Tall Skinny Letter Stationery

But that was then. Today you can do these in moments on the computer. Either way, the fun part is that in order to read them, you must look at them at a certain angle. In this project, I used them to make personalized cards and stationery.

Materials:

paper, an index card or card stock to practice on
ruler
sharp pencil and/or a fine-line pen

Steps:

1. The basic card can either be made by hand or purchased. Either way, it should come first, because the size and shape of the card will help determine the size and shape of the area required for the letters.

2. If drawing the letters by hand, it is recommended that you make them on a separate piece of card stock. If there is any need for a "do-over," you won’t be wasting an entire card. Plus, you can print the letters on a differently colored background from the one you adhere them to (figure A).

For doing things the old-fashioned way:

When you first draw your letters, there are no curved or angled lines. Everything is perfectly horizontal or vertical. Later you can try a few a curves and/or angles if you wish. All of the letters are capitals (upper case). You might hand print the alphabet along the top of your practice page just to refer to as you practice your skinny letters.

1. Draw two horizontal lines on your paper about 1-1/2 or 2 inches apart (figure C). Exact measurements don’t matter. These are just for practice. At this point, it is best to use a pencil with a very sharp point. These two horizontal lines are your guide, so all of your letters will be the same height and they will be in a straight line.

IMPORTANT: From here on, you will need to work backwards and upside down. This sounds difficult and complicated. It is neither. To make all the lines perfectly straight, it will be necessary to use a ruler when you draw the letters, so if you were to write from left to right as you normally do, you would be covering your work as you go. To avoid that, you will start at the right side of your paper and make your lines, as described below, from right to left.

NOTE: If you are left-handed, it’s easy. None of the above is necessary. Simply write from left to right as you would naturally do.

3. Draw a horizontal line between the top ends of the two vertical lines. Draw a second horizontal line between the two vertical lines about half way down from the top This is the cross bar in the A (figure E). With your pencil, thicken and darken these two horizontal lines so they will be more visible.

NOTE: Remember that you are drawing upside down, so the top of your lines will actually be at the bottom. This does not apply to left-handed writers.

4. Repeat this process with all the remaining 25 letters of the alphabet. Keep the letters about 1/4 inch apart (figure F).

NOTE: I usually round the corners slightly on the side of the D. It’s the only way to tell it apart from the O.

5. After completing one alphabet, do it again. This time, make the letters skinnier and place them closer together (figure G). Try it with a pen. I used one with a felt tip so the lines were all fairly thick. Then try it with a very fine-line pen for a different effect. Write your name. Write somebody else's name. Write THANK YOU or HELLO or try writing numbers and your address.

6. The letters you have written should look like an interesting pattern but should not be legible (figure H). To read what you have written, hold the paper in front of you and tip it away from you, slowly changing the angle until you can read what you have written (figure I). The skinnier the letters, the more you will have to tip the paper. In some instances, it will be almost perpendicular to the floor. Be sure you hold the paper flat and do not allow it to curve. That's why writing on an index card or card stock is better.

7. After you have the system down pat, try experimenting even more. Draw a circle and draw the letters in the circle (figure J). After drawing your name, turn the paper a quarter turn to the right (counterclockwise) and write it again on top of the first set of letters (figure K). When held up to read, the letters in both directions should be legible.

NOTE: Drawing the letters in a circle is obviously optional. You can simply draw a rectangle around your original letters and proceed. It’s certainly easier that way.

By computer...

If all of the above is just tedious work for you instead of fun, try your computer. Whether you use a PC or a Mac, there will be the programs you need. You just have to find them. With my PC, I used the following method:

In Microsoft Word, I went to View, then down to Toolbars, and clicked on Drawing and WordArt. In the Drawing toolbar, I clicked on the outline of an oval. When you click on it, a drawing area outlined by a rectangle will appear. Click inside this area; then click and drag on the tiny circles that appear to make your circle. Enlarge it to the desired size. Then click on Word Art (the tilted capital A on the toolbar) and select one of the squares. I selected the words that used very plain black letters (top row third from the left). Click on OK. When the EDIT box appears, select a font. It should be plain and contain no serifs. Nor should it be bold. (Note: Remember, they should all be capitals.) I selected Arial and clicked on 36, but if you have a very long name, use a lower number. It makes no difference in the finished item, but it will be easier to work with. Click on OK.

The letters will print out like those in figure L. Click on the various dots that appear to manipulate the letters so that they fit in the circle. (figure M). My name is very short, so the letters are very legible. You might prefer them this way. If not just keep pushing the sides in using the dots to move them. Of course, if my name were longer (like Mary Margaret Duvall), it would look like figure N.

And, of course, you might just prefer to print whatever you write in a straight line (figure O). Then you can just pull and push as high and as wide as the paper will allow. Have fun experimenting, and then go beyond cardmaking, scrapbooking, gift tags, etc.