• 3 Quick “Crayola Calligraphy” Projects

    If you struggle with making time for creativity, try “Crayola calligraphy”! Crayola (and similar) markers are cost-effective and can be used to make some impressive projects. In today’s blog post, you’ll learn about three Crayola calligraphy paper goods that come together in just a couple of minutes!

    Crayola Markers | The Postman's Knock

    “Crayola calligraphy” refers to calligraphy that has been created with a standard broad tip marker such as Crayola brand. If you’ve never heard of Crayola calligraphy, then check out this blog post — it will bring you up to speed! Once you’ve read it, come back and try out one of these three quick projects. Each one takes less than 15 minutes and renders fun, visually appealing results!

    1. Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art

    Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art | The Postman's Knock

    Despite the fact that this mail art requires a couple of pencil guidelines, it comes together in a snap! To make it, start with a kraft envelope like “Paper Bag” from Paper Source. If you don’t have a kraft envelope at hand, feel free to DIY an envelope out of a brown paper bag. You can find envelope templates in The Letter Writer’s Complete Resource! Use Crayola calligraphy to write your recipient’s name in Kaitlin Style brush pen/marker calligraphy.

    Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art | The Postman's Knock
    You can use Crayola markers to write beautiful brush pen calligraphy!

    Next, use a pencil to draw three sets of pencil guidelines. The lines in each pair should be 1/4″ apart with about 1/16″ of space between them. Once you have drawn the guidelines, use the tip of the marker to write the address in a block lettering style such as Sans Serif (shown) or Morgan.

    Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art | The Postman's Knock
    The size of your pencil guidelines is up to you. The ones pictured here are 1/4″ wide, which accommodates Sans Serif lettering well.

    Next, erase your pencil guidelines. Then, create a stamp collage on the top of the envelope. If you don’t have vintage stamps to collage, I encourage you to purchase some on eBay! They are inexpensive and add so much visual interest to any piece of mail art that you want to make. Once you’ve made the collage, choose two colors that prominently occur in the stamps, and use those colors to draw simple vines at the bottom of the envelope.

    Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art | The Postman's Knock
    Try to coordinate your marker colors with colors that appear in your stamp collage!

    Alternate your colors until the space at the bottom of the envelope is filled up.

    Crayola Calligraphy Vines Mail Art | The Postman's Knock

    Once you feel satisfied with the mail art, you can send it!

    2. Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock

    If you feel like doodling, then try tailoring this concept to a place that you love or live in! First, choose two markers. One should be light, and the other should be darker. Take the darker marker and use it to apply a bit of color to the lighter marker. (Doing this won’t ruin the marker; the darker color comes off after a couple of minutes of writing.)

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock
    For a nice gradient effect, use a darker marker to apply pigment to a lighter marker! In this photo, I am applying purple to gray.

    Now, use Kaitlin Style brush pen calligraphy to write your state or country name using the lighter color. As you write, you’ll notice shades of the darker color popping up in certain strokes!

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock

    Now, use a pencil to sketch out a simple outline of something that represents your area. For Colorado, an obvious choice is mountains!

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock
    Your pencil sketch doesn’t need to be amazing … embrace any imperfections!

    Use the same light marker (with color applied) to fill in the outline. Make sure you leave some white space around the calligraphy to help it stand out!

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock

    Finish up by using the tips of your markers to outline your calligraphy and the graphic element.

    Crayola Calligraphy State/Country Art | The Postman's Knock
    Outlining the calligraphy helps it to stand out!

    What you use the artwork for is up to you! I plan to glue this piece into a sketchbook, but you could also frame it as artwork for your home or use it to decorate a notebook.

    3. Starburst Crayola Calligraphy Gift Tag

    Starburst Crayola Calligraphy Gift Tag | The Postman's Knock

    We have a couple of graduates in the family this weekend, so I wanted to be sure to include a gift tag concept in this post! To make a gift tag like this one, cut a circle out of a piece of white cardstock, then write the recipient’s initial. I used pink with a little bit of orange applied to the tip in this example!

    Starburst Crayola Calligraphy Gift Tag | The Postman's Knock

    Next, use the dotting techniques described in Two More Artistic Brush Pen Lettering Tutorials (“Magnetic Dots Brush Pen Lettering”). Remember to keep a high concentration of dots closest to the letter!

    Starburst Crayola Calligraphy Gift Tag | The Postman's Knock
    Use the “Magnetic Dots” technique to outline the letter on your gift tag.

    Alternate dotting with two different colors until you’re finished. Then, punch a hole in the top of the tag, thread some string through, and you’ve got a quick, unique gift tag!

    Starburst Crayola Calligraphy Gift Tag | The Postman's Knock
    I love using jute twine for gift tags, but any ribbon/string will work!

    You can write who the gift is from on the back. 🙂


    Sometimes it’s nice to make lettering with markers versus dip pens because markers are so fuss-free. You can’t beat the price, either! I was able to purchase a box of Crayola markers for $1.00 at a local Kroger store, and they are also very cheap on Amazon. Crayola (or similar) markers are nice to have around for when you’re feeling creative, but you don’t want to get out all your supplies to make dip pen calligraphy.

    I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that at least one of these projects appeals to you! If you make one, I’d love to see it — you can tag me on Instagram (@thepostmansknock) or post on Facebook. I’m particularly curious to see what you come up with for the state/country art!

    As always, thanks very much for reading TPK, and have a creative and wonderful weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock