THANK YOU THURSDAY calligraphy cards

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My art director, Susan Birnbaum, DesignDesign Inc., has started a movement for being thankful! She calls it, “Thank You THURSDAY” It’s a day every week, to specifically remember family and friends who have expressed kindness to you in any way with a handwritten greeting card. Personally, I place greeting cards at my kitchen table, with lovely complimentary stamps, so I’m ready to write!

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The butterfly card, is published by DesignDesign. The variegated letters are formed by dropping watercolor into the wet letters, a technique that I’ll be demonstrating at the IAMPETH conference in Indianapolis, Thursday, August 7th – Round Robin evening event. You can use any number of papers but Lanaquarelle or Arches Cold Press watercolor paper work very well. I typically use Winsor Newton or M. Graham watercolor and love the vibrant results!

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Below are several greeting cards that I’ve designed for DaySpring. All in black and white until their printers stamped foil on the colorful backgrounds.

TY35754.72The greeting cards can be purchased in my SHOP under the Card category.

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Calligraphy Cruise Alaska 2014 – A good time was had by all!

This June 21-28, 2014 we took our calligraphy pens and brushes onto Holland America’s msWesterdam and journeyed to Alaska’s inner passageway. What a treat to enjoy our artistic endeavors in the lap of luxury! Holly taught Flourished Italic while Gary Lord taught Decorative Painting on Glass. Students combined the two skills in their final projects. Come take a peek – I’ll share a few pictures with you! Get on my email list if you would like to join me on a future cruise adventure!

Marilyn Dietrich, Maria Medeles and Holly Monroe about to board msWesterdam

Marilyn Dietrich, Maria Medeles and Holly Monroe about to board msWesterdam

CruiseTitleLogoNODATEThursday, before our Saturday sail away, we met at a downtown Seattle hotel and enjoyed some time getting to know each other. There were 22 total in our group this year! Friends, Debbie and Ray Story (top right in photo) surprised me at the hotel, I had no idea they were coming. All the way from Tennessee! Others were from CO, OH, IN, TX, and CA.

Gathering at hotel in Seattle

Gathering at hotel in Seattle

Thursday evening, we ate at The Purple, Seattle. Friday, many went on the 3 hour tour of the city, while others went off on their own.

Waterfall park  in downtown Seattle. Peggy Whalen (travel agent), Holly Monroe (instructor), Maria Medeles, Debbie Story)

Waterfall park in downtown Seattle. Peggy Whalen (travel agent), Holly Monroe (instructor), Maria Medeles, Debbie Story

Chihuly's Glass and Gardens

Chihuly’s Glass and Gardens

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Friday evening, we gathered at Salty’s and enjoyed the view of the harbor and mountains.

Browns, Judys and Marianne Lord at Salty's

Browns, Judys and Marianne Lord at Salty’s

Ray Story enjoying a lobster at Salty’s, Seattle

Holly at Pike Street Market

Holly at Pike Street Market….original Starbucks after a power walk through town.

Saturday morning, we boarded the ship for our week long adventure!

Flowers on msWesterdam

Flowers on msWesterdam

Our calligraphy/decorative painting class was a serious 20 hour focus. Weather this week was a little cloudy and chilly, was a perfect excuse to be creative! The classroom, lined with windows allowed us to view the Alaskan landscapes as we worked.  Here is Gary Lord showing Marilyn a painting technique.

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One half of the classroom! The windows in the room gave us a perfect view of the scenery.DSCN2132Holland America provided us a beautiful classroom for the week. All of our supplies could be left there nightly. Daily, they provided us with coffee, tea and cookies. There was a Chocolate Beverage bar out the back door! Those of us who signed up early for the cruise had a $50 per day credit for beverages of any type! We were well hydrated!
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As promised, everyone was able to enjoy all of the towns and excursions as the ship docked. Our first town was Juneau, Alaska where many went whale watching and hiked to  the Mendenhall Glacier.

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Totem Pole trail in Sitka

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Here we are on the ship’s deck checking out Glacier Bay….

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This was out of the Lido window as we overlooked the Ketchikan skyline. Can you see the sea plane landing? Such a beautiful sunny day….

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And then there was an evening in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Took a water taxi over to the main part of town! Such fun….

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So many amenities on the ship…from fine dining every evening

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…to formal nights and amazing entertainment….from Dancing with the Stars, music (Recycled Percussion) and comedy

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I have so many pictures, it was hard to decide which to share. Ask me to see others!  I’ll close with our fabulous group of travelers on a formal night. (Missing are Abbey and Wayne Hutchison – they did not jump ship! 🙂

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The Patrigraphica Project – Recreating the Founding Docs of the USA


ConstitutionWeThePeopleHVMSmFive years ago, I began working with client Ryan Thelen, a Cincinnati school teacher fromDater High School, who values the Founding Docs of this great country of ours. He wanted his students to see a life sized copy on parchment, so that it had more impact on them, but after a thorough internet search, he found nothing! Unbelievable! All that’s left of them are faded copies in a dimly lit room at National Archives.


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Ryan and I put our heads together, experimenting with techniques to get the most accurate reproductions of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and finally, the Declaration of Independence. He explains some of this on his website www.Patrigraphica.com (when I have a little more time, I will add to this post more detail as to how we did it.) Now, citizens can purchase life-sized copies of our Founding Docs on genuine parchment (calfskin) from his website. Monticello also sells the Declaration.

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In the meantime, after all of our efforts, we were interviewed in NYC on Fox & Friends, July 3, 2014. Originally, all three of us were to be interviewed about our part….Holly the calligrapher, Jesse Meyer (www.Pergamena.com) the tanner or parchment maker and Ryan. In the end, we appeared at the end of the program, with Ryan as our wonderful spokesman.

Above is a picture on the Curvy Couch at Fox & Friends, Fox News studio, NYC.

Below is a link to our interview…..http://video.foxnews.com/v/3656931244001/teacher-brings-historic-us-documents-to-life/?playlist_id=930909787001#sp=show-clips