postskript materials & supplies

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as an expert hand letterer, having the perfect materials is key. from guidelines to oil based acrylic paint pens, i wanted to show you my tricks & tips to getting started in the lettering world. below are my must haves & i am always looking to add more to my supplies bags! i literally have bags for each of these categories - pencils, permanent markers, and chalkboard markers. i think it's easier & more organized when they're in separate bags - then you also don't have to lug around all your materials!

nothing mentioned below is sponsored - just trying to get the word out there on the success i've had using these products :)

suppliesbags

- pencils & guidelines -

my kate spade pencil bag i received by a friend for school has become my work pencil bag. it holds a bunch of regular pencils as well as my guideline pencils. there's two pencil sharpeners and two erasers - can never be safe enough! the kate spade bag came with two stripe skinny pencils, the little golden sharpener, an eraser, and the small plastic ruler. definitely one of my favorite gifts i've ever received & now it's being put to good use!

the guideline pencils were a referral from a fellow hand letterer and creative, @viacalligraphy. the pencils are stabilo aquarellables & are probably the best for guidelines on anything permanent. i don't suggest these while using chalkboard markers because when wiping away the guidelines, i typically have some water on the towel & that will wipe away the chalk marker. in situations in using chalk markers, i suggest using actual chalk! they're easier to wipe away & won't mess up your markers. i found these amazing chalk pieces from crate & barrel.

- chalkboard markers -

the first chalkboard marker i ever used was a bistro chalk marker in white 6 mm round tip. the bistro collection comes in various shades and tips. most of mine were bought from any craft store, joann's fabrics and michaels being my favorite stops. i did buy the pastels online though! i have an absurd amounts of white bistro round tips. they do have a chisel tip but i personally like the round tip more & feel that i have more control over my lines. i also have the jumbo for when i do larger pieces - like taller than me kind of pieces.

though bistro markers are temporary, i did stumble upon permanent chalk markers at target. i didn't know they were actually permanent until i messed up & had to learn the hard way. but now i have them always for when i don't want to use my acrylic paint pens on pieces. 

- paint pens - 

for most of my projects i use sharpie oil based acrylic paint pens. this year i've done a lot of glass and mirror pieces and these paint pens glide so beautifully on the surfaces. it's my absolute favorite. i have  plenty of black and white pens but also have silver, gold, and a few colors. typically black and white are what's more in demand. they come in various tips but my favorite to use is the medium point. these can also be found at any craft store - i get mine from michaels.

- calligraphy pens - 

though i do mostly hand lettering, i'm learning calligraphy as well. it's not as easy as i thought it would be. as someone who's always had decent handwriting and known about pressures on pens, i still have a lot to learn about this kind of art. my favorite pen to use so far is the tombow fude brush pen in soft. i ordered a pack of five on amazon and use them almost daily - especially on thank you notes to my clients. i also splurged on some tombow dual pens - paint brush on one side and a fine point marker on the other. these are nice to use, but the brush can be a bit thicker than some would like. they're great for bouncy lettering. personally, i prefer the fude brush pen. 

i did take a stab at actual calligraphy. i'm still in the early stages and i'm not horrible at it, but i do have a lot left to learn. this will take time and practice. but hey, so does everything we do.

- business cards -

one of my closest friends told me about this card company called moo. they are so easy to use and the quality is amazing. you can choose gloss or matte cards (my favorite is matte cards), and the card thickness, if you want it rounded or square, and the quantities are not bad prices! it's not going to be as cheap as say vista print, but the quality is a lot higher and when you hand your card out, people will know you are business. i get compliments on my cards all the time. there's an option to design with moo, but i designed the front image using a free online platform called canva. 

and i mean how could you not love moo when they give you compliments when you open the box???

- misc supplies - 

of course i have way more supplies than what's listed above. most of it is for packaging and thank you notes. 

first, i have loads of ribbons and twine. i wrap small and medium pieces in brown wrapping paper (found in target for $1 in that one section - ladies, you know EXACTLY what section i'm talking about) and make a bow with the ribbon or twine. i like the simplicity of that kind of wrapping. i also will note if it's fragile and to who the piece is for. if there's more than one piece, i'll label it "1/2" and "2/2". each package gets sealed by a postskript sticker, also purchased from moo. i went to target one morning and went in on some office supplies, such as tape, scissors, a hole punch, a small cambridge limited notebook (this is where i put all my projects, specs, and due dates - now you all know the dimensions of my work desk lol). i get my card stock for thank you notes and for name cards at paper source. paper source is probably one of my favorite stores to go into. their card stock walls are beautiful and i could stare at them all day. 

i have pieces of black paper laying around all over my work desk to blot my pens on to make sure the ink is flowing through the right way. i also have this tiny spray bottle that used to hold hair product (i think it was a thickening spray?) that i got from birchbox forever ago. it's perfect to hold water so if an oopsydaisy occurs, i can remedy it pretty quickly.

when it comes to wood i have a bunch of stains from projects i've done so far this year. i use the spray cans more than anything, especially to gloss over finished wood pieces.