In this post, you’ll find some creative ways to hand letter quotes, some tips for hand lettering quotes, and several quotes for you to try with your hand lettering!
When I first began hand lettering, I wanted to write everything! And yet, I wasn’t sure what to write.
Single words? Quotes? Notes to friends?
I started picking up the pen around Thanksgiving and so a great way to practice was to hand letter names and addresses on my Christmas cards.
But what I really loved, and still do, are lettering quotes. There are so many ways to letter them and they create a beautiful piece of artwork in the end.
Different ways to letter quotes
Very simply
This is how I began. I prefer to use a smaller brush pen when I write quotes, such as a Pentel Touch or Tombow Fudenosuke.
Crayola Supertips also work well for these. Remember, you can definitely hand-letter on a budget! While it’s super fun to play and experiment with different brush pens, they are not necessary to create gorgeous works of art.
You also can use a larger brush pen, and sometimes I use them to letter shorter quotes or phrases. My favorites are Tombow Dual Brush or Karin Brushmarker pros.
Inside a wreath
Use a coaster, bowl, or anything round to trace a circle. Then sketch where you want your words to be. Finish the process by completing your wreath and quote with markers or watercolors.
The wreath is a nice touch and there are so many different kinds out there (link to some examples?)
Surrounded by doodles
Oooo, do I love doodles!! Animals, flowers, leaves, sparkles! Sometimes I like to keep my lettering very simple, but if I feel like adding some extra pizzazz, doodles are my go-to!
Mixed sizing of words
I struggled with this for a long time (still do)…but like anything else, practice, practice, practice! And a light sketch is helpful! Think about what words you want to emphasize, write those first, and draw in the other words as they fit around them. This does take some trial and error, but the effect is cool.
Mixed fonts
Ha, ha, I am not great at this, but I love watching videos on Instagram where people seem to do this effortlessly! How did they get so good? You guessed it: practice!!
Start with two fonts. Can you use more? You bet, but it’s easier to master two and work your way up from there. Study which fonts go well together and again, think about words that you want to emphasize. I like to mix flowy lettering with some type or block styles mixed in, usually for smaller words. But this will be a matter of personal preference.
Tips to letter quotes
Sketch it first.
Use straight lines or boxes to map out where the bulk of your message will go. I like to use lined or dot paper to practice. You can find some free ones here or here.
I have found a lightbox to also be very helpful for this. I don’t have anything fancy, I actually just use one my daughters have for drawing! First, I wrote out the quote pretty much how I wanted it with a pencil, corrected any mistakes or misalignments, then using the lightbox went over it slowly with my pen.
That’s it!
Quotes to Letter
You can Google or find on Pinterest many great quotes, but to get you started here are some of my favorites! (I tried to give credit where credit was due- always a good idea!)
Short quotes
Be Kind
Be fabulous
Light Tomorrow with Today -Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Done is better than perfect
Progress over perfection
Make it a great day
Bloom where you are planted
Be grateful
You are enough
Choose joy
But first, coffee
Knowledge is love and light and vision. -Hellen Keller
The Beginning is always today -Mary Wollstonecraft
I saw that. -Karma
Be you. The world will adjust.
Happiness is an inside job.
Collect beautiful moments.
No rain, no flowers.
Be the light.
See the good.
Perfectly imperfect.
Expect nothing. Appreciate everything.
Better an oops than a what if.
If you need a sign, this is it.
Be constantly curious
Prove them wrong
What we think, we become. – Buddha
Inspirational Quotes
Improvement isn’t inevitable. Change is. -unknown
Be willing to be a beginner every single morning. -Meister Eckart
The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. -Socrates
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. -Soren Kierkegaard
Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving. J.K. Rowling
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among stars. – Les Brown
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -Anne Frank
First, you have to believe in yourself, before others can believe in you. -Mimi Ikonn
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. -Lao Tzu
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. -Rumi
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. -Joseph Campbell
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. -Ferriss Bueller
The world is changed by examples, not by opinions. -Paulo Coelho
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. -Maori Proverb
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. -Milton Berle
There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. -Roger Staubach
A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. -John A Shedd
Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer. -Dan Brown
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. -Zig Ziglar
The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. -Rumi
It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.
It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.
Your life is a reflection of your priorities. -Iman Europe
Every artist was first an amateur. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be somebody who makes everyone feel like somebody.
Stay close to people who feel like sunshine.
Happiness is not by chance, but by choice – Jim Rohn
Trust the magic of new beginnings.
The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
A simple life is a beautiful life.
A little progress each day adds up to big results.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
It always seems impossible until it’s done.
Believe you can and you are halfway there.
Enjoy the little things in life for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.
Those who wish to sing always find a song.
You are capable of amazing things.
Funny quotes
I do not have ducks. Or a row. I have squirrels. And they’re everywhere!
I’m still waiting for the fairytale scene where the animals clean everything for me!
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day! -A.A. Milne
A cop pulled me over and told me, “papers.” So I said, “Scissors, I win!” and drove off.
He who laughs last, didn’t get the joke. -Charles de Gaulle
I don’t mean to brag, but I put a puzzle together in a day, and the box said 2-4 years.
When you’re upset, just imagine t-rex making a bed
They say the best things take time. That’s why I’m always late.
Spilling your coffee is the adult equivalent of losing your balloon.
I swear I have it all together. I just forgot where I put it.
Patience: What you have where there are too many witnesses.
The dentist told me a I needed a crown. I was like, “I know, right?!”
The main function of your little toe is to make sure all of your furniture is in place.
I don’t always whoop. But when I do…there it is.
I never make the same mistake twice. I make it three or four times, just to be sure.
The quickest way to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.
My housekeeping style is best described as, “There appears to have been a struggle.”
Some people are the human version of a headache
I’ve got a case of the Mondays
Patience is a virtue…that I don’t have.
Friendship quotes
Because of you, I laugh a little harder, cry a little less, and smile a lot more.
Keep the ones that heard you when you never said a word. -Unknown
I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light. -Helen Keller
A true friend accepts who you are, but also helps you become who you should be. -Unknown
A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails. -Donna Roberts
A good friend knows all your stories. A best friend helped you create them. -Unknown
We’ve been friends for so long I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence. -Unknown
Best friends are the people you can do anything and nothing with and still have the best time. -Unknown
I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen -Winnie The Pooh
The only way to have a friend is to be one. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you. -Elbert Hubbard
We were together. I forget the rest. -Walt Whitman
Friendship isn’t a big thing—it’s a million little things. -Paulo Coelho
You can always tell when two people are best friends because they’re always having way more fun than it makes sense for them to be having. -Unknown
Bottom Line
There you go! 5 ways to hand letter quotes, 2 tips for lettering quotes, and so many great quotes to letter! What are your favorite quotes to letter?
Want to improve your hand lettering? Check out my post on ways to improve your hand lettering here!