Texas ABC’s book in Calligraphy

I had the pleasure of contributing to Texas ABC’s A Book of All Things Texas that was assembled by Kaligrafos, The Dallas Calligraphy Society (of which I am a member).  Now that the book is available for purchase, I would love to give you a preview of the finished pages.

Cover of "Texas ABC's"

Each letter in this adorable book was created by a different member of the society and is paired with an illustration of something related to Texas.

Pages A and B

Anita Hofmeister’s ‘A’ is crowned in a cowboy hat and stands for Texas’ state animal, the armadillo.

Representing Texas’ shoe of choice is Catherine Burkhard’s ‘B’ for boot.

Pages G and H

I was excited to created the letter ‘G’.  I used a flourished style in multi-colors and paired it with a funky acoustic guitar.

The page across from mine belongs to Donna Sabolovic’s ‘H’orned toad.

Pages Q and R

The feathered ‘Q’ was illustrated by Betty Barna and represents quills.

The red bandana ‘R’, done by Randy Stewart, corresponds to a favorite Texas activity — Rodeo.

Pages U and V

The letter ‘U’, by Sherry Barber, represents popular Texas’ Universities, such as SMU, UT, A&M, Texas Tech, and BU.

The sunset colored ‘V’, lettered by Thomas Burns, is for vaquero (Cowboy in Spanish).

Pages W and X

June Baty’s ‘W’ is paired with an ink illustration of a windmill and Louise Weber’s ‘X’ marks the spot for Dallas on a red Texas.

Pages Y and Z

On the last pages, Brenda Burns’ ‘Y’ is for a lovely yellow rose and the slashed ‘Z’ for Zorro was illustrated by Carol Scott.  All of the words inside the book were lettered by Betty Barna.

Kaligrafos, The Dallas Calligraphy Society is a non-profit organization that promotes calligraphy and related arts.  This book is a great way to introduce children to the arts and it would also make a great gift for a Texas friend. Check out their website if you would like to purchase the book or find out more about Kaligrafos.

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

DIY Valentine’s Invitation with Belluccia Font

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.