Weddingbee Blog

Today’s guest DIY post comes from Jennifer of With This Ring. Jennifer shows us how to create perfect calligraphy… even if you’re a novice!

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I always knew I wanted the classy elegance of handwritten calligraphy on our wedding invitations. Unfortunately, $2.00 per envelope for our 100 invitations didn’t exactly fit the bill. I’ve spent many hours drooling over the designs of calligraphers such as Laura Hooper and Heather Victoria Held (if only I had half of her talent, just half!), wishing I could afford their exquisite services.

I’ve always been artistic by nature, and my handwriting is probably better than average, but it is certainly not calligraphy-caliber. Nonetheless, I couldn’t bear to settle for computer-printed envelopes or even worse, sticker address labels (gasp!). So, I decided to give it a shot on my own! Here’s a little sample of how my first few envelopes turned out…

Not too bad, huh? Well, I have a little confession to make.

I totally cheated!!

Then I entered the first recipient’s address and set the font color to brown, just a few shades lighter than the envelope color. I adjusted the printer settings for my 5.25 x 7.25″ envelope, and printed the address directly onto the envelope. This took a little more time and more practice envelopes than I expected to get the positioning right, but I finally wiggled it around and got it centered.

Then, I traced over the address using my white ink and calligraphy pen. You need very good lighting for this step, because the brown ink on brown paper was difficult to see. The brown-on-brown ensures nobody will be able to see if I don’t cover the printed lines exactly (except you guys, of course). It actually took two coats of ink to get the right amount of coverage, since the white ink was a little bit translucent.

While this shortcut was extremely helpful, it still required a bit of finesse to figure out how to use the calligraphy pen and bottled ink. You need to position the pen at an angle to produce the thinner and thicker lines within the letters, and adjusting the pressure on the pen controls the amount of ink that’s released from the nib. I would definitely suggest a few practice runs before you start on your envelopes.

This technique would also work well with any other ink and paper color combination, and gives that fancy handwritten feeling without the worry of crooked lines or inconsistent lettering.

Are you considering DIY calligraphy? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

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Do you have a fantastic DIY project that you’re itching to share with the hive? If so, submit your blog entry to guest(at)weddingbee.com.