Week 14 – Write your name. Embellish it.
I HATED my name when I was a kid? I mean, HATED IT! I would tell people my name was Lori or Laura so that I didn’t have to choke out my full name. I was named after my mother’s childhood imaginary friend, Lorraine, which made it seem even weirder to me!
Fortunately, I am older and wiser now and not worried about “fitting in” or having a cool name like Becky or Jessica – haha – those were two names I really wanted to have when I was a teen! I actually LOVE my name now! It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that a sweet elderly man I worked for told me my name was “hollywoood glam” and that it suited me because I was different and not like all the other young women my age. He said I was an old soul and matched my old-fashioned name. {and no, he wasn’t hitting on me – just a kind, grandfatherly type of mentor that I adored.} From that day on, I embraced my name. I like that there aren’t many Lorraine’s out there. Finally I am at the point in my life where I am glad I am different instead of trying to be like everyone else!
Well, okay, that’s more than enough about my name, but I always like to give a bit of background! So anyhoooo…… I grabbed my trusty graphgear mechanical pencil and wrote my name in cursive across the page. I then went back over it again and outlined it. {I should mentioned here that I am highly trained in writing, thanks to the nuns at St. Margaret’s Catholic school where we focused on Jesus and penmanship – and barely in that order!}
Next I grabbed a Tombow Marker and filled in my name. I left all of the pencil marks and didn’t bother to erase. When I went over the pencil marks with the marker, they blended well and actually enhanced the lettering! I didn’t focus on it being perfect!
Then I took a light gray Tombow marker and drew along one side of each letter to create a shadow effect. Because the Tombow’s are water soluable (to a point), I was able to use a water brush to blend the gray and make it look more like a cast shadow by each letter, giving the word dimension.
After the page was dry, I took my handy little Micron black pen and outlined all of my letters, did a little shading where letters crossed over one another, and drew dots of all sizes. I also framed in the name with a wonky border.
Next, some fun coloring with the Tombow markers – filling in spaces and creating a background. And there you have it – Lorraine Embellished!
Hope you enjoy the challenge – can’t wait to see how you all decorate and embrace your own names, and don’t forget to check out the other Art to the 5th members blogs for more inspiration! Happy Documenting!
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Very pretty and spunky too! Your name is beautiful..you are the only Lorraine I "know."
Thank you Joyce!
wow- so super cool! I hated my name too – after all i was named after a man! haha! xo
You crack me up!
So many Donn’a when i was growing up, just felt lost in the shuffle BUT now i love my name, it means GIFT & that is what my life is to me. Your name is beautiful and the nuns would be proud 🙂
Peace,
Donna
Thank you for the sweet words Donna! I love your name too – my first college roommate was Donna and she was just a love (and a gift, and so are you!)
love your page Lorraine! and i love your story about your name!
Thanks Kristin, so glad you liked it!
Thanks for sharing your process!! Love how your name turned out!!!
Thank YOU for commenting Kimberly! Glad you liked it!
that’s so lovely and I’m glad you gave the backstory….my sister’s name is also Lorraine (and our penmanship was also taught by the nuns!! – so glad they can’t see me now, I’ve let it go to pot!!)
Ahhhh, that takes me back to little Catholic girls in uniforms writing perfect little letters for hours on end! Haha, thanks for sharing!
The name Lorraine reminded me of one those tales that takes place somewhere in France on a rainy, misty day, where artists fell in love, and drank coffee in outdoor cafe. Not sure why.
beautiful, soft picture
Oooooh, this sounds like the beginning of a novel! I want to go wherever you are talking about – and thank you Sharon! So happy you are part of our group!
Oh what a beautiful way to get a name…..your mom imagined you from the time she was a child….she chose to name you after the person she felt knew her best….she wanted to be close to you…..
Now I don’t know your mother or your relationship, but that how it sounds lovely….my brother is named after my mom’s favorite person….and my dad picked out a pretty girl and asked her what her name was and that is how I got my name…..so if we are going on name stories you win!!!! <3
Thank you for your beautiful and kind words! I love how you got your name! Your dad wanted to find the prettiest name, from the prettiest girl for his beautiful new daughter! xoxo – thanks for commenting!
Love it! And I LOVE your name too! Very old Hollywood glam and a beautiful name!
Thank you so much! It was a process, but then again, isn’t everything!