I Give My Calligraphy a B+

I Give My Calligraphy a B+

July 22nd, 2008 @ 2:00 pm by Mrs. Peacock

I decided long ago that I was going to teach myself calligraphy and that I was going to use said skills 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 beautiful, meticulously designed and carefully crafted letterpress invitations. They are my pride and joy. How was I going to mess them up with that slop that I was calling calligraphy? I panicked and started considering labels, printing or just buying a nice gold pen and trusting in my normal handwriting.

Fortunately, my mother knocked some sense into me. I had already spent a decent chunk of change on the book, pens and inks, not to mention hours of practice. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it would still make me happier than throwing in the towel and using labels. So I bought some gold ink that perfectly matched the gold ink already printed on my envelopes and I went to town.

Here is one I made just for you! Yes, I chose a smeared and discarded envelope to display my skills, but you can still get the picture.

peacock1

Please disregard the smear next to the zip code

I could not break myself of the habit of writing into the top right corner. Some are better than this one, but most look best if you tilt them slightly to the left. I am pretty happy with how they turned out! In the very least, I haven’t had any phone calls advising that I fire my calligrapher. The invites went out last Wednesday and we are already receiving RSVPs! I am so, so excited. I will show off the rest of the invite once I am confident that all my guests have seen them.

If anyone is interested, I used Gold-Metallic Bronze ink from Windsor and Newton and a C-4 nib. It was like banging my head against a wall as the gold flecks constantly separated from the liquid, but the color was just right. I also recommend an Idiots Guide to Calligraphy. They gave some great tips on positioning the paper and creating a good working surface. I ended up buying a new book from Dick Blick’s so that I could try out a few more styles, but the Idiot’s guide was a great place to start.

Are you attempting to learn calligraphy to address your own invitations?

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18 Responses to “I Give My Calligraphy a B+”

Bee

Miss Pomegranate (message) 956 posts, Busy bee

Very, very nice!
This is exactly why I love wrap-around labels. I have NO calligraphy skills.

7/22/08 @ 2:28 pm (reply)

Member

indecisivebride (message) 337 posts, Helper bee

A+ for effort…the gold ink pairs perfectly with your envelopes!

The letters themselves look really great…all uniform and pretty! I’ve heard that the tendency to write at an upwards slant means you are an optimist…so I guess it’s better than having your letters slant downward

I addressed mine by hand (in cursive) and mine are slanted…and some look a little irregular (especially when I had to pause during the writing process to check I was spelling Albuquerque and Sammamish correctly)…oh well

7/22/08 @ 2:31 pm (reply)

Member

peachypear (message) 343 posts, Helper bee

Wow… that’s quite the undertaking. Calligraphy is no small task - My mother used to do calligraphy and I remember her working for hours… I’m so glad you didn’t back down, though! Looks great, and I’m sure your guests will appreciate the extra work.

7/22/08 @ 2:32 pm (reply)

Member

ChicagoSarah (message) 159 posts, Blushing bee

What a lovely envelope! I’m very impressed with your calligraphy - I entertained similar thoughts, as I actually had some past calligraphy experience, but then I decided, hey, I get so many compliments on my plain old handwriting, why not just go that route?

7/22/08 @ 2:42 pm (reply)

Member

groomzillaisme (message) 59 posts, Worker bee

they look great!

7/22/08 @ 3:19 pm (reply)

Member

fallgirly (message) 62 posts, Worker bee

I did mine and it was so rewarding when they were all done!! In fact I’ve gotten compliments left and right and are actually doing a friends wedding!

7/22/08 @ 3:20 pm (reply)

Guest

Starry-Eyed Barefoot Bride

I think you have underscored yourself at a B+. I am no calligraphy expert but I think that looks damn good chicka!

7/22/08 @ 3:30 pm (reply)

Guest

DeLuna

This look amazing! I will grade it an A+!! They look like u paid a professional.. Maybe you can even do this as a side job from now on hehe

7/22/08 @ 3:56 pm (reply)

Guest

Sarah

I had taken calligraphy classes in the past (with my right hand, even though I’m left-handed), and decided to do my own. I got through the A’s (to be fair, there were a statistically improbable number of A’s) before thinking to myself, “Self, what would your normal left-handed handwriting look like if you used this fancy pen?”

Turns out it looks pretty cool.

7/22/08 @ 4:07 pm (reply)

10.

Member

missm (message) 811 posts, Busy bee

Wow! They are really nice - don’t be so hard on yourself.

Thankfully, my FSIL has beautiful handwriting, so it just looks like I paid someone to do ours. My calligraphy skills are nil.

7/22/08 @ 4:29 pm (reply)

11.

Guest

kristin @ the fairmount bride

not bad! lord knows if i gave it a go, it would be all over the place!

7/22/08 @ 5:11 pm (reply)

12.

Member

LeahB (message) 427 posts, Helper bee

millie, I don’t think she is fishing for compliments at all. She didn’t ask what we thought of it, everyone gave their opinions on their own.

And to add to that, I wish my regular handwriting was decent enough to go on envelopes or anything for that matter… every line looks like it was written by a different person, it’s like my hand is schizophrenic.. haha! Anyway, I think they look awesome! I had fleeting thoughts about learning calligraphy, but like I said, they were very short-lived!

7/22/08 @ 5:22 pm (reply)

13.

Member

LeahB (message) 427 posts, Helper bee

D’oh, I meant multiple personalities…

7/22/08 @ 5:23 pm (reply)

14.

Guest

linda

good job on a first go! I’ve learned from the hive to use a template insert into the envelope so that the handwriting stays somewhat straight!

7/22/08 @ 5:25 pm (reply)

15.

Bee

Miss Peacock (message) 374 posts, Helper bee

Thanks, all! It was a major task and it was very rewarding! Calligraphy is surely not necessary (love me some wrap around labels and fun scripty handwriting) but since I had always wanted to learn, I went for it.

@LeahB: Thank you!

7/22/08 @ 9:11 pm (reply)

16.

Guest

JCM9608

I would not have had the patience to do all of that! My idea of calligraphy (DIY) was to print it in some pretty font through the computer and printer. It turned out really well.