Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post so today I’ve got a quick and simple birthday card tutorial for you. Supplies Washi tape in three different designs Brush pens Ruler Pencil Prefolded blank card made of at least 80 lb cardstock and coordinating envelope Scissors Instructions (see below for a gallery view of the photos and also a video of me making the card) Draw guidelines for writing happy birthday towards the bottom of the card. I chose to draw four guidelines 1/4” apart for the word birthday and tw ..read more

Once you have mastered calligraphy letterforms, you definitely want to start writing words.  Some letter connections can be easy to figure out while some letter connections can feel very tricky.  Then there is also the matter of connecting double letters.  In today’s blog post I want to talk about some ways to practice letter connections and give you some example.  First, I want to define words two words that I will be using often: Entrance stroke:  The stroke at the beginning of a letter Exit stroke: The stroke at the end ..read more

In today’s blog post I want to share a comprehensive list of calligraphy resources.  I will be covering everything from the best places to buy supplies to different books and resources for learning calligraphy. My goal with this post is to allow you to have a single resource for your calligraphy journey.  Just a note that the resources noted below are not an exhaustive list – these are just ones I have personally used. Let’s get started! Supplies Paper and Ink Arts John Neal Bookseller Both Paper and Ink Arts and John Neal Bookseller have a large variety of supplies for calligraphy.  These s ..read more

Faux calligraphy is a really fun technique that allows you to achieve the look of calligraphy using almost any writing tool (different pens, pencils, etc.) with a variety of mediums (mirror, tables, different types of paper, etc.).  When I say the look of calligraphy, I am referring to the stroke variation in calligraphy where you have thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes.  Take a look at the quote below that I wrote using a traditional dip pen and nib: Now, what if you want to achieve that look but on a chalkboard or a mir ..read more

Art journaling is an incredibly relaxing and fun activity that I recently started doing.  You can use it as a place to try different techniques (line drawings, painting, sketching, putting together collages, stamping, etc.). You can use it to try different mediums such as oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, pencils, colored pencils, pens, etc.  You can also use it as a visual journal of your day, your week, your vacations, etc.  It is a place for you to create art without judgement and you can give yourself permission to create whatever you want without feeling like you are going to “mess somethin ..read more

Before beginning any calligraphy session, I always take 15-20 minutes to properly warmup.  The concept of warming up for calligraphy is similar to warming up to play a sport.  If your body is not properly warmed up you will likely not perform as well or even hurt yourself.  Calligraphy is no different.  Warming up properly with drills and strokes gives your hands and arms the opportunity to get used to the motions of writing in calligraphy.  It also gives you a few moments of zen and prepares you mentally for your calligraphy practice.  During the warmup you also have the chance to test out yo ..read more

In today’s tutorial I will walk you through my steps to create a simple thank you card using heat embossing. I love the simplicity and elegance of this quick to make card. It took me about 10 minutes to make all together.Supplies Heat embossing tool like this oneEmbossing powder (any color you like)Cardstock (any color you like but at least 100 #) or a blank folder cardPencil for sketching your design Bone folder (if not using a blank folded card)Scrap paper for embossing powderPaintbrush or small brush for excess embossing ..read more

In today’s post I want to talk about heat embossing your lettering and review some embossing ink pens.  Heat embossing is a great way to add variety and interest to your lettering projects.  In order to emboss your letters, you need a heat emboss ink pen, embossing powder, and a heat gun.  In today’s post I am going to review pens from three brands and let you know which pens have given me the best results.  We will be discussing pens with a bullet tip and with a brush tip.  Then next week I will have a fun birthday card tutorial for you using heat embossing!  Let’s get started.Versamarker ..read more

The pencil is one of my favorite calligraphy practice tools.  The main reason is because it’s so accessible and you can use a pencil anytime and anywhere! Below I am going to list some ways that using a pencil to do calligraphy can help improve your skills.Great warm up toolMany times before a calligraphy or drawing session I will use tracing paper over my guidelines and a pencil to do some warmup strokes. Some strokes I like to do are ovals (clockwise and counter clockwise), Infiniti symbol and tornado drills. Improve your gripMany people, yours truly included, have an issue with having a “d ..read more

Hello November! You really snuck up on me, I can’t believe its almost the holiday season. Each month I create a calendar for my desk and this month I though it would be fun to provide a printable on my website for it. Below you can download my November printable calendar before I colored it in. There are so many uses for this printable. Tag me on instagram so I can see your lovely creations! See below for some ideas:Print it out on regular printer and trace on a 5x7 watercolor paper. Then you can use watercolor to color it in. See my instagram post for inspiration or come up with your own ..read more