I love art deco everything — dishes, decor, invitations, patterns — you name it! Being an art student and a recurrent reader of The Great Gatsby, I’ve been in love with the Roaring 20’s for quite some time. There’s just something alluring about the gold decor, lavish parties, and flamboyant jazz of the Gatsby era that I felt the need to encapsulate in a project.
Have you ever been so close to something — a hobby or activity, for example — that you have trouble seeing it how those who aren’t familiar with it might? I do that with this website. I’m so familiar with its in and outs that sometimes I forget that new visitors to the site may not understand things that I’m treating as obvious! Today, I’m taking a step back and explaining one of the most popular TPK calligraphy styles from an outsider point of view: Kaitlin Style calligraphy. I’ll talk about what it is, how it was developed, and the pros and cons of using it!
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This post was written by Ana Corral, the newest edition to the TPK team! This is her first blog post, so don’t hesitate to show her some love in the comments! To learn more about Ana, you can click here.
I grew up familiar with a variety of brushes. I was practically birthed with a paintbrush in hand, brushing my hair wasn’t too difficult to grasp, and brushing my teeth is pretty much second nature. The only brushes that truly haunt me are brush pens. Despite a background that’s rich in illustration, typography, and design, I find brush pens to be quite intimidating. Honestly, the only brush pens I’m familiar with are the Faber Castells I stole from my dad’s art stash before I left for college (he knows now, don’t worry)! Up until this week, I’ve used them exclusively to illustrate. So, when Lindsey asked me to write my first blog post about conquering the brush pen, I cued up all of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, burned some palo santo, booked an extra therapy session, and buckled in!
I remember when I first set out to purchase brush pens. I was so excited to try out brush pen calligraphy! Then, I saw the overwhelming online selection. I ended up blindly choosing a few brush pens. While I connected with some, there were others that ended up in the junk drawer! The goal of today’s comparison post is to prevent you from buying brush pens that won’t work for you. My hope is that, based on what you read here, you can choose beginner-friendly brush pens that you connect with!
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Everyone loves a watercolor wreath, and I’ve got the Google Analytics to prove it. The Woodland Watercolor Wreath tutorials are among the most popular posts on the TPK blog, and the Watercolor Holiday Wreath Tutorial goes viral every December! Today, I want to show you how to make an elegant nest-like wreath! It combines several different branches and colors to make a harmonious border that is relaxing to make and interesting to look at. Ready to get started?
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In February of 2015, I quietly added a worksheet to the TPK catalog called “Learn Hand-Lettering for a Latte” (a.k.a. “Premium Hand-Lettering Worksheet Set“). At that point, I was too timid to blog about catalog additions, so I mentioned it in passing in a random blog post! By some miracle, though, people have noticed the worksheet throughout the years. And, by the looks of it (16 five-star reviews!), learners genuinely love the LHFaL Worksheet! So, today, I’m doing what I should have done four years ago and telling you why TPK’s most popular hand-lettering worksheet set is so cool.
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My goal this spring is to conduct a digital cleanse of the TPK website. To me, the website feels like a super fun room with all sorts of things to look at! Kind of like Ariel’s cave in The Little Mermaid: so many treasures to behold. I, however, have been a bit more sloppy about categorizing those treasures than Ariel was. So, I’m putting on my metaphorical cleaning gloves and taking action! The digital spring cleaning also means a gentle retirement of some items from the TPK catalog, including the Illustrated Roses Template.
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Every year since 2016, I’ve created a Mother’s Day card tutorial for the TPK blog. This year, though, I want to do something different! Today, I’m going to help you come up with the best card presentation for your mom (or the mom[s] in your life). Mothers aren’t all the same, after all, and your card should fit your mother’s personality and preferences!
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In Monday’s newsletter, I mentioned that I’m going to retire a couple of items from the TPK catalog: Amazing Envelopes for a Latte and the Kaitlin Style Variations Worksheet. After I made this announcement, I realized a couple of things. First of all, not everyone got the memo because some people follow TPK via RSS feeds! Second, I want to answer questions that I’ve received about the products headed into retirement and why they’re being retired.
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