My new thing I tried this month is connected to writing because it’s a form of handwriting! I have always had an interest in calligraphy, especially the gothic calligraphy font because I think it’s beautiful, intricate, and interesting.

So one day while I was shopping at Five Below with my boyfriend I came across a calligraphy kit for five dollars. The kit came with an instructional booklet, a pen, two nib sizes (1.1 and 1.9 for those who are curious), and five colored inks to use in the pen. I figured I would give it a try and if I decided I didn’t like it, then I wouldn’t have wasted too much money on it because calligraphy pens, ink and instructional booklets can be expensive!

So far I have only worked on the foundational lettering and want to practice it more before moving onto the more intricate lettering. Looking at my two attempts, I think I’m doing decent at it. The second attempt I feel looks worse, but at the time of the attempt I was on the phone with my soon-to-be university and had a hard time getting my angles right with my head tilted.  So the biggest tip I have is don’t attempt calligraphy while on the phone!

I have also found the 1.9 nib quite difficult to use and I think that has to do with it being a poor quality nib. Sometimes it wants to give me too much ink, other times it wants to give me little to no ink. In the case where it gives me little to no ink, I have to go back over my phantom letter and then it comes out kind of wonky. I’ve had calligraphy pens in the past that I used for regular writing because I liked how fluidly they wrote, so I know the nib is the issue.

I definitely want to continue on with calligraphy. I found it very calming and for my first attempts, I’m feeling good about where I’ll be with it after more practice.

Have any of you tried calligraphy writing? Did you like it? Dislike it? Still doing it now? If so, would anyone have any recommendations on a brand that makes good nibs? Or any good calligraphy pen brands in general? I would love to know your experiences with calligraphy! Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!