Looking to jazz up your Christmas wrapping with some fancy gift tags? Well, I have you covered in this week’s post and will show you how to hand letter gift tags using faux calligraphy.

This past week I was lucky enough to attend an event with Jet 2. Therefore I’ve joined forces with them in today’s post. We are combining great holidays and getaways with creative makes! At the event, we were lucky enough to try our hands at hand lettering or faux calligraphy as well as making aromatherapy candles and cocktails. I thought I would share part of this and show you how to use faux calligraphy to hand letter beautiful gift tags to go with your presents this Christmas.

Now, the beautiful hand-lettered gift tags have to go with some pretty awesome handmade gifts. Luckily, Jet 2 have you covered! They offer a wide selection of Christmas markets. Visit the likes of Germany, Austria and Denmark to name a few. I am sure there will be plenty of fabulous treats and gifts to peruse over at one of the many markets.

If the Christmas markets aren’t your thing, and you prefer to have a bit more adventure in winter, then Jet 2 have a variety of Ski breaks to choose from. A perfect white Christmas! If the colder weather gives you the shivers, then Jet 2 has a variety of other winter sun destinations to check out too! Check them out if you are looking for a fab break for a great price!

Faux Calligraphy

For this post, I have taken inspiration from one of the sessions at the Jet 2 event. Hand lettering is otherwise known as faux calligraphy. The whistle-stop class in hand lettering by Phylecia Sutherland, an amazing hand-letter artist and papermaker, really did pique my creative interests.

I have never been much of an artist, but her tips on achieving a lovely calligraphy look using faux calligraphy have inspired me to get practising. That’s where this post comes in.
Now, I am not an expert in hand lettering but I am going to give it a go. Hopefully, it will inspire you to create your own. I am going to share the techniques mentioned by Phylecia, to help you create beautiful hand-lettered gift tags (and baubles).

So without further ado…let’s get crating!

Faux Calligraphy – What you need

You don’t need any special tools to create faux calligraphy, just a fine liner pen! Unlike a calligraphy pen where you alternate pressure, you can mimic the look with a fine liner pen or marker.
You will need the following items:

• Blank Gift tags
• Fine liner pen / marker pen or paint pen
• Practice sheets or plain paper

Step 1 – Understanding Faux Calligraphy

Again, I am not an expert in this, and my calligraphy needs more practice, but that is the key to mastering faux calligraphy. Practice! That and understanding how the strokes of the letters are formed. Hand lettering is slightly more complex in how the letters are formed, as they are completed as strokes and not the usual way of writing.
However the basics of this remain the same, you just have to be mindful of the way the pen moves when forming the letters. In calligraphy, downward strokes of letters are thicker, with the upward ones being thinner.

Luckily you don’t need a calligraphy pen to create the look. Taking note of the downward strokes of a letter, simply thicken this line slightly. Fill it in and you should have the calligraphy look down.
Practice all letters of the alphabet, taking note of the angle of the letters. There are plenty of practice sheets available online.

The next step is to begin forming words from the letters practised by linking them. Again, practice on paper first and then practice some more. The more you practice the better the muscle memory of forming the letters will be! My practise ones are a little wobbly, but the paint pen helps with the tags.

Step 2 – Prepare Gift Tags

Now, you can purchase plain card gift tags, or create them yourself. I created mine using my silhouette cameo 4, however, you can use a template and cut them by hand too. Think about the colour of the gift tags and the colour of the pen that you are going to be using. You can purchase paint pens and markers in all sorts of colours, so you can match your wrapping paper too!

Once you have the gift tags, you are ready to attempt your faux calligraphy. I would advise having more gift tags than you intend to use, just in case the hand lettering doesn’t go quite to plan.

Step 3 – Hand Letter the Gift Tags

Now that you have the gift tags, it is time to create the magic. Keep your practice sheets nearby as a reminder of how the letters are formed. You can also create a grid or lines to write between to help the formation of the letters. Just be mindful that you will have difficulty erasing pencil lines after using paint pens, as it will smudge the paint.

Then begin creating your letters, and turning them into festive words. After this, go back in and thicken the downward strokes of the letters to get the faux look.

I opted to attempt, “Merry Christmas”, “Joy” and “No peeking” to name a few. You can be as creative and festive as you like.

Once your tags are written, and the pen or paint is dry, the tags can be added to your present to wow the recipient!

So, there is a quick course in hand lettering and creating a faux calligraphy look. You don’t have to stop at gift tags, you can add the look to baubles (like we did at the event), as well as add them to plain wrapping paper. The possibilities are endless! Check out my gift wrapping ideas for more inspiration too!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, as well as your tips and tricks for creating faux calligraphy!

Faux Calligraphy | How to Hand Letter Gift Tags – Video

Here is a video version of creating the hand-lettered gift tags if you fancy checking it out! If you enjoy the video, don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. There is lots of creative goodness over there too!

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