Helpful Hints for a Calligrapher

Replace the cork on the underside of metal rulers with sandpaper. Simply peel off the cork, lay down double-stick Scotch tape, and stick on medium grit sandpaper. This ruler won't move at all, it is very stable and safe to use with an x-acto knife.

To make lines on dark papers use a soapstone pencil. It wipes away easily with a soft cloth, without bruising the paper.

Use pinking shears to cut the end of a tongue depressor for a quick 5-line pen.

For a quick and easy way to line an envelope: Pull a fork across the envelope; it works very well, it's fast and virtually invisible.

Spray Krylon Crystal Clear on photocopies you are preparing for reproduction. You will be amazed at how it darkens a 'too light' photocopy, making the image sharper & darker.

Make perforated lines in cards that need to be torn apart by running a pounce wheel (found in fabric stores) along a ruler.

Mix together 2 teaspoons of water, 1 teaspoon of glycerine, 7-8 drops of gum arabic, and tint lightly (you barely want to be able to see it). This can be used with brush, and metal nibs, both broad edged and pointed.

Always purchase 3 sheets of any paper you are using for a project. One for the finished piece, one to use as a test sheet, and one for piece of mind should you make a mistake and need a new sheet in the middle of the night.

Cut an ink bottle sized hole in a sponge. Insert the bottle. And you can use the sponge to wipe your nib!

For storing sheets of paper that are larger than your paper drawer or filing cabinet: try hanging them with a wooden pants or skirt hanger in a spare closet. You can hold quite a few pieces of paper with one hanger. Make sure to use the kind of hanger that has felt between the two long wood arms so that it doesn't dent or mark your paper.

You need to know whether your inks are dyes or pigment based because dyes penetrate the paper and pigmented inks sit on top of it. Because of this, it is easier to make corrections with an exacto blade on artwork done with pigmented inks. To determine if your ink is dye-based or pigmented, put a drop on absorbent paper and let it bleed outward. If the ink is dye-based, within a few hours it will produce a two color edge.

Add 8 drops of gum arabic and 2 small pebbles to a new bottle of Higgins Eternal. The pebbles wake up the carbon at the bottom of the bottle. If the ammonia smell is strong, leave the cap off overnight (this should also increase the blackness of the ink).

Save the silica gel packets from shoeboxes or vitamin bottles. Put one of them in your nib containers after you clean them. The packets will absorb moisture and prevent rust.

Use WD-40 to prevent nibs from getting stuck in your pen holder.

Use an old yellow pages or phone book as scrap paper to glue on. This is especially useful when gluing a series of things. Just keep turning the pages for a clean gluing surface each time you need one. When the entire yellow pages is stuck together just toss it in the recycle bin.

When you're gluing paper to another piece of paper, instead of using a bone folder, use a crumpled up ball of wax paper. You can press down with it and move it in a back-and-forth motion without leaving shiny marks all over the paper like a bone folder does. But, there are times when you must use a bone folder, and in those cases, cover your paper to be glued down with another sheet of paper and rub your bone folder all over that paper. This way, the shiny marks are only on that top piece of paper and not on your good paper.