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7 Tips for Making Calligraphy and Art on the Go

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7 Tips for Making Calligraphy and Art on the Go | The Postman's Knock

Every year, Hernán and I go on a trip to explore somewhere new. This year’s trip was to Naples, Barcelona, and Paris — and we wanted to pack extra light. We only took “under the seat” bags so there wouldn’t be any luggage to check (and no extra fees on budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet). Of course, taking a small-ish bag meant traveling with only the bare necessities; the only “creative supply” I took was a Pilot G2 pen! When I found myself wanting to make some art and calligraphy while in Paris, the idea for this blog post was born. In it, you’ll learn seven tips for making calligraphy and art on the go with minimal supplies!
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How to Make a Calligraphy Exemplar (Includes Free Printables)

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How to Make a Calligraphy Exemplar | The Postman's Knock

When I’m working on any sort of calligraphy project, I always keep a calligraphy exemplar at hand. Exemplars are good to have around just in case you forget how to make a particular letter in the calligraphy style that you’re using! In today’s tutorial, I’ll teach you how to make a calligraphy exemplar with the help of a printable shortcut.
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A (Happy) Case for Learning Calligraphy

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White Calligraphy | The Postman's Knock

Earlier this month, I picked up a book called The Happiness Project to read on a long trip. The Happiness Project is basically about author Gretchen Rubin’s quest to increase her happiness through changes that she makes in the course of a year. It was a fun and inspirational self-improvement book, and one that resonated with me because it inadvertently provided insight into why people enjoy learning calligraphy! It also gave me enlightenment as to why some learners end up being more successful than others.
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8 Artistic Books to Jumpstart Your Creativity This Month

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8 Artistic Books to Jumpstart Your Creativity This Month | The Postman's Knock

I recently stumbled across Days of the Year, which is a website that tells you about little-known holidays and observations. Through Days of the Year, I discovered that May is “Get Caught Reading” month. That was the excuse I needed to provide you with a list of my eight favorite artistic books and magazines! Each of these written works will inspire you to get creative and try something new.
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A List of TPK’s Free Printable Calligraphy Practice Sheets

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Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock

The TPK blog is peppered with free printable calligraphy practice sheets to help you improve your penmanship! However, with 400+ blog posts on this site, some of the best freebies may have eluded you. For that reason, I decided to create a compilation of the free dip pen and brush pen calligraphy practice sheets and present them to you in this article. Some may look familiar, while others may be new to you! My hope is that these will help you to set aside some “me time” to improve your penmanship, relax, and indulge your creativity.
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8 Surprisingly Useful Art + Calligraphy Supplies

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8 Surprisingly Useful Art + Calligraphy Supplies | The Postman's Knock

When it comes to art and calligraphy supplies, it’s difficult not to hoard. You never know when something will help you to add the perfect finishing touch to a future project! Still, there are some supplies that tend to just sit and collect dust while others get used all the time. In today’s post, I’d like to enumerate eight art and calligraphy supplies that I — surprisingly — use all the time. These supplies aren’t the obvious hard-hitters like pens and inks, and you may be a little taken aback by some of them!
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Quick Mother’s Day Card Tutorial

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Quick Mother's Day Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

One of the facts of life is this: the older you get, the more mothers you know. Slowly, Mother’s Day becomes a day that’s not only acknowledging your own mother: it’s also about your friend, your sister, your daughter, and many other women in your life. It’s wonderful that we all know so many fantastic moms, but it’s difficult to find the time to make a thoughtful DIY Mother’s Day card for all of them! That’s why this year I focused on making a quick card card concept that can be customized and streamlined if you want to make more than one. You can read the steps below to learn how to create it!
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7 Mistakes That I Made as a Freelance Calligrapher and Artist

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7 Mistakes That I Made as a Freelance Calligrapher and Artist | The Postman's Knock

Last week, I posted a throwback article called 10 Items That I Successfully Sold on Etsy. Writing that post offered a fun trip down memory lane, and I think that people were able to draw some inspiration from it! This week, I’d like to continue that throwback theme by sharing some of the mistakes that I made as a freelance artist and calligrapher. I hope that you can learn from my mishaps if you decide to take on any freelance work, whether it’s just on the side or as part of a full-time gig!
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10 Items That I Successfully Sold on Etsy: A Throwback Post

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10 Items That I Successfully Sold on Etsy: A Throwback Post | The Postman's Knock

In 2012, I decided to start an Etsy shop called “The Postman’s Knock”, and I quit my day job (read the full story here). The idea behind the Etsy shop was this: I could design stationery and write out custom envelope calligraphy for people, which they would be delighted to receive when they heard “the postman’s knock” at their door. Eventually, the Etsy shop evolved into so much more than that — now, TPK is mainly a blog and learning resource — but, like everyone, I started somewhere. I tried a lot of things and put myself out there before I felt completely ready, which is just what you have to do! Here are some of the items that I used to sell, some of which you may be surprised at. Without these now-retired items, TPK as we know it wouldn’t exist!
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