Calligrapher for Team USA - 2016 Rio Olympics
Houston calligrapher and wine bottle engraver
It was such a pleasure engraving wine bottles for the Z. Alexander Brown winery! This client requested bottles with a simple "Thank You" engraved for all of the people that he wanted to thank for assisting him during the Hurricane Harvey disaster. I love that calligraphy & engraving can play a part in this thoughtful gesture.
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Calligraphy Logo Design
As I have shifted my business toward corporate accounts over the last few years, it has been an amazing transition. I have had the privilege of creating logos for a number of companies that were either new and stepping into their own new venture or for companies that had a desire to rebrand. As always, I am elated to work with companies that also have an appreciation for craftsmanship created by hand and in turn desire hand lettering & calligraphy with their branding to reflect that.
This logo was created for a groovy bed & breakfast in Round Top, TX.
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Hand engraved calligraphy in a champagne bucket
As you know, I began engraving in metal more frequently over the last 2 years. I absolutely adore engraving in metals. Yes, engraving these can be a bit of a crapshoot in that not all metals engrave the same way. I have found that stainless steel may not be the sexiest metal but it is the most predictable for me. For the most part, I ALWAYS know what to expect with engraving jewelry or any other items in stainless steel. Of course it feels a little different from trying to engrave calligraphy into glass like with wine bottles, but I have to say that I do get a little excited when I know that I have a metal project on the calligraphy calendar.
These hand engraved champagne buckets will be sold by Curio. Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Arabesque Mirror Tile Calligraphy
This morning, I calligraphed these arabesque, antiqued mirror tiles for an event in Dallas. I enjoy working with mirrors and glass as a medium for calligraphy as it is something a little bit different from the norm....like me. I have fallen in love with ribbons and fabrics from Silk & Willow (shown in the picture) so now I am looking at ways to incorporate their beautiful work with mine at every opportunity. Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
On this Valentine's Day, think of those that you love with your heart and not your mind. Those loves stay with you for the rest of your life. Happy Valentine's Day from your favorite Houston calligrapher, Darling!
When I started out with the idea for the Confidently Lost collection, I was in an interesting & dark place. I read these love letters from great artists and leaders over & over. Beethoven. Napoleon. Lord Byron. My heart wrenched in the turmoil that is the love that they must have felt. The passion that these men freely shared with the loves of their lives was now “audible” and right there in black & white. Who doesn’t long for that passion?
I am an introvert and have found that I am most comfortable expressing myself through the written word....more specifically calligraphy and hand lettering (no surprise there...). I decided to create a collection of mirrors that would exude a presence (70" x 30") and be filled with the love letters of great artists and leaders. I used their words as a view of the madly, intense love that I wanted to receive in return. And then I used calligraphy to place them on mirrors. This has become an extremely personal and passion-filled calligraphy project for me.
The first 3 of these heart-wrenching letters in calligraphy are currently available in my shop on this site, Etsy and Fine Art America next week. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
✍🏼: @slinginginks 📷: @threesmudges 💐: @riveroaksplanthouse 🎀: @silkandwillow🔥: @kuhllinscomb
Life, calligraphy & love can all be a little messy. It's never quite the fairytale. Or at least it hasn't been for me. But what I have found is that on the other side, the most beautiful life & art emerge.
I am going through a journey in my life and also in my work with calligraphy. I look forward to showing you glimpses of that journey through a new collection that I have created called
This calligraphy collection is extremely personal to me. The idea emerged during the most difficult time in my life. My life was in a transitional place with regard to calligraphy, love and life. It was a triple dose of change. Going through it, I had no idea of how I would make it through. On some level, I was lost and going through these changes blindly. However, I was confident that I was making the right changes and that all would be well on the other side. Life is scary as hell, but step the hell out there and follow your bliss :).
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
I have a few clients that have commissioned me to handle their written correspondence via calligraphy notes etc over the years. Above is a collection of notes that simply say "Congratulations" with their name at the bottom.... all in hand calligraphed lettering. Yes, each one was hand calligraphed by me. I absolutely love my clients that see the importance and significance of hand lettering in their correspondence. Cheers!
