After this busy but wonderful holiday weekend, I know that you’ll really enjoy putting together this retro floral thank you card! It’s a relaxing, straightforward watercolor and illustration project, which makes it great for new artists who want to create something cool. As an added bonus, you can send it to the Santa (or Santas) in your life to show your appreciation for any gifts that you receive!
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There’s been a crispness in the air that can only mean one thing: Halloween is on its way! Every year, I make some sort of free printable to celebrate. This year brings this delightfully creepy Halloween mail art pair! You can download both of the envelope templates by clicking here, then return to this post to read about assembly.
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You may be asking yourself: “Why would I DIY holiday gift tags when I can write directly on the package?” Sure, DIY gift tags aren’t imperative, but just like any piece of artwork, they exist to cause a reaction. The reaction to a lovely handmade tag will undoubtedly be excitement and feeling special! In the case of food, they say that you feast with your eyes before you take a bite — and the same can be said for gifts. A beautiful presentation can enhance the experience and is a fantastic prelude to the discovering what is inside the wrapping paper!
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One of my very favorite things to illustrate is lace, and I use it on everything: envelopes, artwork for my house, gift tags — you get the idea. I love drawing lace because it always ends up looking amazing, and it can be created if you follow a few (okay, several) simple steps. Today, I’m demystifying this intricate-looking artistic subject by teaching you how to draw lace. If you think you can’t do it, I beg to differ! All you need to do is retrieve the writing instrument you most enjoy working with, and follow the steps outlined in this post. You will be very proud of the result!
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Over a century ago, the crow quill pen was developed as a tool for draftsmen and lithographers to achieve super-fine details. Quill pen nibs are tiny and strong, which means they easily produce whisper-thin lines. This feature is handy in many projects, but today I’m going to talk about three specific crow quill-friendly activities: writing a letter, sketching, and making an intricate line drawing. After you read the tutorials — and likely get excited about trying out a quill for yourself — you have an opportunity to enter to win an artisan-made crow quill pen from The Straight and Narrow! If you have any questions about the techniques or projects in this post, of course feel free to comment; otherwise, enjoy!
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The weather has been suspiciously nice lately in Colorado, which has me all exited for the summer {and the nice part of spring}. Because summer can never come fast enough for me, I have decided to surround myself with summery roses … of the illustrated sort. If you’re of a similar mindset, or if you just want to learn how to draw roses, then you’re reading the right blog post!
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There are few family heirlooms better than vintage photographs. Vintage photos have a hauntingly sweet beauty that deserves to be shown; yet, if you’re anything like me, some of your best vintage photos may be tucked away in a box somewhere. For today’s blog post, I resolved to develop a vintage photo project that would showcase old family photos and get them into the light of day. After giving the topic some serious thought, inspiration struck: embellished postcards!
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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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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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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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