In my childhood, I used to get these strong thoughts in my head about how talented I would be at something. I had this vision in my head of me becoming the next famous softball player, scrabble player, or baton twirler and begged my parents for lessons or to join a local team. My parents knew that these things probably wouldn't be my cup of tea and that I might embarrass myself in the process, but they let me take lessons and learn my lesson the hard way. I joined a local softball team and almost broke my hand by putting my hand in front of my glove to catch the ball (why!?), I lose at almost scrabble games (I still love it though), but my my mom put her foot down when it came to baton twirling lessons, thank goodness. And now I'm not even sure why I was interested in taking those!
But I am totally into calligraphy and one of my goals this year is to become super-amazing at calligraphy. I recently took a class on SkillShare and haven’t looked back since, which you've probably noticed on our Instagram. I think this might actually be my thing. In fact, I might be {one day, if I practice} pretty good at it. *gasp* So since I’m basically a calligraphy prodigy (haha) I figured I better fill you in on a few tips since calligraphy is totally trending right now!
WHAT YOU NEED TO START CALLIGRAPHY:
Things to know :
-This is not your grandmother's calligraphy. But it can be if you want it to be. There are all styles of calligraphy, and I happen to like modern… not traditional.
-Calligraphy supplies really aren’t that expensive. You need:
- nibs
- pen
- paper
- ink
-You do not have to have amazing handwriting to start calligraphy. If you practice your style enough then you can totally pull it off!
-Calligraphy is super messy, at least for me. Make sure you aren’t writing on a nice desk, because ink will most likely be splattered all over it, and not in a chic way.
-Practice makes perfect, so practice, practice, and practice some more.
Places to learn calligraphy :
-Skillshare > search Calligraphy. This is where I learned. Since I loved it so much, I'm going to be take more classes, maybe here, maybe one of the awesome places below, to keep learning! Uh, maybe this summer when school slows down. Junior year is buuussssy.
-Fake it ‘till you make it - not really calligraphy, it's, wait for it… how to fake it. Or if you want a true short cut, just buy the font.
-I still love Calligraphy - I don't know much about this, but it looks pretty.
-LH Calligraphy has a a super-cute starter kit on Etsy and a gorgeous Instagram! The price is reasonable too.
photo via LH Calligraphy
Please let us know if you try any classes and what you think of them, plus tag us and show us your calligraphy skills on Instagram! xo ~chloe
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