Did you know I used to be an extreme couponer? I didn’t have bomb shelters full of shampoo, but I did have over 30 boxes of General Mills cereals in my one-bedroom apartment once upon a time.

What in the world does that have to do with brush lettering?

I’m letting you know that I’m extremely frugal and carefully consider most of my purchases.

When I’m starting a new hobby, especially one that involves practice (and initial screw ups), I don’t want to feel anxious about “wasting” really pricey supplies.

The flip side is that sometimes you get what you pay for.

I’ve going to save you a bunch of time and heartache here by just telling you what worked for me in my brush lettering journey.

Paper

For practice with bristled brushes (not felt tip brush markers!), I use any cheap paper lying around. The cheapest copy paper will do just fine for practice. This is not for precious works of art.

Want to get even more frugal?

• Find paper that already has printing on it. If you have access to the office recycling bin, this is the best place to scour. (Um, maybe in the early morning before your co-workers come in).
• Use old newspapers or phone books and practice on the sections that don’t have many pictures. Your brush lettering can still be seen on top of the text of the newspapers.

Brushes

My technique is to start big to get the muscle memory formed and then practice your way to smaller letters.

To start, I use a round watercolor brush in size 6, then size 4, then size 2.

Using synthetic bristles lets the ink or paint flow smoothly out of the brush. Mine are from Blick Art Supply, but you can find these anywhere. Here are comparable brushes on Amazon.

Another brush that is a starter kit essential is the Pentel Aquash Waterbrush. The Medium size is the best choice if you’re only buying one, but I like to buy the three pack with three different sizes.

Ink or Paint

My favorite black ink to work with is sumi ink. If you have a Daiso nearby (a Japanese dollar store), check to see if they carry these bottles of black ink. This is the most affordable source I’ve found. If you don’t have a Daiso around, you can get sumi ink online too.

Do I just use the ink straight up? No. For brush lettering, I dilute the ink with water. This keeps the ink flowing smoothly without any dry patches. It’s typically a mix of 50% ink and 50% water, but not an exact measurement. I mix the ink in small jars so I can put the lid on and save it

What about working with color? You can get some great watercolor paints pretty affordably. (Remember that we’re not aiming for art quality paint here. We’re getting basic supplies for our practice and skill-building.)

I bought these tubes of watercolor paint and this palette from my local Michael’s for about $5 each. (similar products online for the tubes of paint and the paint palette)

For the tubes of paint, I mix these up with water in a small jar and a crappy paintbrush so that I can easily dip my brush while I’m working.

The paint palette is great for when I’m working with the waterbrush.

And that’s it. Really. That’s all you need to get started. And if you don’t like to paint in color (Why? What’s wrong with you?), you can skip the waterbrushes and the watercolor paints.

Looking for a marker recap? Check out this blog post.

What brush lettering tool excites you the most?

Amazon links are affiliate.

So you’ve started to learn brush lettering and you’re wondering when and how you’re going to use these skills. I’ve rounded up this mega list of ways you can use your skills on a regular basis. (Some obvious and some facetious). Mix and match!

Snail Mail Addressing

• Birthday cards
• Thank you cards
• Holiday cards
• Wedding invitations
• Baby shower invitations
• Birthday party invitations
• Utility bills
• Tax returns
• Letters to your political representative
• Taylor Swift fanmail
• Credit card bills
• Corporate complaint letters

Snail Mail Innards

• Birthday cards
• Thank you cards
• Holiday cards
• Invitations
• Poem declaring your undying love for Chris Pine
• Boring forms and bills
• Corporate complaint letters
• Written checks

Routine Scribblings

• Grocery lists
• To do lists
• Paper agendas
• Recipies
• Schedules
• Lunchbox notes

Gift and Party Decor

• Gift tags
• Gift wrapping paper
• Gift bags
• Placecards
• Menu cards
• Seating arrangements
• Party banners
• Napkin wraps
• Escort cards
• Drink tags
• Table menus
• Wineglass tags
• Solo cup labels
• Name tags

Awesome Art

• Art journaling
• Bible journaling
• Scrapbooking
• Large scale canvases
• Personalized art
• Frameable recipes
• Wooden signs
• Holiday ornaments
• Certificates
• Pumpkin decorating
• Wedding vows
• Important speeches

Graphic Design

• Logos
• Stationery
• Workbooks
• Photo overlays
• Typefaces
• Web elements
• Email signatures
• Blog headers
• Email headers
• Photo templates
• T-shirts
• Business cards

Just for Fun

• Brush letter all your text messages and send a picture of your words
• Brush letter all your email contents
• Passive aggressive notes
• Senior thesis

Other ideas? Leave them in the comments!

Showcase your brush lettering skills and get to know other who share your love for brush lettering.

How to join the challenge for free:

1. Download and/or print the prompt graphic for this month.
2. Post this graphic on Instagram or Twitter to let us know you’re joining along.
3. Every day, share a picture or video of your brush lettering on Instagram, Twitter or Periscope using the hashtag #brushletterpracticechallenge.
4. Check out other awesome people using the hashtag and leave them some likes and comments!

Download and Pin the graphic below!

Click to tweet: I’m joining @randomoliveblog this month for the #brushletterpracticechallenge. Find out more at http://bit.ly/blpchallenge

How about some extra guidance?

I’ve created a set of traceables to help you practice all of this month’s prompts.

Downloadable, printable, traceable pages to get your brushy letters looking smooth. Also comes with extra lined paper.

Find out about next month’s challenge.

Get notified when new practice challenges are ready for you to join along! You’ll also receive emails about other awesome stuff related to brush lettering.

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Looking for the original Brush Letter Practice Guide with over 250 printable pages and a structured 45-day practice schedule? Click here.