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 rite. 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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The other day, I was making calligraphy place cards for one of my calligraphy workshops. I was “in the zone”, enjoying listening to a podcast and writing, when I realized: I don’t have any information about making basic place cards on the TPK blog! Today’s tutorial should fix that. It will walk you through creating elegant calligraphy place cards from start to finish!
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There’s so much to love about fabric invitations: they’re novel, interactive, and incredibly cost-effective if you DIY them! In today’s blog post, I want to walk you through a batch of fabric invitations that I recently designed as a gift for a friend’s wedding. It is my hope that seeing the process will inspire you to design and compile your own fabric/paper pieces for your next event!
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When I received my first wedding invitation commission a few years ago, I found myself scouring the internet for techniques to ensure that it was perfect. One element I was consistently drawn to in other wedding invitations — and dually proposed to the client — was paper belly bands! Not only did they look incredibly elegant, but it also seemed like they wouldn’t be too tough to make. That assessment, happily, was correct: belly bands are not difficult to make at all, they can elevate your paper project endeavors to incredible heights, and you can use them for many different applications! In today’s blog post, we’ll go through three quick paper belly band tutorials to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to a variety of different projects.
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There is one fundamental truth about learning calligraphy. That truth is this: at some time, you will find yourself addressing envelopes for an event. The occasion may be your wedding, a friend or family member’s birthday party, or a random acquaintance’s bat mitzvah. When people find out you can create calligraphy, they’ll want you to help them out for weddings, parties, and more — and I hope you’ll oblige because it’s great practice!
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As much as I adore letterpress invitations, I think I may love fabric wedding invitations more. There’s a certain magic to combining fabric, stitching, and paper; and when you add pretty calligraphy and/or illustration to the mix — watch out world! Plus, DIY fabric invitations are very reasonably priced. They’re so cheap {yet sophisticated-looking}, that you might consider using them for your next party in general … even if it’s just a pizza and beer affair. Just make sure you’ve got a couple of weeks to wait for the custom fabric!
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Sometimes it’s refreshing to switch up calligraphy-centric posts with posts that focus on illustration. That said, the botanical watercolor wreaths I’ll be showing you today can be paired with calligraphy for a breath-taking presentation! And, really, you don’t need to relegate yourself to watercolor. If you’re more comfortable using another medium {colored pens, colored pencils, markers, acrylic paint, whatever}, then go for it! These wreaths are impressive no matter what you use to make them.
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In a world where computer-generated type dominates, hand-lettering stands out in a beautiful way. If you want someone to notice something, write it out and embellish it! It doesn’t matter if you’re designing on a professional level {business cards, posters, billboards, etc.}, or if your goal is unique mail art. Either way, your lettering will get noticed! Today, I’ve put together three hand-lettering tutorials to inspire you; and more will follow in the next TPK blog post.
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Laurel leaves are the “it” design element right now. Anything you can possibly imagine creating — from a whimsical and approachable logo to an artistic wedding suite — can benefit from one. You don’t even have to get that formal; I include laurel wreaths on a significant number of personal correspondence, and sometimes even on Post-it notes. Needless to say, I am a fan.
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A couple of days ago, I received a thought-provoking email from someone. In the email, I was asked: “When you first started doing calligraphy did you like how it looked? Did it take a while before you felt you were doing a good job and you liked how you did it? … I’m hoping if I practice enough I will get good at it – is there hope?!” I remember having the same questions — and you might, too. Since sometimes it’s just nice to read about how someone else achieved something, I thought maybe it would be fun for you to read about how I learned calligraphy, and the ups and downs along the way. Maybe you’ll get ideas … or maybe you’ll be bored to tears. Hopefully the former!
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