I love an Irish rainbow. Or any rainbow, really… but now that I live in Ireland, I get to see more rainbows than ever. Even when I’m in art or office supply shops, my eyes are drawn to the rainbows (marker sets, paint tubes, color wheels).

Our last mail art swap (RAINBOW theme) was a huge success and soon I will share all the beautiful rainbow mail art you created – it’s seriously stunning! This time I was able to send an Irish rainbow envelope of my own to all 72 participants! This is me shoving them all into the post office drop slot as fast as possible before they get rained on:

---

What do you think? I think I love ’em!

---

With 72 envelopes to create, I needed to keep it simple.

I started by giving myself one rule: No starting over. Perfectionism is something I tend toward, but making 72 meant there was no time for that. The result is many “fixes,” but zero “mistakes.” Inconsistency was fine, and even smudges were welcome. As a result, each one is different and imperfect – and I really like how they look all together.

Splattering seemed like the way to go – I’ve done it before, and it’s fun and easy. Eventually it evolved a bit and I started brushing these “swoopy” rainbows on about half of them. The black ones are my favorite.

 

Inside, I enclosed a simple, typed letter and a few flat, lightweight, useful gifts like stickers, postage stamps, and temporary tattoos. I admit that there were a few that came out a little “iffy” 😬 … and the worse I felt about how each envelope looked, the more goodies I put inside. I’m sorry / you’re welcome! 🤪

---

How to make these Irish rainbow envelopes (in 3 steps):

Step 1: Address the envelopes.

I always try to address envelopes first, because I might screw something up at the end. Using up what I had in my stationery drawer was important. I found green, black, Kraft brown, and gray envelopes in various sizes.

 

I liked the green ones – these rainbows are Irish, after all. But the black Hahnemuhle Bugra envelopes I found in my drawer were my favorite – it’s pastel paper, so the texture is really “toothy” – painting on them just feels good. You can really see the laid texture in this photo:

 

About 30 names were written with a brush marker before I decided I hated it… But remember that I said no starting over? So I just regrouped and wrote right over any weird ones with a Posca paint marker. It came out kinda cool – some of them even look like an intentional drop-shadow. I might play more with this idea. See? No mistakes – happy accidents only.

 

For some of the return addresses, I used this Create-Your-Own Stamp Kit that I’ve had for ages. I printed out a page of return addresses for the rest, alongside all the recipient addresses. I didn’t even use label stock – just printed on regular copy paper, cut them into little squares and taped them down to the envelope.

Step 2: It’s rainbow time: mask and splatter.

Post-it notes are great for a quick masking solution. Simply cut them up into whatever shapes you need, and stick them down onto any areas you don’t want painted. They can be reused over and over.

 

Make sure you put down some newspaper to protect your table (and maybe your computer – oops!). To splatter, fill a brush with paint, and tap the hell out of it! The bigger the brush, and the thinner the paint, the better the splatter. Have fun with it!

Let the paint dry completely before you remove the post-it masks.

 

Step 3: Stamp, stuff and send your Irish rainbows out into the world.

The only thing I needed to purchase for my 72 envelopes (that I didn’t already have in stock) was the postage. (But I don’t want to tell you the bill!) 😮 Luckily, there was enough in our Patreon account!

 

My big collection of art supplies is probably an advantage there, but I am all about the idea of economy, and using up what you have. It forces you to be more creative, but also can provide a limit to work within. Sometimes a limit or a parameter is what I need to move forward – otherwise I suffer from analysis paralysis.

I had one random envelope that already had all these cut out shamrocks on it, so I sent it to my friend, Charity. It’s a little messy and scrappy, with old Irish stamps, and a rainbow extending to the back of the envelope.

---

Can’t have the rainbow without the rain.

Confession: I have been going through it lately. Grief = plenty of metaphorical rain. Autumn on this Emerald Isle means weather as discombobulated as me: gorgeous sun one minute, a downpour the next. Sometimes both at once… but you know what that means: 🌈

I feel I am exiting a long, dark season, and I’m ready to focus on the future. That’s why I chose this theme: To me, an Irish rainbow represents hope and surprise. I’ve had a lot of surprises since moving to Ireland in 2019 and there’s a ton to be hopeful about.

 

I did some math for us: 72 participants (plus me) organized into 18 groups equals… 390 rainbows in letterboxes worldwide (Irish or otherwise). The kindness, creativity and joy are immeasurable.

It cheered me greatly to receive all your different takes on the “rainbow” theme. I’ve taken pictures of most of them, and soon I’ll post a new gallery with all of our creations. You truly inspired me! And as fun as sending this many rainbows was, next time I’ll probably make far fewer envelopes, but put more skill into them.

Does anyone else feel that way now that the project is over? Like you want to do even more next time? Here’s your chance…

The Elevated Envelope will return soon!

And we already have a theme… Think deep, dark, underwater, blue, sea creatures, uncontrollable, earth… because our next exchange theme is: 🌊 OCEAN. 

We start in early 2024. Sign up to be notified as soon as registration is live.

 

PS. Did you receive an Irish rainbow from me? What did you think?!