National Stationery Week with Artline - Writing matters

Hello!  Today marks the start of National Stationery Week so you can expect lots of stationery related fun and content from me over the next seven days!

#writingmatters

One of the main ideas behind NSW is to promote the use of pen and paper, to highlight the fact that writing still matters and to encourage more people to get writing.  Cards, notes and letters are so much more personal when they are hand written.  It’s not often I get excited by an email or message online but when someone takes the time to send me a letter or card through the post, that makes me feel very special!

I write for lots of different reasons including communication, planning, pleasure and work.  I send letters to my friends, I plan my life and I really enjoy spending some of my spare time lettering and practising calligraphy.  I can do all of these things electronically on my iPad but it just isn't the same as selecting a pen and getting to work in a notebook or on a nice sheet of paper! 

With that in mind I thought I would talk to you about the different types of pens I use regularly and why writing matters to me.

Every day pens

For general notes, reminders, work and planning I want to use a pen that is comfortable to hold and that writes smoothly.  A pen that skips is one of my pet hates!  Artline’s Ergoline range has an ergonomic grip designed for greater comfort and increased control while writing meaning I can scribble away for longer using these pens! 

Calligraphy pens

I love how calligraphy writing looks, all the fancy swirls and little flourishes make even the most mundane words look amazing on the page!  I have been practising calligraphy, on and off, for years now, it is something I always come back to and enjoy doing.  

Artline's calligraphy pens are great for learning with because you don't have to keep stopping to dip your nib in or worry about knocking over a bottle of ink.  You can just take them out of your pencil case and get started!  The pens come in a range of colours and nib sizes too so you can create all kinds of different looks without having to flush your nibs out or buy a huge collection of inks in different colours.

Brush pens and fineliners

Hand lettering is something else I like to do in my spare time,  I do a lot of it in my bullet journal and like combining different styles and fonts together.  Pairing Supreme brush markers with Artline 200 fineliners always looks fun because of the difference in thickness between them.  The fineliners lend themselves towards little details and patterns whereas the brush markers are great for swirling and swooping around the page.

Writing is a pretty big part of my life, I know I type my blog posts up on a laptop but they nearly always begin in a notebook or inside my planner!  I have written love letters and received them, I have kept cards from special birthdays and occasions over the years and now I can look back at them whenever I feel the need too.  Snail mail and pen pals brighten my days and I hope my letters are received in the same spirit.  Writing connects us all and gives us something physical to hold onto, it becomes a part of our own history and help us plan our futures too.     

Have a great National Stationery Week! 

Artline Monday - Christmas envelope art ideas

I love sending (and receiving!) Christmas cards, sometimes they are the main contact I have with some of my far flung family and friends over the year so I like to make them look as nice as possible before I send them out.  Last year I wrote about Christmas card calligraphy and this year I am building on that with some envelope art you can do to make your cards look extra special.  

All set for some envelope art

I have four different designs to share with you can today, some are quick and simple to do and others will take a little while longer.  It just depends on how much time you want to spend on them and how confident you are drawing on the envelopes.

Classic red and gold theme

My first design is a classic Christmas theme, I used my favourite gold Artline calligraphy pen to write the surname of my recipient and then drew some different styles of snowflakes in varying sizes with the Artline 900 and 999XF metallic pens.  I wanted to make the surname standout even more so I drew around it with my black fineliner to give it some depth.  Snowflakes are pretty easy to draw but if you don't know where to start you can copy mine or google "how to draw snowflakes" for some step by step instructions.  

If you don't want to write or draw directly onto the envelope with your pens (in case you make a mistake) you can do it lightly with a pencil first and then go over it in ink when you are happy with how it looks.  

Snowy theme

This second design can be done really quickly but I think it looks great!  I painted a layer of snow along the bottom of the envelope with a white poster marker and then drew two circles for the snowman.  I added some coal buttons, a hat, eyes and a smile with my black fineliner and a carrot nose, scarf and twig arms with my Supreme pens too.

I used the poster marker to write the surname of the family this card is going to followed by their address with the fineliner and then covered the rest of the space with falling snow.  I have left a small space clear for the postage stamp as I want to make sure it is stuck securely to the envelope when I send it.

Christmas decoration theme

The third design features lots of Christmas decorations dangling down along the top edge of the envelope.  I used my gold star stamper for a couple of the ornaments and then drew the rest by hand.  All the pens and poster markers I used to colour things in were metallic for that extra Christmassy feel!

After I had drawn all the decorations on this envelope I made a mistake on the name so instead of throwing it away and starting over again I adapted the design and corrected it by colouring around the name (and hiding my error) with the purple Supreme pen.  If you made a mistake take a minute to look at the envelope and see if you can think of a way to salvage it using the products you have.  If all else fails you could always stick a white address label over it and write on top of that instead.   

