Calligraphy Envelopes

I decided to try my hand at adding calligraphy to the envelopes of our Christmas cards.  It was an effort that allowed me to practice envelope design as well as get the word out there that I love calligraphy. I knew going into this that it was going to be a HUGE project they wouldn't be perfect, I mean I had never addressed cards in calligraphy before and had no idea what I was doing, but will say I am one step closer to being a little more comfortable with the whole process.

I decided to just accent our friend's and family's last name and write in the rest of the address by hand.  I found that there is a certain type of nib that I preferred (Nikko G) and found there is a huge difference in quality of paper envelopes and ink that flows and works best for my project (I preferred Windsor and Newton Ink over Higgins).

For reference, I sent out 80 envelopes and had about a 50% rate of success... meaning that I had about 40 or so envelopes that didn't turn out.  I found in the beginning I was writing the last names starting with 'A' or 'B' quite a few times (like 6 or 7 times over).   I did get much more confident and comfortable towards the end of the alphabet and didn't need to rewrite them almost ever.  I do know that I need more practice with keeping an even flow and perfecting my up and down strokes (it takes lots of patience and is almost like learning how to write again), but I am happy that I took on this project and look forward to more like it!

What do you think of them?? If you are interested in some calligraphy for your event please contact me either through my etsy shop or via email. Thanks!