These are products I recommend from personal use and experience.  If you have any questions about any of the items on this page, don’t hesitate to ask me about them. 

Also, the list contains affiliate links, so if you purchase from them I’ll receive a commission, with no added cost to you.  As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. (Thanks for your support!)

Brush Lettering, Journaling

I like the Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen  for smaller brush marker lettering.  The black one comes in a pack with one hard-tip and one soft-tip pen, so you can decide which tip you prefer. I prefer the hard tip because it’s easier to control.

 Now they come in colors too.  The colors all have the hard tip.

It’s a great size for journals, envelopes, longer quotes, etc.

Another of my favorite small brush pens is the Zebra Funwari.  The tip is extra-fine, roughly the same size as the Tombow Fudenosuke, above.  It doesn’t come in as many colors as the Fudenosuke, but that’s about it’s only downside.  Like the Fudenosuke, it’s the perfect size for smaller lettering in your journals, envelopes, etc.

I also really love the Pentel Sign Brush Pen for smallish brush lettering. (Be sure you are getting the ones with the brush tips, as they also have some with regular marker tips. This link is for the brush tips.)  The tip is a little softer than the two pens above, so the lettering will be slightly larger. The Pentel is pretty easy to control and comes in vibrant colors.  

The Tombow Dual Brush Pens are wonderful for large brush lettering, plus, they are perfect for blending and watercolor techniques. They have a fine point tip at the other end, which adds versatility. These Tombows come in many colors.  This pack is the Bright Palette.

If you would like a large brush pen with pigment ink, the Zig Brushables are excellent. The ink is archival, pigment ink, so they are waterproof, lightfast, and fade-proof.  This makes them wonderful for memory keeping and for lettering that will be exposed to a lot of light.  (But, be aware, this also means they aren’t quite as good for blending techniques like the Tombow Dual Brush Pens are.  Different tools for different types of projects.) 

There are two brush tips on each Zig Brushable (which is different from the Tombow Dual Brush Pens, that have a fine tip on one end and a brush tip on the other.)

One end on the each Brushable is a 50% tint of the other end, which is nice for shading.

Be sure to use very smooth paper with your brush pens, like HP Premium 32  so as not to fray the tips.  If you are going to be doing blending techniques, however, the HP Premium won’t hold up well for that. 

The Strathmore Bristol holds up better for blending. It is a very smooth, heavyweight paper that is great for final artwork. (It’s not cost effective for practice.)  The ink sits on top of the paper longer than on the HP Premium 32, so it’s better for blending techniques.  

Mastering Modern Calligraphy is a really comprehensive and well written book about modern calligraphy. I have it and love it.

The Pentel EnerGel pens are some of my absolute favorite gel pens. They write very smoothly, dry quickly, and don’t smear. The colors are vivid and beautiful.

I have this pack of the medium point.

I use this tiny (it’s almost the size of my phone!)  Canon Ivy Mobile Photo Mini Photo Printer to print my little 2×3 photos from my phone, via Bluetooth, for my journals.  The pictures have a peel and stick backing, which makes it really easy to stick them in my journals. (See my review here.)

This is the case I got for my Canon Ivy. It’s a beautiful, hard-shell case.