There are a ton of beautiful script fonts available but I wanted to try to isolate some of the new calligraphy fonts that feel more close to a ‘real’ hand. I chose a selection from classic & sophisticated to the more casual and even girly.  A lot of these font designers have multiple offerings that may entice you as well. I love fonts, but I do try to keep my font collections to a minimum, too many fonts can slow a computer down and also I am not known for being able to make a quick decision. These are not free fonts, they will take an investment, but I really feel like they are worth it. The bottom one is from the font house Emily Lime a newcomer to the scene, I love everything she is doing and from what I am seeing on the interwebs it seems like a lot of designers feel the same way.

From top to bottom:

Burgues Script//Nelly Script//Jacques & Gilles//Zaner/Belluccia//Bombshell Pro

I have mentioned my friends at Magpie Paperworks prior, but it’s worth having another easy to access link for you here to buy their beautiful calligraphy fonts.

P.S. Calligraphy fonts will never replace the beauty of a hand-lettered piece, but I know not everyone has the time + inclination to letter themselves and also you may not have the budget to hire a calligrapher so these fonts are beautiful alternatives.

I have had the image of the beautiful model with Italian script floating across it on my inspiration board for two moves, basically for-like-ever. I just love the effortless hand; loose, sophisticated and uncontrived. I first found the image on a Tumblr blog (where you can usually find no information about content source) and I had NO idea who it was, then to my complete and utter delight the genius behind the creation left a comment here. Yes, you read that right, she left a comment here, on this little blog and I was able to finally give her the kudos she deserves. Not that she needs my kudos as luxury companies such as Audi and Collette Dinnegan have already hired her hand for their projects.  Sabine, of Pick Me an Australian based company is the artist and I just love it all.  I couldn’t find much about her from her site, but I now know she has done magazine covers (wow) and the name Sabine is perfect for someone with such artistic inclinations, doesn’t it just sound like the person behind the name should be doing something wildly creative? I hope you like this find, you can visit her site here (a Paper & Ideas Studio) and see a bit more of her work. I shall be back later with more lettering tips and the like so stay tuned…

On a more somber note, it is 9-11 today, which always brings back a traumatic time in my life (as it does for many). It was a turning point that was forced upon me, but really set the ball in motion of who I am today and how my life has been lived and turned out thus far.  As the great Winston Churchill has been quoted as saying, “If you are going through hell–keep going”.  I agree. If anyone reading this is going through a dark time, just know it is temporary, it will pass and you will come out the other end a better person, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now.  My wish for you today is to have a beautiful, wonderful and unforgettable day filled with possibility, love and laughter (lots and lots of laughter).

Oh, what a week this is going to be for me-BUSY!  I decided since it will be such a whirlwind week that I would dedicate this entire week to lettering (thus getting myself a bit organized).  I am getting SO many emails with specific questions and I can’t answer everyone individually (although I would love to). I will be covering dip pen nibs that I have been using, books, resources, new to me lettering artists, favorite calligraphy/hand lettering fonts and of course some downloads.  I hope you enjoy this week and it answers some of your many questions.  I will be back to my usual chaotic blog next week!

I was a little pre-occupied today completing a tutorial for another blog (not my own), that I neglected to work on the lettering post I had planned.  In a perfect world I would be incredibly organized and have posts written weeks in advance, but the world is not perfect, nor am I.  I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that I write my posts on the fly each day.  I like to think that I am being spontaneous but really I am being lazy. The whole not having a particular subject on a particular day has kept me in ‘fly’ mode, but I think that this year, maybe even this month I plan to get a little more organized here.  I thought I would start with Thursday being my Lettering post day, but obviously today I failed you and myself.  Not to fret, Friday is upon us and I shall write a nice big one tomorrow with loads of links!  These photos are of a rogue pond off the side of the road; a road that my husband and I take to get to the grocery store. It’s so odd that it pops up out of nowhere. The pond is sandwiched between two houses and nearly abutts the road. I always worry that someone (hopefully not me) will accidentally drive right into it. I have been wanting to get a shot of it for awhile, but asking my husband when he’s on a mission to get somewhere to pull over on the side of the road so I can take photos is usually futile. On Monday he was feeling generous with his time and acquiesced but kept screaming, ‘be careful’, which only made me feel jumpy and ill at ease. Standing in front of that pond is scary, it’s as large as a lake and I don’t know the difference except I don’t think lakes are covered in lily pads. I saw a movement in the water and my husband said it was probably ‘crocs’. I know he was just teasing but being that close to the pond/lake with the potential for a giant fanged dinosaur- like creature to pop its head out of the water and eat me for breakfast didn’t sound like a good time. So, I turned on my heels and ran back to the car, until next time when I am feeling a little more brave.

My husband and I recently moved cross country, we arrived safe + sound our bed frame didn’t– it was in dire straits (it cracked in half). Instead of replacing the frame the mattress and box spring have sat on the floor looking like they belonged in a frat house instead of my abode. To remedy this situation on a budget I tried a few traditional bed skirts but they were ill fitting and useless; I even tried a fitted sheet on the box spring which looked equally as unkempt then came my light bulb moment.  I initially was going to just upholster the box spring (which I still may do), but I am a decor commitment-phobe so I started with this super easy, no-sew bed skirt project. Let’s start with the supplies you will need to get started:

I chose the drop cloth because I wanted a linen fabric, but since I didn’t know if this was going to be a d.i.y. gone wrong I figured I would use it as my ‘dry run’ material.  It’s great to get the linen look without the linen price. I also chose it because all the ends are finished (they are hemmed) and that would mean I wouldn’t have to sew anything.  Sharp fabric scissors are your friend, especially when working with thicker cloth. Upholstery pins look a lot like tacks but have twisted bottoms, if you don’t know about them, they will change your d.i.y. decor life, you will be ‘re-upholstering’ everything you can get your hands on. The iron you can use or not, I did as I wanted my drop cloth to look crisp.

I wanted this project to be quick + easy, I didn’t even bother to measure! I held the drop cloth where I wanted it to hit on the floor (the finished edges on the floor side) and cut it straight across just to where you wouldn’t see it when the mattress was on top. I repeated this step on three sides. I had my ‘skirt’ just touching the floor, because I wanted to give it a really polished look. The upholstery pins twist easily into the wood frame of the box spring and you can remove them just as easily without any visible damage. I just twisted them along the edge of the inner box spring (but far enough back that when the mattress was on top you wouldn’t see them). The corners were a little bulkier, but I folded the edge over and added a couple more pins to keep it in place and keep it looking finished.

This is a super easy fix to an ugly box spring and just think of the possibilities! You could do faux pleats, add a sleek ribbon trim border, do stripes or florals or…?  You will never buy an ill-fitting bed skirt ever again. You could take this one step further and use furniture staples to wrap the cloth all the way around the front of your box spring for a faux upholstered bed look. I like the idea that I can change this out at my whim.  Enjoy!