(Closed) DIY handwriting addresses on envelopes help..

So Bee’s, my Fiance and I are handwritting addresses on envelopes. We both have extremely good hand writing. I know were going to take and first write everything in pencil to make sure spacing and such looks good. Do we then go over it with permanent maker? The envelopes are white and I’m scared it will bleed through. Which I’ve cut a piece of cardboard to go in between.

@cupcakebride2013: That sounds like a lot of work and honestly, I think trying to trace over the original writing may look unnatural and has the potential to look messy. I just made sure we had extra envelopes and wrote out names and addresses neatly, but as I would on any other occasion.

Do you have extra envelopes that you could test before ? It might bleed through with heavy permanent marker, but some other inks are more delicate (they’re pen instead of markers). If you’re really good at calligraphy, you could also use a ”feather pen” (sorry I don’t know what the word is in English).

The way I addressed my Save-The-Date Cards was I printed out all the names/addresses in a pretty font then put the piece of paper over the envelope and wrote with pencil REALLY hard so it made a sort-of indent on the envelope. Then I used a fine-tip Sharpie to write where the indents were. I thickened up the lines and stuff too.

It was doable because I only had about 100 to do. I was pretty short-tempered by the end of it, though.

If you want to use your own real handwriting, you could do the same thing: write HARD on lined paper on top of the envelope. You can just barely see the indentation lines – you have to hold it up under the right light at the right angle and so on, so I don’t think guests will notice and it’s better than having to erase pencil marks on every envelope.

@cupcakebride2013: What I did was print out everyone’s address in fancy font, the. I used a light box. I put the printed sheet under the envelopes and used the calligraphy directly on the envelope. Saves time from penciling them in first.

As for pens, I used a “Micron 05” Archival Ink pen in deep purple. I experimented with Sharpie pens as well, but in the long run, preferred the colour of this one.

I had about 100 invitations to address (and return address) and it took me about 30 hours. I did need to put paper between the envelope to ensure that the pen didn’t bleed. It actually worked out quite handy though because I ended up drawing lines on that piece of paper with a black sharpie and that helped me with spacing.

Can I make a suggestion, as a (completely amateur) calligrapher who also did her own envelopes?

For your own sanity, address an envelope to yourself and make it perfect. Put a dummy card–like a card you don’t care about just so it’ll have the weight and stiffness of normal mail. Put the stamp on. Now, send it through the mail.

When you get it back, observe how it looks. This is how it’s going to look when your guests receive it. And that’s BEFORE they glance at the front for .02 seconds to ascertain it is, in fact, for them, rip open the back, and toss the remnants on the floor of the birdcage for their canary to poop on.

And I say this as someone who spent a LOT of time and $$ on her invites because I’m that kind of person.

Okay, more advice along the lines you’re thinking:

1. Buy at least 20% overage of your envelopes. Some people can get by with 10% more, but I like at least 20 for peace of mind.

2. I don’t see the need for pencil before pen–it’s a lot of work and you’ll see the ghost of pencil underneath and you have to erase it and blah blah blah. Just use pen.

3. Cascading is easier than centering. Cascading is starting from the left, then indenting every line towards the right. It still looks special and formal and is much more forgiving.

4. Consider making a guidesheet that can be slipped into your envelope (if unlined) that just has the lines so you can follow the lines and make yours straight.

5. Use a pen that you feel confident using. Sounds weird, but there are pens that I like because their drag is good and the ink is clean and blah blah blah and pens that for some reason, the physics just aren’t working so well. Do a test run with different pens and one envelope (just write on it a bunch of times) and see how the pen reacts to the fibers. Some pens will do fine; others might feather; others might bleed through. You won’t know until you try it.

And really, most pens that bleed through are also going to feather, so if the pen requires you to insert a blotter, I’d just use a different pen that doesn’t go through if you can.