What a treat for me!!! As I continue down the rabbit hole of learning a new language at 40 (insert giggling here), I love when I have the opportunity to marry my work in calligraphy with one of the new languages that I am learning ----Spanish!
This calligraphy client had a desire for white marble tile in gold ink for table numbers. And the request was for the numbers to be written in Spanish. Voila!
Qué bueno para mi!!! Como sigo abajo el camino de aprender un idioma otro, me encanta cuando puedo usar español en mi calígrafa.
Aquí, yo tenía un cliente que queriá números de mesa en marmol. Entonces, usé tinta oro. Me encanta! Qué tenga buen día! Favor de aceptar mis sinceras disculpas como estoy aùn aprendiendo español. :)
So if you didn't know, I'm a hopeless romantic....GUILTY!!! I was that person as an adolescent that would fall in love at the drop of a hat. He smiled at me and like an idiot I had already seen our future 5 years ahead. Crazy, I know, but it is what it is :).
With that said, when I am asked by clients at wine bottle engraving events to engrave love messages for couples I just smile and am elated to do it. A person in love is a person floating on air. Remember that feeling? Yes, it's nice. This bottle engraving was for a couple that just presented themselves as having been together for quite awhile, but still crazy in love. How can you not melt for that? I do every time...
It was my immense pleasure to engrave this Noble Vines wine bottle for them.
Soy una mujer que encantar amor. Sí, es loco, pero es así lo que es. En escuela, yo era la person que cayó en amor muy rápido....era ridículo...yo sé. Pero eso es el porque es mi placer grabar mensajes para personas en amor. Esta botella era para un par que probablemente conocieron por un largo tiempo pero ellos aún tienen amor. Era mi placer para grabar este mensaje para ellos....con amor.
Favor de aceptar mis sinceras disculpas para errores....estoy aún aprendiendo español. Muchísimas gracias!
So I haven't done a calligraphy or engraving project for Hennessy in about a year or so. So it was a delight to be presented with this bottle of Paradis at an event. The client said "have fun with it". Of course to me, that is just an invitation :). We decided to do the lettering at an angle and connect the names. Done!
It's no surprise that I enjoy wine and spirits....or at least it shouldn't be. I don't typically lean towards a cocktail unless a few things are at play.
The restaurant where I am dining has a wine list that doesn't feature Burgundy wine or Champagne....sorry I have my preferences :)
It has been a challenging day...yes it is possible in the calligraphy business. It is known :)
The inspiration for today was a French 75. If you have never had one and would like the recipe, check out the photo below :)
Vendor Love
Photography by Three Smudges
Styling by Little Coterie
Calligraphy by Yours Truly
Along with these amazing artists...
@maxitflowerdesign @casuallygourmet@_dimples_1975 @goodierentals @lettrefina @crateandbarrel @shoptootsies and @the_mrs_box
So I must admit that I swore off tequila in college about 20 years ago. I had a disagreement with Jose Cuervo...and he won. It took a few years before I was brave enough to chat with another tequila. Then I moved to Texas and it became an inevitability.
Avión Tequila is a beautifully, smooth tequila...very different from my college days :). It's no secret that I LOVE working with wine and spirits for calligraphy engraving. It has TRULY become one of my favorite things to do. So imagine my elation when I was contacted by Avión Tequila for Christmas 2017 engraving events. These were so much fun and frankly a breeze for calligraphy. WHAT?! You mean that the bottle has flat sides and is clear. Done! Placing calligraphy in these was easy and such a pleasure! Cheers!
Engraving on a Chanel lipstick tube
I must admit that engraving makeup was something that I gave absolutely zero thought to...until 2014. I met a gentleman that was interested in giving the object of his affection a gift and she had a passion for makeup. So, I engraved her name in calligraphy on a few items, such as makeup compacts, a lipstick case, and makeup brushes. Fast-forward to 2017 and this was the year that I have begun to slowly branch out into engraving items such as jewelry, knives and now makeup again, like this lipstick engraving. The branching out with engraving was due to a few things....I see some aspects of industries that I engrave in experiencing changes in the future. Then also it's just fun to branch out and "diversify my engraving portfolio".
