Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Faux Calligraphy

Lately I have noticed there have been a lot of tutorials on Pinterest, blogs, etc. on how to do faux calligraphy, so I thought I’d join in and do one as well. A few years ago I’d just graduated college, it was winter time and it was freezing, I didn’t have much to do at the time, I’ve always loved the way calligraphy looks, and I decided why not teach myself how to do calligraphy – I ordered a calligraphy book off of Amazon and I can honestly say it was a lot easier than I thought it would be to learn.
I’ll admit, I have a legitimate calligraphy dip pen and ink but I’m not going to go the whole nine yards just to write a name or address on one envelope. Knowing how to do faux calligraphy definitely comes in handy when you are trying to make your writing look a little more special than normal for a special occasion, the technique of faux calligraphy come in very handy around Christmas time. Faux calligraphy is basically fancy cursive (I promise anyone can do faux calligraphy). For writing faux calligraphy I have found that using either a Le Pen, a Sharpie fine point pen, or a felt pen tend to work best.
The first step in faux calligraphy is to write out the name, address, etc. in regular cursive. During the first step I like to try and dress up what ever I’m with a few loops and embellishment {if your search copperplate calligraphy in Pinterest you will find some great embellishment inspiration}. After you finish writing out the name start to go over what you’ve written with the pen. An added bonus to faux calligraphy is it does not have to be perfect, in my opinion I think it looks a little better and a little more whimsical when it’s not perfect. Bottom line there is definitely room for mistake so don’t worry about messing up, just have fun with it.

The last step to faux calligraphy is knowing which section of the letter to make dark/thicker with the pen. In calligraphy there is the upstroke {the thinner part of the letter} and the downstroke {the thicker part of the letter}. Whenever you find yourself bring your pen in a downward motion while writing a letter that is the section of the letter that should be thicker. To achieve the effect of having upstrokes and downstrokes in faux calligraphy go over the “downstroke” section of the letter a few times with your pen to create a thicker line, giving the illusion of having upstrokes and downstrokes.

23 comments:

  1. This is a great tutorial! I don't know how steady my hands would be to do this, but it sure looks cute!
    -Alex
    www.monstermisa.blogspot.com

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    1. You could totally do this, it's really easy!

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  2. This looks like a great idea for brunches!
    ~Sophia
    http://plaidismyfavouritecolour.blogspot.com/

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    1. It would be perfect for brunches! Happy to see you found this post useful!

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  3. True story: we had to take calligraphy at my middle school when I was a kid on top of our regular penmanship classes... but I am so grateful now that I have the skill!
    xo
    Tara
    shoesillneverhave.blogspot.com

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    1. That's really neat that you all had to take a calligrphy class! It definitely comes in handy!

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  4. Oh what a fun hobby to be able to pick up! I hope that one day I'll be able to learn it too...it would making writing so much fun:)
    xo Olivia

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    1. Faux calligraphy is pretty easy to pick up, you should give it a try!

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  5. Looks interesting. I'll take your advice and go on Pinterest for more info :) xx Maja

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    1. Pinterest is the best place to find inspiration!

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  6. it's so pretty!

    styleandchocolates.blogspot.com

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  7. Thanks, this is new for me and I love this calligraphy!

    xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena

    www.dressedwithsoul.com

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  8. Looks amazing! My aunt is ridiculously crafty, can can do calligraphy. She bought me a set when I was younger, and I use to be pretty good at it. All I can remember is that the down strokes should be thicker than the up strokes. If only people would still write like this every day.

    -Katherine
    http://thegreenbows.blogspot.ca

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    1. I agree, I think calligraphy looks so much prettier than regular handwriting!

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  9. I love pretty stationery! :))

    Lu | www.balgarka.co.uk

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    1. Thank you! The paper is from Lilly Pulitzer.

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  10. I'm definitely going to have to try this...perhaps a quote that I love to hang on my wall. Hm...now to find the perfect one, and to start on it.

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    1. Good luck with the quote, I am sure it will look beautiful!

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  11. this is amazing! I've always wished I could do calligraphy!

    Makeshift Munch

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    1. You should give it a try! Glad to hear you enjoyed this post!

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  12. Hope you are having an amazing day as well Kenny!

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