Love Letter Envelope Lettering Tutorial
This year I wanted to start a little #sendaloveletter campaign to remind people of a Jane Austen type era this Valentine's Day. Holidays become so filled with commercialism, I thought it would be nice to get back to the root of it. So if anyone needs a little help sending a romantic note or setting up a dinner, we can help you with calligraphy services. Or through this tutorial, maybe jazzing up a card with a fancy envelope.
For this first tutorial, we are going a little less traditional, and used inspiration from Ed Hardy and tattoo type styles. Yet, of course, we had to add in a tiny bit of calligraphy.
You can complete this in a short time, for it is very straight forward, and
Here's what you'll need:
- pencil
-kneaded eraser (a regular eraser can leave marks on your paper)
-ruler (optional)
A lot of envelopes I use come from Paper Source. I like the quality and they have all the basic colors.
Once you have all your supplies together, start laying out your design. I started with the heart and banner, then added the rose illustration, and lastly the calligraphy. I couldn't get a good picture of just my pencil sketch, so I went ahead with the outlines in a white gelly roll pen.
For the calligraphy type, since I used a pen rather than a pointed pen, I had to go back in to thicken my downstrokes. This "faux calligraphy" gives the effect of calligraphy without the learning curve of using a new writing tool.
Feel free to reference any images to help you with this. I used an Ed Hardy drawing as my inspiration. For the type, you can make it your own by switching out the word "love" with your special someone's name.
Here's an alphabet of the kind of type I used:
One thing that's exciting about calligraphy is that it has been opening me up to learning more about type, something I've always loved.
Next, erase your pencil lines carefully. You don't want to rub too hard because it can take a layer off the top of your paper.
With a tombow dual bruish pen in the color 755, I added in some shadow to the calligraphy to add dimension. You can do this by adding a thin line to the right side of all your letters.
I also added a little around the banner, but you can also try adding color to the entire heart or the rose. Experiment with colored pencils as well. And if you are mailing your letter, you can find vintage stamps on Etsy that would really seal the deal!
"It may seem old-fashioned, but a love letter is a simple, beautiful way to show someone you care."
P.S. Isn't this excerpt I found in the newspaper so refreshing? What a great idea!
