fun with blackletter type

I've been playing around with types of fonts to use for the Midsummer books. I definitely wanted to stay within my existing style, but also wanted a little throw back to traditional Fairy Tales. I primarily use heavy sans serifs in my work. I love that they are bold, simple and clean. And I have a strong dislike for most serif fonts.

I could play this game all day long! It has actually been banned from my phone….

But Serifs are one thing, blackletter is a completely other matter. I took up Calligraphy last year and while I don't get to play around a whole lot, it did give me a much better appreciation for Gothic Script so I wanted to incorporate that into my books. I mean they were used in most early editions of published Fairy Tales and they are so dramatic, perfect for pulling out important parts of a story! I also found them really easy to play around with as they already have a highly illustrative quality.

So, I played around with some. This one is the front runner so far!

What do ya think?

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blog love

Remember that blog challenge I was partaking in a few months ago? Probably not because I sort of fell of the wagon. sigh.....

Anyways, now that I'm back on the wagon I thought I would finish all the challenge questions. Today's post challenge: Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them.


Easy - I follow almost 30 blogs on bloglovin, but these are the ones I check out daily.

1. Poppytalk. I'm sure you've heard me share the Poppytalk love either here, or on facebook, and for good reason. Not only is it a Canadian blog, but the topics are wide ranging. From artist features to DIY's to just pretty, pretty pictures Poppytalk is an addiction. Some days I'll get to read about interesting people, their craft and process. Other days it'll just be a feature of artists from the Poppytalk marketplace. I get easily overwhelmed by alot of design oriented blogs around, the massive projects or the super posh spaces they feature. But Poppytalk always feels like your chatting with a friend and I love that aspect. Hopefully we'll remain friends for a very long time ;)

2. Lost Type blog. This one isn't updated very often but when it is, it's with awesomeness. I'm a total type-nerd and this blog mixes some history with a whole load of eye candy for the type passionate! They are actually a type foundry "The Lost Type Co-Op is a Pay-What-You-Want Type foundry, the first of its kind" I love this place!

3. Print & Pattern. Pure Pattern Eye Candy! If you love looking at amazing pattern designs, you will want to head over there. But be forewarned, you may get lost for hours. They also have a book too ;)

4. JulieAnnArt. As a stationery designer, I can really relate to this blog, but it's also a ton of fun. She chats about business related things, but also offers lot's of fun stories, guest bloggers and DIY's. As someone still in the baby stages of my own company, it's really inspiring to read about others ups, downs and struggles.

5. Uppercase Magazine. Following along with Uppercases' process as well as the other design oriented goodies they offer, appeals to the former publication designer in me. It was especially heart-wrenching to follow along with their struggles during the recent Calgary floods, thank you for sharing your experiences. Plus, if you follow them on Bloglovin they have an awesome "love" button that shoots our animated hearts when you click it. You know I hit that button for every post - because who doesn't love to watch animated hearts!

There you have it. What are some of your favourite blogs?

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