It’s Week 2 and Day 8 of the 2018 #sendcardsspreadlove challenge! The week 2 challenge starts today & we have fabulous guest posts beginning today with Amanda Sue Howell with a tutorial on hand lettering envelopes below.

Then on Wednesday Jill DeLuce joins us with a post on letterpress printing & on Friday, we have a BONUS challenge & Naomi Hattaway shares how empathy muscles are strengthened through letter writing.

How To Participate In The Challenge

For those of you just joining us: welcome to the party! I’m asking you to send 4 cards out into the world this month, based on the 4 weekly prompts provided, plus a few bonus challenges. Totally do-able, right?

The intention with this challenge is for you to connect with the ones you love in a fun way, while bringing back the joy and beauty of real communication…that still fits into your fast-paced lifestyle. Sign up to receive all the info and special bonus content that won’t be shared on the blog and don’t forget to join us in the Facebook Group.

I also want to say that I have absolutely loved seeing your posts on Instagram and in the Facebook group. The creativity and enthusiasm you all have to send cards has blown me away. I want to share several of the week 1 challenge entries. You still have until 11:59 pm EST TODAY to enter. To be eligible to win your choice of either the exclusive 2018 Challenge Collection or The Who We Are Collection (each comes with a 48 page downloadable pdf The Together Journal!) you must:

• share your week 1 challenge card and/or note on Instagram (or in the Facebook group)
• tag @prettybypost and
• use the #sendcardsspreadlove hashtag.

Here are some of the wonderful Facebook Group week 1 entries.

Here’s a brief recap of Week 1:

• Week 1 challenge instructions & prompts graphic [Day 1]
• BIG LIST of reasons to send cards [Day 1]
• Resources on what to write [Day 3]
• Guest post from Alexandra Franzen on the urgency of letting someone you know how much they mean to you [Day 5]

Day 8 Of The 2018 #sendcardsspreadlove Challenge

Week 2 Challenge: Thank You

The challenge this week is to send a thank you card.

It can be a quick note of gratitude for a gift, someone’s friendship, advice you received, a specific event you attended, etc. If you need tips on crafting the perfect thank you, we’ve got you covered in the Day 3 post, or check out this blog post on how to craft the perfect thank you note.

The prize is a collection of thank you cards! In order to be eligible to win share your card and/or note with the week 2 challenge & tag me on IG @prettybypost or in the FB group along with the #sendcardsspreadlove hashtag by April 16 at midnight EST.

And now to today’s guest post!

Amanda Sue Howell is a…powerhouse. Seriously. She’s a mother, former Air Force Veteran, virtual assistant, mentor & strategist for visionary creatives AND author, paper-crafter & hand letterer extraordinaire. In today’s blog, Amanda Sue gives us 3 different tutorials for hand lettering your envelopes. MAKE SURE you also check out her FREE lettering class on Skillshare!

3 Ways to Hand letter Your Envelopes

If you’re anything like me, you’re a complete and total paper junkie. You have more notebooks than freckles, and a pen in every nook and cranny so you always have one (but yet, they always vanish… dang gremlins!).

And not just any pens either… you’ve got gel pens, fountain pens, erasable pens… and every ink color under the sun. Your eye is drawn to beautiful handwriting, calligraphy, and vintage letters.

Which means, you’ve probably noticed that hand-lettering is super hot. And you might have thought about handlettering your envelopes to lend a certain magic to your letters… and I’m here to help you make that happen.

The good news is, that no special spells are needed, and even a Muggle can perform this magic. I’m going to walk you through three different styles, so that even if you don’t have a brush marker, you can still try this out. Sound good? Let’s get started!

Style #1. Brush Pen on a Light Envelope

Okay, so your standard envelope is white, which means it’s a blank canvas… you can use just about any color on them, except for the very lightest shades.

Step 1. Using a ruler, make some light pencil lines so you can keep your address pretty straight.

Quick tip: If you don’t have a ruler on hand (like I didn’t) color one side of a sheet of notebook paper with pencil (lay it down pretty thick with the side of the lead), then flip it over so the graphite is touching the envelope. Make sure the bottom edge of the paper is lined up with the bottom edge of the envelope. Then using a pen, pencil, or anything else pointed, draw a line across the blank side, every 2 lines. It’ll transfer the graphite to the envelope, and it’ll be evenly spaced out.

Step 2. Using your brush marker, begin lettering your address. When you use a brush marker, you go light on the upstrokes, and pull the marker down hard for the downstrokes. Take this slowly, there’s no rush. Try it a few times on a practice sheet first… find the speed that allows you to maintain control, but isn’t so slow that it’s jittery looking. And don’t expect it to be perfect! Those imperfections are normal, and they’re part of the charm.

Step 3. After your lettering has dried, carefully erase your pencil lines. My favorite eraser is a Black Pearl from Paper Mate, because it makes less eraser dust than the pink ones do, but any eraser will work just fine.

Style #2. White Gel Pen on a Dark Envelope

Now we’ve got the polar opposite… a dark envelope. This one is navy blue, but there are envelopes in black, forest green, burgundy… any number of darker shades. And a dark pen just won’t show on these, but it’s a great time to break out a white gel pen (or any number of pale shades… a silver one would be hot too!)

Step 1. You won’t really be able to do the pencil lines on this envelope, so you’ll just have to wing it. Maybe do a test run on a scrap of paper and get your spacing right. So for this first step, you’re just gonna have to dive in. I thought about showing faux-ligraphy, but honestly the white is so striking already, that the monoline is gorgeous as is.

Quick tip: For this envelope I used the white Uni-Ball from Signo.

Step 2. Once you’ve written the address, add some decorative elements using that same white gel pen. For my example, I did a mustache, since that’s what Hercule Poirot is known for, but flowers, leaves, and vines are all great ideas too.

Quick example: A burgundy envelope with white line drawn poinsettias at Christmas time.

Style #3. Black Drawing Pen + White Gel Pen on a Kraft Paper Envelope

This style would work fine on any medium shade envelope, but I’m very fond of kraft paper envelopes.

Step 1. Do the pencil lines like Step 1 of Style #1.

Step 2. Write the addressee’s name in capital letters with the black pen. (I used a Micron Pen, but any black pen would work just as well.) Then, go through and match the left hand lines just a little bit over. (Look at the example photo to see what I mean.) Make sure you match the shapes exactly… if the farthest line is a straight line, your secondary line should be straight too. If it’s curved, follow suit.

Step 3. Write the rest of the address as normal (capitalizing where appropriate), and then add the secondary lines just as in step 2.

Step 4. Taking your white gel pen, add a quick line in between the 2 black lines (see photo for example). Make it as thick or thin as you like, but stay (mostly) in the lines. As you can see, some of my white went over the lines, and some of it is well within the lines… again this is all part of the charm of hand lettering.

Step 5. After the ink has dried, gently erase your pencil lines.

That’s it! You’ve done it! In less time than it takes you to decide what Netflix / TV series you’re binging next, you’ve learned 3 new ways to hand letter your envelopes! Which one is your absolute favorite?

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Author Bio

Amanda Sue Howell is a watercolor & hand lettering artist in Richmond, Virginia. Her joy comes in combining geekery, pop culture, and a passion  for exploring new mediums. When she’s not doodling or painting, you can find her feeding her Netflix and Brit TV addictions. Check out her website, follow her on Instagram, and check out her FREE lettering class on Skillshare!

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