DIY Fail

Back in the fall I shared my DIY calligraphy for the save the dates and said that I planned to go "higher class" for the wedding invitations.

That's right, I was going to buy a dip pen and ink and do REAL calligraphy.

I purchased all supplies, including 2 colors of ink at Utrecht

I spent hours practicing, including all the exercises outlined in the book Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual. Yup, in the absence of any real curriculum in my life, I decided to become a student of calligraphy. Nerd alert.

I'd love to say that this diligence paid off and our invitations are addressed with beautiful, masterful calligraphy, but alas...they are not. Instead, I'm here to tell you that I failed and, well, I'm OK with it.

You see, in this case, practice did NOT make perfect.

Can you see the giant bubble of ink on the "b"?

The above was one of my better attempts, but it took entirely too long to complete. The pen scratched on the paper (driving Mr. Turkey slowly insane), created inconsistent marks and there were lots of bubbles.

Close up - what's wrong with the "n"?

So, instead of driving myself (more) crazy, I gave it up. And went back to what was comfortable. Which was writing with paint pens.

Extra fine Sharpie silver pen

Although I hate to fail at anything, quitting was absolutely the right decision. With 114 invitations to address (+2 if you count our VIPs), feeling nervous about ink bubbles or sending Mr. Turkey to the nut house with the scratching would not have worked.

So, after quitting the dip pen, I created another template alphabet...

Yeah, I know, it doesn't look all that much different from the save the dates

sat on my couch with the TV tray and knocked out those invites with confidence!

Another VIP invite peek

Maybe someday I'll be able to do real calligraphy, but for now I'll just rest on my good handwriting laurels. And store the ink pens in a dark place.

Did you have a DIY fail during wedding planning? Anyone else proud of throwing in the towel?