To Create Is To Touch The Spirit

A5 sized Motivational and Inspirational Greeting Card.

Only fellow artists will understand the meditative quality of creating something from scratch.

These cards would look stunning when mounted and framed.
Taken from original and printed in high quality on textured, Canaletto Card.
Each card comes with an envelope and is sent in a board backed envelope.

The quotation reads: To Create Is To Touch The Spirit This would make a great card for an artist or creative person

This card and others is for sale in my FOLKSYSHOP

What is a Mantragram?

You've probably never heard of a Mantragram before. It certainly is not in Wikipedia..... and that's probably because I invented the word! Quite some years ago now I was told about Weathergrams, which are:
poems of about ten words or less. They are written on narrow strips of kraft paper cut from used grocery store bags. They are hung on bushes or trees in gardens or along mountain trails. There are generally seasonal and are left out for three months or longer. The name means 'weather writing' -- notations by sun, wind, rain, and possibly ice. Written with the proper inks, the writing lasts. Let them weather and wither like old leaves. In composing one, let the meaning grow out of things, with some action involved if possible -- in a hear and now. The meaning is not all on the surface. The unexpected is essential. It is not a condensation, but a moment of vision.
Taken from this link here: http://www.mlhp.net/alum/weathergram.html

Then some time later our great calligraphy friend Fran Sloan died suddenly and we (calligraphers all over the world) decided to make weathergrams in her memory and the term: Frangrams were invented. We did Fran proud and we hung them in our gardens all over the world as her funeral was taking place.
I took the idea a stage further and thought that they would look wonderful with Inspirational and Motivational Quotes on them and perhaps even use them to celebrate the birth of a baby or even a marriage. They were made for longer lasing and more substantial materials and were very definitely made for inside the house.

So they are a cross between Mantras and Prayer Flags. Mantra being a sound of energy. Generally I make these to order but I do have a few stock Mantragrams for sale at the studio. Why not have a go at making a Weathergram yourself?

Cut Letters

From the time before I was even interested in Calligraphy, I have been interested in cut and etched letters, in fact the whole idea of learning lettering was to carve in stone and etch on glass. Somehow, the time taken to learn good letterform was grossly miscalculated and the resulting loss of my centre vision in 1997 then made it an impossibility.
Before loosing my sight however, I did a few pieces where I cut letters from card and mounted these on top of card again, resulting in a sort of relief effect. Again, loosing my sight would make the chances of me turning any future ideas into reality.....until my new toy arrived 2 days ago!

Using a computer programme, which incidentally is becoming a sharp learning curve and more than a little challenging, I can now sent my graphics to a cutter and cut out tiny letters or large ones.....no centre vision needed :o)

I've lots of ideas and they are coming thick and fast! At the moment I am at the playing stage and I know that I cannot rush the learning process, just as with calligraphy. There is no easy way to jump ahead.

These are just trial pieces and there will be more 'proper' work to come, of which I will share on the blog and may even add them to my shop.

I think they look superb and I am well pleased with the results so far.

I hope you like them too. :o)

Hand Made Birthday Card

I wanted to try something a little different than usual....

This is a 3 fold birthday card that I have just finished. The lettering is Foiled in the most gorgeous Hot Pink.

Closed the hearts attached to wires pop their heads above

And open they all stand in a row.

Materials Used: Canaletto, Foil, and wire

Hand Made Get Well Soon Card

Here's a concertina card made as a Get Well Soon Card.....
The calligraphy is in a pinks and gold
to match the inside

The outsides are covered in a soft, dusky pink Hahnemuhle

and gold lettering compliments the gold butterflies wonderfully

Materials Used: Gouache, Hahnemuhle, Canaletto,

3mm ribbon and card covers.

Concertina Cards are superb for special occasions

and are £7.50 each.

If you would like one made,

contact me at: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Hand Made Greeting Card - May All Your Dreams Come True

Designed as one of a series: Large greeting card, A5 size. 21cm x 14.9cm. Taken from original and printed in high quality on textured, Caneletto Card. Each card comes with an envelope and is sent in a board backed envelope. The quotation reads: May all your dreams come true. This card would be perfect as a Wedding Card, Good Luck card or any occasion where general good fortune is wished for. Available now in my Folksy Shop To see other items, feel free to visit my new Folksy Shop at http://www.folksy.com/shops/inspiredbyscript

It's been a Wedding theme all the way....

