The Graceful Envelope Contest

This contest is a competition for calligraphers and artist to see who can create the prettiest envelope.  It is sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and The Washington Calligraphers Guild.  There are different categories according to grade for children and an adult competition.

I think that this would be a great contest for an art class or home schooled students.  No prizes are rewarded, but the winners do receive a certificate.

To see the decorated envelopes from 2012 or to get information on the 2013 contest go to the Washington Calligraphers Guild website.

I love to see art work anywhere I can and these envelopes are truly art gallery worthy.

God bless,
Pam

Decorate With Vintage Seed Pack Images

With my mother in a rehabilitation facility, I struggled with how I could decorate her room.  I keep fresh flowers on the dresser, but we are not allowed to use nails to hang pictures.  The Contact temporary hangers are good for framed pictures, but I wanted some decorative art on the walls that I can change according to the seasons.

While toodling about on the internet I decided to look for vintage Easter card images.  Low and behold, there were quite a few open stock images available.  A rule of thumb is that if you can print the image by itself without any accompanying text or web page detail it is more than likely open stock.  If it is on someones personal web page assume that it is a privately held image.

I printed the images on card stock from my HP printer and they turned out very well.  I cut them out and needed to find a way to put them on the walls without framing them.  School teachers know about blue tack (sp?) temporary adhesive.  It is a putty that you soften in your hands, then pull off small pieces to stick on the back of a picture.  You press the picture with the blue tack onto the wall and it sticks up quite firmly.  To remove just pull the picture off and roll the blue tack off with your fingers.

Easter is over, so I decided to change Mom's decorations to vintage seed packet images.  I just googled "vintage seed packet images".  Vintage seed packets are quite beautiful.  You can find bright, vibrant colors and soft pastels.  They are all works of art as they were hand painted/drawn by artists, not photographed as they are today.

Bright and Cheerful

This would be a great way to get your children involved in decorating their rooms.  They could find, print, cut out and hang the art to their hearts content.  The only drawback is the cost of color printer ink, but I have noticed that the newer printers use ink cartridges that are less expensive.

Peaceful Pastel

Or you could decorate with framed images in a room that has an environment that is harmful to standard art, such as a humid bathroom or hot kitchen.  Some people use vintage images printed on regular paper for decoupage.  Please do make sure that they are open stock images.

Have fun enjoying the everyday art of our grandparents.

God bless,
Pam