These printable holiday envelopes were inspired by a 1914 University of Kansas yearbook that I found in my mom’s workroom the other day. She sells antiques for a living, so every time we visit, there are several new items of interest. Not only did I love the yearbook because KU is my alma mater, but I couldn’t get over the elegance of the photos and the hand-written typography.
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The last time we talked {or, rather, the last time you read my ramblings}, I told you about my favorite oblique calligraphy pens. Oh — speaking of which — the giveaway hasn’t ended yet! Visit the post to enter by Saturday evening. Oh, you’ve entered already? Well, then! Let’s talk about my new favorite calligraphy style: the Janet.
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When I first made up my mind to learn calligraphy, I noticed a lot of photos of beautiful envelopes with a very strange-looking calligraphy pen. After a lot of Google Image research, I figured out this tool is called an “oblique pen holder”. However, there didn’t seem to be much information about why it is in existence or how to use it. Nevertheless, after I had used a straight holder for a while, I worked up the courage to try a plastic Speedball oblique pen holder. With the pen holder came a little bit of frustration at first, but eventually I got the hang of it — even going so far as to write this blog post over how to use one. Little did I realize my journey with the oblique pen holder was just beginning at that point!
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I have always been in love with profile silhouettes because they are stoic yet whimsical, and they leave so much to the imagination. As I explained in the watercolor silhouette post, silhouettes used to be commissioned by thrifty families in the 1700’s as a means to obtain a likeness without spending a lot of money. Now, photos are beyond cheap and abundant, so silhouettes are just a fun decorative element to supplement photos.
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I came up with this DIY book tutorial as I was brainstorming classy holiday gifts. You see, as much as I love DIY, around the holidays the term gets overused by bloggers {obviously I, too, am guilty of this — see the title of this post} as a way to entice people to make cheap gifts to give in bulk. “Cheap” is nearly always the selling point. However, I think we should approach DIY a different way. The truth is, I would much rather receive a thoughtful DIY gift than a store-bought gift. Case in point: in college, one of my friends gave me this little booklet of poetry {which inspired this tutorial}.
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