I have horrific writing. I often can’t even read my own notes! So, creating beautiful handmade gift tags is something I have tried and failed at and had given up as a lost cause. I’m better with drawing pictures than trying to create nice letters. However, I was invited to attend an event in Sacramento, California with some other fun bloggers to learn some Christmas gift tag writing magic.
photo courtesy of Green Vintage Photography
I love the look of old fashioned wrapping paper and hanging tags, but my messy writing does not do those pretty tags justice! Until now, I’m excited to say!
The event was at a gorgeous house with beautiful Christmas decorations. There were pens strategically placed around the room and I immediately had the urge to color. Surprise, they even provided coloring sheets! It’s awesome that adult coloring is in style. I never lost my love to color!
photo courtesy of Green Vintage Photography
I have some great ideas for future art parties now.
Simple Holiday Gift Tags:
I shared this short video during the event, showing how simple it is to make a festive gift tag:
It turns out, you don’t have to have a fancy calligraphy pen to write elegantly nor perfect penmanship. Who knew?
This post is sponsored by Pilot Pen as part of the MassiveSway Network. All opinions are my own.
Do You G2?
The new Pilot Pen G2 gel ink pens write so smoothly and with 4 point sizes and so many colors to choose from, including metallics, it’s the perfect choice. It’s comfortable to hold and the colors are created using pigment rather that dyes, so they are brilliant! G2 pens make a great stocking stuffer, especially with an adult coloring book. And I love the new fashion design G2 Pilot Pen with the elegant design on each one.
The tutor at the event taught me some very useful tips that have given me confidence to create name tags and Christmas cards I can be proud of this year.
How to create beautiful gift tags:
- Use two very different fonts. For example, use a thin curly cursive alongside bold block letters or thick loopy letters with smaller print in all capitals. There is no end to the combinations. Browse through fonts on your computer or search Pinterest to get ideas. Here are a couple examples:
- Test out your writing and placement of words on a scrap paper.
- Use pencil first on the actual name tag then trace the letters with your G2 gel pen to avoid mistakes.
- Write the names in a thin line. You can fill in block letters and shading once you have the words down.
Notice how sloppy my writing is at first. You can see the C in Charlie is messy. Later fill that in to make thicker, clearer lines.
- Add shading to one name. For block letters, shade on the same side of each letter. For other fonts, just shade a bit along curves.
- Add small flourishes such as a few tiny lines, dots, or a simple illustration along or near some of the letters.
- Add one to three colors. Adding too many can be overwhelming, save that for your coloring books.
- Don’t be a perfectionist. You are your own worst critic. I didn’t think I could write nicely at all, but I slowed down and took these tips to heart. Even with my wobbly letters most of my tags have turned out better than I ever expected!
These tips are not only for gift tags!
Put your mad skills to use when addressing Christmas cards, creating place holder name tags…, anywhere and everywhere!
photo courtesy of Green Vintage Photography
photo courtesy of Green Vintage Photography
I have a new found love of writing beautifully and will now find any excuse to use it. I just finished my Christmas cards and wrote every one of them with my favorite G2 pen. The only thing to be careful of is to make sure you let it dry if writing on a glossy surface. The writing is so smooth, I love how it flows across the paper and how comfortable it is in my hands. I have big plans ahead and need a reliable, comfortable pen to fill in my overachiever calendar, write that novel that’s been floating around in my head, as well as a hundred other things.
Are you an overachiever, too? You may need to get yourself a set of these pens!
The Pilot G2 pen is now available in stores at Target as well as online on Amazon.
In fact, here are some sets you can purchase now:
Pilot G2 Pen sets
Do you have any tips to share to make pretty gift tags for all those presents under the tree? Tell me in the comments!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pilot Corporation of America.
Very clever and creative. Sounds like you girls had fun. Lovely photo in front of the Christmas tree. Great to keep those memories recorded with photos.