An afternoon with Pirouette Paper

About the beginning of this year, I decided to start learning calligraphy. I started out with some really great tutorials from The Postman's knock and was absolutely LOVING it! Its stress relieving, beautiful and fun. I absolutely love creating beautiful things!  However, I was really feeling like I should take a hands on course with someone who could really help me focus more on technique and help really elevate my skills. So, I started looking around for someone who did local classes. I found quite a few people but most had classes on days that I worked. Bummer!! I finally came across Kaylyn from Pirouette Paper. Her work is absolutely gorgeous and from what I could tell from her Instagram page and Facebook, we had TONS in common! We share a love/obsession with FRIENDS, both love Star Wars and all things Lavender! She seemed very light hearted and sweet and I decided I needed to take her class! PLUS she taught BOTH a calligraphy AND sign lettering class at once! So fun!!!

I sent her a message asking if she was having any local classes in July while I was on vacation, since my schedule would be more flexible then. Initially, she was planning to have one out in Murrieta and I was happy to drive out to get some in person teaching. Plans fell through for having the class out in Murrieta so instead, Kaylyn generously offered to teach me a private lesson at a Cafe Lucca at the Orange Circle. Heck yeah! One on one teaching?! How could I pass that up?  Sunday morning I headed out. Kaylyn set us up at a table in their front, indoor patio area. Its a charming little Italian villa style restaurant with beautiful glass paneled doors and murals all over the interior walls. When I arrived, everything was all set up and she had ordered me a wonderfully refreshing iced tea.

Let me just tell you, Kaylyn knows her stuff! She has such a heartfelt passion for calligraphy and it is palpable in her teaching style. We started off with her Modern Calligraphy for beginners class. We went over all the tools for calligraphy and the basic strokes involved and how it all works. She had me do some practice on tracing paper first. First we practiced hairline and down-strokes to get a feel for the nib she was having me use. Then she helped me with my pen placement and how to hold it just right. It was exactly what I was hoping for! Kaylyn was so patient and encouraging!

Once I got the hang of that, we moved on to actual letters. This is where the tracing paper came in handy. I followed along her sample letters for a bit until it was time to move on to real paper! Eeek!

But before that, we ordered some delicious brunch! I had the sunrise eggs Benedict. Yum! I have such a soft spot for eggs Benedict and have a hard time passing it up whenever it is available, especially since, with my hours, I don't get to have "breakfast" very often. It was so yummy!

We had such a great time chatting, sharing stories and experiences. We learned how each other got into calligraphy, shared stories from our time employed with Disneyland etc. After brunch, and chit chat, it was time for real paper practice!

After that, we took a little break to have some of the, to die for looking gelato they offered inside. We both got a scoop of the chocolate covered banana flavor. SO yum!

It was back to business/FUN, after we finished our treat. Kaylyn set everything up for part two, her Sign Lettering 101 class.

How stinkin' adorable are her personalized pencils?? SWOON!!

She had several super fun exercises set up for practicing sign lettering. Again, she went over tons of tips and tricks and her recommended tools. We started out setting up a favorite quote into a shape.

Then we moved onto writing on a mirror, something I had never done before. She had me use different fonts and taught about the key words she recommends making bolder or drawing attention to.

This was a really neat activity, but its very hard to photograph. It looks pretty cool in person at least.  :) After that, we moved on to Chalkboard signs!

 Kaylyn provides these gorgeous, rustic looking chalkboards and easels for everyone to use. Did I mention that you get to take home ALL of the supplies?! Awesome!! 

I got to make up my own bar menu, using all of the techniques She taught. I could have used a little more attention to my spacing, but I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt.

It was an absolutely wonderful afternoon! Kaylyn has so much experience and passion for her art to share! She is a patient, encouraging and very friendly teacher who loves sharing what she loves with others. I learned SO much from her and am SUPER psyched to practice what I learned and develop my skills. Kaylyn does many classes throughout the year and she is also open to doing private lessons if you contact her. Check out her webpage and Etsy shop for more details. I cannot recommend her class enough! If you are interested in dipping your feet into calligraphy/sign lettering, or just want to take a class to get some in person guidance on your skills, take her classes! You will have so much fun learning!   

I could not leave this wonderful experience without having a little piece of Kaylyn's beautiful creations! She offers this gorgeous letterpress print in her Etsy shop and I just fell in love with the sentiment behind the quote. I bought myself one and hung it up in my sewing room. It so perfectly captures and reflects my own thoughts and sentiment behind my joy of creating, plus its just sooooo pretty!!

Such a wonderful afternoon with Pirouette Paper! Thank you Kaylyn!