Some of my favorite creative projects begin in the garden. A flower catches my attention, which leads to one idea, and before I know it that one idea has turned into something completely different.
That’s exactly what happened when I began experimenting with a handwriting machine that uses a real pen to write and draw on paper. Rather than simply trying its handwriting capabilities to write letters or thank you notes, I wanted to see how I could use it to create something personal and beautiful inspired by flowers growing here at Sweet Valley Acres.
I started by designing botanical seed packets for seeds gathered from the garden. Those illustrations inspired a collection of botanical drawings on watercolor paper, which could be colored by hand. And eventually, all of the pieces came together as a little garden gift, a packet of seeds, a botanical art card and a handwritten letter to the recipient.
In this post, I’ll show you how I used a handwriting machine to create each of these projects and share some of the things I learned along the way. Whether you love gardening, paper crafts, botanical art or simply the beauty of a handwritten note, I hope these ideas inspire you to create something personal of your own.
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What Is a Handwriting Machine?
Have you ever received one of those envelopes that looks like it is handwritten on the outside along with a handwritten note on the inside? Thinking it must be something personal, you open it up excitedly only to find out it is from a car dealership trying to sell you a car. Ho hum! What a let down!
It isn’t a printer that creates that type of correspondence, it is actually a handwriting machine. It uses an actual pen and follows digital paths to create the handwriting on paper.
This was all new to me until I was gifted a UUNA TEK® iAuto handwriting machine. What a thrill that was but even more exciting was getting creative and using it in very different ways. Thank you UUNA TEK for this fun opportunity!
Why I Wanted to Try Something Different
At first I thought I could use it to write our Christmas year in review letter to friends and family. Then I thought it sure would have been handy when Jenna had to write all of her thank you notes for shower and wedding gifts.
But what could I do that was completely a Sweet Valley Acres project?
That was the moment I got excited because my mind began to swirl with images of:
Botanical outlines
Custom Sweet Valley Acres seed packets for this year’s harvest
Floral illustrations for watercolor art
The ideas and possibilities are many, but before I get too carried away, let’s set it up and give it a try with a simple letter.
Set Up
The set up for this machine is very easy. First, plug the machine into a power outlet.
Then insert the cable into a laptop and plug the other end into the machine. Then click the button to power on.
Install UUNA TEK iAuto’s latest software and then under Writing Machine Management, click Search Local to connect to the machine.
For the projects I am sharing today, we used SVG files which you can make yourself or purchase online through Etsy. If you wish to recreate your own handwriting, UUNA TEK has a program available to do that which is extremely unique. Click here for all the details.
Choosing a Pen and Installing
You may be thinking this is a regular printer or conventional pen plotter but it is not. iAuto physically operates fountain pens, markers, and calligraphy nibs. We wanted our projects to have a very fine line so we chose a micro (.5 mm) roller ball type of pen called a Uniball Vision Needle which is waterproof and fade proof. We were so impressed with the quality of this pen and would highly recommend it.
When inserting the pen of your choice into the machine, you can have the pen on a bit of a slant or straight up and down. If we were using a thicker or wedge styled pen, the positioning (straight up or on an angle) would create different effects for the look of the handwriting.
The first step is to click on the “Change Pen” button on the bottom of the right hand menu. Then insert the pen into the holder. Make sure the tip of the pen is resting on the bottom of the machine. Then tighten the screw to hold the pen and finally press ok.
Basic Set Up Procedures For All Projects
Here are some basic instructions that you will follow for all projects.
First select your paper size and then add your file type. I used SVG files for all of my projects which we downloaded onto our laptop for easy retrieval.
From the Download menu, click on your particular file and make sure the alignment is correct. Then on the menu on the right hand side, click on “Current Project” and click “OK” below.
Choosing Paper and Inserting
You can use all forms of paper, but we found for our projects that it worked best on a large piece of paper (11×16 or 8×10) because the rollers controlling the feed of the paper can lose contact with smaller sheets of paper and the print can get messy as a result.
For artwork, using a thicker form of paper such as watercolor paper was key in making sure the design did not get so dense that it ripped thru the paper.
As well, make sure that your designs do not get too close to the edges of the paper or else the pen can become hooked on the edge and rip the paper.
When inserting the paper, push the paper guide gently against the edge of the paper to make sure it stays straight.
Next, I will show you the three pieces we created being a letter, seed packet and art work.
Making a Handwritten Letter With a Real Pen
After you have the paper loaded and your design selected, simply click “Write” on the menu on the right hand side and the machine will do all of the work from here.
The machine handled writing the letter with ease. It really is magical to watch the rollers move back and forth so that the pen actually writes the words. There was no smearing, no jitters, no misses, it all just went perfect.
Botanical Seed Packets Made With a Handwriting Machine
For the seed packets, we designed a pretty outline which included important information such as the name of the flower, where it was gathered from and when the seeds were harvested. This year I will be collecting seeds from many flowers I grew including poppies, zinnias and sweet peas.
For the design I wanted a bit of a vintage/heirloom feel along with a proper botanical drawing so I used photos of my own flowers to create the images.
As the seed packets are quite small (approximately 2 x 3 inches) they could not be fed into the machine but rather needed to be adhered to a larger sheet of paper.
First we created a layout for the packets by making an SVG file for the size of the packets and then laid them out on a 8×11 sheet of paper.
Next it was time to align the actual print of the seed packet in the right area. To hold the packet in place, we applied double-sided tape within the print area and then attached the seed packet.
Now let’s see if that will work.
Keep in mind, this handwriting machine is not set up to do this type of work so we pushed it to very limit. So far so good, it looks like it is handling this unconventional task very well.
Small problems that we ran into included having the border so close to the edge which did cause some packets to rip. As well, the border was not even but I feel it gave it a more authentic feel. I would tweak the design and eliminate the border altogether for the seed packets in the future. The rollers also tend to make the packets a bit rippled but that would be easy enough to fix with a heavy book.
Turning Garden Flowers Into Botanical Designs
For the last project, I used the same botanical drawings to make a piece of outlined artwork that I could fill in with watercolor paints, markers or pencil crayons.
Printing on watercolor paper made the project very easy and created a perfect print.
Here is how it looks part way through the process.
Look how beautiful it turned out!
I got so excited about how nicely the print turned out that I decided to make larger prints of the seed packets to use as artwork too.
And here they are finished. Using large paper with a good weight made the designs come out perfectly. Once again, this is not what this machine is meant for but it handled our challenge exceedingly well.
They look beautiful as is, but will also look gorgeous filled in with color.
A Little Gift From the Garden
What fun projects these were and they come from my heart or should I say from my garden. Some seeds to plant and some artwork to let your creativity run wild.
And it represents a full circle doesn’t it?
Plant it · Grow it · Paint it
Tips I Learned Using a Handwriting Machine
Here are my top tips:
Use an excellent quality pen like the Uniball Vision Needle for precise lines and even flow.
Larger sheets of good quality paper work best.
Keep designs away from the edges to avoid tears.
Try something new because I bet the UUNA TEK® iAuto handwriting machine can handle it! If you are interested in purchasing this handwriting machine be sure to use this exclusive code for 15% off “HOMETALKVIP”.
In closing…
What started as an experiment with a new creative tool ended up becoming one of my favorite little collections from the garden this year. Flowers that began in our garden became botanical drawings, those drawings became seed packets and artwork, and seeds gathered from the flowers became part of a gift that can eventually grow in someone else’s garden.
I especially love that the handwriting machine didn’t replace the handmade parts of these projects. It helped create the delicate drawings and beautiful lettering, but there were still seeds to gather, artwork to create, packages to put together and wax seals for the final touch.
And perhaps that’s what I enjoyed most about using it. Technology and handmade creativity don’t have to compete with one another. Sometimes one simply gives us another way to create something personal.
I love imagining one of these little packets arriving in someone’s mailbox, the seeds being planted in spring, and flowers from our garden eventually blooming somewhere completely new.
Simply a little gift from our garden to yours.
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Thank you!
Thank you for staying until the end. I appreciate your support so very much and hope you will leave a comment letting me know what project or topic you would like me to cover next.
