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Falling in love with writing again

As I have recently taken up hand lettering and calligraphy, it was always my intention to make something for Neal (my partner!) this Valentine’s Day. I’m a sucker for a homemade gift at any time of year, but especially on Valentine’s Day. I love making them and I love receiving them. The hopeless romantic in me just can’t help it.

Then when Manuscript sent me some products to try, it was confirmed. Time to work some hand lettering magic!

Equipment

I received a Manuscript calligraphy set for Christmas, and bought two of their handwriting pens at the beginning of January. So, when a bunch of their hand lettering and calligraphy goodies turned up, I was thrilled. Plus, I’d been eyeing several of them up in a couple of shops shortly after Christmas but Neal – ever the voice of reason – told me I didn’t need more any time soon. Guess I got the last laugh!

The items I received were: 2 Callicreative White MarkersCallicreative Switch Tip Deluxe Hand Lettering SetBeginner’s Calligraphy Fountain Pen Set10 Callicreative Duotips and 6 Callicreative Metallic Markers.

Product Testing

Before I started any projects, I wanted to have a little play around with my treats first. This usually helps to inspire some ideas about how I can use them, and try out the colours.

Beginner’s Calligraphy Fountain Pen Set

The first item I decided to test was the Beginner’s Calligraphy Fountain Pen Set. As I already have something similar and I was excited to try the other products, I didn’t use this for very long. Though, I must admit, writing with a fountain pen is so satisfying!

It includes the pen, 3 nibs and 2 ink refills. There are clear instructions provided on how to set up your pen for use, too. As well as that, there is a leaflet about Manuscript’s nib service. Manuscript will exchange the nibs their pens to suit left-handed users (where possible). I think this is a lovely service to offer, especially as I’m left-handed myself! They also allow you to order more nibs if you need them.

Callicreative Switch Tip Deluxe Hand Lettering Set

Next, I was very keen to test the Callicreative Switch Tip Deluxe Hand Lettering Set. This includes another fountain pen with 3 ink refills. Then there was another pen with interchangeable tips – 1 fine-liner tip, 2 brush tips and 2 italic markers.

As I didn’t want to use any ink unnecessarily, I skipped the fountain pen. However, I did notice the grip and found that very comfortable in my hand. Hand lettering projects sometimes take me hours (especially as I’m still very new!) so features like that make a big difference to comfort.

Now, the switch tip pen is something I absolutely love the idea of! I have so many different pens for my hand lettering, so having one instrument where I can switch them around is just a genius idea. Though the colours in this set are limited, it is possible to buy refills. This is a great way to get started, which is obviously the intention.

This comes with step-by-step instructions for switching tips, which was a relief. It’s a wonderfully easy and straightforward process! The refills each come with small lids so they won’t dry out when they’re not in use.

Callicreative Duotips

Next, I couldn’t resist the lure of the gorgeous, bright colours of the Callicreative Duotips any longer! I did some swatch tests in my bullet journal. Both the italic tips and fine-liner tips produced lovely, vibrant colours. Each end has a symbol to show when it’s the italic or fine-liner, which comes in very useful! I have a set of markers from another company which doesn’t have this and I’m forever taking the lid off at the wrong end.

This is definitely a product that doesn’t need to be exclusive to calligraphy and hand lettering. If you’re an avid bullet journal user, they’d be perfect for that as well! Even if you regularly colour in as a way to relax, you’d get plenty of use from them.

Callicreative Metallic Markers

It seemed logical to try the Callicreative Metallic Markers next. Again, I loved the colours, but didn’t feel like doodling in my bullet journal would do them justice. I’ll need to pick up some more coloured card and play with these properly, as I think they’ll produce some beautiful pieces!

Obviously, I didn’t test the white markers at this point, as it wouldn’t have shown up. Instead, I paused for a cup of tea and started thinking of some things I wanted to create.

To be continued....

This blog was written in partnership with RuthInRevolt. You can find out more about her work on ruthinrevolt.com