Updated: Hello wonderfuls! When these posts were made, these fun fonts were free. If they are not free now, please know this post is now older, so sites sometimes start charging. If it asks for a donation, you can choose your own amount so consider that as well. Thank you!
A few of you lovely people wrote in recently, and asked me what some of my fave current fonts are. So, I thought it called for a fun list of sorts. But I must begin with…Got any font snobs out there?
There’s many, many more I could hate on. {Papyrus, for one. Stop the madness!} But Comic Sans is just an easy target.
25 Fun Fonts For the self-proclaimed font snob
Today, I thought I’d share a few of my faves. Apart from the usual suspects for font purists, I thought these might suffice as something to spice up your font life.
Fun Fonts Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
{I must give proper credit to the fabulous Jones Design Company for exposing me to two of my faves: Albemarle + Bell. I can’t stop using them. Click over for another wonderful list of MORE fabulously free fonts…and much more.}
Oh, and P.S. They’re all free.
PPS. Apparently, Bell is now linked to a virus because people are jerk faces. So if you really love it, we suggest searching for it on a reputable site. ;{
Updated: Apparently ‘My Fonts,’ where I linked to Filosofia, Bell + Rosewood, has decided to start charging because of the traffic they received yesterday. It’s not nice to offer something for free and then take it away. Please google to your heart’s content {I located Filosofia and Bell and have redirected them to another source, so those should work} This font is very similar to Rosewood and looks oh so fabulous. I took down the original links because I don’t like the way they play. ;} You should be able to find it elsewhere. Thanks!
Happy appropriate font-filled friday, everyone!
Kay Ellison says
It seriously painful to look at the comic sans dog! Is that even possible for a dog to look like that???
Brent Worth says
lol I almost felt my eyes start to bleed when I saw that dog… that poor baby…
Hollie says
What font do you use on all your canvas’? Like the letter ones on the veranda? And the Nora Kay one? Thanks!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Hollie! The letters on the veranda are hand sketched by me. The Nora Kay sign is done in Duffy’s Tavern. Not free. WOMP WOMP. {but not ridiculously expensive, either. ;}}
Pamelotta says
This makes my Friday! I love fonts! I just wish I had time to play with them.
Love the unicorn quote. Have you seen these?
http://pinterest.com/pin/157696424421653585/
http://pinterest.com/pin/157696424421628206/
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Pam! I have seen those! I love them. ;}
Laura says
Ahh! I love fonts! I feel like a geek but I really do. I’ve been really diggin’ Ribbon lately. I discover a lot of my faves from Jessica at How About Orange. If you make this a regular series, you will be a font source for me too! đ Thank you for sharing; I love having one-stop resources like this for fun fonts to use! And now I’m a little embarrassed at how excited I got over this post… đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
yay so glad! I just may do that every now and then…keep a list as I find them. ;}
Michelle @ Ten June says
Oooh bookmarking this post! Thanks!
Megan Brooke says
I came across Matilde and the Sketch font recently and love those!
I’ll have to check out and download some of the other ones. Thanks for rounding up some fun new free fonts!
Annie says
I spend HOURS going through fonts trying to find good ones – thanks for posting and cutting that time out for me! đ đ
Joy says
Thanks for this! Question: Is it just me or is the Bell MT font not free? I can’t find a place to download it without it telling me that it costs something…
ashley @ the handmade home says
I’m on my phone now so it’s hard to tell, bit I could’ve sworn that link was free. Try it here.
Joy says
That did it! Thank you!
Anita says
The site given doesn’t have the file anymore, is there another way to get this font for free? If worse comes to worse, any suggestions for a similar font?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Anita… this post was written, I think over a year ago. So as stated above, not all of the fonts will still be available or free. I recommend searching online. ;} Sorry about that!
Brittany says
Thanks so much! I am always on the lookout for more fonts to use with my Cricut. I am making gift tags for Valentine baskets for the widows/widowers at church, so this post came at a great time!
Mandy says
Hey so I have always wondered how to get these fonts to use on the computer?? I am really lost on these fonts.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Mandy! I have a mac, so I’m probably not much help, but look at Emily’s post {jones design link above} for a great tutorial on loading fonts. It’s at the bottom of her post. I hope that helps!
Jackie says
I love all of these. I am lost too though, but I have a Mac. I have never downloaded a font before. How do you download and install them?
ashley @ the handmade home says
hey Jackie. Just hit download, then find your downloads folder. drag them over to your fonts application, and drop them in. You should have something like font book in your mac. I search ahead of time, pull them up, then when I’m ready to drag the files, all my folders are open and ready to minimize confusion. When you open up your application like illustrator or word, it should be activated and waiting for you to use.
