Today, we will create lovely carnations that will never wilt. You can use any color of your choice. You can use a wedge paintbrush or a paintbrush with an angled edge. A wedge paintbrush is a must have in your collection of paintbrushes. I have some suggestions under "Watercolor" (Community) for where to get these brushes. They are often on sale so shop around!

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Supplies:

 Paintbrush:

 - Wedge brush or Triangle brush (ex: Beste or Silver Ruby) 

 - Round brush (size 6 or smaller)

 Paint:

 - Any color that you would like your carnations to be will work (pinks and greens)

 - Paint used in the video: Quinacridone Rose, Hansa Yellow, Serpentine Genuine and if you want to get a nice yellowish green, you can mix Sap Green with Hansa Yellow)

- Watercolor paper: Use what you have! It's the best way to get...

The acanthus leaf is an artistic motif going back as far as Ancient Greek architecture. Once you learn to recognize it, you will see it everywhere and start to understand how to approach creating your own. In this class you'll learn to create the Roman period acanthus style and we'll apply it to a stunning stationery suite design with drawing, painting and wax seals. 

Topics Covered

• History of the Acanthus Motif
• Anatomy of the stylized plant
• Drawing from simplified to complex
• Stationery suite design
• Acrylic paint embellishments
• Wax seal stamp tips

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Materials Needed

• Sketch paper 
• Pencil
• Fine liner
• Flexible tip black marker
• Ruler
• Vellum 
• Envelope
• Piece of cardstock 
• Acrylic or gouache gold paint
• Paint brush
• Wax seal, ribbon, or string if desired

Reference links: Wikipedia, Jstor, Tri.Shiba...

Calligraphy on envelopes! This is what drew me to calligraphy in the first place, and it is still my very favorite thing to do.

Topics Covered:

• Consistency in letter forms
• Using a Lightbox with your favorite guidelines
• Using a Phantom Liner
• Judging your spacing for centering
• Common addressing anxieties
• Flourishing to take up space/balance
• Knowing where to start on your envelope
• Suggestions for talking to clients about postage
• And other resources and tips spread throughout!

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Materials Needed: 

• Envelopes. I recommend Paper Source and Cards and Pockets for smooth quality envelopes. In the video, I am using Crane and Co’s Lettra which is slightly more challenging to write on, but has a lovely texture. It is 100% cotton. I found my box of Lettra envelopes on Amazon.  I recommend using light color envelopes for...

Got mail to send? Have you thought about decorating the front (and back) of that envelope? How many times have you seen a beautifully decorated envelope and thought to yourself, "That's gorgeous!" but stopped because it either looked too difficult or time consuming? Well, envelope art can be as simple as putting some creative lettering on the front or complex with intricate flourishes and designs. This class is about finding that middle ground with floral borders that you can easily create a handful at a time and have envelopes ready to address and mail!

Topics Covered

• Examples 
• Finding inspiration from what is inside the envelope
• How to decant watercolors from your pans to a palette
• A large loose floral element on one corner (front and back) and outlining it to make it pop
• Using a masking tape to create a border
• How to use a wedge brush and a round brush for each floral element
• How to create a floral border with just paint and another with outlines and a last one without...

Sending old fashioned letters through the mail is a beautiful way to use your calligraphy. It brings joy to the receiver, and is relatively inexpensive! It can be so much fun, but you can't necessarily just stick any stamp on any envelope... different ink requires different postage amounts as does different weights, sizes, and even lumpiness! Then what do you actually put into the letter? It may be easy to write a page (or four!) to your best friend, but what if you want to send mail to someone you don't know well (like in the KCA Snail Mail Database)? I have you covered in this class.

Topics Covered

• Postage- how much it costs to mail a letter and what costs extra
• What to put inside the envelope, especially if you don't know the recipient well
• Some formal etiquette do's and don'ts
• How to make an envelope liner

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Materials Needed

Snail...

Have you ever found yourself wondering what to say in a thank you note? Maybe you have wondered if you even need to write a thank you note. This class is going to teach you how to write a thank you note quickly and promptly with personality and charm. Allison will talk about getting set up to write thank you notes quickly and will even show you some of her favorite ways to flourish "Thank You" so you can make your own notecards. 

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Materials Needed:

 Homework Challenge

Want to see our students...