Modern Calligraphy Workshop: Recap of Our February Class in Alabang

Calligraphy and Note Card Writing Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Hey there, fellow letter lovers!

I’m absolutely thrilled to share a recap of our latest modern calligraphy and note card writing workshop, held at the cozy Group and Boiler Coffee Co. in Alabang last month. We had a full house, and we sure had a blast.

Calligraphy and Note Card Writing Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Picture this: a cozy coffee shop, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and lots and lots of natural morning light. It was a nice setting for my first ever calligraphy workshop in Alabang. It was lovely being surrounded by eager souls ready to explore the art of writing with dip pens and ink.

Calligraphy and Note Card Writing Workshop via Happy Hands Project
Our early birds. Look at that lovely natural light!

As always, it wasn’t all about perfecting our penmanship; I have always reminded workshop participants that in contemporary style calligraphy, practice makes pretty. We also spread a whole lot of love through handwritten note cards using their new skills in calligraphy.

Calligraphy and Note Card Writing Workshop via Happy Hands Project

There’s always something magical about bringing people together to create and connect, don’t you think? So here’s to more modern calligraphy workshops in the near future—may our hands be happy and our hearts be full, always.

Calligraphy and Note Card Writing Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Interested to join the next class? Leave your contact info here to subscribe to the workshop mailing list. Hope to catch you in the next workshop!

Live Calligraphy: Love Letter Writing at Bonifacio High Street

The weekend before Valentine’s Day, I was at the live calligraphy booth along Bonifacio High Street. Aptly called ‘You’re Just My Type‘, the task at hand was writing people’s love letters in calligraphy. People in the area penned their short messages for their loved ones, and the calligraphers will write the messages on pretty stationery.

Live calligraphy Bonifacio High Street

Armed with my brush pens, I got to work. Aside from live calligraphy, there were also typewriting stations where anyone can type their love letters analog style.

Live calligraphy Bonifacio High Street

Do people still write love letters to this day? I don’t think so, but those who asked me to translate theirs to calligraphy sure had a knack for it. I wrote letters for two girl besties, I wrote a short message written by a secret admirer. There were several ones who wrote for their significant others, each one channeling their inner Pablo Neruda.

Live calligraphy Bonifacio High Street

There was a girl who asked me to write her message for her mom, and a mom who had a love letter for her baby. It was a wonderful experience, being surrounded by all these good vibes. We were only there a couple of hours and didn’t have the time to write letters for everybody. I’m hoping there will be a similar live calligraphy event in the future—I’d love to write for you! It was a fun afternoon indeed doing live calligraphy at Bonifacio High Street.

Live calligraphy Bonifacio High Street

Free Calligraphy Worksheet: Heart Flourishes

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and I’m here to share with you a free printable calligraphy worksheet. Heart flourishes, anyone? These flourishes will help you work on those thick and thin strokes and your arm movement. It would also be fun to practice writing other strokes other than the usual drills and alphabet.

The strokes are labeled with arrows and numbers so it’s easy to find where the starting point is.

The gray flourishes are for you to trace. After tracing, you can proceed to the second page where you can write all on your own. This free printable calligraphy worskheet works best with a pointed nib, but you can also use a fine tip brush marker.

Click the button below to download your printable calligraphy sheet:

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Christmas Calligraphy and Gift Tag Workshop

The last workshop of 2023, our Christmas Calligraphy and Gift Tag Workshop, happened in late November at KMC Armstrong Cafe in Salcedo Village, Makati. Such a lovely place to gather!

With Christmas songs playing in the speakers, we went through the basics of pointed pen calligraphy, wrote lowercase and uppercase letters and connected letters to form words (or in this case, names). Apart from calligraphy, I also demonstrated how to make holiday gift tags using dried botanicals. We had a botanical ‘buffet’ for all participants to decorate their tags—with names written in calligraphy of course!

I’d like to thank everyone who joined me in this class, as well as our partner venue KMC Solutions, for hosting our calligraphy workshop at the KMC Armstrong Cafe. Scroll down below for photos of our workshop!

If you’d like to join the next calligraphy workshop, the details are here. Otherwise, you can register your interest for first dibs when the next date is confirmed.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop: Street Kohi Maginhawa, QC

The recent modern calligraphy workshop at Street Kohi Community Cafe in the heart of Maginhawa, Quezon City, turned out to be a fun and memorable experience for all of us.

