Today, I want to share with you my favorite hand lettering books! You may be wondering what that has to do with Bible study, but I assure you, handlettering will help you to enjoy your study time even more.
If you love making pretty things, hand letting Bible verses is a creative way to add beauty to the truth of Scripture. It also allows you to meditate on Scripture. When you come across a verse that you want to remember, you can letter it out. Getting creative with it requires you to slow down, to focus on what you’re writing AND the verse stays in your mind longer now that you have an image to go with the words.
What is hand lettering?
It is simply making letters and words beautiful to the eyes. There are different ways of hand lettering—some involve fancy pens and markers that require soft paper while other styles let you steal from your child’s Crayola marker stash. The style is up to you—fancy calligraphy for an elegant look or #happyhandlettering for a joyful look!
What if you don’t like your handwriting?
Your handlettering will look different than your hand writing. While jotting down a grocery list, you’re not worried how it looks, and you’ll be writing it as quickly as possible. While hand lettering, you will have to slow down and focus on making each letter and stroke just the way you want it to look.
You can learn it!
You can take a class in person, or there are books and even online classes. I’ve used four books total, and I’m sharing three of them here! If you have an iPad Pro with a fancy pencil, then you can use the Procreate app. You can even download worksheets for learning how to letter on the app.
Here are a couple resources I have not used, but you may be interested in:
All She Wrote Notes online classes. Watch her videos for uppercase and lowercase letters.
Brush and Barley Procreate instructions. Download workbooks from her Etsy shop!
You want to learn handlettering
It is a relaxing way to bring your mind peace and to experience joy in seeing a finished project. Then you can even share that joy with others—snap a pic or give a gift with your lettering. I’m not talking about a mug or wall art, just simply a card with their name in fancy writing on the envelope or share a pic on social media.
If you have children, hand lettering is a fun, short activity that actually makes you feel like you accomplished something! I like to letter while my kids are watching a movie or even while I’m cooking. It doesn’t take long and I feel like I’ve actually done something in the short bursts of time that I have available with three kids all asking me for different things at different times!
My favorite hand lettering books
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I may receive a few cents at no additional charge to you!
Calligraphy Made Easy is a great beginner book. Ashley Gardener from Printable Wisdom gives detailed instructions, and there are lots of practice pages for your drills of thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes. The calligraphy in this book has an elegant style and you’ll need brush pens to follow along. After you have the hang of it (mostly), you’ll love the project pages. These pages are decorated with flowers and her completed project is on the left hand side of the book, while you have the right side of the book to add your lettering. So fun! Find it on Amazon.
This is a parter book to the book above, the Calligraphy Made Easy Project Book. One of the best things about the first book are the project pages—and this book is all project pages! Look at the inside pictures to see what kind of projects you’ll be doing. This book will also require brush pens if you want to emulate Ashley’s style. Only buy this book if you already have a grasp of handlettering basics. Here is the Amazon link.
Ashley Gardener also has The Handlettering Bible on her site. It looks a great combination of the two books, plus way more.
I love this book so much that I gave away a free copy on Instagram! ONE of the great things about Happy Hand Lettering is that it requires NO fancy marker pens—just some broad line markers from your child’s stash of markers will do. Maghon Taylor’s love and joy in lettering is absolutely contagious! You will feel so happy just reading though her book. Each project in the back actually reads like a devotional. She shares a Bible verse and writes about how that verse applies to her life of #happyhandlettering. Then you get to trace her beautiful lettering or write your own. There’s so much joy and happiness in this fun lettering style, you will definitely feel a lift in your spirits!
Handlettering Supplies
Here is a list of supplies you might need, depending on which book you buy.
Brush pens:
Tombow Brush Pens are great for writing big letters. I used these in Calligraphy Made Easy and Calligraphy Made Easy Project Book. Pentel fine point brush pens are better for writing in smaller spaces.
Soft paper: You’ll want some extra practice paper after you’ve finished the books! With brush pens, you’ll need softer paper than regular printer paper. Buy a pad of paper to keep from damaging the brush tips.
Crayola markers are what you’ll use in Happy Hand Lettering. No special paper needed. You can also use these markers to learn some Crayola Calligraphy!
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