The studio has been busy. I've had a huge clear out of so much treasure (that's the creatives name for junk and excess) and given a lot away to good homes where I know it will be put to good use. It's amazing how much you can store and accumulated over 20 years. The main reason for clearing out is my intention to share the studio with Steve Smith Jewellery an amazingly talented Kiln Fired Glass Artist and Jewellery maker. You can see his blog here: http://www.stevesmithsjewellery.blogspot.com/ Meanwhile, I've been working on a few jobs...getting my new foiled Wedding Collection off the ground ready for adding to my North Yorkshire Weddings website I was also asked to do some Thank You Cards..... not for a Wedding, but a funeral this time.

And I have also completed a wedding order....for Amy and Ian with the theme of Ivy. After very little consultation she has to be one of the easiest brides I've ever worked for.

And finally, I was asked to do some ceramic egg cups which are both wedding favours and place cards. The eggs will be topped off with a Kinder Egg....I think the idea is wonderful and certainly one that I will use in the future.

I think they are stunning....what do you think? It's always nice to do something a little out of the ordinary and these are certainly a novel idea. Oh.... and they are dishwasher proof too... bonus :o)

Brides to be, don't forget to keep up to date at my Wedding Blog

Valentines Gift - The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The first time I read this poem, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck.... and they still do. The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer is probably the most moving pieces of writing U have ever read....

I am planning on doing this as a large piece. I want everyone to read it! The words speak volumes. ......

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living,
I want to know what you ache for,
I want to know, if you dare to dream,
of meeting your hearts longing.....

It doesn't interest me how old you are....

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love.

For your dream....

for the adventure of being alive....

I want to know

if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow,

If you have been opened by life's betrayals,

or have become shrivelled and closed

from fear of further pain.....

The book The Invitation is available on Amazon. If you haven't got a copy, I suggest you rush out and get one. It's a beautiful book to read.

I have read this poem to many people. Not everyone 'gets it', or understands it. In a nutshell, we all suffer trials and tragedy in our lives. How we deal with them and how we let them affect us long term is the operative thing.

Don't tell me the positive....tell me all your bad stuff and show me how you have triumphed over adversity and how you refuse to let the past, affect the future!

The single section book is 12 pages long. The lettering is a mixture of hand lettering and typeface, and printed in foil. a watercolour wash is painted over the gold and embellishments of little hearts is a common theme throughout the book.

It was a Valentines gift for someone who read and fully understood and appreciates the message.

The Wedding Fayre Fast Cometh,,,

I have a teaching day tomorrow with North East Scribes....then it's all hands on deck for the Wedding Fayre at Hambleton Forum, 2 weeks later on the 27th February.....

I've just had time to play with a few new designs for my Wedding Website using the foiling machine....... Below is a personalised fronted card, with a colour choice of card and ribbons and also foil colour if needed....

All cards are 15cm square

and come with a matching envelope.

cost of these will be around £3.

Brides are pushing away from the formal, traditional style in favour of something a little more contemporary. I aim to cater for both...

3 other designs are on their way to being created.

Wedding Website

It's been all hands on deck at the studio, and then on an evening working till the early hours, re-hashing my North Yorkshire Weddings Website, ready for the Wedding Fair on 26th February at Hambleton Forum in Northallerton. For more details of this event CLICK HERE

I'm teaching at North East Scribes in Darlington on Saturday. An all day affair with advanced calligraphers, it's going to be a great day.

And then it back to designing more Wedding Stationery....this time with my new foiling machine in mind. Definitely the best investment I've ever made and I've already got my first order! YAY!

Pop over and have a look at the new site....let me know what you think. Hopefully it's more user friendly and easier to navigate.

http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk

There's still a little way to go, but as everyone who has a website will tell you, a website is NEVER finished :o)

Moving forward.....

This has been a long time coming and something I have wanted to do for years. In order to take the business forward and get away from the staid, old fashioned way of thinking that calligraphy is just for certificates and a dying art, I have finally invested in a foiling machine.

I am mainly focusing on Wedding Stationery and I can see my wedding website http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk and my wedding blog http://northyorkshireweddings.blogspot.com getting quite a battering lol.
I have chosen a large variety of foil colours, mainly because the trend for 2011 is hot, tropical and vibrant and brides are finally turning away from traditional and in my opinion sometimes dated ideas and coming up with something new, fresh and contemporary.

Here are the 14 colours available....

Yesterday morning I spent with a paper rep, determined to get the quality of the paper right and not compromise on quality and cost. Your invitation sets the tone of the whole weddings and a beautiful card raises hopes and expectations of those attending.

