Postage Stamps and Envelope Art

Hi! Shopping for postage stamps from the United States Postal Service is one of my favorite things to do. I love that a little stamp can support a cause like animal advocacy, cure for disease, or simply to add joy to an envelope. 

Today, let me show you a set of cute postage stamps and the envelope art that was inspired by them.

 

Do you recognize the art on these postage stamps?

They come from the pages of the beloved children's book Good Night Moon written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. 

Each little stamp shows images from the great green room: the cow jumping over the moon, kittens and mittens, a little toy house and a young mouse, a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush, a quiet old lady who whispering "hush."

Looking at the vibrant colors and listening to the rhymes prompted me to turn a plain envelope from blah to TADA!

This started as a white letter envelope. Add the iconic green and yellow stripes, the yellow frame, and the red balloon using watercolor.

Write the return address on the balloon and the name and address of the recipient (blocked out for privacy) inside the frame, and add a postage stamp...TADA!

Here is another version using kraft envelopes, handmade using a brown paper bag, and a template. 

Sketching and painting with watercolor.

This is the back...TADA!

This is the front...TADA!

And here they are addressed (I covered the addressed for privacy) and affixed with Good Night Moon postage stamps...TADA!

And that is how I turned plain envelopes from blah to TADA!

*****

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Sketchbook Practice: Impressionist-Style Painting

One of things I like to do in the summer is to take a class. Growing up, summer was always an opportunity to learn something new: dance, art, baking. I was never a sporty girl and I leaned into artistic pursuits that I've taken with me as I got older.

Summer in New York City overflows with outdoor activities. One of them is the DUMBO Drink and Draw that takes place in Brooklyn. 

There is an archway right under the Manhattan Bridge where fun things happen like concerts, a flea market, and art classes taught by Creatively Wild Art Studio. Register on their website, pay a reasonable fee (or bring your own materials like I did), and just show up.  

On this particular day, Tyler Scott taught us how to make an Impressionist Landscape painting. 

An example of an Impressionist painting is Claude Monet's "Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies." Other Impressionists include Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro.

Impressionism was an art movement that originated in France in the 1860-70s. It attempts to capture the subjective impression of a scene instead of a realistic portrayal. Less detail, an emphasis on light and color, and visible brushstrokes bring a softness and dreaminess to the final work.

Here's what our outdoor classroom looks like. You'll hear the rumble of the trains above and feel the breeze from the East River. There's also a booth to purchase drinks. 

Our teacher did a live demonstration on this canvas while giving us a few guidelines:

Step 1: Start with a loose sketch, capture the scene, not the detail.

Step 2: Build your palette by choosing 3-5 major colors for your scene (sky, ground, tree, shadows, highlights) and explore warm and cool balance.

Step 3:  Apply the first paint layer starting from the background (ex. sky, mountains) and moving to the front. Use bold, unblended strokes, and visible brushwork (ex. dabs, dashes, or using different brush sizes). 

Step 4: Create depth, definition, and movement by layering brighter highlights or deeper shadows over your base color. 

 

Here is a photo of my work in progress showing the base layer. 

Here's what it looks like now with new layers added...TADA!  

I've been practicing the technique using gouache in my sketchbook. The flowers in my neighborhood worked well as my subject...TADA! 

Inspired by Claude Monet's water lily paintings,  I also made a few postcards on blank watercolor cards...TADA!

Because I'm more of a watercolorist (I usually start with light layers and gentle strokes), I took me some time to adjust to gouache and acrylic paint's stronger hand and bolder colors--there's always something new to learn!

And that is how I turned a blank page from blah to TADA!

*****

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Three Thoughts for August

Hello and welcome August!

This is one of the hottest months and it's also a pretty slow month (low productivity). Our minds and bodies are on vacation and we deserve to slow down, right?

Today, it's all about cute things: 

1. A Little Collection of Art Prints

There's a Mini Print Vending Machine that gives you a tiny art print in exchange for four quarters. I've found two of these vending machines, one in Manhattan (that gave me the tomato print) and another one in Philadelphia (that gave me the spritz print.) Aren't they adorable? It's a unique and compact souvenir and the thrill of the hunt/surprise element only add to the fun! It's the creation of Ana Inciardi and you can find them across the U.S.A. I can't wait to grow this collection in put them in little frames...TADA!

