The idea for these note cards began as a borrowed one.

Pulled from a memory I had filed away; years ago (maybe even 10?) a friend of a friend shared a watercolour illustration she had made - so sweet and simple - just a darling pair of blue jean cut-offs.

I think I commented “cool jorts” and then just never forgot about them. An object that’s both “quintessential summer” and somehow sisterly - in that endearing compulsion to compliment a pair of perfect jean shorts when you see em.

I was curious to attempt my own rendition but i’m no water-colourist. I wanted to pay homage to the source material but give it my own touch. With a fast string of July Birthdays, I wanted to send out something homemade so I got to work styling these jorts into greeting cards. Adding in some “LOVES” tags and hankies for notes.

You may not even remember this small but lasting exchange, but thanks to @cor_yoga for the inspo (she’s a great source for healthy hair inspo as well).

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Admittedly, mass producing these note cards turned a little labour intensive and took longer to share with the world than I anticipated… I ran into printer issues, got caught in a circle of perfectionist iterations + careful cutting and folding just takes time.

I enjoy projects that involve measuring and using cutting tools.

Paper craft feels like miniature carpentry in a way and discovering efficiencies when creating multiples is a great exercise for the mind.

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These were printed at home using my personal printer and I used rolls of kraft wrapping paper to make the little brown bags. With the cost of life increasing all around us, I wanted to use up materials I had on deck.

Something I’d like to be mindful of when considering materials for a project; what can I use that I already have?

They have imperfections and are a true lofi production. A little crafty but - thats summer.

I’ve wanted to design washi tape for a while, and so printing pre-cut washi inspired snippets was a great d.i.y. hack at it.

100% made with love and with all my sisterly recipients in mind.

Are you a note sender?

I promise, sending hand written notes is a mutually beneficial exercise.

Additionally,

I’ve added two A4 note sets to the RVAC Gift Shop.

Printed at home on 90lb watercolour paper. These 3, 6/8” x 5” prints are tucked into a cream bifolding window card.

The print can be removed or stored in it’s clear plastic sleeve for keepsaking.

I’ve spent a long time thinking about whether or not to use plastic sleeves.

There was an artist I admired who sold her beautiful printed cards in our family store who stopped using them for environmental reasons. I respected her determination to remove something she didn’t feel good about.

For a while I’ve been making my own tracing paper sleeves to protect my cards and I loved how the frosty aesthetic revealed so softy what was underneath. However, making those envelopes was tedious and unsustainably time consuming. They became easily crinkled and damaged by moisture - creating expensive paper waste which is also something I’d like to keep to a minimum.

While organizing my own keepsake box this summer, I realized how many postcards I have collected during my travels that are still in their plastic sleeves. Safely archived until I one day have more wall space to frame them. I love knowing they are waiting there - protected. I’ve even re-used the clear sleeves from cards I’ve given away to store my photographs in as well.

The truth is clear sleeves ARE more plastic consumerism things. But we don’t need to throw them away and they can be purposed to help preserve special memories longer.

Sharing this so that you too might consider keeping your plastic sleeves to organize and archive your keepsakes. My grandmother actually used to do this by washing and saving milk bags! Always gifting us treasures decoyed in cereal boxes… to think of it now, anything that came in a milk bag indeed was an indication of it’s value.

There are so many ways we can save and reuse packaging for storage or gift wrapping.

That’s all, just found some time to stop and share a little.

Find these cards with others at the Revelstoke Visual Art Center Gift shop or message me to purchase.

I’m not ready for a web shop at this moment, but I am working towards it.

Love,

Sj

Summer Note Sets

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August.