I love how they used the font not only on one of their beautiful patterned invitation pouches but also on the other pieces combined with a clean block letter.

Belluccia font on Envelopments invitation in Martha Stewart Wedding Winter 2012 issue

Here’s another cool Envelopments design as seen on Rebecca Calagna’s Blog Love. Inspire. Create !

Belluccia font on Envelopments Invitation

Just love how they incorporated some of my Belluccia ornaments and flourishes along with the font in such a creative way.

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

French themed invitation

I was thrilled to create these French themed baby shower invitations for one of my best friends who is soon to be a grandmother! My friend and her daughter love French culture and style.  These invitations will match the color and theme for the baby girl’s nursery.  I wanted them to be chic, like the mother, and celebrate her as much as the expected baby girl.

I’ve gotten lots of great feedback from the recipients who loved the black and pink combination.

The wording on the invitation was created using my Belluccia font and a simple block font.

Clip Art of a baby pram was used to add some graphic to the piece and then printed on Rose Quartz Stardream card stock.

The perfect accompaniment is a pink envelope addressed with black ink in the Belluccia style. C’est magnifique!

I’m also happy to be hosting the shower so there will be more french themed pictures to come!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Table signs named after favorite restaurants

I love the trend of naming your wedding reception tables after things or places that are special to the bride and groom.  In this case, it’s restaurants!

Birch Table Holders with Names in Calligraphy

The birch pieces with slits for cards can be ordered online.  Here are two resources I found:  Floral Accents on Etsy   and Vermont Brand Company on Etsy

I created the cards with Cardstock and hand lettered them in dark brown. If you want to DIY, you could use my calligraphy font, Belluccia, to print on the cards and place cards.

Escort Cards and Envelopes

This particular client chose to use escort cards and envelopes. They were created in the matching lettering style.  One advantage of using escort cards is the flexibility to be able to change the guest seating arrangement up to the very last minute.  Just replace the current card in the envelope with the new table assignment card.

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

You tickle my fancy! sign in Belluccia font

It’s a lovely event with lots of  yummy treats and hand made Valentines from an incredibly creative group. We are not talking run of the mill Valentines.  They are all so unique and beautifully hand crafted in a variety of materials.  There are too many to post but here are a few pics to “tickle” your fancy!

Hand Constructed Theater Valentine by Janell Wimberly

Hand made Valentine by Julie Yuhanna

Hand made Zentangle Valentine by Angie Vangalis

Hand made Valentine by Jeri Wright

Two hand made booklet Valentines by Rick Garlington

Hand Made Pop Up Valentine by Lynette Broyles

Ceramic Heart Valentine

Embroidered Heart Valentine

Hand Made Fabric Valentine

I couldn’t keep track of who did what so I will have to update this post when I find out the names of the calligraphers for the three above.

Yummy Peanut Butter Passion Hugs

Hope you enjoyed these delightful designs!  Check out more about Kaligrafos here.

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Final poem cut and backed with foam core

A favorite client came to me with this delightful poem “You Are My I Love You” by Maryann Cusimano Love.  They had me create it for their daughter as she was turning one.  Since people are always asking ,”How do you do that?”  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how a project like this is made.

A rough layout of the poem

First I determined from the client, the size and shape of the final piece.  She asked me to emphasize certain phrases that were her favorite.  She had a particular place on a wall that she wanted to hang it.   Next I discussed my vision of a combination of lettering styles and the flow of the words.  After that I created a rough layout on tracing paper.

Dark and Light pink gouache paint

Two colors are chosen and mixed. This can take a long time and lots of testing but they need to be just right. A sample of the colors is lettered on the chosen paper ( Arches 140lb 300 gsm hot press Watercolor )  and sent to the client for approval.

Dark Pink wording is brush lettered using a light table

The rough layout is tweeked a bit before the paper is placed on my light table and the first color and style of lettering is brushed in.

Using black strips of paper to determine where to crop

After the second color of lettering is done, I used black strips of paper to help me gage where the piece should be cropped.  The original poem is then mounted on foam core and given to the client for framing.

The client was so thrilled she even had me make a color copy for display at the child’s birthday party while the original was being framed.

For me, it’s a nice feeling to create something that expresses so much love and whose words will be cherished by this little girl as she grows into a young woman.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of the process of a lettering artist and the time and care it takes to do what we do!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Tickled Pink Valentine's Party Invitation

It’s time for the annual Kaligrafos Valentine’s Exchange Party!

Front and Back of Valentine Invitation featuring my Belluccia font,flourishes and oraments with hand lettered envelope

I was happy to create this “Tickled Pink” invitation for it.  Several of our Kaligrafos members volunteered to do all the calligraphy on the envelopes.  The White lettering on the dark pink envelope really pops!

