If you’ve ever tried to address a neat and orderly envelope, you’ve probably noticed what a pain it is to draw pencil guidelines! Today, we’ll talk about the Studio Oudizo acrylic envelope lettering template. It’s a tool that could potentially make your life a whole lot easier when it comes to planning envelope address layouts!
Regardless of your calligraphy skill level, you can bet that planning out the spacing of your calligraphy on an envelope takes time, concentration, and — in most cases — frustration! Thus far, shining up a guide through a light box is the best solution that I’ve discovered for making envelope guidelines. However, that technique only works on light-colored envelopes! Darker envelopes require more patience and flexibility, plus a willingness to try new things. The latest tool I’ve tried is an acrylic envelope lettering template from Studio Oudizo (formerly known as Ollie’s Studio). Today, I want to talk to you about how this supply can come in handy!
Studio Oudizo is owned and operated by Ofe, a calligrapher based just outside of Cheltenham, England. In addition to offering custom calligraphy services and readymade items (like the envelope liner we’re talking about today), Ofe teaches workshops everywhere from Ireland to Nigeria!
A couple of months ago, Ofe sent me two envelope lettering templates: one to try out, and one to give away. In this post, I’ll let you know about my experience with the lettering template, and you can decide whether it would be worth adding to you calligraphy toolbox or not!
First, you place the template over your envelope. (I usually line up the bottom of my envelope with the top of the measurement lines on the bottom of the template.) Then, use a mechanical pencil to draw lines in each cutout of the template.
Here’s what your lined envelope will look like:
If you want to, you can use the template to draw a line down the middle of the envelope. Just make a mark at the “0” cm line while your template is horizontal, then line up the template vertically with that mark.
You can then use your guidelines to write out your recipient’s name …
And then their address.
Once your ink has dried, you can erase your pencil guidelines and add stamps and additional embellishments, if you’d like!
I like using Ofe’s envelope lettering template because, obviously, it saves a lot of time. There’s no need to line up any rulers or make measurements. It offers a quick and painless solution for a task that is usually quite tedious!
Just like with every envelope guideline creation method, though, there are a couple of cons. First of all, the template lines are spaced a bit close together for my taste, which is why I would only use this envelope liner template for either whimsical modern calligraphy (like Kaitlin Style) or hand-lettering. I think that formal calligraphy address lines (like Janet Style/Copperplate) would result in calligraphy that looks a little bit squished! The vertical spacing would be the kicker for any envelope lettering template that you, yourself, didn’t design, because everyone has different preferences there.
For my fellow Americans who are interested in Ofe’s envelope liner, it’s worth noting that the measurements are in centimeters. If that’s going to throw you off because you’re thinking in inches, that’s a consideration!
It’s important to remember there’s not one bulletproof envelope guideline method out there. Every single method that you try will have a caveat! I think that’s part of the appeal of handwritten envelopes, though — it’s obvious that making one is an art that requires patience and time. Still: Ofe’s envelope lettering template is a useful tool, and one that I’m glad to have!
If £16.00 (roughly $20.50) + shipping isn’t going to break the bank, then Ofe’s envelope lettering template is certainly worth trying out! If not, there are other, free methods for making guidelines. You can read about them in the How to Make Calligraphy Guidelines post and/or the How to Space Calligraphy on Envelopes post!
As I mentioned, Ofe sent me an extra template to give away! You can enter to win it using the Rafflecopter widget below. International entries are welcome: I’m glad to ship anywhere! The giveaway will end Wednesday, December 12th, at 11:00 AM MST. You’ll notice that most of the entries require social media. If you’re not on social media, feel free to enter using the “Comment on a Blog Post” option!
As always, thanks very much for reading TPK! I really appreciate that you’re here. If you have any questions or comments about this post, the envelope lettering template, or the giveaway, of course feel free to ask! It’s always a treat to hear from you!
Warmly,
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