learn hand lettering without feeling overwhelmed by what to practice.

Let’s be real here: If you had the time, you’d love to learn hand lettering.

Hand lettering can be an amazing form of self-care but a lot can get in the way– like finding the time or not knowing what to practice.

I know exactly how you feel. That’s how I know I can help.

Let’s do this!

Does this sound familiar?

I don’t have time for anything, let alone learning hand lettering.
When I do find a few minutes, I don’t have the motivation or energy to practice.
I wish someone would just tell me exactly what to practice.
I am overwhelmed by all the things I “should” practice.
I can’t figure out how to get my lettering to look good.
I want to create hand lettering that is unique to me.

TRUST ME, I’VE BEEN THERE

Bad handwriting?

No matter what your handwriting looks like, you can learn hand lettering! Here’s my early hand lettering compared to now:

This is how I started:

In 2016, I wanted to create pretty quotes but I had never done anything like that before. My husband gifted me a set of calligraphy pens that looked fancy. I thought I could definitely learn this new skill with the right pens. Turns out, it was harder than I thought, and just having fancy pens didn’t magically make me a good hand letterer (sound familiar?).

I didn’t have nice handwriting.

I didn’t know if I’d be able to learn hand lettering with zero design experience. I spent hours researching different lettering techniques and felt very overwhelmed — how could I possibly learn it all? It seemed like my lettering would never be good enough.

But guess what?

It doesn’t have to be like that for you.

What if I told you that you don’t need to spend hours and months researching every single lettering tutorial on the internet as I did? I can help you by breaking down exactly what you need to practice to improve your lettering — even if all you have is 10 minutes at the end of the day.

introducing

Intentional Lettering for Beginners

I created Intentional Lettering for Beginners with two goals in mind:

01.

To give you all the information and resources you need to learn lettering in one place, so you don’t have to comb through hours of content, and…

02.

To show you that growing a new creative outlet doesn’t have to be overwhelming — even you, with your busy schedule, can fit in the practice you need to feel your creativity flourish.

Don’t let overwhelm or a busy schedule keep you from making lettering that feels like your best self! All you need is someone to guide you.

So what is it exactly?

Through a series of engaging video lessons and easy-to-use worksheets, we’ll walk through my exact hand lettering process — starting with the basics so you can set yourself up for a lifetime of fun and success. Then we’ll move through my favorite tips and tricks for finding your own unique style and falling in love with your lettering.

If your inner critic is particularly loud these days, I’ve got your back — all of my lessons are focused on YOUR power for creativity, and I’ll teach you how to leave comparisons and doubts at the door so you can focus on the JOY.

**Because yes, you can feel confident in your lettering no matter what stage you’re in.**

Sign me up!

Learn to create hand lettering that feels like your best self, even with a busy schedule.

At this point, you may be thinking, “But Sarah, I really don’t have time to practice. Like, really.”

I get it. That’s the number one struggle I hear when it comes to learning lettering. There’s not enough time.

I can’t give you more hours in the day…

…but I can give you a clear practice plan that will fit in any schedule.

Spending an hour a day just isn’t realistic for most people — that’s why all I’m asking from you is 10 minutes.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you spent 10 minutes a day totally focused on your own creative journey instead of scrolling through everyone else’s on Instagram.

But it isn’t for everyone. . .

This course is for you if:

You want to use lettering as a creative outlet and a stress-reliever
Finding time to practice lettering is a challenge
You want to practice hand lettering but you’re not sure how to start
You want to gain confidence in your lettering and life
You want to learn multiple lettering styles and how to create your own style
You need something to jump-start your creativity
You want to learn the basic rules but you also like breaking the rules
You want to be part of a community of like-minded letterers (outside of social media)

It’s probably not for you if:

You don’t want to practice
You’d rather spend hours researching on your own for free
You feel like you don’t have anything more to learn in your lettering
You don’t want to letter with a brush pen (this is not a class for a pointed pen)
You want to learn just one font style (like Copperplate calligraphy)

Life keeps getting busier

At the end of the day, there’s almost no time left for YOU — and even when you can sneak in a few minutes, you’re so overwhelmed at what you don’t know that it just feels easier to binge This Is Us, resigned to a life of mindless scrolling instead of confident creativity.

With Intentional Lettering for Beginners, you will have all the resources you need so you don’t have to question what to practice. You’ll finally have a creative outlet that makes you feel good and doesn’t take too much time.

Count me in!

How does it actually help?

I created Intentional Lettering for Beginners to be fun, educational, and practical — you’ll get video demonstrations of every foundational technique you’ll need to learn hand lettering (so you won’t have to wonder how I formed those letters), in addition to a whole library of simple worksheets to help guide your practice.