Fairy lights theme

My final design is my favourite one, I absolutely love fairy lights so I covered my envelope with a string of them.  I started off by drawing the twisted wire around the top and bottom edges and then added the light bulb shapes.  I chose traditional colours for the bulbs and coloured them in with my Supreme brush markers and a yellow paint marker.  I used the paint marker because the envelope is a grey/silver colour and I wanted the yellow to really standout against it.  I also used my metallic silver Supreme pen to colour in the bases that attach the bulbs to the wire.

After I wrote the surname I added an extra string of lights to make it look like the name was part of the wire connecting the fairy lights together.  The whole thing took me less than five minutes so you should be able to whizz through a stack of cards with this design in next to no time!

So have I inspired you to have a go at some envelope art?  I would love to see it if you do have a go!

Thanks for stopping by!

Artline Monday - Christmas planning countdown

Eeeeek there's only five weeks left until Christmas!  Have you started getting ready for the holidays yet?  If not don't worry, I can to help you with my handy Christmas countdown.

My Christmas countdown created with Artline pens

This is my Christmas bullet journal, I set it up last year and I use it for planning, lists and memory keeping.  You can find my previous post about it here if you would like to see how I use it for recording our holiday memories.  

This year I have planned out my timetable for getting everything ready using my Artline Stix pens and fineliners.  It starts today and has a checklist of things I need to do each week in the run up to Christmas. 

My checklist for weeks four and five

You might have already completed some of these steps or you might find it easier to do them in a different order so if you make your own list think about how to make it work for you.  I like to do as much as I can early so it is out of the way and then I can get on with enjoying the season so I might complete some of these steps before they are due but I have added them to the week I want to get them done by at the latest giving me some wriggle room.

Week five

This week I want to think about gift ideas (for the people I haven't already brought for), making sure I have all the postal addresses I need for cards and presents, checking when I need to order my Christmas turkey by and the date I can prebook my online food shop delivery and finally buy Christmas cards so I can get ready to start writing them.

Week four

I'm going to put my tree up and look for the best prices for the presents I want to buy.  I will get everything I need to wrap the gifts including paper, ribbon, sticky tape, bows and tags and I'll also work out how many stamps I need for my cards and buy those too.

Three weeks and counting

Week three

By this week I want to finish buying the presents and get them all wrapped and posted for the people I won't be seeing before Christmas. I will also get my cards into the post so they arrive in plenty of time for the holidays.  The last couple of things I want to do is start buying (and hiding!) the Christmas snacks and treats and look around for the best deals on the drinks we like too.

Week two

This week is the perfect time to visit friends and family as it is close to the holidays but not when everyone is crazy busy getting ready for the big day.  It is also when I will finalise my Christmas Dinner menu and before I buy half of the supermarket I want to make some extra room in the fridge and freezer.  At some point this week I'll want to do the BIG Christmas food shop so I will have everything we need apart from the fresh items that I will buy the following week.  There's one more thing to do, sort out some entertainment for while we are all home like DVDs and board games we can play together.

Week one 

Okay, for the last week before Christmas I just have a few things left to do.  They are do any food prep I can get out of the way early, collect my turkey and buy any fresh ingredients that I couldn't get before.  The finale thing I have on my checklist is to relax and enjoy the holiday, which I have to say is my favourite step!

I hope this helps you with your Christmas planning!

Artline Monday - World Kindness Day 2018

Tomorrow is World Kindness Day, one of my favourite days of the year!  The idea behind it is to make the world a brighter and happier place by committing small acts of kindness and spreading a little joy.  These acts can be random (also known as a RAK) or they can be for someone you know, how you choose to celebrate the day is up to you. 

I thought it would be nice to make some little cards with kindness quotes on them that I could hide for people to find, either in my children's school bags or somewhere out in the "wild" for strangers to discover.

Linen card and my Artline pens

I started with some lovely linen card and ripped it into smaller sized pieces using a ruler so I got a nice raw edge. I wanted to end up with something similar to the size of a business card or postcard or something in between the two.

Different sizes of card

Then I got out my Artline fineliners, bush pens and Supreme metallic markers and started writing the quotes. I mixed up the types of lettering and colours I used to make them look a little more fun and interesting and added some stickers and stamps for decoration.

Writing a quote

On the back of the cards I wrote World Kindness Day and the date 13th November 2018 so people would know what they were for and then they could search online for more details about the day and maybe commit their own acts of kindness too.

My little set of cards

I am going to put one in each of my daughter's bags tomorrow before school and I thought I'd hide the rest around my local community centre so they can be found and hopefully spread the message about World Kindness Day!

Will you be joining in with your own acts of kindness tomorrow?

