Wedding Blog
I know I promised pictures of some of my amateur calligraphy work, so here we go!
Like I mentioned in my previous post, these really didn’t take TOO much time and I think they add a nice touch to the envelopes. In fact, when Mr. Pearl and I took them to the post office to get hand cancelled, the postal worker asked if I wrote the envelopes and remarked on how pretty she thought they were. So, I figured that if a perfect stranger noticed, then surely my loved ones will notice (and appreciate) this extra touch.
Paper Source class: $50
Staedtler calligraphy pen set: ~$18
Total cost = $68
When I was looking for calligraphy, the best price I found was about $2 for outer and inner envelopes. For my 100 invitations, I have now just saved over $100 *and* have the satisfaction of a job well done. 
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Share this post: Calligraphy, Revisited
Looks good!
Those look lovely; I am very impressed!
However, the amount that you have blocked out is almost certainly not enough to protect the privacy of the addressees; you may want to block more details out.
I would surely notice it if I got one in the mail. Great job, Miss Pearl!
You are way more patient and dedicated than me! They look great!
They look great! I just did mine in a nice cursive writing… I should have tried to take a calligraphy class earlier on!
I tried with the calligraphy - not so good. But we ended up having our done with the “Inscribe” system - which is basically a robotic calligrapher - we picked a scripty font so they look hand done - they were awesome AND cheap - a good one for consideration!
Oooh, I like. My question is, where did you find the font to base it off of? I really enjoy practicing calligraphy but haven’t found many fonts I really liked. Also, what kind of nib did you use?
Very professional looking, but not TOO professional looking. Like, casual calligraphy. I like it.
Agree w/ twelvetigers. I like the personal touch more than the perfect “hired out” or “computerized” look.
They look awesome! I never thought of taking a class before I addressed my own.
Wow–now I think I may have to take the class. Looks perfect!
They look fantastic! motivation for me to warm up the fingers to do the addressing myself when the time comes.
very nice! 
like a pp said, your envelopes exude casual, effortless elegance. this little swirls work well with the plume design of the invites, too.
oh yeah, jealousE of your letterpress, too.
Thanks all (most?)
To answer some questions…
tachee: I just looked at some websites of calligraphers I liked and tried to sort of emulate the style I liked without beating myself up trying to copy it exactly. It’s not any real font, just a bit of my normal handwriting with some more care and flourish. This was done with a fine point nib and brown ink.
HamiHarri: I didn’t draw pencil lines, but I lined up calligraphy paper next to my envelope and visually tried to keep on track. I’ll be honest, some of them came out kind of crooked…I just say it’s “handmade individual charm.”
The question I’d love to know the answer to is how long did it take you to do all of them?
FI thinks it was hours.
ldsbride, admittedly, they did take a while. I didn’t sit down and do them in one set though. Each night, I’d sit down and do a couple of envelopes while I was catching up on my Tivo’d shows. Plus as I went along, I got faster. So yeah, I guess your FI was right
I’m doing calligraphy myself, too.
My suggestions:
1) Get the book on Amazon with 100 different calligraphy fonts. It’s spiral bound so you can leave it open while you work. It also shows you the direction of stroke and order of strokes.
2) Use calligraphy nibs (my set was $6 at Michael’s) not felt tip calligraphy pens.
3) Use a program to draw out lines ahead of time and slip it into your envelope to use as a guide when you write. (Make sure the lines are dark enough to read through an envelope.)Include minor lines for the tops of lower case letters and the bottoms of lower case letters that go low (like j and g).
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Mrs. Pearl, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, High school history teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 37, Software engineer
Engagement Date: No official date, we just decided :-)
Wedding Date: July 2007
Venue: St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church, Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel
About Me: Mr. Pearl and I have been together for about four and a half years now. We've been "engaged" since 2004 and were originally supposed to get married in June 2006, but postponed the wedding to July 2007. I love shopping for housewares and office supplies, music, reading chick lit, football, and the diverse world of Los Angeles dining.
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