I have always loved the old fashioned way of writing particularly with a fountain pen, so I thought I’d share with you some great ideas using calligraphy in gift wrapping
Ribbons, Wooden Spool and Tag by Jane Means
I am very lucky to have worked along side the talented calligraphy expert Judy Broad, who’s help I enlisted when I opened my West London Pop Up Shop at Clifton Nurseries. Lots of folk (including Brides) came along to pick up tips and skills to incorporate into their crafty projects, their parcel paper decorating or their letter, card, place name or gift tag writing.
Image courtesy of Manuscript Pen Co
Green Stripe Ribbon by Jane Means
In our tiny shop we stocked the great range from Manuscript Pen Co and I ended up being a total addict!
Calligraphy by Judy Broad
Colourful inks, quills and calligraphy pens make great, creative gifts but imagine a verse of a beautiful poem, colourfully and beautifully hand-written and framed for a loved one.
Pen by Ted Baker
Imagine not being nervous about spoiling your beautifully wrapped gift with a poorly written gift tag or roughly written name scribbled in a rush directly onto the wrapping.
It is possibly something that we have neglected to consider as we take time to choose the perfect paper, prettily coordinated ribbon and a precisely coloured gift tag. The gift looks ‘splendid’, with perfect pleating and tailor tied bow…. And then you pause over the gift tag with a poised biro and the knowledge that your hand writing could be a lot better… Well, worry not, the correct pen and some simple instruction could place you on the path to perfect penmanship and perhaps a new hobby.
Once you have increasing confidence in your calligraphic abilities, try taking an A3 sheet of plain, coloured or brown parcel paper and scribe your chosen words of birthday wishes, of congratulations or write a quotation or verse or line from a song or movie across your paper. You could even add a rich wax seal for decoration to cover up a mistake!
Image courtesy of Manuscript Pen Co
Using your individually designed, hand written wrapping paper personalises your gift and makes a very creative and strong statement.
Image courtesy of Pinterest
Practice makes perfect and you may go through a few wasted sheets of paper to begin with. However, when you are sure of your technique, you may wish to wrap a gift in brown paper or paper with a pale pastel, printed design and then perfectly place your lines of calligraphy onto the gift to ensure placement avoids ribbons and sits exactly where it will be clearly seen by the recipient.
You may wish to reserve your calligraphic talents purely for the gift tag or you may wish to write your greeting directly onto the wrapping paper. It is all a matter of practice, personal preference and confidence. Ink does not have to be black or dark blue. Choose your ink to coordinate with your gift paper or use a variety of ink colours to create your calligraphic wrapping paper designs.
Image courtesy of Pinterest
If you are giving any form of stationery as a gift or presenting someone with the gift of literature or poetry, then this is the perfect style of giftwrapping. Add to the theme of the presentation by embellishing your gift with a quill-like feather of either natural or vividly coloured variety. This is a very traditional styling but can be given many modern twists with the use of bold colour, beautiful ribbon and by using a combination of hand scripted and printed paper.
Image courtesy of Judy Broad
Coloured gift envelopes will benefit from beautifully written names and place cards adorned with creatively scripted ink will add elegance to your dining table.
When wrapping seasonal gifts, calligraphy can be a decorative addition to embellishments such as leaves. A handwritten greeting in gold on a red autumn leaf, slotted behind a tied ribbon would be very distinctive. It is also possible to write along a length of ribbon before wrapping your gift, creating a completely bespoke ribbon design.
Image courtesy of Judy Broad
I fell in love with these beautiful Agate stones adorned with calligraphy for a wedding, and these would make a wonderful gift themselves and would be a very handy paperweight
Judy Broad offers an array of UK courses (she even does them in Monaco) and as you can see I’m still very much an amateur, but look forward to practicing in future. I’m also keen to give Brush Lettering a go when I’m back in Singapore!
Happy writing folks!
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