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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.

    How to Make a Beautiful Envelope: A Guest Post

    March 12, 2020

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Guest Post, Mail Art

    I am proud to have teamed up with More Love Letters to write a guest post for their blog! You can visit More Love Letters to find eight simple TPK tips for making a beautiful envelope. I’ve also got a weekend challenge for you, which you can find at the end of this blog post!

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    Watercolor Hexagons Mail Art Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    I stumbled across More Love Letters (MLL) in 2015, and I immediately fell in love with the concept! The idea behind MLL is to connect people who can give encouragement with people who need encouragement. It doesn’t hurt that the kind words arrive via snail mail, which I’m all about!

    More Love Letters Envelope
    This is the first More Love Letters envelope I ever sent. It started life as a Trader Joe’s bag! (Aren’t handmade envelopes fun?)

    Basically, MLL puts out Letter Requests every month. The requests come from people all over the world who want to give their loved ones an emotional boost. Many of the requests are heart-breaking, but it’s empowering to know that our kind words can help to bring some sunlight into the situation.

    My Guest Post: How to Make a Beautiful Envelope

    I recently collaborated with MLL to write an article for their site. The article is called How to Make a Beautiful Envelope, and it showcases eight tips for making a lovely snail mail presentation for MLL recipients!

    Floral Illustrated Lace Motif
    One of my tips for making a beautiful envelope? Add some embellishment, like this illustrated lace!

    My hope is that the article will introduce more people to the idea of making artistic envelopes. For readers of the TPK blog, it may seem obvious that you can make and send envelopes that are little pieces of art! However, I often find that when I post mail art on Instagram, people who aren’t familiar with TPK ask if the post office will actually deliver it. (The answer is yes!)

    How to Send More Love Letters

    Elegant and Effective Letter Writing Tips | The Postman's Knock

    Sending a letter to a MLL recipient couldn’t be more simple. First, take a look at the Letter Requests. Choose the request(s) that you connect most with, and write a letter or make a card for that recipient. Cool motifs to include on the card would include illustrated flowers or illuminated letters!

    More Love Letters Envelope
    This Kaitlin Style envelope came together quickly because I didn’t use pencil guidelines. Its calm personality comes from the white and blue color scheme!

    Once you’ve written your letter, make an envelope using the address in your chosen letter request! This part is where my tips will come in. To clarify, I think that any contribution to a MLL request is amazing. However, there’s something special about getting to open an envelope that took time, effort, and artistry!

    Weekend Challenge

    This weekend, I challenge you to make a MLL envelope. Post your envelope on Instagram using the hashtag #TPKMLL so we can see what you came up with! I am participating in this challenge, too, and will share what I made on Sunday morning (@thepostmansknock).

    8 Creativity-Infused Ways to Celebrate Happiness Happens Month | The Postman's Knock
    This would be a great card to send! Believe it or not, it’s a printable.

    Remember, there are tons of greeting card and mail art tutorials here on TPK if you’re in need of inspiration. Let’s have fun spreading kindness this weekend and getting to exercise our creativity!


    Thanks so much for reading! I’m so excited to see what those who choose to participate in the challenge come up with!

    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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15 responses

  1. surfboard art Avatar
    surfboard art
    February 7, 2022

    waooo. i like your designs

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  2. Susannah Avatar
    Susannah
    March 13, 2020

    This is So kind – I love it!

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  3. Dodi Avatar
    Dodi
    March 13, 2020

    I like sending handwritten letters. This post is especially helpful to me in improving my envelope game.

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  4. louise78130 Avatar
    louise78130
    March 13, 2020

    Your work is beautiful! I especially like those tulips!

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A couple of days ago, I posted a clip from Lesson A couple of days ago, I posted a clip from Lesson 1 of the new Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course (seriously, join us — enrollment is a *steal* at $5/month, and you get complimentary tutorials [that happen to complement the course] — link in bio)! People seemed to like the story in that clip, so here’s another fun story from the same lesson. Sorry, I can’t confirm who the client was! That was a project with an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). 🤐 Still: a very fun, very cool experience ... I’m grateful that calligraphy has given me cool adventures and connected me to such an amazing community. ✍️

#calligraphystory #moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #beginnercalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphy
Lesson 1 of TPK’s Beginner’s Modern Calligraph Lesson 1 of TPK’s Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course doesn’t actually start with the pointed pen! ✍️ Instead, we ease into it with faux calligraphy and then pencil calligraphy. Here’s a little preview of what the pencil calligraphy lesson looks like. ✏️

If you’ve been wanting to learn calligraphy, join us in this course. It is an absolute *steal* because it’s included with your TPK Premium membership ($5/month - cancel anytime). Once the course concludes in January, you can choose to purchase lifetime access to the videos; or just continue on with us to the next course. For more information, visit the link in my bio!

#learncalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #moderncalligraphy #pencilcalligraphy #blackwingpencil #pencilart #letteringart #handlettering #modernlettering #artisticletters #artisticlettering
I’m editing videos for the new Beginner’s Mode I’m editing videos for the new Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course (🎉 JOIN US! link in profile for enrollment info!!) — and wanted to share this story from Lesson 1. In that lesson, we’ll chat about how to develop your motivation (this story is part of me sharing mine); and we’ll ease into our pointed pen experience with faux calligraphy and pencil calligraphy. Step by step, you’ll develop skills that will serve you for a lifetime ... and surprise and delight those around you, just like my “rent check envelopes” did! ✉️

#mailart #moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #storytime #calligraphy #snailmail #snailmailrevolution
Some recipes aren’t just instructions — they’re memories on a page. 💛 I spent some time illustrating one of my favorites, and it turned into the sweetest (literally) keepsake. Calligraphy, watercolor, and a little patience bring the story of a dish to life.

If you’d like to try illustrating your favorite recipe, too, I shared the full process (with helpful printables) on the TPK Blog — link in bio. ✨

#illustratedrecipe #calligraphyart #watercolorillustration #creativeproject #keepsakeart #slowcreativity #handletteringlove #moderncalligraphy #calligraphyinspiration #watercolorart
As much as cooking is an art, illustrating a recip As much as cooking is an art, illustrating a recipe takes it one step further. ✨ In TPK’s latest tutorial (link in bio), I’ll show you how to create an illustrated chocolate lava cake recipe using watercolor. You’ll find helpful PDFs and step-by-step instructions so you can follow along — or use the layout to bring one of your own favorite dishes to life.

Frame it as keepsake art, or give it as a thoughtful handmade gift this holiday season. 🎁

#illustratedrecipe #watercolorart #calligraphycommunity #foodillustration #arttutorial #watercolortutorial #creativeprojects #handmadegifts #keepsakeart #thepostmansknock
✨ One of the most beloved assignments from Lesso ✨ One of the most beloved assignments from Lesson 5 of Hand Lettering 101 was this playful project: design an artistic alphabet where no two letters look the same.

The idea? JUST PLAY. 🎨 I used watercolor and a paintbrush, but many students grabbed markers, pens, or anything colorful on hand. The results were incredible — @adriennelovesletters gave it her own flair, Isabel C. made it three times, and Laura M. created a stunning version too. (You can peek at more inside the TPK Premium Discord!)

If you’re ready to try this project yourself, you’ll find the Hand Lettering 101 eCourse waiting in the TPK Catalog. Just head to the link in my bio to be taken to the TPK website. 💌

#handlettering #watercolorlettering #moderncalligraphy #letteringpractice #creativeplay #calligraphycommunity #artinspiration #calligraphyart #watercolorart #letterlove #tpkpremium #handlettering101
Had the best time writing the latest tutorial on t Had the best time writing the latest tutorial on the TPK Blog — “Drawing Lesson: Elegant Swallows” (🔗 link in bio). If you’ve never drawn birds before, swallows are an excellent place to start. Their shapes are simple once you break them down! ✍️ 

In the tutorial, you’ll find:

🪶 Step-by-step visual instructions for drawing swallows in four different movements
🪶 The “Hand-Drawn Swallows Cheat Sheet” PDF
🪶 A detailed tutorial for making the mail art shown here

On another note, I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to TPK Premium and Premium Plus members ... your support allows me to write cool detailed tutorials like this one. 🙏 You all are amazing, and I’m so proud of our community.

#mailart #snailmail #illustration #illustrationtutorial #drawingtutorial #drawinginstructions #birdart #swallowsart #calligraphy #moderncalligraphy #pointedpen
In June, I kicked off the Hand Lettering 101 eCour In June, I kicked off the Hand Lettering 101 eCourse with TPK Premium members, and wow — it’s been such a joy to watch the transformation.

Over six lessons, students went from that “where do I even start?” feeling to confidently creating their own alphabets, playing with flourishes, and putting together gorgeous compositions. I loved seeing those little lightbulb moments along the way.

Here’s the great news — you can still take the course.
When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to:
📚 All six lessons (9+ hours of video demonstrations + printable PDFs)
🖌 Fun, approachable projects that build your skills without feeling overwhelming
🎯 A “before and after” assignment that’s always such a satisfying reveal

If you’ve been wanting a gentle, step-by-step way to get started with hand lettering, this is it. You can DM me for the link, or search Hand Lettering 101 on the TPK site (link in profile).

#handlettering101 #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #letteringlove #calligraphycommunity #learntoletter #creativelettering #letteringcourse #onlineartclass #artpractice
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