Brush Lettering Workshop

Watercolour Brush Lettering Workshop via Happy Hands Project

We had all sorts of colour gradients during last month’s brush lettering workshop. This is a more relaxed class (compared to pointed pen calligraphy, in my opinion), and a more colourful one for sure.

The latest brush lettering class was all freehand, where the students learned to write thin and thick strokes with my favourite brush pens. After that, writing words with watercolours and a water brush came next. I love the part in class when I show them how to make the colours blend naturally using watercolours, creating the ombre effect… and they fell in love with it instantly!

Watercolour Brush Lettering Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Each one has her own unique style and colour preference, and you’ll see that on the photos of their artworks below. The next brush lettering class is still in the works. If you’d like to get the first dibs, you may subscribe to the email newsletter on the right sidebar (no spam, just calligraphy and lettering news!).

Watercolour Brush Lettering Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Watercolour Brush Lettering Workshop via Happy Hands Project

Watercolour Brush Lettering Workshop via Happy Hands Project

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Review: Khadi Handmade Paper

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

Khadi handmade paper is made of cotton rags and handmade in South India. I’ve purchased a few packs of the handmade paper I’ve been seeing all over Instagram for years—and it did not disappoint. The sheets have natural deckled edges and beautiful texture.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

I wanted to use the Khadi Papers with what I’m most familiar with, and that would be watercolours, gouache and Finetec metallic inks. The paper may look oh-so-prefect, but don’t be deceived. For those who will be writing on Khadi paper for the first time, be prepared to encounter some minor hiccups.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

Due to its handmade nature, the paper is wonderfully textured. This means pointed nibs like the Gillotts or Hunts will snag on the upstrokes. Fibres will accummulate during the downstrokes, so there is a need to frequently wash or wipe your nib before the upstroke. I’ve found that the Blanzy-Poure 2552 nib works well with gouache or Finetec.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

Write slowly, slower than you normally would. Tread lightly—do not write with a heavy hand,  and you will be BFFs with your Khadi paper in no time.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

100% cotton papers tend to absorb more water compared to cellulose ones (non-archival, student-grade paper). So painting leaves and florals using Khadi means you need more water on your brush. It works very well for wet-on-wet techniques as well, which will give you beautifully-blended washes.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

In conclusion, writing on Khadi handmade paper needs a bit of trial-and-error, but when you get the hang of it, you wouldn’t want to stop. There are so many types of paint that you can try, and I’m sure there are a lot of pointed nibs that work as well.

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

Khadi Handmade Cotton Paper Review via Happy Hands Project

Have you tried Khadi? How do you like it?

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Watercolour and Lettering Goods on Creative Market

Creative Market Shop via Happy Hands Project

Hey everyone! I’ve been busy last month setting up shop over at Creative Market, and it’s still an ongoing process. CM is a great source of design inspiration, and a very busy marketplace for creatives. There are tons of graphic design elements that one can use for a myriad of design projects. Oh, and did I say that thay have a bazillion calligraphy fonts (like this one right here) available as well?

I got acquainted with Creative Market when they featured the Happy Hands Project last year on their article 5 Calligraphers To Follow On Instagram—thanks, guys!

As a designer and artist, I was thinking of ways to make other designers’ lives easier—and that is by supplying digital artworks that they can use for their own designs. Finally, I found the time to open up a shop and paint and paint and paint, and turn those watercolours into digital backgrounds (not easy!).

Insider Tip: You get 6 free product downloads every week. That’s where I get most of my free fonts and patterns. You need to be a member to access the free goodies, and signing up is easy peasy. Just click the Sign Up button on the top right.

I know my shop is still quite sparse, and I’ve got a looooong way to go before I can fill it to the brim. But let me share with you 3 quality products that I have so far—hope you like ‘em!

The Hand-Lettering Blog Kit

Hand-Lettered Blog Kit via Happy Hands Project

Hand-Lettered Blog Kit via Happy Hands Project

Give your website a dose of personality with these custom illustrated brush lettering elements. Build your brand by using these hand-lettered goodies on your marketing collateral. Use these as buttons and headers on your blog, or as overlays on your photos.

