Hand Letter Your Envelopes!

Hey crafters!  

Today I'm going to be playing around with the WeRMemory Envelope Punch and

practicing my hand-lettering skills.  For those of you who like to personalize 

your greeting cards or even design your own, this handy punch is perfect for you!

You're now able to choose your paper and the dimensions for your envelope. 

The fun part of course is decorating it!

So for this week, I'll be showing you an example of what you can do

with this punch.  I have some black cardstock that I will be using for the envelope.

It's something different and unique; the complete opposite of your standard white greeting

card envelope.  Plus, you'll get to play around with some light-colored inks for lettering.

I'm so excited to see how this will turn out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Here's what you'll need to make your envelope.  Here's also what I forgot to add in the 

photo: Fiskars Paper Trimmer.  It's what I used to cut my squares of paper, but

you really could use a ruler and pencil to mark off the borders of the square and then cut it out with 

scissors.  But, unless you're extremely confident with your cutting skills or if you're pressed for time and just want fast, straight cuts, the trimmer is for you.

To make your envelope, you're basically going to follow the instructions on the

punch board itself.  After you've punched out your form, all you have to do

is either glue or tape the bottom of the two larger flaps to the two smaller inner flaps.

Now, let's talk writing tools.  These are a few of the pens I like to use, but

everyone is different.  From the left, you've got your standard mechanical pencil. Next is the 

Uniball Signo White Gel Pen.  The ink is a lot more opaque and brighter than the white 

Gelly Roll.  Next to that is a silver version.  The ink looks bright enough to be platinum 
color instead of a darker silver metallic gel.  Next is an AC Black Felt tip pen.

Micron pens are great to use, but I also like using the American Crafts

brand for a smooth black line.  Like Micron, this line also comes in different nib sizes.
 On the very right, we have the ever-popular Gelly Roll gel pen.  These come in a variety of colors and finishes, from Stardust to Souffle.  The one I have here is a Moonlight Black/Gold gel.

 So, I have a fake name and address that I've made up for this hand-lettering example.

What I've done is print out the name in a font that I wanted to try practicing.  This is a 
greatway to study types when starting out in hand-lettering.  Your computer is a great tool! 

All you have to do is scroll through the font list on your word program, type out the alphabet, make it at least 50 pt. in size and print it.  Grab some tracing paper and trace over each letter just like in elementary school,  paying attention to each font's individual style and character.

A few tips for addressing envelopes:

1. If the house or apartment number is a number that is 10 or lower, spell it out.

2.  Spell out streets and states as well. Ave. becomes Avenue, CA becomes California, etc.

3.  Watch your spacing!  Pencil in guidelines before starting your lettering.  You

want to make sure that it not only looks intricate and beautiful, but legible as well.

 4. Remember to allow space for any stamps you are planning to use.

4. Watch your fonts!  Make sure they don't clash.  You want to draw the eye in

and interest it.  Not hurt it.  A loopy script for the recipient with some simple block 

letters for the address maybe?

 So, here I have my guidelines.

With my trusty pencil again, I sketched out the name and address.

I added some accent points with the clamshell doodles on either 

side ofthe zip code.  After that, I went over it with the silver Signo gel pen.  

Voila!

This was so fun to do!  It's really great to practice hand-lettering because it's such

a fun art form.  Also, bringing that art into your envelopes is also a great way to

add your own personal touch to your snail mail.  It also makes your recipients feel extra 

special! :)  Of course, you don't have to stop at the lettering.  Why not add 
embellishments like washi tape and stickers?  Even a light wash with some watercolor 
paints on light-coloredpaper could add a nice pop of color and look nice against bold 
black lettering.  

Experiment and have fun!

Erika @ PC!