Mission: Calligraphy

Mission: Calligraphy

May 15th, 2008 @ 2:03 pm by Mrs. Peacock

I have always had a fascination with nice handwriting. I think it began in third grade when I saw my friend Melissa dot the “i” in her name with a little heart. Fortunately for me, there is also an “i” in my name. This led to good grades in handwriting- until I decided to write my name in entirely lowercase letters because I thought it looked better.

I often scrap a complete thank you note because I realize that the text had a slight slope. I will spend long periods of time playing with the pens at the Paper Source, trying to find the best tip. This obsession has created a nagging voice in the back of my head, begging me to learn calligraphy before the wedding. So, I bought a book and pens and here I go!

I bought the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Calligraphy.

I need to do a little more reading and a little less cheating by going to the pictures of the letters and the little arrows rather than learning the technique. I was going to post pictures but I would rather hold off until I am a little more confident. A class may have been a better route. Has anyone had any luck with this book or one like it?

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14 Responses to “Mission: Calligraphy”

Bee

Miss Tiramisu (message) 877 posts, Busy bee

Good for you to try your own calligraphy! I tried some copying over of computer text and failed miserably, so I passed the job off to my mom with her perfect schoolteacher penmanship!

I can TOTALLY remember signing my name with a heart over the i. Blast from the past

5/15/08 @ 2:23 pm (reply)

Guest

katya

I used this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Calligraphers-Bible-Complete-Alphabets-Draw/dp/0764156152/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210874797&sr=8-1

I liked it because it was spiral bound and I could keep it open while I worked. They also included directions on strokes and the order you should do them, plus lots of alphabets to choose from.

I also started right in!

5/15/08 @ 2:43 pm (reply)

Guest

lilpetunia

Not a comment regarding the book, but since you mentioned a class. Paper Source in Lincoln Park has calligraphy classes. Four classes, I believe $100 or $110. I planned to try it but I was busy, so maybe this summer. Might be an option if price is right for you.

5/15/08 @ 3:05 pm (reply)

Guest

brendalynn

My handwriting can be all over the place–I’d be interested to hear what you think of the book, if you, ya know, read some of it

5/15/08 @ 4:10 pm (reply)

Guest

Diana

I will have to check out that book. I was interested in taking a course to learn calligraphy b/c i think it would be so nice for my invitations. I just don’t know if it would take too much time to address every label…what do you think?

5/15/08 @ 4:44 pm (reply)

Guest

Liene at Blue Orchid Designs

“I often scrap a complete thank you note because I realize that the text had a slight slope.”

Me too! I’m glad I’m not the only one who does this!

5/15/08 @ 5:32 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Peacock (message) 374 posts, Helper bee

@katya: If this one doesn’t work out, thank you for the recommendation!
@lilpetunia: They kept offering the classes on Monday nights, when I had grad school, and now they aren’t offering them I am keeping an eye out, but the clock is ticking!
@Diana: I think that it will definitely take awhile, but the more that I practice, the faster I will get!
@Liene at Blue Orchid Designs: There should be a program for people like us.

5/15/08 @ 10:25 pm (reply)

Guest

Diana

Any idea how much it would cost to have someone write out my invitations using calligraphy?

5/15/08 @ 11:11 pm (reply)

Guest

Carolyn

I just wrapped up a calligraphy class tonight through the Learning Annex in NYC. Alot of talented calligraphers will give you 1 on 1 lessons. It is worth it to learn the technique.
GOOD LUCK!
http://www.serendipityandspark.com

5/15/08 @ 11:23 pm (reply)

10.

Member

mikala (message) 42 posts, Newbee

I played around with books a little bit and finally just started looking at fonts I liked and trying to imitate the letters with a calligraphy pen. I just finished the calligraphy on my envelopes and borrowed the Miss Donut’s calligraphy template. I also have the slope problem and the template really helped keep things aligned. It also helped to do a mail merge on my address spreadsheet to lay out the addresses line by line in a font I liked. I started out just copying them down while looking at the spreadsheet and found it was too easy to accidentally jump lines. Good luck!!

5/15/08 @ 11:35 pm (reply)

11.

Guest

katya

Diana:
The very cheapest you’ll find is $1 per envelope (not counting shipping charges to send the invites to non-local calligraphers). Most are $2 or so per envelope.

I almost used this one (her prices have gone up from $1 to $1.25)
http://www.prettypenjen.com/

5/16/08 @ 2:49 am (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss Peacock (message) 374 posts, Helper bee

@mikala: Thank you for your comment! I just went back and found Miss Donuts post. I should have searched Weddingbee first- duh! I probably would have used another title for my post, too

5/16/08 @ 9:19 am (reply)

13.

Guest

I Give My Calligraphy a B+ » Weddingbee » The Wedding Blog

[...] on my wedding invitations. I have always wanted to learn and now would be a good time. So I bought a book, studied it, practiced it and became slightly confident in my skills. Then my invitations came- my [...]

7/22/08 @ 2:20 pm (reply)

14.

Guest

Nicole R.

I am interested in purchasing this, but wanted to know if you were interested in selling yours if you are finished. Please let me know

9/15/08 @ 2:11 pm (reply)