This has been an amazingly creative week. On Monday I launched my first creativity challenge, the #5 day envelopeart challenge. People from across the world took part and connected with each other on Instagram through art and storytelling. Each day everyone would post an envelope they had decorated in some way, usually with a stamp and collage or drawing, some had maps, some created their own.

What was wonderful was the way people explained their creative inspiration for each piece. There were stories about trips overseas, some closer to home, ideas about future travel and pilgrimages, abstract shapes and doodles with pencil, all on a simple envelope. People connected with their creativity for a short time each day and had fun. It was so rewarding to see new connections made.

Here’s what one person said:

I really enjoyed the envelope challenge, it kicked off a bit of creativity every day without taking too much time. thanks for the fun, loved seeing other people’s takes on this as well.

~ Jenny

Even though I create collages on envelopes every day as part of my own daily practice, I was able to break out of the structure I normally use and make art on airmail envelopes, aerogrammes and fancy paper envelopes like the Florentine envelope (picture above) . I was given a Florentina stationary set many years ago and always loved it. I kept the envelopes and was able to use one in this challenge just for the sheer joy of immersing myself in all the gold, red and blue.

While the internet has made the world seem somewhat smaller by its immediate connections, it also creates opportunities for expansion. Reading peoples stories expands our horizons, connects us across continents and time. These stories remind us of our common humanity and that the world is indeed an amazing place, full of joy and wonder. When we connect one story, one person, one heart at a time we touch each other, we create harmony, we unite in issues which concern us as humans sharing the same planet. When we do unite, we can change the world (one person at a time!)

I thought this collage by Ursula (@icreatedamonster25) sums up these sentiments: