I didn’t have what I needed…so I used what I had around to create it!  I felt a little like McGyver when the idea popped into my head to make a flat calligraphy dip pen just so I could write Star Wars in my art journal for this week’s Let’s Play link party.

I’m not a calligrapher but when it comes to play, the fact that I am not good at something doesn’t stop me one bit.  After seeing Star Wars The Force Awakens, I wanted that iconic title so badly on the page that I was even willing to write it myself!

In the video you’ll see how I make my flat nib and what thing from Star Wars led to a bit of gold glittering.  While glittering, I had a special bonus visitor too…my controlling left brain!

Watch Making your own calligraphy nib with cardboard on YouTube.

Supplies used: Sunburst stencil, India ink, black pen, gold glitter glue, acrylic paint, and a Canson art journal.

[inlinkz_linkup id=594003 mode=1]

• If you see something you like, leave a comment on their photo or blog post and show some love – let them know they inspired you! 
• Share your recent play (any form of creativity is welcome) that hasn’t been linked up to a Let’s Play before
• Add a link back to to this post so that others can find it, be sparked, and join the fun!
• Opens each Tuesday at 6am EST

You can upload a photo or use a URL or Instagram.  Not sure how to find a URL or link up? Check out this page of Let’s Play FAQs.

Want to put the button your blog? Just copy all of the the code from under the button.

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I want to be the type of person who chronicles every day in a scrapbook or planner or journal.  Reality check…I’m not.  I might do it a few days, then miss a bunch, then do it again, but by March, I am usually so far behind that I never pick it up again.  But what I can do is once a month.  That is a commitment I can make.

Will I do it little by little throughout the month or do the entire month in one sitting? No idea but no matter which way I choose, I have the flexibility with a journal like this to do it however I want.

While filming the video, I didn’t bind it and the more I think about it the happier I am with that because it allows me even more freedom to let this journal develop the way my muse guides me throughout the year. You can see how I build journals like this in my free workshop, Permission to Play.

And of course…you know nothing goes perfectly or as planned for me…and it’s all on the video…

Watch Cardboard Journal Ready for a Whole Year on YouTube.

The pages, recycled cardboard, were done randomly.  I truly didn’t know where they were going so the pages didn’t match perfectly.  They weren’t all in the same color palette.  With a cardboard journal like this, having things not match actually works!

If you’d like to know more about building cardboard journal pages and how to bind them, I have a free workshop called Permission to Play.  It is a 5 video lesson workshop that begins whenever you sign up.  Get signed up here.

So now my journal is started and ready for me to add to each month.  I’ll be sharing what I do with it throughout the year here on the blog.

Here are the supplies I used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!

Never Ending Calendar Mini Stencil

Never Ending Calendar

Heavy Body Paint