Check out the kit here.

Bright Watercolour Backgrounds

Watercolour Backgrounds via Happy Hands Project

All hand-painted in rich watercolour which is perfect for your marketing, stationery, branding and personal projects. Use each background on its own, or put 2 or 3 together for a different effect — the possibilities are endless and it’s all up to you!

Get some watercolour goodness here.

Ombré Watercolour Backgrounds

Faded Watercolour Backgrounds via Happy Hands Project

Here’s a dreamy watercolour kit for weddings, branding, invitations, brochures, posters, calligraphy backgrounds, packaging, websites, posters and a whole lot more. My personal favourite.

Check out the ombre backgrounds here.

I have a few more products that I’m working on, and will update you all here when a new item’s up. Spread the love!

Freebie: Printable Valentine Card

Printable Valentine Card via Happy Hands Project

So. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and let’s face it — not everyone is in the mood for cheesy love cards. I wanted to paint something using my black Higgins Eternal ink, but I was painting with my 5-year old (and she was happily blending reds and greens to make cherries) so I thought pink would be nice.

Here’s my interpretation of the unromantic Valentine card. A prickly cactus in a blend of pink and purple, giving free hugs to those who dare. I threw in a tiny heart just for kicks. Perfect for those you have utterly no romantic feelings for, but you love ’em anyway. Hope you love this free printable as much as I did!

 

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.

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

Bloglovin’ and Free Watercolor Photoshop Brushes

This is usually how my morning goes. I launch Firefox and go through my bookmarks – which mostly covers fun, lighthearted blogs from all over. I go through each of them so I end up with about eight tabs on my Firefox window. And it wasn’t even 9am yet! So anyway, I found out that my morning browsing will be considerably organized if I just signed up with Bloglovin’. After a few days of reading other users’ reviews, I took the plunge and signed up. Claimed my blog, even. I was surprised at how easy it is now to read all my favorite blogs (I know, I sound like a celebrity endorser but no, I didn’t get paid for this. And I’m no celebrity!). Click on the image below to go to my Bloglovin’ page so you can follow the Happy Hands Project.

Bloglovin Watercolor Follow Poster via Happy Hands Project

As you can see, I even made an art work just to announce my new discovery. To think that I’m pretty late to the party on this one. I was experimenting with Photoshop brushes today and ended up making three watercolor circles that can be used, well, anywhere, actually! These are high resolution, good quality brushes! Here are just some of my ideas as to where I can end up using them:

  • A personalized notecard
  • A desktop wallpaper
  • Stickers in different colors
  • Gift tags
Free Watercolor Brushes from HappyHandsProject

My advise is this – go crazy with your brushes! Experiment with colors, play with different layer styles. Just make sure you use different layers in Photoshop for every click of that brush. Just layer it. You can thank me later. If you need help on where to save the file onto Photoshop, this is helpful. For more lovely (and free!) brushes, plus how-to videos, check out this post on Creature Comforts. These are probably just about everything you need to get started.

Now it’s time to download the Happy Hands Project watercolor brush pack!

As always, for everything that’s on the house, these brushes are for personal use only and cannot be sold or re-distributed. I would appreciate linking back to my post if you would feature this on your blog, and not host them on your own server. Whew! I just had to get that out. Thanks for reading!

Printable Valentine’s Day Card

 

When I was about 10, we had a craft project in school for Valentine’s Day. We were asked to bring old greeting cards and recycle them to make a new one. Oh, how thrilled I was! With school glue and scissors in hand, I cut up hearts and pictures to make a Valentine card for my Mom. I remember trying to make a heart (or flower, my memory is already a bit bleary) pop up when the card is opened.

I managed to make a small cardboard accordion and glued the heart (or flower!) on top of it. Kind of like a Jack-in-the-Box effect. The pop-up heart didn’t surprise my Mom at all, but it sure did make her happy.

YouAreLoved Card

As a tribute to my childhood tradition of handmade cards, I made a watercolor illustration last weekend for my Mom and Aunts. I’m sharing this with you so we can all extend some handmade love to the people we care about. Spread the love!

Download the printable card here.