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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your second of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    10 Easy Corner and Border Designs (Includes Free Printable + Video Tutorial)

    March 28, 2023

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Free Printables, Printable Goodies, Tutorials, Video

    Artistic corner and border designs can add elegance and majesty to any project! Today’s post includes a free printable with 10 lovely designs and a two-part video tutorial series to show you how to create them.

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    10 Easy Artistic Corner and Border Designs (Free Printable + Video Tutorial)

    Corner and border designs can elevate a project from ordinary to eye-catching. If you’re ever working on a paper project that lacks “oomph”, try putting a design in all four corners, connect them, and see what happens! More often than not, border designs direct the eye to a spotlight center element while adding artistic value to a piece.

    10 Artistic Corner Designs (Includes Free Printable) | The Postman's Knock
    The Janet Style calligraphy place cards, created using walnut ink, benefit from a simple curlicue design in all four corners.

    The star of today’s article is this Artistic Corner Designs PDF, which comes to you as a free download. In it, you’ll find ten different artistic corner designs and tips for making those designs. Today, I’ll walk you through how to create the designs in two tutorial videos, then I’ll show you some examples of the corner and border designs in action!

    DOWNLOAD THE “ARTISTIC CORNER DESIGNS” PDF

    Easy Corner & Border Designs Tutorial Video 1

    The video below demonstrates how to make the first five designs in the Artistic Corner Designs PDF. To see the creation process behind a specific design, you can click on the links in the video’s description on YouTube.

    Easy Corner & Border Designs Tutorial Video 2

    The video below shows you how to make the last five designs in the Artistic Corner Designs PDF. Again, to see the creation process behind a specific design, you can click on the links in the video’s description on YouTube.

    Showcasing Artistic Corner and Border Designs

    There are countless ways to implement the designs in today’s tutorial! Here are some of the projects that I’ve used them on:

    Place Cards

    These Janet Style calligraphy place cards have a Simple Curlicue in each of their four corners.

    10 Artistic Corner Designs (Includes Free Printable) | The Postman's Knock
    These place cards were created using iron gall ink.

    Motivational Cards

    This little card has a big message, and the “Arrows and Feather” motif complements the message. (An arrow has the potential to go far, just like we do!)

    10 Artistic Corner Designs (Includes Free Printable) | The Postman's Knock
    This little saying features Kaitlin Style calligraphy that was written using watercolors.

    Mail Art

    The “Simple Leaves” border on the envelope below helps the calligraphy to stand out. The pretty, muted green McCaffery’s ink certainly doesn’t hurt.

    10 Artistic Corner Designs (Includes Free Printable) | The Postman's Knock

    10 Artistic Corner Designs (Includes Free Printable) | The Postman's Knock
    I used Beth Style Calligraphy to write the loopy address on this envelope.

    There are many possibilities for these artistic corner designs. Feel free to use them to best suit your projects and your personal style! Again, you can download the free Artistic Corner Designs PDF by clicking here. I encourage you to keep it at hand for inspiration as you work on mail art, bullet journaling, gift tags, and anything else you may want to create!

    10 Easy Artistic Corner and Border Designs (Free Printable + Video Tutorial)

    I hope you enjoyed this article and that you find the fabulous free printable helpful. Thanks very much for tuning in to read today, and happy creating!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    I first posted this article in September of 2016. I have updated it to include new photos and video tutorials.

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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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133 responses

  1. Audrey Avatar
    Audrey
    May 11, 2023

    This is so simple, but it really elevates any project! Thank you for sharing such amazing videos!

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 15, 2023

      Sure thing! I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying! I hope that you try it out sometime!

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  2. Stephanie Avatar
    Stephanie
    May 1, 2023

    I love doing the calming drills , thank you for sharing your beautiful work

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 1, 2023

      My pleasure! I am so glad that you enjoy!

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  3. Rabea Avatar
    Rabea
    April 14, 2023

    Love the corners as I can apply them everywhere even on my shopping list 🙂

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      April 17, 2023

      Totally! Haha! That is a great way to spice up even something like shopping! I love it!

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A couple of days ago, I posted a clip from Lesson A couple of days ago, I posted a clip from Lesson 1 of the new Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course (seriously, join us — enrollment is a *steal* at $5/month, and you get complimentary tutorials [that happen to complement the course] — link in bio)! People seemed to like the story in that clip, so here’s another fun story from the same lesson. Sorry, I can’t confirm who the client was! That was a project with an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). 🤐 Still: a very fun, very cool experience ... I’m grateful that calligraphy has given me cool adventures and connected me to such an amazing community. ✍️

#calligraphystory #moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #beginnercalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphy
Lesson 1 of TPK’s Beginner’s Modern Calligraph Lesson 1 of TPK’s Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course doesn’t actually start with the pointed pen! ✍️ Instead, we ease into it with faux calligraphy and then pencil calligraphy. Here’s a little preview of what the pencil calligraphy lesson looks like. ✏️

If you’ve been wanting to learn calligraphy, join us in this course. It is an absolute *steal* because it’s included with your TPK Premium membership ($5/month - cancel anytime). Once the course concludes in January, you can choose to purchase lifetime access to the videos; or just continue on with us to the next course. For more information, visit the link in my bio!

#learncalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #moderncalligraphy #pencilcalligraphy #blackwingpencil #pencilart #letteringart #handlettering #modernlettering #artisticletters #artisticlettering
I’m editing videos for the new Beginner’s Mode I’m editing videos for the new Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course (🎉 JOIN US! link in profile for enrollment info!!) — and wanted to share this story from Lesson 1. In that lesson, we’ll chat about how to develop your motivation (this story is part of me sharing mine); and we’ll ease into our pointed pen experience with faux calligraphy and pencil calligraphy. Step by step, you’ll develop skills that will serve you for a lifetime ... and surprise and delight those around you, just like my “rent check envelopes” did! ✉️

#mailart #moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #storytime #calligraphy #snailmail #snailmailrevolution
Some recipes aren’t just instructions — they’re memories on a page. 💛 I spent some time illustrating one of my favorites, and it turned into the sweetest (literally) keepsake. Calligraphy, watercolor, and a little patience bring the story of a dish to life.

If you’d like to try illustrating your favorite recipe, too, I shared the full process (with helpful printables) on the TPK Blog — link in bio. ✨

#illustratedrecipe #calligraphyart #watercolorillustration #creativeproject #keepsakeart #slowcreativity #handletteringlove #moderncalligraphy #calligraphyinspiration #watercolorart
As much as cooking is an art, illustrating a recip As much as cooking is an art, illustrating a recipe takes it one step further. ✨ In TPK’s latest tutorial (link in bio), I’ll show you how to create an illustrated chocolate lava cake recipe using watercolor. You’ll find helpful PDFs and step-by-step instructions so you can follow along — or use the layout to bring one of your own favorite dishes to life.

Frame it as keepsake art, or give it as a thoughtful handmade gift this holiday season. 🎁

#illustratedrecipe #watercolorart #calligraphycommunity #foodillustration #arttutorial #watercolortutorial #creativeprojects #handmadegifts #keepsakeart #thepostmansknock
✨ One of the most beloved assignments from Lesso ✨ One of the most beloved assignments from Lesson 5 of Hand Lettering 101 was this playful project: design an artistic alphabet where no two letters look the same.

The idea? JUST PLAY. 🎨 I used watercolor and a paintbrush, but many students grabbed markers, pens, or anything colorful on hand. The results were incredible — @adriennelovesletters gave it her own flair, Isabel C. made it three times, and Laura M. created a stunning version too. (You can peek at more inside the TPK Premium Discord!)

If you’re ready to try this project yourself, you’ll find the Hand Lettering 101 eCourse waiting in the TPK Catalog. Just head to the link in my bio to be taken to the TPK website. 💌

#handlettering #watercolorlettering #moderncalligraphy #letteringpractice #creativeplay #calligraphycommunity #artinspiration #calligraphyart #watercolorart #letterlove #tpkpremium #handlettering101
Had the best time writing the latest tutorial on t Had the best time writing the latest tutorial on the TPK Blog — “Drawing Lesson: Elegant Swallows” (🔗 link in bio). If you’ve never drawn birds before, swallows are an excellent place to start. Their shapes are simple once you break them down! ✍️ 

In the tutorial, you’ll find:

🪶 Step-by-step visual instructions for drawing swallows in four different movements
🪶 The “Hand-Drawn Swallows Cheat Sheet” PDF
🪶 A detailed tutorial for making the mail art shown here

On another note, I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to TPK Premium and Premium Plus members ... your support allows me to write cool detailed tutorials like this one. 🙏 You all are amazing, and I’m so proud of our community.

#mailart #snailmail #illustration #illustrationtutorial #drawingtutorial #drawinginstructions #birdart #swallowsart #calligraphy #moderncalligraphy #pointedpen
In June, I kicked off the Hand Lettering 101 eCour In June, I kicked off the Hand Lettering 101 eCourse with TPK Premium members, and wow — it’s been such a joy to watch the transformation.

Over six lessons, students went from that “where do I even start?” feeling to confidently creating their own alphabets, playing with flourishes, and putting together gorgeous compositions. I loved seeing those little lightbulb moments along the way.

Here’s the great news — you can still take the course.
When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to:
📚 All six lessons (9+ hours of video demonstrations + printable PDFs)
🖌 Fun, approachable projects that build your skills without feeling overwhelming
🎯 A “before and after” assignment that’s always such a satisfying reveal

If you’ve been wanting a gentle, step-by-step way to get started with hand lettering, this is it. You can DM me for the link, or search Hand Lettering 101 on the TPK site (link in profile).

#handlettering101 #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #letteringlove #calligraphycommunity #learntoletter #creativelettering #letteringcourse #onlineartclass #artpractice
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