Wedding Wednesday with Artline - Invitation calligraphy

Have you selected your wedding invitations yet?  Are you planning on writing them all yourself?  If you answered yes then you are in the right place!  Last week I shared some ideas about wedding planning and I thought for today's post we could talk about using calligraphy to write and address your invitations.

Wedding invitation and calligraphy pens

It doesn't matter if you haven't tried any kind of calligraphy or hand lettering before, all you need is a pencil, a calligraphy pen, a notebook and some spare time to practice your letters.

If you look online there are hundreds of calligraphy lettering styles to choose from, find one you like that shows the complete alphabet and use this image to copy each letter.  You will also need to find a style of numbers you like for when you address the invitations.  If you aren't confident with a calligraphy pen to begin with then practice with a pencil until you are used to writing the letters in your chosen font and then move onto the pen.  

Practicing and trying out different pens

When you are using the calligraphy pen remember you want to press slightly harder on the down stroke of each letter and lighter on the up stroke.  This gives you the basic calligraphy look for your lettering and then you can work on the flourishes and embellishments.  

If you find yourself struggling with a calligraphy pen then you could cheat and use a pen or marker instead.  You just need to make each down stroke line a little thicker.  In the image above I have used a silver metallic marker then a calligraphy pen and a bronze metallic marker in the large notebook.  When I was using the markers I just went back over the down strokes once I had finished writing each set of letters to make them look wider and like they were done with a calligraphy nib.  

Muscle memory will make you want to write each letter in your normal handwriting to begin with so the more you practice writing in the new style the easier it will get.  It might be worth carrying a calligraphy pen and pocket size notebook around with you so if you find yourself with a spare five minutes during the day you could get them out and fill that time with lettering.  Little practice sessions soon add up and you will find yourself becoming more confident and start to write the letters naturally when you pick up your pen! 

Retraining muscle memory

If you decide to go with a calligraphy pen then Artline have lots of different colours to choose from so you can match them to your colour theme or you can go with a traditional black calligraphy pen on your invitations.  If you are looking for something a bit different then I love the metallic and rustic sepia shades but there are also pastel colour calligraphy pens available if they are more your style.

Addressing envelopes

Once you are happy with your lettering then it is time to get started on the invitations!  It is a good idea to do them in small batches so your hand does not get tired and you are less likely to make mistakes if you only do a few at a time and then take a break. 

Here are my top tips

• Practice as often as you can

• Go slowly and take your time

• Write the invites in small batches 

• Try writing any complicated words in pencil first on a scrap piece of paper before you move onto pen on the invitation or envelope

If you want a few more hints and tips check out my previous lettering post here and if you do have a go at using calligraphy on your invitations please let me know how you get on!

Artline Monday - Making Valentines Day cards

Yes!  We made it through January!  February always feels like a much nicer month as it is so short and we have Valentines Day slap bang in the middle of it!  It is a month for love and showing people you care so for today's post I am sharing some ideas about how to make your own Valentines card for that special someone.

Card making supplies

I brought a really pretty book of patterned card recently and a set of chalkboard sticker labels so I thought I would use these to make my cards along with a selection of Artline pens. 

Folding the cards

I removed pieces of card from the book and folded them in half to give me nice size greeting cards to work with.  I added a chalkboard sticker to the front of one of the cards and wrote on it with my chalk marker.

Artline chalk marker & chalkboard sticker

Using a chalk marker on a chalkboard sticker is a great idea if you are worried about making a mistake.  The chalk markers are more vibrant than using regular chalk and provide a better coverage too.  If you do make a mistake or just don't like how your message turns out the marker is easily removed with a slightly damp cloth.  Once it is dry you can try again until you are happy with it!

Artline calligraphy pen

For my next card I wrote a message on a journalling card using one of my Artline calligraphy pens.  Then I glued the journalling card onto the front of my Valentines Day card and added a couple of heart stickers to it as well.

Making one last card

I used another calligraphy pen for my last card and some milk and cookies stickers I have had in my craft supplies for a while now.  Because the stickers weren't very big I cut down the card to make it a bit smaller and then wrote "We go together like...." across the top.  

Here are how my cards turned out, I think they look quite sweet!  

Finished cards

Will you be sending or hoping to receive any Valentines cards this year?  

Artline Monday - Christmas card calligraphy

It's December!  It's time to get your Christmas cards written and in the post!  Since I have been practising my lettering and calligraphy this year I thought I would try and use my new skills on my cards and share some hints and tips with you today.

Christmas calligraphy 

It's okay if you are a complete beginner, you don't need to have had months of practice to make your cards look fancy.  All you need is a good calligraphy pen and some paper to practice the words you want to write.

I suggest you sit at a table or desk and angle your paper, notebook or card slightly to the left if you are right handed and to the right if you are left handed.  This will give you room to rest your arm on the table while you write and gives you better control over your pen.

