Agate Stone Calligraphy - Houston Hand Lettering
Calligraphy and hand lettering on anything but paper is what I say. These agate stones make for fabulous placecards and double as a keepsake! Cheers!
#IPimpMyPen
Black Agate Stones as Place Cards - Houston Hand Lettering
As my work ventures more and more away from paper, I love the hand lettering opportunities that have presented themselves as well as the artistic freedom. These black agate stones were created for an event in LA with gold ink. I'm truly adoring using anything but paper. Cheers!
Mirror Calligraphy Seating Chart - Houston Hand Lettering
I've calligraphed quite a few mirrors in the last few years, but this was by far the largest and it was just absolutely gorgeous in person. It measured 90" x 34"...had to use a small ladder for this one. This mirror was also cool as the client wanted a scattered organization with the lines as the mirror was much larger than what was needed for the list roughly 65 lines (about 100 guests). The monogram was nice as this was the first mirror where a client already had a monogram that was used from the invitation and wanted to incorporate that with the mirror....and I got to play with illustration a bit with the florals around the monogram.....Yes that was freehand :). Groovy times! Cheers!

Calligraphy in Wood - Washington DC Calligraphy
It's no secret that my work has made a deviation away from paper over the last year. Obviously, I still work with paper, but it has definitely taken a backseat to glass, mirrors, wood, metal, acrylic etc. I just ADORE these laser cut names that are often used as place cards. This is my hand calligraphy taken to a larger size. Next medium that I plan to work in....FABRICS. Why not?! Cheers!
Houston Hand Lettering - Watercolor with Modern Calligraphy
What do you do when a client wants gold ink, but the paper choice would make it difficult to see that ink on the chosen paper? (See USPS, I keep you in mind when I work :) Just change the canvas, of course. We decided to go with white ink on the envelopes except for the envelope for the guest of honor. On hers, I decided to add a little watercolor and lighten the canvas such that the gold ink would be more pronounced. Cheers!
Personal Correspondence - Hand Lettering
Getting caught up on my personal correspondence. It's funny that this was the reason that I began my calligraphy journey when I moved to Houston years ago. I just wanted my personal correspondence to look nice. life is funny that way....
I must send out a thank you to Nikki Hite, my sorority sister that introduced me to Crane & Co paper when we were in college. Once I felt that paper, I was intoxicated with correspondence, etiquette with correspondence & all things paper from that day forward. She is probably in some way responsible for my being in this profession. You never know who will influence you... Cheers to random discussions in a dorm room :)!!!!
The Decision Has Been Made - 2016 Business Excellence Awards
Guess what was in my inbox a few weeks ago one morning...!!! Slinging Ink (commercial side of Bella Grafia) has done it again!
"The judges have made their final decision and I am pleased to announce Slinging Ink Hand Lettering has won in the 2016 Business Excellence Awards! You have been named: Best Commercial Calligraphy Company - Houston" I'll take that! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Marc Jacobs Fragrance Engraving Event - Houston Engraver
This fragrance bottle was one of my favorites from a recent fragrance engraving event for Marc Jacobs. Most of my Houston engraving events are for wine & spirits, but I have recently started doing more work with fragrance companies. It's quite a bit of fun so I look forward to more of the perfume engraving events. Cheers!
Modern Calligraphy - Houston Calligrapher
Modern calligraphy is very polarizing. Some people love it and some people hate it. I'm pretty objective and understand both views on it although I am typically a bit of a purist. Over time, I have found that modern calligraphy has it's place and I use it in some instances over others. I use it when I want to exhibit a carefree, easy-going attitude. Serious isn't always my thing :). Here, I wanted to mix things up a bit. I love contrast and color with my work. Not my clothes as I'm quite often in all black or gray hiding under my big floppy hat, but definitely my work :). With contrast in mind, I combined a relaxed, almost textbook lettering with modern calligraphy and figured "let's add some color too". Why not? Enter my "Color Me Groovy" style. I'm working on a collection of prints that will play with these themes and those will be out later this year. Cheers!
The Tale of Two Mirrors - Houston Calligraphy
Mirrors have become something that I am known for & I love that! Last month, I was contacted about a wedding "welcome sign" mirror. Groovy, I love placing calligraphy on mirrors! Upon speaking with this bride, we were not exactly clear on which direction we would go. That is understandable & I'm cool with that as I have found that in working with clients where this happens, I always learn something or develop a new take on a technique etc that I would have missed otherwise. My clients are truly one of the most creative resources for me. Without a doubt! We spent part of the day texting back and forth discussing pictures, styles as I calligraphed them. We ended up with 2 options for mirrors. I liked them both. They were very different from each other. Guess which one she chose? The ornate one! Cheers!