Here’s exactly what you’ll get:

11 in-depth lessons with video demos to show you exactly how to hand letter.
9 lettering workbooks with additional instruction and practice worksheets to trace and build muscle memory.
An in-depth look at pens and paper so you know what tools get for you.
4 bonus workbooks with unique fonts to explore lettering styles.
Plus the 30 Days of Intentional Lettering Challenge

But let’s be honest. . .

You’re not sure you need another 4-hour class with 300 pages of worksheets, no matter how awesome that value is.

What you need is a strategy for intentional practice so you can get the most out of the limited amount of time you have.

Introducing:

The Master Plan

I’ve spent more than five years waffling between intense obsession and extreme burnout when it comes to hand lettering practice — at some point, I knew I needed a sustainable strategy that would allow me to actually practice hand lettering consistently, even with a toddler running around my feet.

That’s why I created the Master Plan — so you can intentionally build your own creative practice to fit your needs and schedule, and give you a path to a more restful hand lettering journey.

Short on time?

Here’s how Intentional Lettering for Beginners can help you build a sustainable creative practice:

The Master Plan helps you fit this course into your busy schedule.
The Hand Lettering Planner helps you stay organized and keep track of your practice and learning.
A community of like-minded hand letterers where you can share your progress and get feedback (it’s seriously the best!).

Take a look at the lessons!

Learning hand lettering is a commitment, but it doesn’t have to be hard. I’ve broken it into bite-size lessons so you can easily get through them on your own time.

LESSON 1
**Supplies**
Get started by learning what supplies you’ll need.

LESSON 2
**Faux Calligraphy**
Practice with a regular pen to understand forming letters.

LESSON 3
**Brush Lettering Basics**
Start your foundation right in a fun, simple way.

LESSON 4
**Connecting Letters**
Basic rules to help with those tricky connections!

LESSON 5
**How To Practice**
Get some tips on how to actually practice with a challenge!

LESSON 6
**Lettering Quotes**
Basics of laying out quotes and lots of inspiration!

LESSON 7
**Bounce Lettering**
Break the rules and make your letters dance!

LESSON 8
**Lettering Styles**
Start creating unique styles that feel like you.

LESSON 9
**Lettering Projects**
Unique projects to embellish your lettering.

LESSON 10
**Bonus Font Styles**
Bonus worksheets to practice different fonts!

LESSON 11
**Lettering Journal**
Improve your lettering with a journal.

LESSON 12
**30 Day Challenge**
Join the intentional lettering challenge!

This made all the difference for me:

I’ve been at this lettering game for a while, and I spent years chasing the social media high, never satisfied with my progress.

It wasn’t until I let all of that comparison and competition go and focused on creating hand lettering just for me, that I truly discovered the joy that can come from this practice…

…and that’s why I’m sharing my Hand Lettering Journal process with you, as an added bonus.

Bonus:

The Hand Lettering Journal and Planner

My Hand Lettering Journal saved my creative practice, and it’s so simple that I know it can make a difference in yours, too. In the brand new bonus material, we’ll explore my process for creating a hand lettering journal — what works, what doesn’t, and what you can do to make it your own.

The hand lettering planner is a place to keep track of lettering resources, ideas, quotes, and techniques. It also includes prompts to help you prioritize your hand lettering instead of letting life get in the way, as it always seems to do.

But that’s not all. . .

When you join Intentional Lettering for Beginners, you’ll also get the 30 Days of Intentional Lettering Challenge!

Life just keeps getting busier and there is so much to learn. I used to think that it would be impossible to learn everything and I’d never be good enough. It took years of slow and steady practice to shift my mindset and realize that my lettering has been good enough all along.

When you’re intentional with your lettering, it’s not about the end result, it’s about the moments of practice spent with your pen and paper. That also naturally creates a better end result.

How do you get more of that?

That’s why I created a challenge where you can learn the basics and build your foundation while also creating lettering you love right now.

You’ll learn how to start a hand lettering journal which will help you by having a safe place to explore your creativity, see your progress all in one place, feel empowered to practice how YOU want, and create a mindfulness practice for self-care.

Bonus challenge

30 Days of Intentional Lettering

A 30-day challenge to help you develop a lettering practice that fits into your schedule. Instead of worrying about the end result, spend more moments in your creative practice.

You won’t question what to letter for 30 days because I’ve laid it out for you. Each day builds on the last to form the right lettering foundation. Discover how a hand lettering journal can be an amazing form of self-care.

What’s in the challenge?

