This blog post is all about using lettering in your journals and working on your handwriting skills.
Different writing styles, fonts and designs can really help bring your journal pages to life and ensure the important things stand out.
We've focused on this topic on Patreon throughout January, so I wanted to share a wrap-up post along with some tips and resources for you.
The creative project we focused on throughout the month, was creating some gratitude journal pages using as many different fonts as possible. For inspiration we referred to some of the fonts in my first book and I also shared a Pinterest board full of ideas. This felt like a lovely low-pressure way to try out some different lettering styles and these pages will also be a useful library to refer to in the future.
Brush Lettering is one of my favourite ways to make quotes, headings and key information stand out on my page. My absolute favourite pen for this type of lettering is the Tombow Fundenosuke brush pen with a firm nib. If you have struggled with brush lettering using pens with a larger nib, I highly recommend giving this one a try. The nib is small, making it much easier to control, whilst still giving those lovely thick and thin brush strokes. I use this pen in my in-person workshops and it's often the turning point for many who are struggling with lettering.
If you are interested in trying out brush lettering for yourself then I have a free brush lettering worksheet here. Also, I shared lots of tutorials on Patreon throughout January and you can gain immediate access to them through my Journal VIPs membership tier here.
Another really fun project for trying out different lettering and font styles is to create your own handlettered ephemera. I used mixed media paper and then created lots of backgrounds, mostly in watercolour, which I then added lettering to. One bonus of this project is that you can discard any you're not happy with, rather than them already being on your journal page.
For these journal pages I used Tombow ABT brush pens for splashes on the left-hand page, as well as the lines on the right. They are water-based pens so they are really versatile. They work wonderfully straight from the pen and then give a lovely water-colour effect when diluted, creating a beautiful base to add your lettering on.
One thing that lots of people say to me, is that they're not happy with their handwriting. Firstly, I think we are all our own worst critics when it comes to our handwriting, and I love seeing the quirks in all of our writing. However, there are some aspects you could look at, like spacing, slant and consistency to neaten up the overall appearance. We covered this on Patreon and took some time to practise pangrams, which are a great way to work through all letters of the alphabet.
The final style we looked at this month was vintage style journal pages using a serif font. This type of writing takes a while, but I think it's so satisfying to look at, particularly when paired with brown colours, old book pages and black and white images.
I really hope this blog post has inspired you to try out some different fonts and lettering styles in your own journal. I think they can make a huge difference to the appearance of your journal pages and enables you to bring your own personality to the page.
*Some of the links contained within this blog post are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Finally, I have included a YouTube video below where I focus on the joys of leafy lettering. I really hope you enjoy it, Helen x