Hennessy & Martell Engraving - Houston Calligraphy in Vietnamese & Chinese
Happy New Year! For a few weekends in January, I had the pleasure of engraving at events in preparation for Chinese New Year! While there, I was asked if I could engrave in Vietnamese & Chinese. My response: if you write it down for me, I will engrave it. I engraved as they watched right there in the store. I thought it came out pretty nicely for engraving in a language that I am not even conversational in. So then of course, I engraved for 2 days in mostly Vietnamese. This was pretty cool as I can now fluently say Happy New Year in Vietnamese.
Next up, "can you engrave in Chinese"? My response was "if you write it down for me, I will engrave it". This was pretty cool as I have only engraved in Chinese once before and that was at an event as well. So far, I have engraved in English, Spanish, Czech, German, Vietnamese & Chinese. Looking forward to adding more languages to the list. Cheers!
Personal Correspondence - Houston Calligrapher
It's amazing to me that my journey with calligraphy started from my desire to send my personal correspondence in a style that was my own and looked cool....and here we are. Life is funny!
Sweet + Romantic Elopement Inspiration - Calligraphy featured in Style Me Pretty
So excited to see my work featured in Style Me Pretty for this beautiful elopement inspiration shoot. Take a peek!
Winner of Wedding Wire Couples' Choice 2016 - Houston Calligraphy
Mirrors are the New Paper - New Jersey Calligrapher
Mirrors are very groovy to calligraph. Not so groovy to photograph as they see EVERYTHING in the background :). This mirror was for a New Jersey bride that wanted a welcome sign with a modern calligraphy feel with a little bounce.
I actually wrapped this one for shipping myself and shipped via USPS as the fancy shipping carriers that we all know and love were a little too expensive for my taste. It arrived safe and sound for half the price of previous mirror shipping adventures. LOVE IT! I think that I may be on to something especially since I have been doing quite a few mirrors lately. We also did this cute little calligraphy wood sign. Cheers!
Baby Sign Mirror Calligraphy - Houston Calligrapher
It's no secret that I like placing calligraphy on mirrors. This baby welcome sign is for a Houston mother-to-be that likes just a touch of sparkle. Hope that she likes it!
I actually calligraphed this as my client waited. That NEVER happens as I like to have time to myself to work unless I am doing on-site events (engraving, on-site corporate event work). However, it strangely worked out better for both of us for timing etc. as my calendar was crazy with engraving events that month for various wine & spirit companies & scheduling it later was an impossibility. So here's to calligraphy on the fly! Cheers!
Houston Mirror Calligraphy
Ornate Roundhand Invitation Calligraphy Featured in The Luxe Pearl
It's so great to see this feature come to life. Check out my invitation calligraphy work featured in The Luxe Pearl Cheers!
Calligraphy: Bella Grafia Houston Calligraphy
Invitation Suite: Cotton Paperie - Couture Letterpress Stationery
Photography: Stacy Anderson Photography
Event Design: Mementos Events and Design
Florals: Monica's Brides & Touch of Glitz Flowers
Cake: Shazdeh Cakes
Make-up: Amber Hayes
Hair: Bris Hair Design
Tux: Michael Kors from Alvin Tuxedos
Custom Bow Tie: SwankNeck
Dress: Badgley Mischka from TOOTSIES
Linens: House of Hough
Fur Chair Covers: Rent The Foundry
Vintage Rentals: RELUVD
Houston Calligrapher
Brooklyn Wedding featured in Style Me Pretty - Houston Calligraphy
So I was completely blindsided by this one. I usually know when my work will be featured in publications as most of the time it is an extremely coordinated effort with other creative professionals on that particular shoot, but this one was coordinated (beautifully) behind the scenes. I received a message last week congratulating me on my work being featured in an upcoming article & frankly I assumed that it was a mistake. Then I started to look through the pictures and sure enough, that was my work from a Brooklyn wedding that I worked on. I love surprises like this & I love my job! Take a peek at this Moody + Romantic Brooklyn Warehouse Wedding
Photography: Lindsay Hite of ReadyLuck
Styled Shoot Featured in Lace & Loyalty Publication - Houston Calligraphy
What a treat! My work has been featured in another publication. Today, Lace & Loyalty featured my calligraphy work on their website! Check it out via this link Lace & Loyalty I think that the laser cut calligraphy cake topper stole the show :) Cheers!
Calligraphy: Bella Grafia Houston Calligraphy
Invitation Suite: Cotton Paperie - Couture Letterpress Stationery
Photography: Stacy Anderson Photography
Event Design: Mementos Events and Design
Florals: Monica's Brides & Touch of Glitz Flowers
Cake: Shazdeh Cakes
Make-up: Amber Hayes
Hair: Bris Hair Design
Tux: Michael Kors from Alvin Tuxedos
Custom Bow Tie: SwankNeck
Dress: Badgley Mischka from TOOTSIES
Linens: House of Hough
Fur Chair Covers: Rent The Foundry
Vintage Rentals: RELUVD
Houston Calligrapher