I have been wanting to try brush lettering for a while. It seems like such an easy way to make cool gifts-- just write an inspirational statement in the fancy lettering and you've got something suitable for framing! So I'm taking Brush Lettering: Cards, Envelopes & More by Krislam Chin on Craftsy. And like most things, I'm discovering that there's a learning curve. The general idea is easy -- press harder on the downstrokes (to make a thicker line) and use very light pressure on the upstrokes (to make a very thin line. Simple right? But, as Krislam says, practice makes progress! Krislam's instruction is encouraging and the camera work makes it very easy to see what she's doing. She gives lots of helpful tips and her work isn't always perfect. It's always nice to know that even the experts don't do everything perfectly. And just about the time I was getting really frustrated with transitioning from thick to thin lines, she says ...