business advice - Craft Focus Magazine

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edding
more than just a number
When it comes to the wording, edding pens & markers help to get your message across with
style and panache.
Card-making is a popular and creative
craft and can be as simple as combining a
treasured photograph with a few well-chosen
words, requiring only a few basic materials
and no special skills, something most people
can attempt easily. Photographs add a very
personal touch and these days it is easy to
copy precious family photographs using a
photocopier or computer printer. So whatever
special family occasion you want to celebrate
– a birthday, anniversary, engagement or
wedding, perhaps – making your own cards
and accessories makes it extra special. Susie
Johns, an artist, writer and author of a number
of craft books including The Alphabet Book,
Photo Craft and Crafts with Kids, guides you
through a few simple techniques and describes
her favourite edding pens and markers.
The italic lettering on these cards was
done using the red and brown edding
1255 calligraphy pens, while for the list
of food on the menu, the red edding 751
paint marker was used.
"The edding 1255 calligraphy pens are a
good place to start: they come in a pack
of three with different stroke widths. For
card-making, the smallest, with its 2mm tip, is
useful for most handwriting styles while the
other two – 3.5mm and 5mm – are perfect
for larger, bolder letters and numerals. I’ve
used the set of three pens in steel blue to
fit in with a blue and lilac colour scheme
for a wedding, including an engagement
announcement, wedding invitation and place
cards for the wedding reception. These pens
are available in a choice of five colours and
the dark brown versions help to create the
right vintage effect for a set of anniversary
cards and labels, while the crimson lake
pens were my choice for a set of cards for
a birthday picnic." The pens are filled with
a water-based, permanent, pigment ink
which flows really well, is very lightfast and,
surprisingly, does not bleed through even the
thinnest paper. They work on a wide variety of
materials including glass, plastic and metal, as
well as on matt and glossy paper and card.
"For a number of years, I have been a fan
of the edding 751 paint marker: the bullet
tip is firm and the ink flow is smooth and
will write on all kinds of surfaces, including
glossy photographs," said Susie. The edding
paint marker range includes the 750, 753,
780 and the new edding 755 calligraphy paint
marker, which she has used to add lettering
and numbers to a painted wooden letter
and to recycled badges (painted with enamel
paints) as part of a set of stationery for a
21st birthday party. The new edding 1455
calligraphy markers also proved very useful
here not only for the informal lettering but
also for the illustration on the menu card. In
fact, even though these are called ‘calligraphy’
markers, their variable tip width makes them
ideal for drawing and, like the edding 1255
calligraphy pens, they also come in the same
uniformed five ink colours.
"Anyone wanting to try these ideas, doesn't
have to be an expert calligrapher to get good
results. I would advise anyone who is nervous
about their handwriting to practice by tracing
lettering first," added Susie. The companies
online Calligraphy Training Course – at
www.edding-creative.com – has plenty of
tips on using the range of calligraphy pens,
including samples of lettering; try printing
these on to paper and going over the letters,
or sketch out your chosen lettering in pencil
first, then erase the pencil lines afterwards. C
The set of three edding 1255 calligraphy
pens and the edding 1455 calligraphy
marker in black are perfect for a variety
of casual lettering on the greetings
cards and menu, while the edding 755
calligraphy paint marker in white is great
for writing on painted surfaces.
For more information and details, please call
edding on T: 01727 846 688,
E: info@edding.co.uk or visit our website
www.edding-creative.com
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