Though it started out as a rainy morning in Quezon City (and probably the rest of Manila!), I was very much determined to make the best of it. After all, I believe a bit of rain would be the perfect backdrop for a cozy, creative gathering.

The attendees dove into the world of modern calligraphy with enthusiasm. In this workshop, I introduced the newly-printed latest edition of the ‘Make Your Own Happy Hour’ calligraphy workbook that is exclusively distributed in the Happy Hands Project calligraphy workshops.

Aside from the usual calligraphy drills and practice strokes, I shared tips and tricks to make writing in calligraphy better and more enjoyable. As I would always say, ‘Practice Makes Pretty’—as we were not aiming for perfection but legible letter forms and good composition. We laughed at ink smudges, and cheered on each other’s progress.

We also enjoyed Street Kohi’s specialty coffee and pastries.

Our modern calligraphy workshop in Maginhawa, Quezon City was a morning well-spent. Stay tuned for more exciting workshops and events from Happy Hands Project. If you’d like first dibs on upcoming classes, leave your details here and you’ll receive an email or SMS before everyone else.

Curious about other past workshops? Read about the calligraphy workshop at Art Caravan, BGC here.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop in BGC

Modern Calligraphy Workshop in BGC via Happy Hands Project

We had a 3-hour modern calligraphy workshop last week at Art Caravan in BGC. Haven’t had a workshop this year yet, so this class marks the first one in 2023! Thank you Manila, for such a warm welcome.

Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project

Our venue is an artist’s haven in Bonifacio Global City. We were surrounded by shelves of different brands of high quality paint, and the venue alone is enough to stir up the creative in all of us.

Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project

Each participant received a calligraphy kit with everything they needed to get started. It also includes the ‘Make Your Own Happy Hour‘ calligraphy practice workpad exclusive to the workshop (you can’t find these anywhere else!). What’s great about this pad is it’s absolutely bleed-proof when used with any kind of ink. It’s smooth to write on so our participants already have suitable paper for calligraphy.

Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project
Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project

During the modern calligraphy workshop, I showed everyone how to make our workspace calligraphy-ready. I also explained in detail how the flexible pointed nib works, so they will understand how the strokes in modern calligraphy are achieved.

After that, everyone got their hands inky and practiced writing the lower case and upper case alphabet. As with all the workshops I’ve had, we stopped midway for coffee and pastries to give our hands some much-needed rest.

Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project
Calligraphy Workshop-June 2023 via Happy Hands Project

Dōmo arigatō to our Japanese guest and Maraming Salamat to everyone who came to the Happy Hour: Modern Calligraphy Workshop at BGC. We surely had a lot of inky fun!

Interested in coming to the modern calligraphy workshop? Register your interest here to get first dibs when a new workshop is announced.

DIY Mother’s Day Calligraphy Card

It’s Mother’s Day once again, and I’m sharing with you a DIY idea for a Mother’s Day calligraphy card. A few years back for the Mother’s Day weekend, I actually taught this workshop in partnership with Pentel Singapore. In the workshop, the participants learned how to draw different styles of wreaths using metallic pens. I even gave the participants some handouts with different styles of wreaths to try. Metallic pens really sparkle when used on black, but even on kraft paper the effect was still nice. The metallic pens are smooth and easy to use for illustration.

I recently got my hands on a set of blank kraft cards with envelopes which I thought would be perfect for illustrating wreaths using metallic pens. Here are the tools that I used to make this DIY Mother’s Day calligraphy card. You may already have these lying around your stash of tools!

As a guide, I used a round glass coaster. A compass would be a more ideal tool to use though, but the coaster was within reach so why not, right? I then traced around the coaster using a metallic pen and proceeded to draw leaves. I also added tiny berries in a different colour.

After drawing the wreath, I then wrote the greeting using a brush pen. Here’s a process video that I posted on Instagram so you’ll get to see the steps in making this card.

I hope you’ll give this DIY Mother’s Day calligraphy card a try. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing superhero moms out there! ❤️

Wedding Calligraphy Invitations for a Hawaii Destination Wedding

I had the pleasure of designing the calligraphy wedding invitations for a lovely destination wedding in Hawaii.

Wedding Calligraphy Invitations for a Hawaii Destination Wedding

‘Nothing fancy, just love’

Wedding invitations are an important part of the wedding planning process. They set the tone for the big day and give guests a sneak peek of what to expect. Erwin and Clarice, who recently tied the knot at Gannon’s Grassy Knoll, chose wedding invitations with playful, modern calligraphy and floral elements.

