New in the shop: It's January 4th, Christmas and New Year's Even have passed and you've probably already seen swim suits out while shopping. I don't care how much the retailers want you to look into the future, the truth is, it's still way too cold outside and only a warm cup of café con leche can motivate me to get out from my under my Mexican Tiger blanket it the the mornings. You're like me, this mug's for you, my friend. Cheers! 

A friend of mine recently alerted me to this new device called the Foil Quill*, a heat pen that allows you do draw freehand over foil as it transfers your designs onto paper. That is a like a dream come true for a paper lover like myself, so of course I had to have it! 

The pen comes packaged with a roll of foil and a USB cord that you can plug onto the wall with an adaptor. It's not a very long cord, but I'm sure you can also plug it into your computer. Once I plugged it in, I gave it a few minutes to warm up while I secured a piece of foil onto a sheet of card stock with washi tape and warmed up my hand doing a few lettering and doodle exercises on an extra sheet of paper. After 5 minutes or so, the pen was ready and I began to draw directly on the foil.

I drew slowly to ensure each stroke had enough heat to transfer. Once I was done, I used a variety of paper punches to cut out my individual designs which I will be using to make  gift tags and gift enclosures. 

As you can see, the edges turn out a little rough. It doesn't have the precision that a laser would have, but it's not quite as noticeable from farther away. Besides, I think the rough lines give it a little more of that hand made touch. 

If you'd like to give this pen a try, I've included my affiliate link below for your convenience. It's a pretty fun tool to add to your collection; it definitely gives you the opportunity to expand your creativity and add a special touch to your paper projects. 

Note: this is NOT a sponsored post. Just a paper lover sharing her latest finds. 

New in the shop:  I dedicate this design to you, my spanglish-speaking, coffee-loving amiga! Because a girl needs to be properly fueled and motivated to do her magic. 

Hey there, lettering diva – Have you picked up a pen or pencil today? If not, you should. Every little chance you have to practice matters.
I have to tell you, before I was able to create the intricate pieces I now make, I started by embellishing just one letter in my alphabet. Just one. Every time I wrote something that included the letter y, I gave it a touch of fancy with a simple swirl.

​While this exercise didn't make my to do lists and notes on my calendar look much prettier, it DID help me create muscle memory. Within a few days those tails on my y's started looking much smoother and it gave me the confidence to move on to other letters and further explore this aspect of hand lettering we call flourishing – even before I knew how to style the letters of the alphabet. 

What exactly is Flourishing?
Flourishing is the art of embellishing letters with a few curvy strokes and swirls that create a feeling of motion and elegance. I love that it can be used with your regular writing (as shown in the image to the left) and it gives you the ability to dress up an envelope or gift tag in an instant with just a few pen strokes.
For those of you that have purchased my  Lettering Bootcamp online course, make sure you log on to print the updated flourishing worksheets. They guide you through the process of identifying opportunities for flourishing as well as providing numerous samples of strokes that you can trace to begin to build that precious muscle memory in your hand. Once you have muscle memory, you won't have to worry about motion as much, which will allow you to zoom your focus onto composition; you'll be loving your hand drawn curves in no time!

3 Tips for Better Flourishing

1. Don't add swirls & curves just anywhere, be intentional about where you put them. Look for opportunities to flourish, such as cross bars in the letter t; the first and last letter in a word; upper loops in letters b, d, and h; and tails in lower case letters j, g and y. 
2. Create balance by adding similar or the same type of loops and swirls throughout your design. Notice the placement of the flowers and dots in the image above that reads "Love". The balance with those elements helps frame the word making it very legible. 
3. Don’t make them too round or you’ll end up with bubbles instead of flowy elegant curves. The more elongated they are, the more of a tear drop shape that your closed loops have, the more elegant they will appear.

FLOURISHING WORKSHOP, JUNE 1 • 10AM
I will be kicking off my Coffee Shop Lettering Series this weekend with two sessions back to back on Friday, May 31 at 5:30pm (because Lettering Hour is my Happy Hour) where I will cover the basics of hand lettering followed by a Flourishing session on Saturday, June 1 at 10am. These are limited to four students max so that I can focus on your individual skills and provide a more personalized coaching experience. ​

These lettering workshops have definitely increased my enthusiasm and creative momentum. I'm really excited to share this wonderful art form with my local community here in the Coachella Valley as well as my online community.
As part of this community, I encourage you to stay in touch via email and Instagram; feel free to ask me any questions regarding lettering and design. It is through your feedback that I'll be able to improve and continue to provide you with success tools and inspiration for your creative journey. Thanks again, talk to you soon!

XO,  Dio =]

NOTE: Join the mailing list to receive workshop announcements, occasional lettering tips and inspiration directly to your mailbox. 

I draw on scrap paper (used copy paper from the office) more than I do on sketchbooks. It’s less stressful because you don’t have to worry about “ruining the pages”. In fact, the opposite is true. When you draw/letter on scrap paper you’re embellishing something that was considered waste and oftentimes it is saved instead of being tossed out.
So get your lettering practice on and pretty up some paper, no matter how tiny the piece might be. 
Note: This is one of my favorite pens. I bought mine at Michael's but you it's also available on Amazon. Here's my affiliate link, for your convenience:  Kuretake ZIG Writer