Lettering Without Thinking

Have you ever tried holding your brush or pen and just writing whichever way you want? With all the ‘rules’ we need to remember when writing with a pointed pen, not thinking about writing at all can be liberating. I always say that it’s better to ‘not think, just write’, and that you’ll get a good result nevertheless.

Lettering Without Thinking via Happy Hands Project-

But how about just scrawling large words onto paper and not caring what the outcome is? I’ve coined a term for it – ok, not really, but still – I call it Lettering Without Thinking. So it’s not that clever, but it makes you want to try it, right? Just whip out your brush, dip it in paint and write – no holds barred.

Lettering Without Thinking via Happy Hands Project-

Gather all your materials – copy paper, watercolour or acrylic paint, brush pens, Sharpies, paintbrushes, the sky’s the limit. Experiment with different brushes and pigments and see how your works turn out. It’s like Jackson Pollock writing letters. It’s messy, it’s invigorating, and who knows, you might actually come up with something frame-worthy.

Lettering Without Thinking via Happy Hands Project

It’s a breath of fresh air after doing Copperplate drills or trying to figure out a certain flex nib. And you know what? I somewhat feel that I will be doing this more often.

‘Make A Wish’ Stamp Set Winner

First off, thank you to everyone who joined the giveaway. You were all amazing! Your kind and welcoming words were very heartwarming and I enjoyed reading through all your wishes. I just realised how cold it probably is on the other side of the planet – a lot of you were wishing for Spring! Just a week ago we were wishing for rain here in Singapore. It has become so dry, grass is turning brown, and forests were burning. We got our wish eventually and I’m sure all of us heaved a sigh of relief when the first drops of rain fell.

Now for the giveaway, I have chosen a winner! Making the decision was really tough because there were really quite a lot of touching and profound wishes. If only I could play Santa! So, drumroll please… congratulations Jenny Renee! Here’s the wish that will win your hearts:

 

“If I could have one wish today it would be to be given a complete day off from both of my jobs so that I can spend time with my kids. Being the sole provider can be tough and involves sacrifices, like not spending as much time with them as I would like.”

 

Jenny Renee, please send your full name and mailing address to pauline (at) happyhandsproject.com for your ‘Make A Wish‘ stamp set from Mama ElephantCurious as to what the ‘Make A Wish‘ stamp set looks like on handmade cards? I scoured 2 wonderful blogs and here are my favourites:

Happy Birthday Card via Happy Hands Project
Go On Celebrate Card via Happy Hands Project

Make A Wish Card via Happy Hands Project

 

I can’t thank you enough for all your responses. Another hand-lettered stamp set will be released soon so drop by soon for another update! You can also like The Happy Hands Project page on Facebook so you’ll be kept in the loop.

Etsy Exclusive: Holiday Gift Tags

Christmas is getting closer!

We are all waaay too busy preparing for a trip next month, plus I got all these ideas for Happy Hands Project that I can’t wait to share. I got a couple of DIYs up my sleeve, too, which you will see in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, here are 3 gift tag designs that I have on my Etsy shop. These are instant download files, so you wouldn’t have to wait to get your hands on them. These tags will definitely make your holiday gifts extra special. I’ve been playing with brush lettering lately and that’s how I came up with these chalkboard style tags.

By the way, the ‘Faith Hope Trust‘ brush lettering wall art is still on sale in the shop for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

Holiday Gift Tags via Happy Hands Project

Padayon: Katha Magazine’s Auction for a Cause

Lettering and Watercolor via Happy Hands Project

Lettering and Watercolor via Happy Hands Project

I am very fortunate to be able to take part in Katha Magazine‘s online auction for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. I’m amazed at the unbelievable generosity of these artists who pledged their works to help out.

This week-long auction which started today, will run until the 24th of November, 2013. I made a lettering artwork mixed with watercolor specially for this event and the winning bidder will receive the original artwork. I hope we can all work together and make this noble cause a success. We are all still very heartbroken by the recent tragedy and are doing all we can to send help to our brothers and sisters down in Visayas. Join the bidding by clicking ‘Bid Now’ on the Auction Catalogue.

Help for the Philippines: Faith. Hope. Trust.