Calligraphy styles for Clarice & Erwin's Hawaii destination wedding

After providing a number of different modern calligraphy options, the couple chose the calligraphy wedding invitation that they liked best. The bride chose a bold yet classic color scheme that perfectly matched her bouquet and the beauty of their Hawaii wedding location. By choosing calligraphy and floral elements, we created a cohesive look and feel for their wedding that set the tone for a truly special day.

Calligraphy wedding invitations for a Hawaii destination wedding

Fun fact—the bride and I have been friends since we were babies. Our moms have been close friends years before we were even born, and I’m assuming that BFFs tend to plan pregnancies together, too. As a result, we (the babies) were born just a few months apart.

Thank you, Clarice and Erwin for making my calligraphy a part of your big day.

If you’d like to see more destination wedding calligraphy, take a look at Tom & Simone’s travel-themed wedding in Phuket,Thailand. Can’t get enough of beach weddings? Here’s Melvin & Aiza’s wedding invitations for their special day in Boracay Island, Philippines.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop in Manila 2022

We had such a fun session during our Modern Calligraphy Workshop in Manila! We were lucky to have Antipodean Coffee in Salcedo Village, Makati all to ourselves for the three-hour session.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Thanks to Antipodean Salcedo for hosting our calligraphy session!

The modern calligraphy workshop is an introduction to the art of beautiful handwriting. Fondly called ‘The Happy Hour‘ Workshop, this class started in Singapore in 2014 and has been a regular class offering by the Happy Hands Project. I can’t believe it’s been that long!

Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Calligraphy and cake is such a great combination, don’t you think?

Our class started with the description of the tools used in pointed pen modern calligraphy and how to prepare them for practice. In this class, we used the traditional pointed pen nib dipped in ink. Afterwards, the participants eagerly tried the writing exercises. Everyone was very keen to give it a try, and I must say that I was so proud of how their calligraphy have turned out. I also walked around and checked on their practice sheets, and everyone really did well.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Happy faces at the workshop

Of course, the modern calligraphy workshop is never complete without good food and drinks. As I always say, never practice calligraphy on an empty stomach (it’s true!). We had an assortment of finger food, cake, cocktails and beer. All thanks to the lovely ladies of Citadines Salcedo Makati who organized this event.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Arigato gozaimasu to our Japanese participants for coming!
Modern Calligraphy Workshop Manila via Happy Hands Project
Going around each table for a calligraphy demo and sharing some neat tricks

To sum up, we all had a fantastic time learning a new craft.

Want to book a workshop for your group as well? The Happy Hour modern calligraphy workshops are available as in-person classes in Manila. Just send a message with the number of participants and class date and I’ll get back to you on the availability. Additionally, classes for corporate groups and brand collaborations are welcome as well. It’ll be fun, I promise!

Thanks to everyone who came to the workshop. Looking forward to the next one!

Calligraphy Printed Coffee Mug

Calligraphy Coffee Mugs via HappyHandsProject

Today I’m sharing with you these personalized coffee mugs with calligraphy. Who among you can’t function without their morning coffee? It’s the first thing I need in the morning or I’ll end up with a headache that will get worse as the day wears on. So when I was thinking of custom gifts, I instantly thought of giving calligraphy printed coffee mugs so that the recipients can drink their morning coffee in style.

Calligraphy Coffee Mugs via HappyHandsProject

One can never have too many coffee mugs, right?

I used Procreate on my iPad to write the names. If you’re curious to know what brushes I used, I have a nifty collection called the Happy Hands Project Brush Lettering Set which I will be launching soon on Creative Market (wink, wink!). I used the medium sized brush because it’s easier to weed once printed if it’s on the thicker side. I cleaned it up in Adobe Illustrator and saved it as an SVG file.

Calligraphy Coffee Mugs via HappyHandsProject

If you don’t have your own cutting machine (like a Cameo or Cricut), you can find someone in your area who can provide both the mug and printing service. I chose these matte Nordic style mugs in yellow and pink.

Calligraphy Coffee Mugs via HappyHandsProject

It was a very quick gift to make, and it turned out quite lovely. If I had more space in my kitchen, I’d make one calligraphy printed coffee mug for each member of the family.

Anyway, I will be announcing the launch of the Happy Hands Project Procreate brush set soon on Facebook and Instagram, so if you want first dibs, make sure you follow along! Need some alphabet inspiration for your next brush lettering project? Here’s a free alphabet guide for you. And here’s another fun brush lettering project I’ve done using Procreate.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 18 |