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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your first of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    10 Stunning Mail Art Envelopes to Inspire and Delight

    June 30, 2022

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Mail Art, Roundup

    This article, which showcases ten fantastic mail art envelopes on the TPK site, is designed to inspire you to create eye-catching correspondence! From mail art that’s made with coffee (literally: using coffee as ink) to envelopes that feature ink spills, there’s something for every artistic taste.

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    Fiddle Leaf Fig Envelope Art Tutorial

    After writing Monday’s newsletter, mail art is on my mind! For this article, I decided to showcase my ten favorite recent envelope designs on the site. (For a similar showcase from 2017, see this article.) If you have a moment, let me know your favorite in the comments! If you love mail art and want to come up with your own designs, consider TPK’s Marvelous Mail eBook, which was recently updated to provide more tips and inspiration for making gorgeous envelopes.

    LEARN ABOUT THE MARVELOUS MAIL EBOOK


    1. Coffee Mail Art

    Believe it or not, the “ink” on this envelope is coffee! The only non-coffee element is a bit of blue watercolor on the portrait. My favorite part of this mail art is the ornate flourished frame around the recipient’s portrait.

    How to Write Calligraphy With Coffee

    SEE HOW IT WAS MADE

    2. Fiddle Leaf Fig Envelope

    A handmade paper envelope plus a simple yet vibrant color scheme elevate this envelope to eye-catching heights. There’s something zen about that lush fiddle leaf fig. Just looking at this envelope makes me feel calm!

    Fiddle Leaf Fig Envelope Art Tutorial

    LEARN HOW TO MAKE IT

    3. Artistic Return Address Envelope

    When I send international mail, I almost always write my return address on the front. In this case, the return address steals the show! (I love using iron gall ink for projects like this one. It’s the perfect tone of black!)

    12 Artistic Envelope Ideas | The Postman's Knock

    READ THE ARTISTIC RETURN ADDRESS TUTORIAL

    4. Lacy Golden Butterfly Mail Art

    This envelope is all about the stamps. They add a hint of western flair and make me think of lassos when I look at the flourishes around the banner! Never underestimate the power of a simple color scheme (in this case: brown, white, gold, and black).

    Intricate Golden Butterfly Envelope Art Tutorial

    LEARN HOW TO MAKE THIS ENVELOPE

    5. Peru Mail Art

    This is another example of postage stamps bringing an envelope to life! I let the stamps help me choose what color to make the Peru artwork, and that made all the difference.

    One Weekend, Two Fabulous Mail Art Tutorials | The Postman's Knock

    MAKE AN ENVELOPE LIKE THIS ONE

    6. Flourished Swan Mail Art

    I was so thrilled when Schin Loong agreed to write her gorgeous Flourished Swan Envelope Tutorial. After I read it, I ended up making a swan envelope of my own (and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so).

    Flourished Swan Envelope

    READ THE TUTORIAL

    7. Intricate Teacup Mail Art

    I love the designs on vintage teacups, which is why I couldn’t help incorporating a “Singapore Birds” cup into this mail art motif. Choose a photo of a teacup that appeals to you and use it to make your own teacup mail art!

    Intricate Teacup Envelope Art for "No More Boring Envelopes"

    LEARN HOW TO MAKE THIS MAIL ART

    8. Chic Inky Poppies Mail Art

    I’d love to paint flowers like these on a wall (complete with gold highlights). They’re simultaneously simple, elegant, and just the right amount of messy. Pair them with Kaitlin Style calligraphy for the perfect piece of mail art!

    Chic Inky Poppies Mail Art Tutorial

    MAKE YOUR OWN CHIC INKY POPPIES MAIL ART

    9. Flourished Calligraphy Nib Envelope

    I love the look of the turquoise ink on this envelope motif! I don’t have a specific tutorial for this one, but if you love the look of flourishes, you can check out all the flourishing-related articles on the TPK blog.

    Scribblers Envelope

    GET TO FLOURISHING

    10. Floral Lace Mail Art

    This mail art takes a fair chunk of time, but the gorgeous results are worth it! (If you love the motif but don’t have an extra hour or two to draw the lace, you can download a pre-made illustrated lace mail art template here.)

    Floral Lace Illustration

    LEARN HOW TO MAKE IT


    I hope that this article inspires you to try your hand out at making mail art, even if you’ve never considered doing so before. I love decorating envelopes because they typically don’t take long to work on, and they are a fun little gift for any recipient! If you can’t think of anyone to receive your correspondence, consider making mail art and an encouraging note for a More Love Letters requestor. It’s a win-win: you get to make art and feel good about making something nice for someone, and the MLL requestor gets a treasure in return.

