When I started bullet journaling, I was enamored with the beautiful spreads I was seeing all over Pinterest and Instagram. And while my penmanship is something I’m pretty proud of, my cursive was embarrassing. It had been years since I was taught it in elementary school, and since I’ve really only used it for my signature since, it was a mess. I felt like I had completely forgotten how to write in cursive as an adult. I kept reading everywhere that your bullet journal doesn’t have to be pretty. Which is true, it should be whatever you want it to be. But I wanted it to be something I loved looking at. The truth is, I envied all the pretty handwriting I was seeing in bullet journal spreads online. I wanted to create something that was beautiful so I’d be inspired to use this new productivity tool. Guess what I found out? You CAN improve that sloppy grade school cursive. Your to-do list doesn’t have to be drab — spruce it up by making your handwriting something to be adored! Adult handwriting practice is all about getting back to those alphabet basics we learned as kids. Doing drills may sound like you’re back in school, but don’t worry — you won’t get slapped with a ruler if you make a mistake! One of the easiest ways to improve your handwriting is by doing calligraphy exercises and using practice worksheets. These will help you develop the muscle memory that will make pretty handwriting so much easier! Thankfully, there are tons of free resources out there, and I’m sharing my favorites with you today.

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Best Tools for Calligraphy & Handwriting Practice

Tools matter, too — so before we jump into these lettering, handwriting, and calligraphy worksheets, make sure you have a good pen or marker to make the most of these resources. Liz did a whole post on her favorites, and we have a full list of our favorite bullet journal supplies as well, but some affordable ones for a beginning that I will point out are:

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Color Pen Set, Set of 36 are both great pen/marker hybrids.

Pilot Metropolitan is perfect if you are looking for a starter fountain pen.

Tools matter too – so before we jump in, make sure you have a good pen or marker to make the most of these resources. Liz did a whole post on her favorites, but some affordable ones for a beginning that I will point out are:

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner if you are looking for a pen/marker hybrid

Pilot Metropolitan if you are looking for a starter fountain pen

Before we jump into the free printables — did you know there are TONS of amazing lettering courses out there? You read that correctly — there are online courses (both free and paid) that will help you improve your handwriting. Here are my favorites. Now – onward to the free printables!

1. The Postman’s Knock Calligraphy Worksheets The Postman’s Knock is a known resource for AMAZING lettering and handwriting worksheets. While many require a very low-cost fee to download, these Kaitlin Style Calligraphy Practice Worksheets are completely free! Learn the calligraphy alphabet and numbers so you can start incorporating some pretty accents into your bullet journal! 2. Handwriting Practice Worksheets from BohoBerry Join the tribe over at BohoBerry.com to get access to this amazing handwriting worksheets for adults PDF. These are a personal favorite of mine (as seen on instagram). 3. How to Improve your Everyday Handwriting + Free Printables from Tiny Ray of Sunshine This post from Tiny Ray of Sunshine shares some excellent tips on improving your handwriting. She breaks down all the bits and pieces of letters that we overlook, but paying attention to these details can help you improve so much. I also love her tip about practicing writing with an activity you enjoy. With three different versions of printables, along with a surplus of handwriting tips, this is a fantastic resource! 4. How to do Brush Lettering by Nicole Dawn If you’re looking for the perfect free brush lettering practice sheets, look no further. As someone who is desperate to master the art of brush lettering, I can attest that Dawn’s resource is incredible. Within her post where you can grab the free brush lettering worksheet, she also has some tips, tools, and an instructional video! 5. Brush Lettering Practice by Papel & Co Once you’ve gotten the basics down for brush lettering, Papel & Co have a great free brush pen worksheet for additional practice! These worksheets have notations for the ascender, waist line, base line, and descender in the left margin. They’re a great way to take your brush lettering skills to the next level!

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This article was originally published on March 7, 2016 and has since been updated and republished.

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