Celtic Alphabets: With Borders and Motifs

Inspired by Celtic lettering and illumination, this practical book contains eleven alphabets along with a diverse selection of beautiful borders and motifs. Using step-by-step photographs, popular author Judy Balchin shows how to create stunning designs, incorporating painting and gilding techniques; and provides exciting inspiration for your own projects. • Traditional and modern Celtic styles • Alphabets presented in colour and black-and-white for ease of use • The letters, motifs and numerals can be used as templates for your own designs and projects

Table of Contents:
Introduction 6 Materials 8 Techniques 12 Creating a design 26 ALPHABETS 30 Simple calligraphic alphabet with dots 30 Block alphabet with leaves 42 Lion, bird and dog heads 54 Knots and swashes 66 Internal tracery 78 Celtic knots 90 Figurative 102 Flowing knotwork 114 Capitals with knots 126 Snakes, birds and dogs 138 Swashes and animal heads 150 NUMERALS, BORDERS AND MOTIFS 162 Numerals 162 Borders 165 Animal and bird motifs 169 Figurative motifs 171 Foliage motifs 172 Celtic knot motifs 173 Index 176

About the Author :
Judy Balchin studied art at Cardiff College of Art, and then specialised for three years in graphic design at Kent Institute of Art and Design. She spent two years at the BBC Television Centre working as a graphics assistant, and then a further two years in an art studio as a lettering artist. She now designs titles for book jackets and television titles. She also designs craft kits and runs workshops in silk painting, glass painting and painting on porcelain. She has appeared on television as a craft demonstrator, has written a book on glass painting, and is the author of numerous articles for craft magazines.

Review :
Discover the techniques of creating Celtic alphabets to enhance your artwork or cards. Eleven complete alphabets plus borders and motifs. Also includes ideas for craftwork included. Easy to use as templates for your own designs. A superb primer for those interested in Celtic themes.-KarenPlatt.co.uk Another excellent source book from Judy Balchin. Here Judy shows us the techniques used in creating Celtic alphabets, so useful for all craft projects, and some ideas for their use are included in this book. Eleven complete alphabets plus borders and motifs that are easy to use as templates for your own designs are included and and will enhance many craft projects. In addition to the Celtic alphabet Judy has included numerals, borders and motifs in both modern and traditional styles. These wonderfully versatile letters can be used to decorate many craft projects. In addition to the alphabets themselves, popular author Judy Balchin has included numerals, borders and motifs as well as modern and traditional Celtic styles. All of the alphabets are presented both in colour and black-and-white which makes using them very easy. Throughout the book are the most beautiful illustrations of completed projects using the letters or the wonderful intricate and symmetrical designs so typical of the Celtic theme that will inspire any enthusiastic crafter.-JeannieZelos.com The alphabets in this book come from the author being inspired by the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, using the designs found therein to create new works for predominantly watercolours, crayons and gold leaf. There is also a section using numerals, borders and motifs to add to your work with the lettering. The designs are bold and of a good size, and could easily be adapted to making stencils, applying fabric paint direct, or using stitch to transfer onto fabric. Each set of alphabets contains a black and white set at the end which you can use to enlarge or reproduce on the photocopier. It is also spiral-bound if you prefer to trace the letters, which helps keeping the pages flat. The alphabets are of varying styles and sizes, and there is a lot in inspiration inside, especially if you're interested in exploring the use of lettering in your work.-Workshop On The Web Monograms and lettering often feature in embroidery and the curling curves of Celtic calligraphy provide endless inspiration. Whether you choose to stitch a name, a quotation or even just a single letter, the numerous different designs offer plenty of inspiration. There are clear instructions for transferring the designs and adding colour. The techniques described are for use on card or paper, but they could also be used on fabric - and then it's up to you to decide on the style of stitching you want to use. Who knows - you could soon be stitching your own Book of Kells or Lindisfarne Gospel!-Stitch The eleven different alphabets presented in Celtic Alphabets range from strong and simple designs through to more complicated and intricate Celtic letters. Each alphabet is offered as a colored and black and white version. The colored version shows how the alphabet could look when it is colored, however the black and white version is likely to be the most flexible option. The black and white alphabets are presented with several letters on a page. Users can scan or photocopy these and resize the images. Ideas for projects and different techniques are dotted throughout the book. These give an inspirational insight into how the alphabets can be used. In addition the suggestions given in the book, the images can be used as templates for stamp carving, used as stencils, cut out from paper and used as embellishments for rubber stamping projects or transfered directly to a page by tracing to form part of a design. The Celtic letters have strong ornate outlines which work particularly well in papercraft as well as needlecraft projects. This is a useful source book and the addition of project ideas helps to present a book that is ideal for crafters of all experience levels.-About.com Illustrating 11 alphabets in Celtic styles in color and black and white, this collection is similar in format to Dover's Ready-To-UseA" series. Like the figural designs in Balchin's previous book, Designs from the Book of Kells, the alphabets are modern, somewhat simplified interpretations inspired by illuminated letters in the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Intended primarily for painters, this will be useful for needleworkers as well.-Library Journal USA