    Thanks so much for reading, and have a fabulous Fourth of July weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock
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Sketchbooking

About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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2 responses

  1. amaya.baptiste Avatar
    amaya.baptiste
    May 1, 2023

    I started sending more mail recently as a part of a letter-writing group and am using your blog to look into upping my letter game. Super excited to research and learn!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 1, 2023

      What a great idea and thing that your group is doing! That sounds like so much fun! Best of luck! 😊

      Log in to Reply

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This is just as relaxing to watch as it is to wri This is just as relaxing to watch as it is to write. 🧘‍♀️ DM me for a link to a (free!) worksheet that teaches you how to write this loopy, modern quote. ✍️

#moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #calligraphy #handwritten #writingcalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphyvideo #tseliotquote
🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find ins 🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find instructions for making all of these project (and more!) on the TPK Blog and in TPK’s Halloween-themed worksheets. 🔗 Link in bio, then search for “Halloween” or just browse the Blog and Catalog!

#halloweencalligraphy #halloweenart #calligraphyprojects #halloweencraft #eleganthalloween
🤭 We’re ridiculous. Here’s the story: every 🤭 We’re ridiculous. Here’s the story: every month, @greenleafblue and I host a live creative coffee chat over Zoom for TPK Premium and G&B Patreon members — and we always include a giveaway. This time, we switched it up and picked the winner with a trivia question we made up on the fly. You can see how that went here!

✨ Watch the full chat on the TPK Blog (link in bio → “Blog”).

✨ Join us for the next coffee chat on October 17th by signing up for TPK Premium! I’m thrilled to announce that @sdionbakerdesign will be our special guest. (Her Patreon members can join, too!) And yes, there will be a giveaway. 🎁

👯‍♀️ Fun fact: Jess and I met as roommates studying art history in Paris + Florence way before The Postman’s Knock or Greenleaf & Blueberry existed. Over the years, we’ve nicknamed ourselves Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, Lucy and Ethel… you get the idea. That familiarity definitely comes through in our chats.

#artistchat #artists #artsupplies #zoomchat #creativity #thepostmansknock #greenleafandblueberry
After eight years (and plenty of smudges), my chal After eight years (and plenty of smudges), my chalkboard finally got a makeover! This time, sketching out the design was so much easier thanks to my iPad + Procreate. Once the draft felt right, I used a grid method to bring it to life on the chalkboard. 🖊️✨ Curious how it all came together and find instructions for making your own chalkboard quote art? Check out the TPK Blog to see the process! (Link in bio, then navigate to the “Blog” tab.)

#chalkboard #chalkart #austenquote #janeausten #hyggequote #hyggeart #homeart #artforhome #artprocess #chalk
The iPad + the Procreate app = a total game change The iPad + the Procreate app = a total game changer for chalkboard design! ✨ Today I sketched out this chalkboard layout digitally, which is something I used to spend hours drafting with pencil and paper (with tons of erasing!). Obviously, there were a lot of elements that weren’t working here as I navigated the draft process; but it’s so easy to erase, re-size, or move elements within Procreate. The best part? Procreate gives me a sneak peek of how the chalk will actually look on the board. 😍

Now that the design is ready, I’m excited to bring it to life on the chalkboard itself. Stay tuned for Thursday’s tutorial on the TPK Blog! ✍️

#chalkboardart #chalkart #procreateart #procreateartist #janeaustenquote #artprocess #artdraft
✍️ Lesson 2 of the brand-new Beginner’s Mode ✍️ Lesson 2 of the brand-new Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course just dropped! In it, we’ll take a deep dive into supplies and workspace setup. Then, we’ll do a little preliminary assignment. This clip was taken from the workspace video. In it, I’ll show you how I store my supplies and give you a tour of my workspace and how I set myself up for calligraphy creation success. (Literally: I show you everything, right down to where I put my iPad to keep a movie on in the background while I work.)

Link in bio to enroll in the course! If you’re not taking it, **do**!! It’s already got 3+ hours of video instruction in just two lessons.

#calligraphyadvice #moderncalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #artcreation #calligrapher #artstudio
I love watching project timelapses — like a comp I love watching project timelapses — like a complicated calligraphy or watercolor project coming together in a matter of seconds. A cleaning timelapse, then, is a no-brainer! My friend mentioned that she does these when she needs a little extra motivation to tidy up. I was totally feeling that this weekend, so I made a couple of these. The anticipation of knowing that I’d get to watch the room become neat in an instant was actually incredibly motivating. It’s the little things, right? 😉 #cleaningtimelapse #cleaning #tidyingup #neatandtidy
🖍️ We have a million crayons laying around be 🖍️ We have a million crayons laying around because my kids love to color (right now, their pages of choice are K-Pop Demon Hunter-themed). While I’m always down for some adult coloring, I also love to letter with crayons! In the latest TPK tutorial — link in bio — you’ll learn how to make this cozy ombré wax crayon calligraphy. 🍁 Switch up the color scheme if you’re not a pumpkin spice person! This technique looks great with light blue, dark blue, and dark purple; or light green, dark green, and dark blue. #crayoncalligraphy #crayolacrayons #waxcrayons #adultcoloring #autumnart #cozylettering #handlettering #lettering
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