Tutorial | Gratitude Lettering Project With Free PDF & Video Instruction

This was a live workshop that has already happened but you can watch the replay or read the instructions below!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REPLAY

Continue reading below for the written instructions.

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Create this piece as a personal project or turn it into a communal activity by leaving out the template at Friendsgiving / Thanksgiving and having everyone add to it. Don't forget to snap a pic when it's done and send it to everyone so they can see what they helped to create!

MATERIALS

• Jot down 20-25 things you're grateful for on scratch paper

• Gratitude PDF

• Download the HORIZONTAL orientation

• Download the DIAGONAL orientation

• If you'd like to letter your own gratitude in the center instead of using the PDF, that's fine too!

• Paper

• I use and recommend HP Premium 32 printer paper (it's a little thicker and has a smooth surface) for lettering.

• If you'd like to add watercolor, paint, or other mediums, I recommend using watercolor or mixed media paper. Be sure to print on the correct side.

• Scratch Paper (just in case you need some)

• Writing Tools

  *I used only black ink but feel free to add color to yours!

• Pencil (I used a regular no. 2 pencil)

• Eraser

• Pen / Sharpie / Crayola Marker / Brush Pen *You only need ONE of these to trace over the pencil. If you happen to have more/some of the other items on hand, bring them out to use but don't feel like you need to buy anything. Using what you have should work fine!

• Ruler (optional)

• Paint & Other Mediums (optional)

If you'd like to create a painted or watercolor background on your worksheet, I recommend doing this the day before you plan on lettering or several hours before so the paint has time to completely dry.

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PROCESS

For the first part of this project we will be using pencil! Try to make light outlines because we will be erasing the pencil later on. I will let you know when to switch to your pen / markers!

1. If you're not using the template, begin by lettering the word "grateful" in the center of your paper with pencil.

2. Lightly make a pencil outline all around the word "grateful". Make sure the outline is not too close to the word, try to create the outline about 1/4" - 1//2" away from the word. This creates the white border that will make "grateful" pop. It doesn't have to be perfect! If you need to make a correction or draw over a line, that's OK!

3. Using your pencil lightly create sections in the empty space surrounding "grateful" (please refer to the video). They can simply be lines dividing the space into smaller sections or you can also draw round shapes as well. Keep in mind you will be filling in these sections with the things you are grateful for so the spaces should be big enough for you to add the word or sentence. If you want to change the section size or shape later on, you can do that. This is just a rough guide for us and can be adjusted.

4. Now for the fun part--begin adding the items you are grateful for in each of the sections! Here are a few easy suggestions to help you add some variation to your writing (see examples of this in the video):

• Use 3 different ways of writing: your regular handwriting in all upper case, your regular handwriting in all lower case, and cursive

• Use dots, dashes, or shapes to write your word. Example: for the word flower, draw daisies to create each letter. Use pencil to write the word first so you have a guideline of where to put the dots/dashes/etc.

• Color in all the downstrokes.

• Curl the ends of your letters or add dashes to them.

• Add doodles to fill in empty / smaller spaces

• Take characteristics from the thing you are grateful for and incorporate that into your writing. Example: for "clouds" use bubble letters, for "nature" use branches, leaves and flowers to create each letter.

• Don’t be afraid make your letters really long and stretch them to fill in the spaces or to make them wide.

• When you begin going over the pencil with pen, use 3 different pens (or more or less depending on what you have on hand) to change the widths and look of your hand writing. Example: use a regular ball point pen, a felt tip marker, and a sharpie.
  
  Keep in mind the balance of the piece and how the different widths affect his. Example: if the top half of your piece is all in sharpie which is a thicker line and the bottom half is all in a ballpoint pen which is a thinner line, your piece will feel top heavy.

5. Now we are ready to ink our piece and will switch over to using pens / markers. Before you begin, consider where you want to start and what will prevent smearing from happening. Example: I am right handed and I like starting in the top left hand corner and go from left to right, top to bottom. If you're left handed, you may want to go from right to left. 
   
   You can also use a piece of scratch paper to cover the areas you've already inked to help protect it.

6. Make sure to NOT ink the pencil outline and section lines--we will erase those at the end.

7. Start going over your words, sentences, and doodles with your pens and markers. 

8. Once you're done, let it dry COMPLETELY! Be patient :) I like leaving it for at least a few hours then test a small corner to check if it will smear. When everything is dry, gently erase all the pencil marks. And your gratitude lettering piece is done!

I hope you enjoyed creating this lettered piece and that taking some time to cultivate our creative and gratitude practices will help us feel inspired and recharged, remind us of what we hold dear, and renew our commitment to putting the things we are grateful for out into the world for others to experience too.