A 30-day plan with intentional prompts (11 pages)
Lettering worksheets for specific learning (19 pages)
Weekly video tutorials and simple lettering projects (1+ hour)
Instruction on how to start your own hand lettering journal
A guided process so you know your practice is building on itself
Motivation to letter daily even if it’s only 10-15 minutes

Stop letting your busy schedule get in the way of creating beautiful lettering.

By the end of the 30-day challenge you’ll:

Be intentional with your lettering
Start your own hand lettering journal
Build the right lettering foundation
Develop a creative lettering practice that fits your schedule
Improve your lettering while also using it as a mindfulness practice

My goal for you. . .

by the end of the course, you will:

Use hand lettering as a stress-reliever and creative outlet even with limited time.
Understand the basics of lettering and build the right foundation that won’t hold you back.
Start your own hand lettering journal as a mindfulness practice.
Feel confident in your ability to learn hand lettering, no matter what your handwriting looks like.
Become friends with brush pens so they work with you instead of against you.
Feel motivated in knowing what to practice moving forward.
Explore several different lettering styles and start creating your own.
Create hand lettering that feels like your best self and feel that you’re right where you need to be.

Let’s do this!

Join the community

I’m an introvert who likes alone time. I also find Facebook to be overwhelming and distracting. However, I’ve learned that even introverts need connections with others, especially to inspire creativity. This community uses the Geneva app which is calm and minimal — a great place to hang out with lettering friends!

What’s inside?

Get feedback from me. Have a safe space to share lettering that you’re proud of or struggling with. Get inspired by others. Ask questions and chat about pens.

This community is the place to share and learn from like-minded lettering friends outside of social media. I can’t wait to see you there!

“

What students are saying:

“I’m excited about this class for several reasons. I like that everything I need is gathered together in one place, complete with a checklist.”

“What a beautiful, positive, powerful way to write affirmations and inspiring words/quotes! I feel incredibly blessed to have found this course, thank you!”

“I wanted to get better at lettering and have something to guide me and hold me accountable… because I wasn’t doing it on my own, even though I have the supplies and your book. I liked the clear expectations for each day, the videos were helpful, but I didn’t feel pressure if I had a busy day and couldn’t get to it. It got me to practice more, which is how we get better!”

oh hey!I m Sarah!

I can’t wait to be your lettering friend

I’m a hand lettering artist and creator of Ensign Insights where I teach hand lettering. I started hand lettering in 2016 and it has changed my life! I’m passionate about helping you create hand lettering that feels like your best self.

In 2021, I experienced extreme burnout. I started a hand lettering journal simply to make it through each day. It has been an amazing creative outlet and a tangible way to use my hand lettering to feel like my best self!

I am so excited to share how you can learn hand lettering and get the creative benefits of a journal!

“

Sarah has helped me to feel more confident.

“I love calligraphy, but I’ve struggled with being confident in my lettering. I tend to see the flaws in my lettering and compare it to everyone else’s lettering. Sarah has helped me to feel more confident in using my own style and has helped me to stop pointing out the flaws in my own lettering. Once again, thank you so much!”

-KAELYN

Here’s the truth:

You won’t get good at something the first time you do it. You need to practice over time. If it was that easy, why doesn’t everyone do it? Well, because it’s not that easy.

That’s where you’re special. You are willing to put the time in — because you know that you don’t need hours. All it takes is 10 minutes.

Your creativity is worth investing in.

Can I tell you a secret?

You don’t need Intentional Lettering for Beginners to build that creative practice — you already have everything you need to make progress.

But if you’re tired of creating alone, tired of doing all the research yourself, tired of “bootstrapping” it and putting your creative education at the bottom of every list — you’re exactly who I built this course for.

Investing in yourself and your creativity is one of the most powerful acts of self-love you can do…

and I’d be honored to go on this journey with you.

Intentional Lettering for Beginners

$147

13 workbooks (300+ pages) of intentional practice worksheets ($167 value)
4+ hours of intentional video instruction ($197 value)
Master Plan to break it down in easy steps when you’re busy ($27 value)
Community to share your wins and get feedback ($127 value)
30 Days of Intentional Lettering Challenge ($47 value)
Lettering projects for when you don’t know what to letter ($27 value)
Hand Lettering Planner to keep your lettering practice organized ($27 value)
Self-paced: easy access to the dashboard on your own time
Lifetime access – rewatch any lesson at anytime

Enroll now

Want to test it out first?

Start with the 30-day challenge to see if it’s a good fit for you! It doesn’t have the community but if you sign up and find you’re missing that, you can still join Intentional Lettering for Beginners.

