Just curious about what other people prefer as I drool over the Crane's webpage. I'd love to know specifics, if you'd like to give details.

There is also letterpress printing which indents the letters into the page rather than
raising them up as engaved and thermographed do. Very nice vintage look!
At Crane's, your letterpress set up is maintained for a finite period.
After that period, if you want more printed stationery, you have to pay again
for the set up. So I would probably use letterpress for rare occasions like
birth announcements and wedding announcements rather than personal
stationery that you would re-order often. On the other hand, it is so
cool looking, I could be tempted to make a large order of personal letter press
stationery! :doh:

Just give me a blank page.

Yes, Mike, I like a blank page, too. I'm as addicted to rubber stamps as I am to fountain pens. A few Christmases ago, one of my daughters ordered a rubber stamp for me from Victorian Papers. It is my name written in a beautiful Spencerian hand. This stamp - heat embossed with embossing powder in a color that compliments the stationery - makes a nice letter head. And I can put this on any of the stationery I already have.

Judybug

Cool Judybug, sounds like you can change the color whenever you want as well!

Wow jeen. I'm impressed! I always thought letter press and engraving were the same thing.

I love the idea of engraving--if I could afford it, I would do letter sheets with my name engraved. If you all start getting snails from me on Smythson engraved, you'll know that I found a *really* good job.

I can't warm up to correspondence cards. I wish I could. I think I'm just too inclined to blather on and on and on. (Not that anyone here knows what I mean by that.)

I voted blank, 'cause I draw and flourish all over my letters.

It would be the neatest thing if one could have his or her own monogram or symbol watermarked in the papers-- Now that would be personalized!

They have watermark stamp pads, which leave the a faintly transparent imprint on the paper. Not the same as a REAL watermark though...

Who are they, and where can I get some??

An example of letterpress
It leaves quite an impression.
Oooh sorry about that!

You can probably get them at any store that sells rubber stamping stuff. Around here we have Michaels & PatCatans. I believe the brand name is "Versamark."

I draw & flourish all over my letters and writing too.

I have a personalized, hand held embosser that's nice to use on correspondence.

The watermark stamp is made by Versamark, and comes in a black plastic box. Got mine at Joanne's a few weeks ago, but I'll bet Michael's has them too. No Michael's here in Chicago though...

jbb - where did you get the embosser? I've been looking for one, but they're so expensive! But that doesn't stop me from wanting one!

For me I guess it is other. Many years ago I figured out how to get Crane to print half sheets with a frame, something that they have removed from their catalog, and I used about 200 sheets of that. Of course, this was also Newport Blue paper which they discontinued as well. Beyond that I am happy to just do something myself on the top of the page or leave it blank. I always worry that I'd get stuck with a large amount of wrong address paper if I moved. So I have several 2 and 3 initial seals that I use as well as playing on the computer to print some header stuff.

As well the price that Crane charges to print is a little more than I can justify


K

Kurt,
I agree with both these statements. I don't think I'll be moving anytime soon, but I worry about buying a lot of stationery and just getting tired of it. And - let's face it - you just about have to buy a LOT of personalized stationery because the cost per page is really up there if you only order the minimum.
So, like you, I opt for doing my own thing with rubber stamp art or computer.

Judybug

I'd love to find stationery
like this with matching envelopes like this by Vera Wang

I haven't come accross any purple hand bordered non-monogrammed stationery with matching envelopes in the style that Vera Wang produces, though. Envelopes like that are reminiscent of victorian mourning stationery, except that was all bordered in black.

Vera Wang only makes the "note cards" (and who, really, has that little to say for 39 cents postage?) and places that produce hand bordered stationery don't make envelopes in that style.

So, for the moment, cream colored or white stationery is my friend. I just got some plain Clairfontaine from John Neal Booksellers . They also have paperback copies of a great book on Spencerian script, An Elegant Hand

Sorry to blather on so. You see why I can't use the "notecards"

Ringtop

Ringtop,

Have you thought of making your own envelopes? This purple-edged stationery would be pretty with a purple or lavender envelope. It's pretty easy to make your own envelope pattern - there are so many beautiful scrapbooking papers that make beautiful and unique envelopes. Of course, when you're pressed for time, it's nice to have ready-made envelopes.

Judybug

I agree correspondence cards are too small for a letter, but I find a lot of uses for
them - a note to to say how much i'm looking forward to meeting you, words
of thanks, congratulations or condolence, something to accompany photographs and
clippings, a book, movie or restaurant recommendation, an annoucement -
anything that would look too short for a letter sheet.

P.S. Sometimes I find shorter notes more memorable than longer ones.

Judy, I have thought of making my own envelopes, so I could border them before folding and gluing them. I'm not too crafty, though. I'd need to figure out how to apply the borders to the letter sheets as well as the unfolded envelope. Purple waterproof ink and a paint brush? Or just a purple sharpie?

Oh, Crane's, why won't you just make this for me?

Ringtop

Ringtop,
Give Crane's a call. They can probably do what you wish.

Here's another example of letter press that I found among my letters -

Not sure of the font - something Gothic I think. It's printed in Crane's Expresso
on Cambridge blue 32lb, 100% cotton, kid finish letter sheet.
In the corner you see the envelope in matchng Expresso.

Do you have a printer? I think the paper borders should be really easy to make with a printer.

There are plastic envelope templates and template liner here are links


http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/...?cm_id=3130.010


http://www.greensneakers.com/ENVELOPETEMPLATES/ (envelope only)


Below are online templates


this one is for a 4.5 x 6 envelope

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/holidaysfal...t/xmascards.htm


a whole page dedicated to envelope templates (full of links)

http://desktoppub.about.com/od/envelopes/

Hmm, can't access the link to the Vera Wang envelopes, but I'm sure they're very expensive. I'm in a wedding next week, and my Vera Wang bridesmaid dress cost me $400! And it makes me look like a linebacker!

I just bought the Paper Source envelope templates today, but I haven't give them a try yet. There's a link on their website under "Video" where they explain how to use the templates, as well as all sorts of other good stuff!

I just took their 7 hour bookbinding class today, and it was so much fun! I wish I could afford more classes...

Ana,
I've received very interesting. handmade envelopes.
Some ideas for envelope material:
Pages from world atlases (used bookshops might sell out of date ones for little) - great for travel theme.
Maps, including topo maps
Deocrative calendars
Human anatomy atlases
Architectural drawings
- i guess anything large enough with a pattern/theme would be game.

I suppose if I were ever to indulge in nice stationery, I would go whole hog and get it engraved, with my initials just as I scrawl them, at the top in black.

But I scavenge most of my paper, and the rest is generally 8x10.5 70 sheet wide ruled notebooks bought at Wal-Mart for $0.10 during back-to-school.

I've preferred blank over engraved for many years. Buying boxed sets I've invariably found I run out of first sheets first, or second sheets first, usually the second sheets as I write long letters. I have one of those embosser things that I've used on occasion with books, but my handwritten letters are only for personal use. I use company letterhead for my business correspondence (what little isn't on e-mail now!).