I have been a fan of Molly Suber Thorpe since I stumbled upon her first book, Modern Calligraphy, three years ago. With its gorgeous photos and encouraging tone, Modern Calligraphy can’t help but inspire you! Based on how much I enjoyed Modern Calligraphy, I was excited when Molly offered to send me a copy of her latest book: The Calligrapher’s Business Handbook. It arrived a couple of weeks later in a gorgeous envelope!
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As I mentioned in last week’s tutorial over how to make a wifi password sign, Hernán and I recently remodeled the apartment in our basement. We purchased our house in April, and at that time, the basement felt a bit sparse and too modern for a house built in the 1950’s.
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After years of apartment living, Hernán and I bought a house here in Boulder three months ago. We were lucky enough to find a home that has a separate apartment in the basement. For us, that’s perfect because both of our families live out of state, and they enjoy coming for long visits! When family members aren’t visiting, we plan on renting the basement apartment out on Airbnb. Since the day we moved in, we’ve been working on remodeling the basement. As you can see from Hernán’s paint-stained shirt, it has been quite an undertaking!
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I love envelope art because it requires minimal time commitment, and it gives you the opportunity to experiment with new lettering and art techniques. As an added bonus, your recipient will get something in the mail from you that makes them happy! Today, I’ll show you how to make a piece of striking botanical envelope art using basic watercolor, lettering, and calligraphy techniques.
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If you have read this blog for any period of time, then you know that I’m all about dip pen calligraphy. That said, I think it’s important to give yourself a creative challenge by switching up mediums and styles! For that reason, I’ve recently been experimenting with new hand-lettering styles. One serendipitous day, I was doodling in my planner, and I came up with a dot-studded lettering style that “stitches” together.
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This artistic Valentine’s Day card is perfect for sending to anyone that you love! As a bonus, it will help you to build up your lettering and watercolor skills. This tutorial isn’t difficult to create, and it’s endlessly customizable! You can change the words, the colors, and the shape and size of the card to fit your needs.
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I love using brush pens because they provide a quick, bold, and versatile way to convey a message! In today’s post, I’d like to piggyback off of the Two Artistic Brush Pen Lettering Tutorials article and teach you two more ways to use a brush pen. You’ll learn how to blend brush pens using a laminated surface, and how to use small points to frame your lettering!
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Brush pen lettering provides a quick and colorful way to convey a message … which is always a plus in the midst of a hectic holiday season! In this blog post, you’ll learn two techniques to create brush pen projects that stand out. Both of the tutorials were created using Tombow Brush Pens (my favorites), but you are welcome to use any colorful brush pens that you prefer! If you’ve never used a brush pen before, the Kaitlin Style Brush Pen Worksheet and Videos Set will help you big time with the lettering portion of both projects.
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2016 is coming to a close, which means it’s the perfect time to reflect on everything that’s happened this year. For me, that reflection has meant realizing how many creative, amazing people I have had the opportunity to interact with because of this website! I am consistently amazed by how self-motivated, positive, and artistic the people who follow TPK are; and this community motivates me to keep improving my own work!
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If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how to make a coat of arms — and surely the thought has crossed your mind if you’ve ever seen television shows like Game of Thrones — today is your lucky day. Historically, coat of arms were ye logos of olde; that is to say, they identified families and individuals. That identification was helpful if you were all suited up in your knight {or, as they used to pronounce it in Medieval times, “khu-nig-ghit”} gear. Nowadays, family coat of arms are essentially just cool family logos to print on custom stationery, frame in your house, have printed on a shirt for a family reunion … whatever. Oh, and one thing the internet just taught me that you should probably know, too: calling it a “family crest” is a no-no. According to Wikipedia, “The word ‘crest’ is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.” Up until today, I was referring to these as “family crests”. Oops!
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