). It just makes me happy!  Thermography makes pretty invitations available to budget brides & there is a place in the bigger world for that!  Maybe I’m just wired to support the underdog! 😃

Janis

18

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Mailing place cards done with Pearl-Ex

« on: April 02, 2022, 03:03:10 PM »

@Erica McPhee  Brilliant suggestions!  Hobby Lobby actually sells the invitation tissues in the make-it-yourself invitation section. I’ve had many brides insist on having the tissues!  They don’t know WHY they go inside invitations, but they have seen them there & they want them, too!  I’m going to run to Bed, Bath & Beyond for some China separators. I think they have both the felt ones and the foam-like ones!  I’d like the foam ones, if I can find them!  I’m going to add more gum Arabic to my mix & make another to experiment with!  I’ll report back!  Thanks much for your help!

19

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Mailing place cards done with Pearl-Ex

« on: April 02, 2022, 12:21:06 PM »

Hi!  I’m looking for some advice here!  I have calligraphed some place cards & need to mail them to the client. (24 total place cards.). I used Pearl-Ex ink, so the lettering is raised, above the surface of the paper. I took one & threw it in my purse, with the intention to take it to my office & explore my mailing options. (I was thinking that a bubble envelope would be suitable.). I’ll admit that my purse is a hot mess, with WAY too much stuff in it. When I remembered the place card & pulled it out, I discovered that it looked worn, with the raised ink a bit smeared. Very shabby looking!  I’ve redone the place card, but am now afraid of mailing them to the client!  (The client is 9 hours away by car, so hand-delivery is not an option!). What do you think might best protect them? I’m thinking about going to Hobby Lobby & getting a small jewelry presentation box that’s just a bit bigger than the cards? Putting that soft cotton “stuffing” stuff that you see in jewelry presentation boxes inside? (WHERE in the store is that stuff?). Maybe adding vellum as a “buffer” between the cards??  Or, do you have a better idea??  I’ll just die if they show up smeared or shabby looking! What do you think?  Any ideas are welcomed!

Janis

20

Copperplate, Engrosser's Script, Roundhand Calligraphy / Re: Hotel Promotion

« on: April 01, 2022, 09:33:56 PM »

@Ken Fraser That’s beautiful, per usual! I hope that you are well and happy!

Janis

21

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 29, 2022, 09:49:48 AM »

@Erica McPhee While I adore letterpress invitations, I TOTALLY love engraved invitations!  Have you ever held one or inspected one??  They are too beautiful for words!! However, engraved invitations are SO pricey!  They are just so precious to acquire!  My daughter's were $10 PER INVITATION! That's just nuts!!  (And, now, you know why I taught myself Copperplate. - It was the one thing that I "thought" that I might be able to do to save a little money on that stupidly expensive wedding!) What I didn't expect, however, was that it was going to completely destroy my "regular" handwriting!  I had pretty handwriting before learning pointed pen.  Now, it looks like a 4 year-old who is just now learning how to hold a pencil!  Life is full of twists and turns, isn't it??

Janis

22

Workshops & Conference News / Re: 2022 IAMPETH conference

« on: March 27, 2022, 05:42:11 PM »

@AnasaziWrites @Erica McPhee I’d prefer to go to Maine, too!  Love lobster!

23

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 27, 2022, 03:45:25 PM »

@K-2 please do post a photo of your press!  I’d love to see it!

I really LIKE it when the type is indented into the paper. It looks very elegant to me!  Any, you can see at a glance that the work was NOT done on a computer or a printer. It just screams “custom” to me!

Janis

24

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 27, 2022, 01:12:17 PM »

One more, since they seem to be “sticking”!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 27, 2022, 12:01:01 PM »

Another photo!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 27, 2022, 11:56:43 AM »

I’m trying the attachment again!  Fingers crossed!

Janis

27

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 27, 2022, 11:54:31 AM »

@K-2 I had a long reply with photos that somehow didn’t “stick” when posted!  I’ve found that very often the Forum “eats” all of my posts that contain photos!  I don’t know what that’s about. I’m so glad to know that there is someone else out there who is also interested in both calligraphy & printing!  I thought that I was all by myself!  I will definitely take you up on your offer of advice/assistance!  And, thank you for the suggestion is the textbook!  I’m 100% going to get it & try to learn from it! 

My letterpress is labeled “Craftsman”, from Boston, Massachusetts. I’m going to *try* to post a photo. Last time, I tried to post 3 & the post apparently died somewhere along the way.

I have addressed letterpress wedding invitations in the past where the type “bit” into the surface of the invitations, making a shallow indentation for each letter. At the workshop I took, the type printed the text/ink on the surface of the paper only.  Has what I *thought* was letterpress been something else?? Or, what??  My daughter’s wedding invitations were actually engraved, so that the letters were each raised above the flat surface of the paper. What I have “thought” was letterpress is exactly the opposite. The letters were indented below the surface of the flat paper. I’m pretty confused.

At any rate, thank you for your interest & kind offer of assistance!!

Janis

28

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 26, 2022, 09:49:52 PM »

@K-2 p.s. The cyphers & riddles sounds AMAZING!  I’d love to see some examples!  How did you get started with it?  Are there books or articles?  I’m really interested in the concept!

Janis

29

Workshops & Conference News / Re: 2022 IAMPETH conference

« on: March 26, 2022, 09:43:33 PM »

@AnasaziWrites I went last year to Omaha, but I’m skipping this year. I think that going to Hotlanta in July sounds miserable!  I’m probably going to go next year, though!

30

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Whatcha Working On?

« on: March 25, 2022, 10:31:40 AM »

I just finished a job doing place cards for a formal dinner.  I'm about to start a job caligraphing names on some certificates.  That will involve centering, one of my least favorite activities! :-)

I've mainly been busy learning how to operate a letterpress.  I was the editor of a my high school and college newspapers "back in the day" & printing has always been a hobby of mine.  I acquired a large letterpress and am trying to learn how to make invitations on it.  I'd like to offer clients BOTH invitations and calligraphy.  I'm surprised that letterpressing is harder than I thought it would be! I took a one day workshop on it in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago & the art institute had little bitty letterpress machines.  They were much easier to operate than my beast!  I am improving, however!

Janis