On the down strokes you need to apply a little pressure to the pen to make your lines look nice and thick and then a light touch on the up strokes for much thinner lines.  Try doing these strokes a few times until you get used to writing this way with a calligraphy pen.

Practising in my notebook

The next stage is to practice the words you need to write on your cards and envelopes.  If you don't have an idea of what kind of font you want to use take a look on Google or Pinterest for some inspiration, just search for Christmas calligraphy and see what takes your fancy.  

Once you have found a style you like try and copy it on your paper or notebook and repeat until you are happy with how it looks.  When you are confident move on to writing it on your Christmas card or envelope.  Go slowly and take your time with each letter, rushing through the word makes you more likely to make a mistake.  

Depending on how many cards you need to send you might want to write them in batches instead of doing them all at once.  My hand seems to cramp up if I spend too long writing so I like to do five or six cards at a time and then take a break.  This also keeps my handwriting nice and neat as it gets messier the longer I write!

When I was practising I used a 3mm calligraphy nib but this was a bit big for inside my cards so I changed down to a 1mm nib instead.  The smaller nib was the perfect size for the cards and envelopes, leaving me plenty of room to write what I wanted to on both.

Slow and steady

I am only writing the recipients names in calligraphy on my envelopes, I will be adding their address in a clear, print font so it will be easy for the postmen and women to read when they are delivering my cards.  I used an Artline calligraphy marker for the names as it is permanent ink and water resistant and I will be writing the addresses with an Artline Supreme permanent marker for the same reasons.  These inks should withstand any rain or snow the cards might encounter along the way and not run or become illegible.

So, are you feeling inspired?  Will you being giving this a go with your Christmas cards?  I think I am going to go and finish mine off now so I can pop them in the post before the rush later in the month!

Artline Monday - Hand lettering and calligraphy

Earlier in the year I was bitten by the lettering bug and ever since then I have been trying to improve my writing and learn how to do calligraphy again.  I used to be quite good at it when I was younger, I had a set with different colour inks and assorted nibs but I got out of the habit and I'd forgotten the basics so I had to start again from the beginning.  I would definitely say that I am still a novice but I do have some tips for you today if you fancy giving it a go.

Created using Artline calligraphy pens, calligraphy markers,
brush markers and drawing pens

Look online

If you don't know where to start then the internet holds the answers!  I have found lots of help and ideas for hand lettering by simply Googling it and searching Pinterest.  There are worksheets you can print off and use or you can find interesting fonts to copy freehand.  There are also hours and hours of video on YouTube with lessons on how to do calligraphy and lettering for beginners.  Grab yourself some paper, a pen or brush marker, fire up the videos and start learning!

Take your time and don't forget to breathe

A good piece of advice I was given by a calligraphy expert is to go slowly and take your time.  There's no rush and the longer you take on each letter or word the more control you will have over your pen. 

It is really easy to sit and hold your breath while you are writing because you are concentrating so hard, don't forget to breathe!  

Have fun

There's no point in learning a new skill if you don't enjoy it!

Mix fonts and pens

Try mixing fonts and different kinds of pens to create a fun look.  In the spread above I used some Stix drawing pens which have a really fine tip and then paired that with brush markers which are much broader and great for any type of flowing/cursive writing.

Practice

Spend a little time on your writing each day, you will soon see an improvement!

I am using these Artline calligraphy pens to practice the alphabet at the moment, they are available in four different widths, 1mm through to 4mm and come in a range of colours.  What I especially like about these pens is that the ink doesn't bleed through the pages of my notebooks so I can use both sides of the paper and not waste any space.  They are also smudge resistant so there's less chance I will ruin my work with a stray finger!  

Depending on how much spare time I have, I try to do a page or two of practice a day.  I want to get to the point where it becomes second nature for me to write letters this way instead of my regular handwriting!  When you are trying to do calligraphy remember that your down strokes should be harder making them thicker and the up strokes lighter and thinner.  

I also have a few calligraphy markers in my collection, these are permanent markers and are great for crafts like card making because they write on coated papers that are nice and glossy.

My calligraphy practice using a 1mm pen in sepia

Cheat

Sometimes I sketch out the word I want to write in pencil before going over it in pen.  It gives me a chance to work on how it looks before I commit to doing it in ink and I can play around with the thickness and adding little flourishes to the letters.  

It doesn't have to be perfect

It is okay to make mistakes, you can either try to correct them or start again.

Try different pens

Try different pens to see which work best for you.  I have a calligraphy pen that you have to dip into the ink to use but I find it much easier to use a regular pen that has a calligraphy style tip.  This means I don't have to stop every minute to reload my ink or worry about knocking the bottle over when I am trying to work on my letter formations.    

Pen test - calligraphy pens and Stix brush markers

If you are learning calligraphy or lettering at the moment or if you have already mastered the skills do you have any hints or tips I have missed out?  Please share them with us!