Creating with pen and paper has to be one of my favorite things to do. My Mom has many treasures from over the years.
I just can’t get over my love of real paper and pens.
I’ve always loved buying a new pen. Anything that looks cool or writes nifty has long sucked me into buying it. Over the years people have given us a small Wal-Mart supply of school pens and pencils.
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My pen stash…I need a few more, right?
I’ve told myself that I wouldn’t buy another pen until that stash was gone.
I’ve been diligently using up those pens…..but I haven’t stuck to that “I won’t buy another pen” idea very well.
I’m not sure any pen can outlast a basic BIC pen. They remind me of the Energizer Bunny…they keep going and going and going.
I’ve put colorful tape on mine so I will hopefully use it up before I lose it. I know that may sound a tad neurotic, but I love the feeling of using a pen to the last drop.
I’ve found that when you want to use a BIC pen to the last drop you are in for quite the commitment. Those pens really do last forever, which should be a testament to the pen, itself. I doodle and draw and scribble and write and they just. keep. going.
I want to use my pen collection all up, so that I won’t feel bad buying a new one. As much as I applaud BIC for their never ending ink…it’s not a super cute pen.
I like basic black or blue ink for most of what I do, but does the pen, itself have to be boring? I know the quality of pen doesn’t change based on the outside appearance…but I just love bright and pretty things.
My dear husband was daring enough to let me join him on his office supply store visit a couple weeks ago. Taking me can be rather adventurous as I can rarely get out of there without a pen or a box of tea. Why do they sell tea there? I have no idea.
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My new pens from the office supply store.
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Look at what a fine tip this has! 0.4 is awesome. I love it.
A few years back I watched a YouTube video about Master Penman. The guy is amazing to see. It inspired me to try learning more about calligraphy….but as is the nature with my less-than-perfectionist self…I didn’t get that far.
In that process, I learned about brush pens and hand lettering. It’s not hard to be consistent when you’ve found something you really love.
I bought a couple books and read tons of blog posts. I find neat ideas and then try to replicate it. I’ve found composing my own work is challenging. Getting everything sized correctly and balanced is harder than it looks.
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Some great Hand Lettering books. They’ve taught me a lot.
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Trying to work out my own lay out and lettering formation. Its kind of hard.
So this is part of my journey…just learning more and having fun with it. I can endlessly work on hand-lettering. It takes me a long time to make anything that looks remotely decent. With each new project it is fun to see improvement.
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My first piece I worked on. It’s a magnetic board that I hang my cords on. It’s pretty handy!
It’s easy to see how far I’ve come…(with a long ways to go, yet)…when I look at the first things I ever did.
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One of my more recent pieces.
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Sorry the picture is a little gray. This was one of my first attempts to work on canvas. I had it setting on my desk unfinished when my husband saw it and starting laughing. He said maybe I should just leave it like this…..Yeah…read it again. My kids laughed with us too. They teased me about it for days.
I think the best website I have seen so far with exceptional freebie helps is here, Lettering Daily. They have stuff that is just awesome and will really take you to the next level in hand-lettering. You should definitely check it out.
If you are a crazy crafter like me and have ever wanted to learn how to crochet, check out this page.