The makeup, jewelry, and knives are all things that I really didn't engrave calligraphy in before. But I must admit that I do enjoy it. Granted there are a few lip gloss containers that I have encountered that don't engrave well in my opinion....even with a light touch. But if you have mirrors on your makeup compacts, makeup brushes or lipsticks that you would like to have engraved at onsite events, keep a lookout for my event calendar for makeup events in the future. I would be delighted to engrave them for you so you have a personalized case or a lipstick with my hand engraving. Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Engraving calligraphy in wood isn't something that I do often for a few reasons. It can be unpredictable. If the wood is painted etc, who knows what color is underneath and will be unearthed during engraving. Also, depending on the wood, the drill may burn the wood yielding a black look. This may or may not be desired. However, when the universe is working with you, it can look pretty great.
The cutting board above is from a private engraving event where various people affiliated with a business will bring WHATEVER they would like to have engraved. It is quite literally a crapshoot on what will be presented. Anything from wood, plastic, glass, ceramics and metals will appear and it is necessary that I adjust depending on what comes my way. At the same event, I had the pleasure of engraving the glass dome of a dessert tray from Turkey. It sounds nerve-wracking but it is also great experience as I learn from these events every time. Such as... if you are presented with wood to engrave, don't use a marker for your calligraphy lines. Markers are a "no-go" :).
As always, engraving on the spot at an event is groovy and truly one of my favorite aspects of the job. Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Placing calligraphy on mirrors is what I do. I absolutely love it! I honestly become bored quite easily with placing calligraphy on the "same old, same old". These antiqued, arabesque mirrors were calligraphed for a Los Angeles wedding in white ink. I believe that the result was beautiful and I hope that you do as well.
Peace & love while Slinging Ink®
I have always found it to be very interesting that happenstance meetings can create connections that you didn't see coming. This past summer, I was engraving wine bottles at a store on a random Saturday. A tall gentleman, Bastian (@BGBlades on Instagram), and his son approached my table and requested to have a bottle engraved. During the engraving, he asked about my work and what other materials I worked in. I told him that I had a weak spot for glass and metal. Although I have engraved in wood and ceramics, my preference was with glass and metal. He then mentioned that he made knives and would like to collaborate with me on a knife. After that meeting, I went to Europe for a month and honestly forgot about the engraving conversation.
Upon my return, Bastian emailed to schedule time to bring a stainless steel (my favorite metal to engrave) knife. About a week later, I returned the engraved knife. What I didn't realize was that at the same time, he had contacted a gentleman (@_the_blank_space_ on Instagram) to create a beautiful handle. The final product is shown above. I love it and I hope that you do as well! Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
I just love calligraphing mirrors for signs. These mirrors are beveled and antiqued for an elegant look. These were executed with white ink in an upright calligraphy style. These will be used for in event in guess what city.... New York City. These can be purchased in the shop. Cheers!
I have recently started sending out little notes like this for orders with calligraphy on agate stones, mirrors and tiles. Granted, I place a fixative on these to prevent any potential issues after shipping, but I figure better safe than sorry! Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
Once again, my clients have proven to be one of the best sources for inspiration. I was contacted by a corporate event planner to place calligraphy on leather luggage tags. Between you and I, this was my first time executing a project for a client on leather. Of course, I had played around with it before so I knew that I could easily do it, but this was the 1st time that I actually did it for a client. Let's just keep that between "us girls":)
Anyhow, I really like how the calligraphy turned out. Since my calligraphy client didn't express a preference for one calligraphy hand over another, I used Ornamental Penmanship...HAHAHA of course I did. I encouraged the use of white ink on these. Not only to maintain a light, airy feel on the tags, but it was a practical decision as well. I knew that the limited inks that I could use on leather were well...limited and the white would yield the best result. Cheers to calligraphy and penmanship on a new canvas. Cheers!
Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®