Colleen says
I wished I knew how to use fonts- any tips of good tutorials on how to do this for sad beginners like me?? I think I was on for 2 hours last night trying to figure it out đ
So bored of boring fonts! haha thanks for sharing!
(Colleen)
Summer Jo Brooks says
I’m seriously cracking up!
Sheri says
I seriously had to lol! I love Comic Sans, but I can appreciate why I’m in the minority.;)
Thank you for the font list…There are so many beauties! đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
ha! thanks for being a good sport! sorry for the offensive material. ;}
Kim says
I have to agree, I to also like the Comic Sans font and use it quite often. So you are not in the minority.
I do like the Albemarle Swash but cannot seem to find a site that will allow me to download to a Mac. To bad it’s a Windows world. If anyone has a link to a place where I can download to a Mac please reply.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hi Kim! Albemarle works fine for me-and I have a mac… ;}
Terri says
đ I agree….I teach preschool and use comic sans on everything I print for the classroom….it looks more like the letters I’m trying to teach than any other font I know of. But you’re right….I wouldn’t use it many other places!
Rachel says
Thanks for answering my question in this post! I’m excited to use them all!
Laree @ Ever Heard of Euless says
Wow, Usually when people do font lists, I already have all of them. This time I only use 1 of them! thanks for the new options!
Jennifer Murray says
Love it! That chunk is adorable. They all are, actually. I’m pretty sure I liked comic sans when I was about 15…but that was a looonnnggg time ago. đ That dog is hilarious. đ
Jenn says
I’m definitely a font snob đ That’s what years and years as a designer will do to you! A couple of my favorite script fonts right now are Scriptina and Zapfino… can’t remember if they were free or I bought them though!
Amy says
Thanks for this great round-up, just in time for a fresh face this spring!
Ashley says
Oh my gosh! Finally I have found someone else who shares my hate for Comic Sans and Papyrus. I could rant about the over use of Papyrus for hours!
Lauren O says
Just found you thru a fellow photog on FB…LOOOVE your font post!!! I’m a total font-addict. So happy to have been introduced to your blog!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing these đ
Jami Nato says
hello my name is jami and i am a font snob.
chari pack says
I am just LAUGHING about the Papyrus comment– THANK YOU! I see it everywhere & even take pictures to show people how much its OVERUSED!
http://blog.persnicketyprints.com/2010/09/capitol-reef-utah.html
Stacey says
I knew there was a name for my sickness. I am a font snob. I have been one for years. My husband keeps telling me that I have enough, and I keep telling him that the default ones don’t count because I don’t use them. Papyrus – ick. Agreed.
Thanks for some new additions. It’s nice to meet a fellow font snob.
Katie says
Hilarious! I’m always hating on Papyrus, too. It’s ridiculous how overused it is. Makes me cringe a little every time I see it. đ
eunice says
I’m having trouble getting Rosewood for free. It also seems to send you to sites for purchase.
ashley @ the handmade home says
please see my updated above. thanks!
Layla Mayville {Simply Savannah Events} says
Thanks for sharing Da Fonts can get overwhelming to search thru! I dowloaded Fontleroy Brown đ
cara walen says
Is it just me or is filosofia not free? I see they are charging $39 for it. Hmmm?
ashley @ the handmade home says
please see my updated above. I have a new link. Apparently they started charging because of the traffic they received. It’s not nice to offer something for free and then take it away! Thanks ;}
Kathy H says
Well, I, for one, love comic sans and I am not an 8 yr. old girl, nor do I write about unicorns, but I’ve spent most of my life being on the bottom so it’s all good!!! Thanks for the fonts, I own some of them already because I do looovvvve fonts.
Rhonda says
Love these – thanks for sharing! I see fonts that I love but I have no idea what they are called, so this is a great guide. Abermarle and Ribbon are downloaded!
Rita@thissortaoldlife says
I live (and blog with) a man who won’t go into business establishments that use Papyrus on their signage! For real. I’m not sure which he hates more–that one or comic sans. I LOVE this. Thanks so much for sharing!
MJ @ 517 Creations says
Totally agree on the dislike of comic sans…probably because I was a teacher and the other teachers used comic sans on EVERYTHING!! I much prefer “Print Clearly” when typing things up for littles.
I just posted my own “Fabulous Fonts” yesterday! I will definitely be adding a few of yours to my font folder. đ
Thanks for the great post!
