The BE MINE Project.

Hello there! I have pictures today! And a new, streamlined blog-look. I needed to simplify.

My friend Charlotte, whom you may remember from a recent post, orchestrated a Valentine's Day crafty project she called "BE MINE." The idea was to get a name and address from Char, make a Valentine, and send it to them. There were no rules or restrictions or guidelines or suggestions as to what the Valentine could be, which kind of stressed me out at first, then forced me to get creative. I lay in bed the night before I made it with my mind whirling with ideas, most of which centered around breaking out the sewing machine I didn't know how to use. Thankfully, my mother-in-law was already planning to come over that next morning so I figured she could show me how to thread a dang bobbin. And she did! This is what evolved after that:

A little set of four notecards with the initials of my "Valentine" in gold, with some gold embellished corners and a gold swirl on the back of the envelope. Also a tiny pink zig-zag of thread to make it special. I left my sewing machine out for a good week thinking that now that I knew how to do some basic stuff, I would tackle all the sewing projects I had in my infinite list of Things I Want to Do Eventually.

The machine definitely sat there and collected dust for days and days.

Anyway, just wanted to share since I amazingly already uploaded the pics from my camera. Kid pics coming next, I promise.

P.S. How fun are wire words? Learned that neat trick from Emily.

{Big!} Announcement.

Well, I've taken the plunge and finally created a calligraphy-only business site. It's in a "serviceable" stage right now, which is good enough to start getting the word out. So that's why I'm telling all of you! If I could (shamelessly) ask you, would you all have a look at it, become a follower, and maybe plug it some? That part of the site is pretty sad right now, and it needs some help from all you wonderful people who actually still read this blog.

I'm thrilled to be taking this next small step in my business. (It's weird even calling it a business, but, you know, I've got to be professional now.) There's a blog element on the site, which will chronicle current projects; there's a page which features four styles that can be customized to one's unique taste (or just left alone, if that floats your boat); and there's a "shop" page that I'm really excited about. It will eventually showcase  stationery and art pieces that will be for sale. I'll keep you updated on the progress of that part of the site.

I hope you'll swing by the new "business" digs at thewrittenwords.com. I thank you in advance, sweet blog-friends!

Fun addresses, big envelopes.

Oversized envelopes make me happy. And when they have calligraphy addresses...well, that's not so bad either.

P.S. Excuse the horrific phone picture quality.

Current callig.

Samples, samples, samples.

One of these days I'm going to take the pictures with an actual camera and not my phone. Then maybe my pictures won't make my eyes cross. Sorry for the blurriness!

Feedback.

Working on a new project this week, and this is roughly the direction I'm going. Love your thoughts!

Something New for the Calligraphy File.

These are some I did for our dear friends that are getting hitched in March. We are so excited about that day! I'm an eternal wedding lover, on many levels.

And this is one from the calligraphy giveaway, like 14 years ago. Remember when I did that and then didn't post for...for-eeeever? Like a whole month? Yeah, so do I. And so does my mom. Shameful. I'm sorry about that.

Anyway:

I carried it around in my purse until I could remember to take a picture of it. That's why it looks like it fell out of a plane, got run over by a steamroller, and then crushed by a two-year-old in the throes of a destructive tantrum. I'm sorry about that, too. It should be noted that this was just an extra that I wanted to keep for myself; this was not sent to an actual person, who I'm sure would be completely offended by it's neglected state. I would.

Two days, two posts! Just like a real blogger.

The Winner.

Congratulations, Rebecca! You will go down in history as the winner of the Very First Ever DoxologyMine Giveaway. A prestigious title. Or not. But anyway, hurray for you! E-mail me to claim your lucrative prize.

I would also like to take this opportunity to note the following:

1. My super random and-the-two-year-old-picks-the-winner-from-a-hat method. Foolproof!

B. My envy-inducing photoshop (or...ok...Paint) editing skills.

Thirdly--and most importantly--Erica, Stephanie, Charlotte, and Emily for giving me blog shout-outs! I almost cried. Thank you!

And a BIG P.S. The first person to name the play-made-movie where a hilarious, slightly "off" character lists things similarly to the above fashion, I will copy today's prize and do your Christmas invitations or whatever you want too! Hint: It's one of my favorites.

And a happy holiday to all who enter...

...my giveaway! And here's an amendment to the contest: if you win, I will calligraphy whatever you want! So if you, like many of my friends, are not sending Christmas cards this year, be creative and think of something else. A verse for your wall? Birthday party invitations? We'll work it out.

Some examples for your perusal:

And this:

And this:

So. To recap.

What? FREE calligraphy services for your Christmas cards (up to 75ish envelopes) or...we'll come up with something that's equitable.

How? Simply leave a comment. And feel free to advertise for me on your own blog. We'll be BFF!

Deadline: Tomorrow night (Thursday, November 19) at 11:59 p.m. Or a little after. Whatever.

I'll announce the winner before the weekend.

Happy first DoxologyMine giveaway-ing!

Giveaway?

How does everyone feel about a calligraphy giveaway? Like me addressing all your Christmas cards?

I was trying to think of a way to catalyst my business somewhat, hence this shameless plug of a freebie. Help a sistah out.

Consider this my feeler post. Whether I do or whether I don't will be directly related to the feedback I receive. If you don't care, then don't comment, but if you don't comment then I will be forced to think that no one loves me and I'll assume the fetal position indefinitely. It's on you.

Just kidding. Sort of. Let's see what you guys think! OK go!