font/design question

[signed off]

Not sure if I am in the right section but I will go ahead anyways. I have gone through different layouts that you very talented sign guys have done and I would like to know about the ones with text/script that has all the flourish/embellishments pin striping what ever you call it. I do cakes in my fun time and want to fancy up the typical "Happy Birthday" by making stencils I can print out and trans to the cakes. Is it all free hand or is there a program or a series of fonts with the fancy stuff already in it or do you take a text and weld pin stripes/flourishes into it.
thanks in advance

 

[Fred Weiss]

http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=601

 

[Gino]

Many times, that freehand stuff was just cover ups for mistakes of not being centered or something went uphill or something just went wrong. You would disguise if with something called 'gingerbread'. Gingerbread always made things nicer and give eye appeal. There are font books or pages of flourishes, decorative this or that...... just search the internet until ya find some that tickle your fancy.

 

[signed off]

http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=601

Very cool link
thanks

 

[signbrad]

I like using Inkscape for flourishes

I am still getting used to it, but Inkscape has a feature called spiro spline for making smooth curves.
Though I'm not good (fast) at it yet, the examples below did not take too long. I would have spent a lot longer tweaking nodes and Bezier curve handles in other programs.
Inkscape is open architecture vector software that is a free download. There are a couple of textbooks in print and some Youtube videos for it.
I don't use Inkscape as a replacement but as an addition to my regular vector programs.
Adobe Illustrator can open Inkscape (SVG) files, and Inkscape can open AI files.

The black below is the original, called Dancing Script.
The blue and red are my modifications. They're a little clumsy-looking, but I will get better with use.

 

[Sign Works]

http://www.letterheadfonts.com/

http://artistfonts.com/

http://artandsignstudio.com/fonts.html

http://www.houseind.com/

http://losttype.com/