Jillian says
Great list! You included several of my favorites including geosans light and sketch rockwell.
Kristi says
OMG! I DESPISE Comic Sans!
But I <3 you for sharing fonts! đ I thought I was the only one…
Emily says
Hilarious!! But so true…..
Palm Beach Parties says
LOVE the crack on Comic Sans! So funny!
GBR says
I adore your blog. So refreshing and light. The nursery ABC printables are beautiful, and I’m anxious to try these fonts. Thank you! (Glad to know I’m not the only one with an irrational hatred of comic sans).
Nora says
Love this list of fonts. May I ask where you got the cute arrow graphic you used in the 25 fonts sign? Thanks đ
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Nora! I do all my own art/illustrations. Lately, I was inspired by arrows. ;}
Kate says
These are awesome! I spent several hours a couple weeks ago trying to find some decent fonts and ended up giving up
thanks so much đ
dsm says
Great post!
PS. You’ve spelled Albemarle wrong in your graphic. I live near Albemarle Sound in NC and thought that it looked like a simlar word… but when I clicked on your info link… the font name is indeed Albemarle… not Albermale as you listed. It is a hard word to spell & even harder for many to pronounce đ Cheers!
ashley @ the handmade home says
three kids will totally do that to ya. Repaired…too bad it’s all over pinterest now! ;}
jodpea says
Comic Sans has its place, my pet hate is Times New Roman. I hate when programs default to it. I have too many fonts on my PC, I tend to be drawn to the loopy, handwriting ones for my cardmaking projects… probly cos I wish I could write like that!
noelle says
Thanks so much for compiling these great fonts, I just got a new laptop and have been trying to build up my font library and these are all great additions! Found you on pinterest!
Amanda Gurney says
thanks so much! đ love these!
vitania says
This was really great of you! I have been meaning to to a font refresh forever, and you just made it happen! Thanks..Vie
Elizabeth says
Thank you so much for sharing this! I also found this via pinterest. These are all fabulous!
Angie says
Poor dog, being associated with Comic Sans like that…
Alexis says
i’m loving marquee lately…at first i just thought of it as a christmas font, but it really goes well with so many things!
i’m glad that i’m not alone in my appreciation for fonts…as a self-proclaimed font freak, it’s comforting knowing there are others like me out there! hurrah!
dalinda says
Thanks for posting, now I know I’m not the only one out there who’s particular about what fonts! After reading these comments, I feel like I’ve just been to a “FA” meeting…Font’s Annonymous! When I try and download “Albemarle Swash” I get a redirection to Word that is a file conversion….in a different language looking screen….anybody know what I’m doing wrong. I’ve occasionally had this to happen before, but not on all the fonts I download. Thanks in advance!
Missy says
Thanks! This is wonderful!
Ellegram says
My sentiments EXACTLY on Papyrus! Always looking for new fonts.
Thanks a bunch!
Bryn says
I’m a font snob too! Thanks for the links!
Mimi says
I loathe Papyrus.
Alisa says
Saw this on Pinterest and had to comment! There are no shortage of free font round-ups, but nicely curated ones are rare, so thanks for this! I actually posted my own free font round up on my blog a few weeks ago, I think you’d like it, it’s classy. I have 3 more in the works, they are so fun to compile.
http://www.siblingdesign.com/free-font-round-up/
Megan says
Very cute post! I appreciate the Papyrus shoot out and Curlz could be one too. As a graphic designer you see fonts way over used and you just want to cringe every time! ha!
Megan K. says
Love this post! You’ve nailed quite a few of my favorites and I’ve picked up a few new ones! Thanks!!
Where did you find that awesome school paper background you displayed the fonts on? You may or may not have already answered that question, but I became impatient trying to scan through your replies. (lol). Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you use to add these all together– ( such as adobe illustrator )?? I would love to know as to I’m looking into software to use in this kind of way. Thanks for the great post!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Megan! I’m actually a graphic designer by trade, so I create all my own graphics in illustrator. You can see some of our freebies, here!
Julie says
Once you download the font, how do you type with it?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Julie! Check out the link above to Jones Design Studio. She included a quick little tutorial there.
Julie says
Thank you!
sosa says
Thanks for the fonts. I had a question abt font 23. Matilde. how can you get the frames and pattern set to work? It downloaded fine but can’t seem to figure out how to open frames or the symbols in the word doc? any suggestions TIA
ashley @ the handmade home says
Sosa-I’m not going to be much help, as I’m a mac gal. Maybe someone else can help with that, but I just am not even going to pretend that I know. Please check out Jones Design Company {the link above} with a tutorial on how to load fonts. Maybe that will help!
