Friday, December 28, 2012

Calligraphy Gifts



I love it when people want calligraphy gifts for Christmas! Here are a few Calligraphy gifts that came from my studio this year.

This one I call 'Weird Mat' both for the quote and layout as well as for the fact that though it is on mat board, the photo was to be mounted on it rather than behind a cut out. It was a fun project. (Please click on photos to see them a little larger.)


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This Blessing of the Hands was a fun project with some added flourishing.





And here is a quote with illustration, to be matted and framed.


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Friday, December 14, 2012

Merry Christmas



Merry Christmas in white script on red card with gold foil holly berries is my Christmas card for this year. Each one was hand lettered on a single piece of red card stock. The basic idea came from Michael Sull's workshop a few weeks ago. He demo-ed Spencerian script, which my capital letters qualify as, but not my lower case letters. They are too shaded to be true Spencerian.

The nib I love the most is a Spencerian number 1, an antique nib that is very flexible. The shades come easily to this little nib, so I have to concentrate to try to do letters without shading (the heavier strokes.) Michael Sull uses a Nikko G nib, which is much too stiff for me, but it also allows those unshaded downstrokes.

The fluid I used was Michael's favorite white - Dr. Martin's bleed proof white. I usually use McCaffrey's ivory when I want white on dark paper. I think I needed to be a little heavier with the white portion versus the water, but I do like the look of the card. I hope you do too, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The holly berries were done with a gold foiling pen. Fun to use, and discontinued in the USA, but recently brought back via Paper and Ink Arts in Nashville.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Place Cards - an Inexpensive Elegance

Place cards are an inexpensive elegance. They don't have to be reserved for weddings and large events. I have been lettering lots of pretty place cards lately including these recent ones for Christmas dinner parties. Aren't they pretty!

Other recent place cards for events other than weddings include these for a small dinner and a luncheon. It's fun to use place cards to add a touch of elegance to any day.



Saturday, December 1, 2012

Santa's Gift Tags

Santa asked me to help him with his gift tags this year. Here are a few I've done.





Ho ho ho! Christmas is coming fast!