Hand lettering??
 

I hope this isn't a duplicate thread....

I have some questions about "hand lettering."

I am a little frustrated with the inflexibility of rubber stamps when it comes to sentiments.... then I struggle with using a font. I have lousy depth perception, and a tendency to see details that most others miss.

So, I am wondering if hand lettering might not be a solution for me...

*when I say hand lettering I mean the pretty handwriting that some folks are able to write with... like the people that can write in that Comic Sans kind of handwriting. Or the letters with the little dots on them

so, where can I learn it?? Does anyone else use it??

You can pick up a calligraphy book that will teach you how. An older drafting text book (like one from before computer drafting) will also show how to do lettering.

HTH...

Many years ago I took a couple of Calligraphy classes. This is one of the books we used.
If you work through the book you will learn to write beautiful Italic style. This book is for a calligraphy fountain pen. I used an Osmiroid pen for the class, but I don't think they are made any more. There are several good callagraphy pens on the market. I now have a Sheaffer pen

Amazon.com: The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting: Cursive and Calligraphic (9780020799900): Fred Eager: Books

The other book we used was Hunt Speedball Text book . It is for a C nib dip pen and India ink . There are pictures of the pens used
Amazon.com: Speedball 20th Edition: Speedball Textbook for Pen and Brush Lettering: Gothic, Condensed Gothic, Calligraphic Script, Thick and Thin Script, Roman, Cartoon Gothic, Uncial Gothic, Old English Text, Poster Script (1972 Printing, 19723067)

Both are great and show you step by step how to do it . I still have both of books.
Hope this helps

is printing it on the computer out of the question? that's what i do. i just print it on whatever color cardstock i want then punch or die cut it out. it looks just like it was hand stamped and there are so many different fonts and styles. i'll try to get a picture if i can.

Picture
 

just a quick example. you can print on any color cardstock. i just used white because it was already in the computer. you can very easily choose the color you want by doing a custom color until you get what you like.

just an option until you get good at handwriting it. i especially like it if i want to put a poem on the front. i have a cute ladybug poem and some baby poems i put on the front of my cards.

Assuming you mean the folksy kind of style, that one's really easy because it doesn't have to be perfect - that's part of the charm of it. Just decide on the basic shape of the letter and add dots at the appropriate points. The attached pic was one of my first goes at this (and I just realised in finding the pic that it's almost four years ago, right at the start of my stamping addiction!). You can always plan the positioning with light pencil first, use your marker over the pencil and then erase any visible pencil once your marker is fully dry.

If you don't like the idea of using your computer and printer, the other thing you could consider is alphabet stamps. There are all kinds of fonts out there in lots of different sizes both clear polymer (easy to see what you're stamping) or natural rubber. You can spell out anything at all once you have a set of alpha stamps in your hand.

HTH!

I so agree with Barbara Jay about taking a calligraphy class if that sounds interesting to you. It's one of the best/most fun things I've ever done. I'm not a pro at calligraphy now by any stretch, but practice really does help and it's so relaxing to just sit down and concentrate on making each letter over and over. Pick up a Sheaffer pen that comes with refills or some calligraphy-tipped markers. Maybe google images of letter types you like and practice copying them. If you happen to like your own handwriting, then this will probably come pretty naturally to you before too long.

it isn't "out of the question." It's just a bit of a struggle for me. I have a bit of a problem with depth perception, and I lean to the opposite end of the spectrum as what most folks would assume. I tend to notice very small details that most everyone else misses. It's very easy for me to read fine print.... so it's hard for me to figure out what size font to use, so other's can see it well.

I have a program for scrapbooks, and it's preset to 24pt. I don't know if that is large enough or not.

Maybe this might help with your perception issues and size of fonts:

I think I understand what you're saying. Fonts vary in size according to which font you are using. Just because you set the size / pts. the same on different fonts, does not mean the fonts will look the same.

One type of font sized 14 pt. can appear much larger than another font sized 14 pt. because of the size of the font to begin with.

A good guideline I think is a common font used in business letters, Times New Roman. If you set it to 14 pt, this is a size most people can read easily. Whatever different font you decide to use, try to set its size/pts so that the printed font looks about the same as Times New Roman 14 pt.

I print sentiments on my computer and this is my "go by" most of the time, especially for sentiments inside the card. If I'm printing a sentiment to go on the outside, like Happy Birthday, I would make it a little bigger.

that's exactly it! It drives me bonkers how the fonts seem to vary in size... and, i have no problem reading an ornate or curlie cue style of font. From what I hear, they are hard for other people to read.

you explained it so well. i was trying to think of how to put it in words. that's exactly what i was thinking. print out something in Times New Roman 14pt and keep it handy. i would print black on white paper and punch it out in a scallop punch or other punch and keep it handy. when you want to print something in different fonts and sizes, just hold the punch up to the screen and you can compare it that way.

thats how i print some words/sentiments for my punches. i will punch out the shape in vellum then hold it up to the computer screen and resize it as needed until it fits inside the punch or label the way i like it.

MACM has a file you can download for $4 called "Exploring your personal handwriting style. It's really nice for handwritten setiments. here's the link
Exploring Your Personal Handwriting Style
You may want to give this a try.