Robin Reilly says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the fonts! I fonts! đ
I have been following you for some time via email. I just grabbed your button to put on my blog.
I have a giveaway going on at my place if you’d like to enter!!
robin đ
melissa*320 sycamore says
Ooooh, Ashley~what a great list. Most of my favs, plus some new ones to me…from one font junkie to another: thank you!! Happy Valentines!
Becky says
Thank you sooo much for these!!! I spent all morning downloading them đ
amanda says
these are so great! thanks so much for posting them.
Cassidy says
This is a great post! I haven’t been to your blog before but I will definitely be checking it out more often. I am finishing up my BFA in Advertising and Graphic Design and I can’t even tell you how many time I cringe per day seeing the fonts people use >.<
And your blog is designed wonderfully therefore I can gladly read through your old posts đ Thanks!
ashley @ the handmade home says
from one graphic designer to another-thanks so much! ;}
Paula says
The reason I choose comic sans is that it has what I call a true Kindergarten “a.”
ashley @ the handmade home says
Just a little designer humor. This post is what it is! ;}
kristen says
loveeeee this site!
christy Bozeman says
Oh Dear… “Papyrus” was the font I totally chose to use for my wedding programs back in 2005. womp. womp. When going through our wedding scrapbook… I think to myself, “What was I thinking?” I seriously, at the time, thought it was THE prettiest font! Haha.
Sarah St. says
I am also not an 8 year old, unicorn-loving girl… but I do like Comic Sans. And Papyrus. And I’m not afraid to say it! Or use it in e-mail. đ To each their own, but I can understand the dislike of its overuse. They have their place, they just shouldn’t be all over the place! Thanks for all the links to new fonts to try out- while I love those two evil fonts mentioned above there is ALWAYS room for more fonts! đ
Sajuliet says
Thank you sooooo much for these! they are beautiful! im so so so excited! keep it up your blog is amazing!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much for your sweet words! ;}
Sarah says
Thanks for this post and the legwork on the links! Wonderful choices…:)
Shannon says
Hi there,
I love the fonts you listed, but where can I get them?
Are they updates on an Adobe program or something I can download?
Thanks so much for sharing! I love your site.
Best Wishes,
Shannon
Shannon says
Oh, I feel silly now, I see that you added the links underneath numbered. Sorry!
Shaunna says
Great round up. I have been on a font rampage lately with my blog redesign – thank you! Much appreciated.
xx Shaunna @ honorablementionme.blogspot.com
Michelle in N. Cal says
Thanks for this post (I found you via Pinterest). It was a lifesaver for a recent project for my daughter’s class đ
Kim H. says
I am definitely a font snob! This post is awesome!! I use dafont.com and 1001fonts.com to get a lot of my free fonts. They really do make a difference! Thanks for the Comic Sans chuckle!
ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
i love sketch rockwell! cute font and thanks for the share!
Ashley Baxter says
Love the list and I literally LOL’d at the poor little comic sans dog. It’s the redheaded step child of the font world.
Gina says
Thank you so very much for this wonderful list. I love the arrows in your image. Are those a dingbat? If not, where can I find them?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Gina! Those were drawn by me. ;} I’m sure there are some fun dingbats out there though, with some like this!
Vanessa says
Thank you for calling out Comic Sans!!! I hate it SO much and can’t believe some people don’t get it! hah
Sophie says
Ugh, comic sans. Even an 8-year old should know better, lol. Majorly crushing on “albemarle swash.” Loving this post, and thanks for the inspiration!!! So excited to download and start playing around…
ChristinaP says
They’ve started charging for Blanch đ
Jessica says
Thanks for sharing!! Love fonts!! Could you tell me what font you used for the word “fun” in your title?
Lindsey says
Is there a way to download these fonts onto the IPad?
ashley @ the handmade home says
I don’t know…sorry I’m not much help! đ
Kathy says
In college, my room mate and I joked that we were “tee shirt snobs”. We were not fancy shoes, expensive purses, or fine food snobs. We were (still are?) snobs o tees! Love that you are a “font snob”. It’s working, your blog is beautiful!
Suzanne says
I really enjoyed your list and added quite a few to my computer. Thank you so much!
Lisa Liddiard says
I have a confession. As a kindergarten teacher, I have been a heavy comic sans user for years. Thanks for showing me a better way. Don’t think I’ll ever get that poor dog out of my head. BTW: Love your site!