The afternoon was spent experimenting with the various card.....some worked better than others. I have now narrowed it down to 2. I am sticking to 2 card colours white and off-white or ivory and the colour will be added with either foil or ribbon or both.

Here's a wedding invitation in gorgeous Peacock foil....stunning...

And if purple is your colour this violet is lush....

I am also planning on making personalised cards with
the foiling machine.......

All in all, I'm really excited about the future of Inspired by Script and looking forward to focusing on bespoke orders and commissions and working with clients on a more one to one basis and taking the stuffy 'Ye Olde Worldy' feel out of a traditional craft and into the contemporary 21st century world we live in.

4 Fold Concertina Type Cards

I played around with the Concertina concept of folding paper and card to make a stand up card. Taking an A4 sheet of paper and super imposing text on top of calligraphy came up with these. They fold into a 210mm x 70mm structure. The ribbons are glued and run between the cover and the inside of the card. Just a novel take on the traditional concertina.

Concertina Card - Get Well Soon

A concertina card....with a simple Get Well Soon wish....

This concertina card is for a girl in hospital...in hospital, seriously ill with pneumonia since before Christmas...

She has had one lung drained and was due to have a drain put in her other lung last Monday......

The struggle has been long and hard....for both her and her partner

'Wishing you butterfly mornings,

and wildflower afternoons'

Here's hoping that you recovery now comes swiftly.

We are all lighting candles for you Ceebee

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

There is probably no better time to commission work than for Valentines day. This quotations: Love is....the magical meeting of two souls is one of my most popular.....

The client who bought this also commissioned me to make another one too, and here it is......

Other favourites include the Apache Wedding Blessing, Kahlil Gibran on love and on Marriage....yes Valentines Day is on it's way.....and love is in the air! Just what we need after the January Blues....a little spark to ignite the passions of the unfolding year.

Of course you don't have to wait for a special occasion to commission work and we have lots of 'Off The Shelf' pieces at the studio.....so feel free to pop along and have a look. You will be most welcome

Hand Made Wedding Invitations

Because of the extremely bad weather we had towards the back end of the year, when the snow lay heavily on the ground and my pipes and toilet at the studio froze, it became almost impossible to work. My days were short and I did as much work as I could at home.

I was contacted by a Bride and Groom that saw me at the Wedding Fair held during the latter part of last year and we decided that it would be my first job back....
The invitations were a simple design and the Bride and groom were sure in what they wanted. After seeing the website dedicated to my Wedding Stationery they decided on Cream Hammered Card, Cream Inserts, black lettering and a Rust coloured ribbon....

The Evening Invited were half the size of the Wedding Invitations. I have more work to do for them closer to the time....the priority here is to get the invitations out.

To see more of my Wedding Stationery go to http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk I try to cater for all levels of budget, so hopefully there is something there for everyone....and usually they work out cheaper than shop bought stationery and they also have the added advantage of being made especially for you and can be tweaked a little so you get exactly what you want.

You may also like to see my other posts on Wedding Commissions by clicking this link:

Commissions - A Great Start To the New Year

It's been a great start to the new year. Usually at this time of the year it's pretty quiet while people recover from the festive season. I normally use this time of the year to work on projects to be released later on in the year....but this year has been quite different.

It started with a commission for a Baby Girls Birth Poster. These are prints which are personalised with the baby's name, fate of birth, weight and time of birth. Each one individual and unique. Along with the details the poster has a hand painted diamond pattern running through it.

For further details of how to order one of these, go to my contact link or see this post, The above post will also give you a full version of the text contained within this gift. I take payments by cheque, postal order or Paypal.

Quotation Site

There's no doubt about it...I love quotations and as such I am a keen collector and have books full of the. I often get asked where do I get them from and the answer is....from many many sources. However the internet has certainly made things a lot easier.

If you are looking for a special quotation

to suit a particular event or occasion,

go to The Quote Garden. It's full of inspiration.

You can go direct to the site by CLICKING HERE

Warning!

Go and grab yourself a coffee first....

you may be there some time :o)

Poetry Commission

Because of the sheer length of this poem and the constraints of the finished size brief, it was impossible to write the whole thing out in calligraphy not to mention the budget, I had to use calligraphy and typeface combined.

I gave the client the choice of two finishes.....both contemporary. The first was a painted border with gold strands running through it.....

The second had pastel squares tumbling through the words from the top to the bottom. It was no great surprise that this is the one the client chose as it was my favourite too......

The poem by Rudyard Kipling - The Thousandth Man, can be read here:

On the About.com page