Faith Hope Love Print via Happy Hands Project

Reading the headlines from the past few days have been very heartbreaking. Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines), the strongest typhoon that hit the Visayas region of the Philippines, left a trail of devastation. Thousands have died and those who survived were left homeless, hungry and cold.

The Philippines has had its fair share of natural calamities, but never to this extent. With this amount of destruction, the victims need all the help we can give.

Last night my husband and I were contemplating on how much assistance we can afford as contribution to help the victims in hard-hit Tacloban and its neighboring towns. It was also last night when I came up with this brush lettering, and I’m offering this as an instant download over at my Etsy shop. 100% of the sales will be forwarded to the Philippine Red Cross. If you don’t have an account on Etsy, just send me an email at pauline (at) happyhandsproject (dot) com with your email address and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice. You will then receive the artwork through email.

Faith. Hope. Trust.

I guess during a time like this, these are the only three things that can get us going. I hope you can help me spread the word. Together, we can help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

Going Green: Calligraphy for the Little Green Dot Workshop

I am so happy to finally be able to share some photos from The Little Green Dot Workshop, Coconut Oil for Skin, Hair & Food! It is one of my favorite blogs here in Singapore and I am so thrilled to be able to share bits of my creativity with the latest workshop. During my search for eco-friendly recipes and methods, I stumbled upon Little Green Dot, and it has been my go-to resource for all things green ever since.

Calligraphy for Our Little Green Dot via Happy Hands Project

Chalkboard Lettering for Our Little Green Dot via Happy Hands Project

Yep, that’s me with all the hair. I haven’t written with traditional chalk for ages (like high school, which is synonymous to ages) so it was a refreshing lettering project for me. Because of this, I’ve always been on the look out for discarded plywood in the neighborhood (still unlucky) and looking forward to have my own chalkboard at home.

Chalkboard Lettering  for Our Little Green Dot via Happy Hands Project

If you’d like to have your own copy of the recipes from the workshop, there’s a free copy available for download! You’ll get to see more photos of the event as well. Oh, and if the photos can’t say it all, watch the Little Green Dot Workshop Video to see all the wonderful artistic elements coming together that created such an interesting collaboration.

All photos from www.ourlittlegreendot.com.

Happy To Be Back On The Blogosphere!

HHP-ThinkHappy-3

I’m not sure if any of you noticed, but my blog suddenly turned non-existent for a week at least. E-mail accounts were down as well, and I was in cold sweat. The saddest part was that my blog entries that were supposed to be posted on schedule were removed from the face of the Earth. We could not retrieve it.

I will not go through the technical nerdy stuff, for I myself do not understand what exactly happened. I am just amazed at how my friend, who developed my site, migrated it to another server, re-coded everything (the codes, too, were nowhere to be found), and tidied it up according to my requests.  It was really awesome.

So anyways, you can now get in touch with me through e-mail again! I have a lot of things lined up and I’m happy to be back in the game – though I’m still catching my breath because well, I have a lot of catching up to do. Thinking of how to rewrite at least 4 entries makes me want to cry.

HHP-ThinkHappy-2

Meanwhile, the latest wall art that I have in my shop is very timely. Think happy, stay happy. Nothing can be more apt for me right now. Despite the online mayhem, I’m just happy to get back on track! Good to see you here, and welcome once again to the Happy Hands Project!

Free Printable Mother’s Day Card

 

We will all be celebrating motherhood soon! Even though I am miles away from my Mom, I’m sending a card out to her today. I’m looking forward to celebrate with her when we see each other three weeks from now! I’m super excited with our upcoming trip… but I have to stop myself because that’s another story.

MothersDayCard-HappyHandsProject-1

I was trying to check the spelling for Mother’s Day earlier. Should it be spelled as ‘Mother’s’ or ‘Mothers’? Well, Anna Jarvis, the founder of the holiday, specifically noted that “Mother’s” should “be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.”

Can’t argue with Miss Jarvis on that, so here’s a printable card to commemorate the wonderful existence of our own Moms. I’ve been having fun with brush lettering lately, and this was originally done in watercolor. Download yours here! Let her know how awesome she is.

MothersDayCard-HappyHandsProject-2