This book is ideal for people who love keeping Bullet journals and want to learn how to draw a lot of handmade embellishments in their notebooks or journals, like leaves, flowers, banners, different kind of alphabets and so on. There are pages in which the author draws elements related to the four Seasons, so we have Summer drawings, Winter drawings and Autumn and Spring drawings. My favorite pages are the ones in which we have the Birds, the Butterflies and Flowers. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't able to view the entire galley, but from what I saw, the design aspects of this book were very appealing! There also seemed to be added touches to try other than just the lettering.

One of the challenges faced by every letterer, art journaler, illustrator and bullet journaler is how to decorate or embellish a piece of art or a page of a journal to make it as beautiful or attractive as possible. Even if you have lots of ideas, it is so easy to get stagnant and start to add elements that are same-old, same-old.

That is why I feel that a book such as “An introduction to Hand Lettering with Decorative Elements” is such an important addition to the reference library of such artists or crafters. When I first started lettering, I scoured the internet for ideas but this book would have been so convenient and time-saving to have on-hand! I love to look at or just flip through this type of books for inspiration – tons of graphics and not too many words!

It features hundreds of ornamental elements that you can copy or trace. There are a few step-by-step instructions as well.

Elements include:

Borders, frames and corners
Flourishes
Leaves, Flowers and garlands
Ribbons, arrows and patterns
Seasonal illustrations and occasions such as those suitable for Autumn, Christmas, weddings, birthdays and parties, picnics, beach and sea
Gift tags

Finally there are some pages on how various styles of alphabets and numbers can be drawn, and also examples of how the elements can be used with lettering are peppered throughout the book.

All the drawings are done beautifully by hand.

I feel that a better title could have been chosen for this book because it is great not just for handlettering, but as inspiration for lots of other art projects. Also, the title can be a bit misleading as the content in the book is not chiefly on the hand lettering though there are some pages of that.

Having said that, I highly recommend this idea book and can't wait to get a paper copy for myself.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dover Publications for this review copy.

I adored this book! It is so full of creative inspiration. The images are so inspiring and there is so much variety from a single line/shape/design. This is a fabulous book for anyone with an interest in any creative activity because the principles can be extrapolated and applied to your creative method (lino printing, relief printing, painting, drawing, calligraphy, photography, embroidery, quilting). I would highly recommend this book.

Flourishes are an easy way to make any hand-lettering or paper craft project stand out. Artist Annika Sauerborn offers here a wonderful book of ideas, serving as both guide and jumping off point for your own ideas. She shows options for making frames, ribbons, leaf embellishments, and so much more, for all skill levels, from the very beginner (and I count myself in that category) to the more advanced. I read the ebook version, but I look forward to purchasing the physical book to add to my collection!