You can buy very nice blank cards and envelopes, pre-cut and folded, and draw designs on them. I found the Strathmore brand in an art supply shop, and I’ve seen them in office supply stores as well, or you can find Strathmore cards and envelopes on Amazon.

There are many different sizes of cards and a variety of paper types to choose from. Some have a textured surface, some are made of recycled fibers, some have “deckled” edges where the fibres hang out as if they were torn, as you can see in the photos. They all work. There are different colours too, from white to black. Some gel pens will mark on black.

I used metallic gel pens for most of these cards. They’re from an inexpensive set of gel pens I got on Amazon, though you could get them anywhere.

I added a matching design on the front and/or back of each envelope as well, making sure to leave room for the address. It was hard to draw over the deckle on the flap of the envelope, although it looks nice.

I’ve been pleased to use my cards for birthdays and thank-you’s, and they would also be suitable for sympathy cards. Even for Christmas, especially using stars. Here is an old video of mine on how to make a 5-pointed star with Spirograph. (That video now has 108,000 views and 525 likes. Wow, just wow.)

Shop Wild Gears at this link.

The post Making Cards with Spirograph or Wild Gears appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

And we all know, here on SpirographicArt.com, that Spirograph is a Classic Toy. Nice to have the Royal Mail acknowledge it too.

Actually, they have every reason to be proud of it. Spirograph was developed and first marketed by a British engineer, Denys Fisher, and hit the stores in 1965. Kenner acquired the rights for the the American market and started distributing Spirograph in the USA in 1966.

The first patent on spirograph was, according to Wikipedia, registered by a Polish mathematician and inventor, Bruno Abakanowicz, but I have not seen any pictures of his invention. It may have been nothing like Denys Fisher’s plastic gears and wheels which we know and love.

You can purchase the stamp, along with those of the other Classic Toys, on the Royal Mail website here.

PS: Thanks to Jason from New Zealand for the heads-up about this stamp!

The post The Royal Mail Honours Spirograph with New Stamp appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Now what to do with all these beautiful little circles?

You can scan them and if you are familiar with a graphic program like Photoshop you can recolor them and add a different background like I did.

But you can also just use your original drawings, cut or punch them, and use them for gifts and decorations.

1. They make beautiful embellishments for gift packaging. You can just use the spirograph circle, punch a hole in it and fix it on your gift with a ribbon. Or you can get creative and combine them with bigger gift tags and other pieces you have at hand. My favorite is the one with crown and wings.

2. You can cut them and add little hangers and use them as ornaments

3. You can cut a circle from the center and a slit and you’ve got beautiful glass markers for your next party.

4. You can cut label shaped pieces and make very special book plates for your notes and diaries.

5. You can print or copy them on self adhesive paper, then cut circles and other shapes and you’ve got pretty and very handy stickers and seals.

Have fun!

Check out Angelika’s blog at fredaf.wordpress.com!

The post Five fun uses for your spirograph doilies appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Maybe this is the year you’ll be buying a new Spirograph set for someone special.

Or perhaps Spirographic Art Christmas cards, gift tags and ornaments, jewelry, mugs, or a variety of other gift ideas will make your day merry and bright.

Last minute shopping? CafePress will handle your online order and ship it out quickly. Check out our Spirographic Art gifts on CafePress.

The post A Spirograph Christmas! appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Available from my CafePress shop – click this link to go to it.

Secure shopping from CafePress.

The post Spirograph Jewelry appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

Mix and match fridge magnets. Lots of designs available. Pick your own set!

Click this link to go to my secure CafePress shop.

The post Spirograph Fridge Magnets appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.

This wide Super Spirograph design works well on a mug. Available in a variety of colors from my CafePress shop.

The post Spirograph Mugs appeared first on SpiroGraphicArt.