2. New York City's Duck Library

I'm a big fan of The Little Free Library (where I can leave a book and take a book, even donate some handmade bookmarks...TADA!). Look what I found:  

It's a Duck Library! It's located in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood (West 23rd between 9th and 10th Avenues). 

Instructions are simple: give a duck, take a duck. Adults and kids love them! You can read more about the Duck Library here. 

3. Rubber Ducky Race 

And speaking of rubber ducks, there is a rubber ducky race on the Chicago River called The Chicago Duck Derby every August.

The race raises funds for the Special Olympics Illinois. You simply have to adopt a duck and you even get a chance to win some prizes. If you can't be in Chicago, you can still participate with an on-line entry or make a donation.

A ceremonial "splashdown" happens where thousands of these rubber ducks are launched into the Chicago River. See that yellow section? Those are all rubber ducks...TADA!

Here's a closer picture. The ducks are wearing sunglasses! 😍 I love the rebel stragglers, too. 

After the race, the ducks are rescued so they can be used again next year.

May your August brim with very cute things!

Stationery Made from Junk Mail, Revisted

Last month, I made some stationery out of junk mail:

It looks like a matching set with a bird theme. I used paint, collage, and washi tape to turn junk mail from blah to TADA! 

This envelope used to be a credit card mailer that I painted and decorated with collage. 

This greeting card/folder was an election flyer before the transformation that involved paint, collage, and washi tape.

When we open the folder (upper part of photo), there are pockets on each side...TADA!

Why don't we make a few items we can tuck inside the pockets?

Handmade bookmarks (or gift tags) and stickers are what I had in mind. Here's how I made them:

I made some plain tags by using an existing gift tag as a template that I then traced on white cardstock. I cut them with a pair of scissors and made a hole on the upper part of the tag with a hole punch.   

For the stickers, I used plain sticker paper. I used a paper punch to make these circles, but tracing a round object on the paper and cutting them with scissors should work as well. 

Since we have a bird theme going on, I'm using these cling stamps, an acrylic block, and an ink pad to decorate the tags and stickers. 

I randomly stamped the image on the stickers and bookmarks. I glued on some collage (paper from an old book) on the bookmarks for added visual interest. 

Same process, different bird...TADA!

I added some thin black ribbon through the holes of the bookmarks. 

Then I neatly tucked in the bookmarks and stickers inside the pockets of the folder. It reminds me of stationery sets that you can buy at a store!

By adding a handwritten card and personalizing the envelope, this little package is on its way to brighten someone's day.  

And that is how I turned junk mail, plain cardstock, and sticker paper from blah to TADA!

*****

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Origami Dolls and Angels

I'm pleased to see you today!

Last week, I showed you how to make these origami dolls:

They are made from gift wrap tissue and cardboard following this origami doll tutorial. I used a black Sharpie to draw the face and white glue to keep the folds from unravelling and to attach the accessories (ex. belt, heart).  

Today, I'm going to show you some clever uses for these origami dolls.

By adding the origami doll to a gift bag, the package transforms from blah to TADA!

The origami doll is glued on to a wooden clothespin. 

It easily clips on, looks very adorable, and can be used over and over again...TADA!

Following the same process, I used a combination of gift wrap tissue and construction paper to make these purple-hued origami dolls.

I turned them into angels by gluing on some wings also made from construction paper...TADA! 

I made a care package for a longtime friend and I just had to include an origami angel. You can see her instantly from inside the clear envelope. 

Here are some items I put inside the care package: a handmade bookmark, a handwritten card, a sheet of stickers, and the origami angel. 

It was my intention to send my friend a guardian angel.

I added this prayer of protection at the back of the origami angel. I hope my friend will be safe wherever she goes. 

These origami angels can also be enclosed in fun snail mail or customer orders if you own an on-line shop.

Thoughtful touches like these can turn packages from blah to TADA!

*****

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