I’ve practiced several styles of calligraphy in years past, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve attempted it and instead have switched over to digital design. When I saw Simply Calligraphy, I thought it would be nice to brush up on some of the simple basics and I also wanted to improve my day-to-day handwriting as well. In the book, a simple, clean italic is featured, one that I was able to easily follow and practice.

I bought a new pen with several nibs and have been showing my daughter what angle to hold the pen and how to create lovely letters. I liked how the author included numbers for each stroke and I love the simple flourishes and ornaments used for decoration. I’ve studied the letterforms carefully to learn from them and have used this pretty italic both with my calligraphy pen, as well as a pencil or ball point pen.