Instead of buying rolls of wrapping paper, why not use some paper you have on hand to create one-of-a-kind gift wrap?
Corresponding by mail is fast becoming a lost art, but you can help bring it back and make an impression with these customized envelopes and cards.
These cake and cupcake toppers are perfect for all your birthday needs and only take minutes to complete.
Are you ready to throw a classy and memorable party? Not if you don't have a set of personalized place settings for the occasion!
Coasters are super simple and super scalable—make just one, make a set, or make some for everyone on your gift list!
Pumpkins can be Halloween-centric, autumn-centric, or for a totally different season or aesthetic—your imagination is the limit!
Lettering Refresh
This book focuses on teaching you how to apply your hand-lettering skills to the “real world”—how to use them to create beautiful hand-lettered items. But if you’ve picked this book up and have never lettered before, fear not! We’re starting out here with a little refresher course on the basics—just enough to get you going right away.
Throughout this book, you’ll see the same tools and processes used across many of the projects! That’s because these are the tools I am comfortable using. That’s important—find what you’re comfortable working with. The projects in this book are so versatile. If I am using a paint pen, but you’d rather work with a paintbrush, that is totally fine! The point is simply to create with confidence.
Lettering can be done in many forms. Brush lettering is the most popular, but it may not be the easiest form, depending on your skill level. If you are new to brush lettering, don’t worry! The basics of this kind of lettering style are simple: a brush pen tip is tapered and flexible, which allows you to make thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes.
An upstroke is any time your pen moves upward or away from your body. When you make upstrokes with a brush pen, you should apply little to no pressure to the pen tip, using only the thinnest part of the pen to make the stroke. See how there is no bend in the tip of the pen in this photo?
Downstrokes are just the opposite: any time your pen moves downward, you’re making a downstroke! Downstrokes should be thick, so apply considerable pressure to the flexible tip of your pen. Notice how the tip of the pen is bent in this photo?
I always warm up by creating as many upstrokes and downstrokes as I need to until my hand feels a little steadier. I highly recommend this before putting your lettering on a project.
An easy exercise to do in order to get the hang of noticing where your downstrokes are is to grab a piece of paper, write the alphabet, and circle every stroke that was a downstroke.
When lettering with a brush pen, you’ll need to constantly change the amount of pressure you apply between strokes. See the difference between the upstroke and downstroke just in this small part of a letter? Take your time and practice as much as you need to!
Connecting lines, or lines that move right and left, should also be thin strokes.
Check out my first book for more lettering instruction!
My first book, Super Simple Hand Lettering, includes more detailed instructions and covers layout, flourishes, and more. It also contains twenty diverse alphabets for you to practice! If you want to focus on your lettering skills and techniques, pick up a copy for yourself and use it alongside this book.
Brush lettering is typically done using a brush pen, but it can also be done with a round-tip paintbrush.
These are my favorite brush pens!
Pentel Pigment Ink Brush Pen
Tombow Fudenosuke Soft Tip
Royal & Langnickel Size 6 Round Tip Paintbrush
Tombow Dual Brush Pen
Tombow Fudenosuke Color
Each of these tools produces a slightly different look. The size of the brush nib determines how dynamic the lettering will look. Here’s an example of the thickest and thinnest strokes that each of these pens will create.
If you need a little practice, use the brush pen of your choice to practice these strokes.
Faux calligraphy is another great, accessible option for the non-brush pen user. Faux calligraphy can be created with any monoline pen.
Here are the monoline pens you’ll see featured throughout this book; they’re my favorites:
Posca Paint Pen
Tombow Mono Permanent Marker
DecoColor Premium Silver and Gold Metallic Pens
A monoline pen does not have a flexible pen tip, so