30 Days of Intentional Lettering

$47

A 30-day plan with intentional prompts (11 pages)
Lettering worksheets for specific learning (19 pages)
Weekly video tutorials and simple lettering projects (1+ hour)
Instruction on how to start your own hand lettering journal
A guided process so you know your practice is building on itself
Motivation to letter daily even if it’s only 10-15 minutes
Lifetime access – if you miss a few days, come back anytime

Sign me up!

If you’re not happy, I’m not happy.

The “confidence promise”

I am confident that you will love this course. Of all the thousands of students I have taught, I have never had anyone tell me that it didn’t work for them. Because this is all digital, I do not offer refunds. However, I stand by my “confidence promise” that if you have gone through all of the modules and it didn’t work for you, you can send me an email and I promise to do what I can to make it right. Even if that means I give you a private, one-on-one session to answer all of your questions. There is also a community where you can ask specific questions and get feedback.

frequently asked questions

I have a complete list in the course, but all you need to start is a brush pen and paper. My favorite brush pens to start with are Pentel Touch brush pens, Kuretake Fudebiyori, and Crayola markers (yep, not technically brush pens). My favorite paper to practice is HP Premium 32 paper, tracing paper (any brand), or a Rhodia notepad.

I’ve made it easy for you to access everything all in one place. After purchasing, you will receive an email with the details of how to login to your personal dashboard (hosted in Teachery). In the dashboard, you will find the videos and workbooks all in one place.

Because it’s taught by me, Sarah Ensign! You will learn lettering in a low-pressure environment, focused on helping you create lettering that feels like your best self. I’m not teaching you my style or the “one right way” to letter. I love the intentional imperfections in lettering that make it unique. I’m teaching you the basics and then how to break the rules to create something authentic to you. I really want to help you overcome self-doubt and love your lettering right where you are.

Great! You’re in the right place! I’ll get you started with how to choose the right supplies for you and how to make a brush pen work with you, not against you. I give you the most basic font style to work with and then several styles as you start feeling ready to branch out.

This course is very focused on helping beginners. If you already know all of the basics, you may benefit from learning how to create your own unique styles (I still use this process for myself!). You may also like the bonus style worksheets and projects. However, this is not a course to learn advanced lettering techniques.

This course will help you feel good about your lettering which may give you the confidence to share it with others, but I don’t give you any specific tips about business in this course.

Yes! Lettering is the best therapy as long as we don’t let the comparisons get to us. You don’t have to know what you want to do with your lettering. This course is focused on helping you use it as a stress-reliever and creative outlet. I know that will help you feel more confident in it which may lead to other avenues for you.

Basically, it’s a notebook/journal just for your hand lettering. It’s a place to make mistakes as you experiment with your lettering. It’s a place to process emotions, keep memories, and get creative. It’s also just fun!

There are so many things you can do with hand lettering to create things for others. But how are you using it for yourself? A hand lettering journal is a tangible way to use lettering for yourself.

We’re all burnt out on life, right? There’s so much to be stressed about. In my experience, it doesn’t make that stuff go away, it’s just helped me be able to handle it better. Something about getting creative more often helps me to feel more creative with stressful things.

In this course, you’ll learn everything you need to know as a beginner. But you won’t be a beginner forever, which is why I’ve also included multiple lettering styles and projects you can keep coming back to. When you know the basics, what do you actually do with your lettering? That’s where the Hand Lettering Journal comes in. You’re going to have all the tools you need to start a lettering journal to use your lettering as a daily mindfulness practice. This can benefit you at any stage in your lettering journey.

You are the one who knows your current budget. But how much would it be worth to have everything you need to jump-start your lettering? How about having a community of lettering best friends to build you up, answer your questions, and give you feedback? You are worth investing in. Your creativity and self-care are worth it.

No. I don’t do Facebook because it’s too overwhelming. But there is a community group using the app Geneva. You can access it on your phone or computer. It’s a low-pressure place to get feedback or share lettering that you’re proud of.

No, because of the digital nature. I do stand by my “confidence promise.” If you aren’t happy after completing the course, you can send me an email and I will do what I can to make it right.

If you watched all of the videos in one sitting it would be over 4 hours. Besides that, it’s just the amount of time you want to spend practicing each of the workbooks. You can pick and choose what to practice according to what you’re struggling with or what feels exciting.

You have lifetime access! You don’t need to worry about hurrying. You can complete it and come back to it again and again.

Because it has literally everything. This course comes from years of learning what works and what doesn’t. Also, I give a lot of free resources so this is for someone who wants to invest in themselves and gain more access to me and what I teach. This class isn’t for everyone. If you’re not ready for it, you can still use all of my free resources.

Yes! It’s for real! This is only the second time I’m launching Intentional Lettering so you get the special introductory price!