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Botanical Letter Tutorial

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Botanical Letter Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

I love botanical letters because they remind me of fairytales I would read as a little girl. Mainly, I remember big, beautiful “O”s beginning the “Once upon a time”; I loved those “O”s as much as the illustrations in the book! While embellished letters may look difficult to create, they’re actually a lot easier than you think — especially with the aid of a printer. Today I am going to show you how to create a letter with a botanical theme. Suggestions for use of your gorgeous design follow at the end of this post.
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Hand-Lettering + How to Make a Coat of Arms

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Hand-Lettering + How to Make a Family Crest | The Postman's Knock

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how to make a coat of arms — and surely the thought has crossed your mind if you’ve ever seen television shows like Game of Thrones — today is your lucky day. Historically, coat of arms were ye logos of olde; that is to say, they identified families and individuals. That identification was helpful if you were all suited up in your knight {or, as they used to pronounce it in Medieval times, “khu-nig-ghit”} gear. Nowadays, family coat of arms are essentially just cool family logos to print on custom stationery, frame in your house, have printed on a shirt for a family reunion … whatever. Oh, and one thing the internet just taught me that you should probably know, too: calling it a “family crest” is a no-no. According to Wikipedia, “The word ‘crest’ is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.” Up until today, I was referring to these as “family crests”. Oops!
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DIY Bookmarks Tutorial + Printable Gift Label

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DIY Bookmarks + Gift Label Printable | The Postman's Knock

The DIY bookmark is usually overlooked when people are thinking of handmade gifts. That’s a sad thing, because the humble bookmark is a wonderfully versatile gift. You can give a set to anyone, whether the person is an acquaintance or a family member — which is somewhat rare with DIY gifts. Bookmarks are easy to ship, making them ideal for sending to your friends or family who are far away. And, finally, giving away DIY bookmarks says: “I think you are very intelligent, so naturally you’ll be needing more than one of these to keep track of where you are in your literary pursuits.”
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DIY Greeting Cards Tutorial

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DIY Greeting Cards Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

It dawned on me the other day that I don’t write about cards a lot. With the exception of the most recent TPK blog post, I mostly focus on envelopes — but not what to put inside! That realization is what brought this DIY greeting cards tutorial to life. In it, you will find four examples of different cards you can create. I hope that you’ll get inspiration from at least one of the cards; and while you’re at it, why not make a batch? It’s never a bad idea to have a few cards on hand!
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Watercolor Lettering + Free eWallpaper Download

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Watercolor Lettering + Free eWallpaper | The Postman's Knock

“Watercolor lettering” can mean a lot of things. In this particular post, I am using the term to describe the effect you get when you write using watercolors and a paintbrush. I have noticed this technique is immensely popular lately, and I think it’s because it’s a one-of-a-kind style. We have access to wonderful script fonts on our computers, but since we can use them any time we want, they can be boring. However, no computer could replicate the spontaneity and energy behind writing with a paintbrush. You can’t write the same word twice almost exactly the same because so much depends on the brush, the amount of paint on it, and the pressure you are exerting.
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Art Deco Envelope Art Tutorial

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Art Deco Envelope Art Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

I made this envelope art tutorial for two reasons: the first is that people seemed to like the last envelope art tutorial {which, like this post, includes a printable template}; and the second is that I finally flew too close to the sun for the post office’s taste, and effectively needed to re-send a letter. My Icarus moment was this: I had made a lovely paper cut art envelope for the Letter Writer’s Alliance …
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Drawing on Black Paper

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Drawing on Black Paper | The Postman's Knock

If you’ve been following TPK on Facebook or Instagram, you know that I’ve been drawing on black paper for the past two weeks working on my chalk-style illustration booklet/kit for Quarto Publishing. The kit will be available on Amazon and in various brick-and-mortar stores late summer of this year, but I couldn’t wait that long to write a blog post over this — actually, very fun — activity.
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Selling Artwork and Calligraphy

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Gold Foil Wedding Invitation Suite | The Postman's Knock

Selling artwork and calligraphy is simultaneously one of the most satisfying and frightening things you will ever do, which is why I think it’s a subject that is worthy of examination. I realized this should be a topic of discussion when I received an email from a designer who had just added calligraphy to her line of services. In her email, she expressed trepidation at this step. She essentially asked: “How do I know if it’s good enough to sell? I am scared people will look down at me because I don’t have a long history as a professional calligrapher.”
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10 Ways to Draw Laurel Wreaths

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10 Ways to Draw Laurel Wreaths | The Postman's Knock

Laurel leaves are the “it” design element right now. Anything you can possibly imagine creating — from a whimsical and approachable logo to an artistic wedding suite — can benefit from one. You don’t even have to get that formal; I include laurel wreaths on a significant number of personal correspondence, and sometimes even on Post-it notes. Needless to say, I am a fan.
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Typography Art Envelope Tutorial

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Typography Art Envelope Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

Despite the popularity of minimalistic and modern design, I love the intricacy of vintage typography art. Put something in front of me with handwritten type and flourishes, and I’ll stare at it for hours. I also really enjoy making complicated, vintage-esque pieces {like the Cream with Coffee typography art}. Despite my fondness for typography, it hadn’t occurred to me to use it on an envelope until recently. I created the envelope below in walnut ink and posted it on Instagram — people seemed to like it, so I thought, hey, why not show you how to make your own?
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