Here’s the quick DIY steps:

Darice brand Sticky Shapes

1. I used the pre-cut heart shapes purchased at Michael’s.  Since only one side has an adhesive, and I wanted to attach something to both sides, I sprayed the back side of the pink paper I chose for the back of the invitation with 3M 77 Multi-purpose adhesive spray.  Then I attached the non-adhesive side of the heart to the adhesive sprayed paper.  I was able to fit 4 on a 12″ x 12″ piece of pink pattered paper purchased at Hobby Lobby.  ( Say that three times:) Then I cut the paper around the hearts using an x-acto knife.

Pink Patterned Paper attached to heart

2. I traced the heart and scanned it into my computer so I could design all the lettering to fit into the heart.  Using Adobe Illustrator, I placed the scanned heart on a layer to use as a guide.  On a second layer, I created the design using my Belluccia font, flourishes and ornaments.  I chose to put the lettering on a slant for a more dramatic touch. I also created the background flourish and ornament design in a lighter pink.  You can download the PDF here.

Heart outline copy

3.To print, I used a white shimmer Stardream paper in text weight.  I was able to fit two on an 8.5″ x 11″.

Heart and printed page with Belluccia font on light table ready for cutting.

4. I placed the printed sheet on my light table so I could see where the wording was located. I placed the heart over the wording, making sure everything fit.  Then using my x-acto knife, I cut around the heart.  I purposely wanted some of the flourishes to go off the edge.  If you don’t have a light table, you could use a window with light behind it and trace the heart in pencil before cutting.

5. Lastly, I attached the feather to the center of the heart using a glitter stick-on pink foam heart.  Both the feathers and the stick-on hearts are available at any craft store.

That’s it!  I’d be “tickled pink” if you decided to make these:)  Please send me a pic for posting if you do!

Kaligrafos is the name of the Dallas Calligraphy Society, a wonderful group of talented sharing calligraphers and artists.  We have meetings 8 months of the year with programs focused on various calligraphic hands and related artistic fields. We offer a variety of workshops and classes in which to participate including free workshops aimed at new members or to those who wish to enhance a particular hand. No matter where you are in your lettering journey, join us – we all start somewhere, so why not now?

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

Calligraphy on Envelopes by Lettering Art Studio

For those of you who have been asking, I will once again be teaching the Intro to Calligraphy workshop on Saturday, March 10 from 1-4pm.

I’ll be covering the basics of lettering including letter forms and stroke making. We’ll be using chiselled calligraphy markers and brush markers to make it easier for beginners to get the feel of the letters. ( There will be no pen and ink used in this class. ) We will also experiment with gel and glue pens, lettering on dark paper, as well as using a Versa brand brush marker with embossing powder and heat tool to create words that pop!

This class is designed for beginners. So whether you want to make place cards and gift tags, have envelopes you’d like to address or have always wanted to try calligraphy, this is a good starting point.  I hope you can join me!

To sign up, call the Paper Source at 214-696-4400.
Class size is limited so sign up early to get a seat!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

I love creating personalized gifts of appreciation that will make the receivers’ day. My goal is to wow them at every step.

wrapped gift

First, I painted and hand lettered words from the poem around this circular container.  I also painted the lid of the box to look like the Target logo. After tying a matching polka dot ribbon around the package I attached a round thank you card with hand lettered spiraling text.

foam snow flakes

Seeing as this box contains delicious (and breakable) cookies, I needed to find a decorative way of protecting the contents.  I used these foam snow flakes and white shredding to cushion the cookies and keep them snug in the box. They also happen to go with the theme.

cookies with lettering

These adorable cookies were baked and decorated by the talented Mary of It’s A Mary Cake.  Mary decorated the little girl cookies to look like the children from the advertisement and made the colorful dinosaur cookies to go along with the poem.

St. Jude's cookie

Mary also duplicated both St. Jude’s and Target’s logo in fondant and then I hand lettered the words.

I’m happy to say, my contacts at Target were delighted to “taste and see” their gift.

I had so much fun creating this one. This idea could be used for so many different occasions.  And who doesn’t love receiving a cookie?

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia, one of myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011, is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.

I took a whimsical approach to the signs, playing on the names she gave the food items.  Bright colors were a must.

The food signs included: Piggies in a Blanket (my personal favorite), Make your own Frito Pie Bar, and We Wheelie Wheelie Love You Pinwheels. Sweets included: wONEderful Texas Sheetcake, sONEy Days Lemon Bars, Reach for the Skies Lollies, and cupcakes in four different flavors.  Personalized name tags were attached to the children’s party favors while the adults received a box of chocolate with ‘a’ special tag with the birthday girl’s initial.

This was a fun project.  All of these bright, happy colors really livened up my studio and the birthday party!

And as always my calligraphy font, Belluccia is available at : myfonts.com and fontbros.com.