I'm all about using my bullet journal to be more productive, but there is a creative side to bullet journaling as well. It can be super fun to add a little flair to your bullet journal with a fancy font or a super cute doodle! On the flip side, it gets boring quick when you use the same hand lettering for every single header. It's time to change up your hand lettering! Here are quick and easy hand lettering ideas you can use in your bullet journal and beyond!
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Updated for 2024
If you know me (shoutout to everyone who reads my blog regularly), then you will know that I am a huge fan of the minimalist bullet journal style so I like to keep my layouts quick and easy to make. The hand lettering styles in this post will reflect that. These header ideas are also perfect for beginners so everyone can achieve these looks!
I went through my bullet journal and picked out different hand lettering styles I have used over the years, but there were so many, that I will probably do a part two of this post!
By the way, if you are looking to improve your hand lettering (which I am kind of assuming because you clicked on this post), make sure you check out the following post as well!
Recommended Post - Guaranteed Ways to Quickly Improve Your Hand Lettering + Calligraphy
Are you ready to not use the same old hand lettering styles in your bullet journal anymore?
Okay, we'll get right into hand lettering ideas in a minute, but first, we are going to talk about supplies, and for good reason.
My Favorite Bullet Journal Supplies
Supplies can make or break whether you have a fun time bullet journaling! If you are using pens that are really scratchy (I have done this, and it was horrible) it's probably not going to be a very good experience. Below are some of my favorite supplies to date.
Besides my Scrivwell Dotted Notebook, here are some of my other favorite supplies...
- Ecoline Brush Pens - The Ecoline brush pens are the newest addition to my stationery collection and I really like them, but they are on the pricey side. The ink is really smooth and juicy though. :)
- Black Sharpie Pen - If you have read any of my other posts, then you will probably know that I always use a black Sharpie pen for writing in my bullet journal. These ones have smooth ink and they last for a fairly long time.
- Tombow Fudesonuke Brush Pens - Another great option for beginners, the Tombow Fudesonuke brush pens come in a two-pack: one hard tip, and one soft tip. The hard-tip brush pen is better suited for beginners and smaller calligraphy, while the soft-tip brush pen is for calligraphy with thicker strokes.
- Tombow Dual-Tip Brush Pens - Even though these ones are a little bit expensive, they are double-tipped: one side is a brush tip, and the other side has a regular pointed tip, making them good for multiple purposes.
- White Gel Pen - I use a white gel pen to mark out any mistakes I make on my layouts, and while it is sometimes still a little bit noticeable, it doesn't bother me.
- Mechanical Pencil - I sketch out my layouts in pencil before I add ink to help eliminate errors.
- A Stencil - I don't know where I got mine, but it works as a ruler and it has mini symbols that I stencil onto my layouts sometimes.
- Washi Tape - I use washi tape on some of my layouts for a cute touch. :) (These aren't the exact same ones I have, but I usually buy my washi tape from Michaels)
Enough about supplies... if you have a few pens you like using, then you are good to go! Let's dive right into these easy hand lettering ideas for your bullet journal!
10 Beautiful + Easy Hand Lettering Ideas for Your Bullet Journal
1. Use a Calligraphy Pen
One of the easiest ways to switch up your hand lettering is to use a calligraphy pen AKA a pen that has a bendable tip so you can create thick and thin strokes. Now before you say, "well, I can't do calligraphy", you might be surprised at how much it can change up other types of lettering as well. You don't have to do calligraphy for it to work.
If you don't have a calligraphy pen, you can create the look by making the downstrokes on letters thick and the upstrokes thin. (You can see this lettering style by looking at the top hand lettering idea in the first image above.)
2. Highlight + Underline Hand Lettering
If you are looking for a super simple way to change up the header on your bullet journal layout, you can underline your lettering and highlight it. I think this gives a smooth minimalist look to your lettering.
I prefer using this style with miniature capital letters, but it can be done with any lettering style.
3. Marker Splash
This one is so simple, I don't even know if I should include it on this list!
All you have to do is write your header in the hand lettering of your choice, and then use a marker behind it to make it look like a paint splash. (You can see an example of this header style in the first image of this post.)
The marker splash looks especially beautiful with calligraphy.
4. Duplicate Hand Lettering
Definitely a tad more complicated, duplicate lettering might take a little practice to master. First, you'll need to pick out two different pens from your collection. I would recommend picking pens that aren't too similar of a color.
Now, write out your lettering with one of the pens. Then you will write the lettering behind it slightly to the right with the other pen. If you are uncertain about how to do this, you can use a pencil for the second lettering before using actual ink.
5. Watercolor Splash
If you are getting bored with your bullet journal, then maybe it is time to take it to the next level by utilizing watercolors!
This header style is very similar to #3, but you use watercolor instead. If you have never used watercolors before, I would definitely recommend reading the post that I wrote about using watercolors in your bullet journal. I took painting lessons for nine years, so I should hope that I know a thing or two about watercolors! 😂
There are so many ways you can use watercolors to change up your hand lettering!
6. Stretched Hand Lettering
This lettering style works only with cursive, so if you don't know/aren't interested in doing cursive in your bullet journal, then you can skip to the next hand lettering style.
For this type of lettering, all you have to do is s - t - r - e - t - c - h (stretch) out your lettering. To make this even easier to do, you can write out all of your letters beforehand with even spacing, and then just connect them afterward.
7. White on Black
If you have never tried this hand lettering style then you are missing out! Just make yourself a black background and then write over it in white. I usually use a white gel pen, and I have to apply a few applications for it to be light enough to stand out.
To make a black background for your lettering, you can paint your background black, glue on black craft paper, or use a black marker like I did in the picture above. It's your choice!
8. Highlighted Block With Rounded Edges
Can you tell I'm a big fan of highlighting my lettering with a pastel marker? If you can't tell yet, you will be able to soon! 😂
Simply highlight your lettering, but make the edges rounded like in the third hand lettering example in the photo above. I tried this out a couple weeks ago, and I love it. It creates quite a different look, from having square edges.
9. Lowercase + Capital Letters
If you want a cute and easy playful look, then try making some of your letters uppercase, and some of your letters lowercase. Make your lowercase letters larger than your uppercase letters so they all have the same height.
It looks cute and it is super easy to do! (You can see an example of this hand lettering idea in the photo above.)
10. Blended Hand Lettering
This is probably the hardest hand lettering style in this entire post, but once you get the hang of it, it will be a lot easier!
In the photo below, I did the top half of the word in one color, and the bottom half another color. You can also have each letter be a different color by blending horizontally instead of vertically.
To do this hand lettering style start with the lighter color and write out the entire word. Then quickly write the darker color where you want it. Then use the lighter color right where you want the two colors to blend together.
If it still isn't blended all the way, you can use a blender pen on top. In the photo below, I used this hand lettering style to create a beach waves effect!
10 Beautiful + Easy Hand Lettering Ideas for Your Bullet Journal
I hope you enjoy using these hand lettering styles in your bullet journal! Practice makes progress, so don't be discouraged, if your first attempts aren't how you want them. Some of my mistakes have led to whole new creative ideas that made the layout better than before!
If you liked this post, make sure you don't stop here. Keep improving your bullet journal by reading the posts below...
- The Best Ways to Fix Bullet Journal Mistakes
- My Top Tips + Tricks for Bullet Journaling
- Tips for Improving Your Bullet Journal Quote Pages
- 36 Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored
Have a wonderful week and have fun using these bullet journal hand lettering ideas!
Thank you for reading this article! Make sure you share it with your friends if you enjoyed it. :)
March 19, 2022
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