Kiley Bennett - Super Simple Hand-Lettering Projects: Techniques and Craft Projects Using Hand Lettering

About the Author Kiley Bennett is the artist and teacher behind Kiley in Kentucky www.kileyinkentucky.com . In 2015, Kiley purchased a couple of brush pens on her lunch break and then spent the rest of the day lettering at her desk at work. Within a year, she was able to take her new business as a lettering artist full-time, and she has since begun teaching online classes to students from around the world! Since the release of her first book, Super Simple Hand Lettering, Kiley has expanded her focus to include art in other mediums, with brush lettering still being the one she knows best. Kiley and her husband, Daniel, live in Lexington , Kentucky. Contents I am honored that you have chosen this book to inspire creativity in your life. Whether youve been lettering for years, months, weeks, or days, please know that your art will bring joy and beauty into the world however you choose to share itand I really hope you choose to share it! In this book, youll find super simple projects for the home, holidays, celebrations, and beyond.

My biggest hope is that you will use this book to light your own spark of creativitythese projects are customizable in countless ways. Your own personal touch is the only step I couldnt include inside these pages. Now, get to making and share your gifts with the world! Best wishes and happiest lettering, Decorative Chalkboard Chalkboard designs make wonderfully fleeting art for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and more. The method is forgiving, because erasing is easybut be careful not to smudge your work! Materials

• Chalkboard
• Chalk
• Ruler
• Mechanical pencil sharpener
• Soft cloth and cotton buds
• Eraser

Wipe away the chalk with a dry cloth. Repeat the process as many times as it takes to achieve a worn-in look. Dont worry about wiping every last bit of chalk clean from the boardleaving some chalk residue behind will help later when you add dimension to the lettered design. 3. Chalk is the primary medium for this project. Because lettering with a flat, dull piece of chalk is more difficult than it is pretty, grab a pencil sharpener and sharpen your chalk.

Be very delicate when sharpening chalkit breaks easily. You will have to continually sharpen your chalk to keep the end pointed for lettering. 4. Guides for lettered designs are very helpful and easy to make. Using a flexible ruler, measure the chalkboard and use chalk to divide the board into even sections. 5.

I made this grid to help me evenly space my design out. Your grid may look different, depending on the size of your board and the scale of your design. Sketch out a guide that makes sense to you. 6. Begin lettering. I started with the word that will be central to my design.

Dont worry about thickening downstrokes at this step. 7. Continue sketching your design. 8. Remember to sharpen your chalk frequently. 9.

When the lettering is complete, add a few embellishments to fill space and add balance. I started with a sprig of leaves on each side of the lettering. 10. I decided that one more sprig at the bottom would help balance out the shape as a whole. 11. The best part about chalkboard lettering is how easy it is to erase mistakes.

At this stage, you can just swipe away errors or areas to be adjusted with a finger. 12. Now go back in and thicken those downstrokes. 13. I decided to add serif lines to my print words at the top of my design. 14.

Continue to thicken your downstrokes throughout the rest of your design. 15. Fill in those final details, like the underlining here. 16. When youre happy with your design, use a dry cloth to wipe away the visible gridlines. 17.

For extra-tight spaces, use a cotton bud.