Calligraphy guidelines are the behind-the-scenes stars of most great pieces. Since guidelines don’t show up in finished works, though, we don’t talk about them a whole lot. Today’s blog post will change that! Instead of letting guidelines remain a murky background detail, we’ll examine what they are, how to make them, and shortcuts for using them.
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Halloween has always been my favorite holiday because … candy. It also offers the opportunity to make some playfully macabre creative projects (while you eat the candy)! Today’s blog post outlines my five favorite Halloween paper projects on the TPK site. You can start making them now so the holiday doesn’t sneak up on you!
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In a perfect world, all of the envelopes that you send out would be intricate artistic masterpieces. The world, however, is not perfect, and we only have 24 hours in a day! When you only have a few minutes to put together a snail mail ensemble, try the following tricks to make the envelope sing:
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If you are in the market to make a quick yet polished piece of mail art this weekend, then you’ll enjoy this tutorial! As long as you’ve got a few colored pencils, a pen, and an envelope, you’re ready to rock and roll. Just a quick word of warning before you begin: this ombré lettering technique is a little bit addictive! I have a hunch that you’ll use it on many more projects to come! Here’s how to make it:
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Last month, I posted a tutorial over how to make a calligraphy medallion. I love the medallion in that tutorial, but I freely admit that it takes a bit of time and energy to make! Effectively, I wanted to post a simpler tutorial … one that requires less steps. You’ll really enjoy this medallion as a way to add embellishments to envelopes, gift tags, sketchbooks, or anywhere else you might use a dip pen!
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The idea of adding a postage stamp collage to envelopes had never occurred to me until Pinterest showed me the light. You can’t help but notice the small pieces of artwork working to enhance an already-beautiful envelope! If you have an interest in creating stamp collages to give your envelopes some extra oomph, here are some tips:
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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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The other day, a friend sent me over this Instagram video of Nina Tran creating a gorgeous calligraphy medallion. Naturally, I stopped what I was doing and decided to try creating one myself. And, today, I’d like to show you how to make one, too! Just take it step by step, and you’ll be delighted as the project unfolds into dip pen gorgeousness.
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Today, I’d like to address an issue that often strikes fear into the hearts of calligraphy learners: double letters. You probably know the feeling … you’re happily writing along, and then, all of a sudden, you need to write a word like “coffee” or “Mississippi”. What do you do? Read on to find out!
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“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!
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