This fish-themed DIY card is one of my favorite card concepts on the TPK blog! There’s a lot to love about the card: it’s gender-neutral, fascinating to look at, and fun to make. It’s also endlessly customizable — feel free to switch up the colors and the design to suit your personal style! You can learn how to make this card in the steps below.
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I recently wrote a post over how to make extra income by selling your calligraphy. In that post, I recommended professional-level product photography … but, this week, I realized that I left you hanging about how to achieve that! Today, I’ll discuss my top six tips for taking photos that catch prospective clients’ attention. Don’t worry if you’ve got zero photographic talent — trust me, I was there five years ago! It just takes some patience, experimentation, and time.
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A lot of TPK blog posts have touched on how to hold a calligraphy pen … but, really, it’s a topic that deserves its own post. You see, there are so many calligraphy frustrations that stem from a problematic grip! With a few minor adjustments, you can solve everything from ink flow issues to the nib digging into the paper to arm and back pain. Whether you write with your right or left hand, the tips in this post will help you to write better and more comfortably!
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Faux calligraphy — calligraphy created with any standard writing instrument like a ballpoint pen, chalk, or marker — offers a fantastic introduction to dip pen calligraphy! Additionally, faux calligraphy is a beautiful lettering art form in its own right. In the first half of this blog post, I’ll teach you how to create this fun, accessible form of calligraphy. In the second half, you’ll find inspiration for using it to add beauty to everything from chalkboards to mail art!
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I want to preface this post by saying that the Brause Rose nib is probably not the most beginner-friendly calligraphy tool in the world. It’s certainly the “fairest of them all” with its embossed rose and beautiful contours, but its flex can prove difficult if you’re new to calligraphy! If you’ve been practicing for a few months and you feel up for a challenge, however, I encourage you to give the Brause Rose a go. This post includes a few tips for using it, as well as a realistic idea of what to expect!
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There are a lot of great calligraphy pens on the market, and deciding on one can be a daunting undertaking! In today’s post, I’ll lay out some of my favorite straight pens, and hopefully help you to reach a decision about which is best for you! The straight pens in this post are all in a reasonable price range, widely available, and user-friendly.
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I receive a lot of questions about how to waterproof paper (and, more importantly, the calligraphy written on it!), so I thought I’d address a couple of ways to go about it in this blog post! Today, you’ll learn a couple of different ways to waterproof paper/envelopes; and we’ll also discuss whether waterproofing is vital to your envelope calligraphy endeavors.
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I first started toying with the idea of starting a creative business in 2012, but one huge obstacle stood in my way: I didn’t have the first clue about digitizing artwork and calligraphy. I knew there was no way I could sell my designs if I didn’t know how to use the computer, so I crossed my fingers, bought Photoshop, and agreed to design a BabyQ invitation pro-bono for a friend.
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If you have ever written out a word or phrase in calligraphy and noticed that the lettering could use a little bit of embellishment, then you’ll enjoy today’s post! In it, you’ll learn three simple calligraphy flourishes to make your lettering pieces stand out. We’ll start with the simplest flourish, and work our way to the most complicated (which, I promise, isn’t that complicated at all). Each mini-tutorial includes a video to ensure a clear understanding of the creation process, which should come in especially handy for my fellow visual learners!
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In Which Calligraphy Writing Utensil is Best for You?: Part I, we talked about using regular pens and brush pens to create calligraphy. Both of those writing utensils provide a non-intimidating, fun entry into the world of lettering! Once you’ve practiced with regular pens and/or brush pens for a few days, though, you will probably want something a little more advanced. Enter dip pen calligraphy! In this post, we are going to discuss straight pens and oblique pens: how you know you’re ready to try them, which ones to purchase, and tips for using them.
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