Today, I am extending a warm welcome to a guest blogger.  I’ve been following My Lighthearted Kitchen  for a while; reading posts and saving recipes, but didn’t really connect with the author until she asked about other bloggers’ vegan stories.  I shared mine and have gotten to know the author a little.  I look forward to getting to know her better.

A guest post on Renaissance Woman is perfect because, in addition to being a compassionate vegan and amazing cook, My Lighthearted Kitchen has a unique hobby: calligraphy!  My mother used to do calligraphy and I was mesmerized by the pens and flowing script.  It wasn’t ever anything I was any good at but, after reading the guest post, I’ll have to try again.

Take it away!

When starting calligraphy, it can sometimes feel like you need a thousand different nibs, expensive paper, multiple inkwells and inks. The truth is, the basic material for calligraphy is pretty cheap and probably easily available to you. Let me take you through some of my basic supplies and a few resources that will help you get started!

1. Nib holder: I would suggest going to your art supply store and select a wooden nib holder. I find that the basic plastic ones are too light and tire my hand more quickly that heavier, wooden ones. I found a pretty decent one for 5$.
2. Nib: I ordered a Nikko G nib online (on Paper Ink Arts) for around 2$ and it works so well! Flexible, but not too soft, I find that it is super easy to use and to get used to. It also gives out very thick downstrokes and  very thin upstrokes, for a perfect contrast!
3. Paper: I bought a pad of bristol paper for 6$ at my local art supply store because it was readily available. If your store has more resources, you can also look for calligraphy practice pads which are very smooth sheets of paper that are thin enough to let you use a line guide (that is usually given in the pad) and cost around the same price.
4. Ink: There are tons of really fancy inks out there, but I started out with the basic black China ink because it is easily available and super cheap. It’s a great place to start!
5. Books: I really like Nib + Ink! It’s so great to start off as it gives excellent tips and practice sheets. That’s right, this guide will give you practice sheets with different writing styles that you can complete in the book itself, which means that you could get away with not buying out fancy paper until you’re sure you like calligraphy. I wish I lived in London so that I could visit the author’s studio; it looks fantastic!
6. Websites: I love The Postman’s Knock and Julia Bausenhardt’s blogs. They are filled with really cool and fun techniques and super practical tips that will troubleshoot any of your calligraphy problems. They are an endless source of inspiration and information that are worth spending a few hours on!

I hope these few tips help you if you are interested in starting calligraphy! If you’d like to, I would love it if you would take a second to check out my Etsy store at My Lighthearted Papers. I list samples of my own calligraphy and watercolour work on there. Let me know what your favourite calligraphy supplies are!