Shiloh says
just finished downloading them all–couldn’t get albemarle đ will try to look for it. I do like the swirlies.
http://www.shilohstaste.com
Thanks!!! đ
Amy says
Thanks for throwing Papyrus under the bus. I’m so sick of seeing that font. Another one that (admittedly I liked at first) is totally overused is Bleeding Cowboys. Has everyone gone western goth?
Nilland is one of my new favorites too- that and Banana (who doesn’t love to say Banana?)
Cheers!
ashley @ the handmade home says
HAHA Amy! It’s steampunk! Haven’t you shopped Etsy in the past two years? ;} Or Vampire Diaries… And you’re right. Banana is fun to say!
Katie Lehn says
They started charging for Albermarle too đ BOOO
Hattie says
Only just found you but I literally love the font snob pages. Make me so happy! Especially when I have some of the ones you suggest!
Albermarle is being charged for on the page you’ve linked to, but you can get it from Fontzone for free still đ
Bell MT charged for too, but I googled it and mafont.com do it for free there but you have to download regular, italic and bold separately.
Thanks for all the inspiration!
Kayla says
#15 Atlast Greeting, when I try to download with the link you provided my computer blocks it as the file for installing it is a malicious virus. Just a heads up for anyone who doesn’t have some sort of protection on their computer. I was able to get it from http://www.azfonts.net/families/altastgreeting.html without any issues đ
Mary says
This was so helpful! thank you so much. Now my indesign project is complete! Any more like this?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Mary! So glad I could help! You can check out all of our font snob collection, here! Enjoy!
Julia says
trendex and CODE are my favorites.
Linda says
Thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH for this post. I have been looking for font #21 for a long time to no avail. When I saw this post pinned on Pinterest I was as happy as could be, purchased the font and am SO HAPPY to start working with it. Thanks again!!!!!!
chnicho says
Finally someone who understands my pain.
julie says
Thank you so much for this list! It makes me so happy đ HATE PAPYRUS
ashley @ the handmade home says
;}
Rebecca says
I tried to upload Bell last night and it ended up downloading 3 other things onto my computer, none of them the font and 1 of them a pretty aggressive virus. =/
ashley @ the handmade home says
So sorry about that Rebecca-over time these weirdo sites jump on the meany butt bandwagon and start charging or (apparently) do something malicious. I will leave it up as a suggestion, but take down that link. Hope your computer is okay.
Rebecca says
it’s ok. =) I felt like a genius when I finally figured out how to get the virus off! High fives all around between me and my husband. =) Btw, I’m really glad that you have these posts… I love the fonts that you choose, and I know nothing about design, so it helps a lot!
Carlyn Krall says
Thanks for sharing the links. Can’t wait to use some of these fonts on new projects!
Kezia Lewis says
Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful fonts. Just want to ask: how I can create that paper background where you wrote all the fonts? I have been wanting to create one, but have no clue where to start. Thanks so much for answering my query!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Kezia! That background was created in the illustrator program. I am a graphic designer by trade. I hope that helps! ;}
Kezia Lewis says
Oh, wow! silly me!… =) Thought it was something I can easily do like the fonts. Thanks so much for replying. I appreciate it.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Not silly at all. You never know when you can stumble upon some free backgrounds. ;}
Keli Lydell says
That was “font”-astic! Thanks so much for sharing!
Designer Rob Russo says
Excellent collection. I had several of your choices installed already put picked up a few more.
Veronica says
As a fellow font snob/junkie, I’m utterly delighted by this post and your site. Thank you for sharing these!
I just about lost my faith in humanity when I saw Comic Sans used in the permanent signage of the customs line in the Mazatlan airport.
As a side note, does anyone else share in my hatred for Sand (this font: http://www.identifont.com/samples/apple/Sand.gif)? I think I actually, physically gag every time I see it.
ashley @ the handmade home says
HAHAHA! YES. I HATE it. ;}
Sandra says
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Albemarle Swash Font. I have been looking for it for 6 months or more and found her referring to a free website. Now that want $14. which I am willing to pay but am Leary of paying for things online. Do you know if they are a reputable company?
ashley @ the handmade home says
When I first linked to them, they were free. Sorry about that! They must have changed their minds about it. I DO know that I downloaded it from them before and it was fine. That’s all I can tell ya. Sorry! I may have to change that link when I get a chance. ;}
Kara says
Love these! LOL at the comic sans doggie and I agree: it’ not nice to give something for free only to take it away later.
jair0quai says
Thank you! ;]
Pamit says
Really,Very Nice Fonts I love All Fonts Specially 13th one ! Go On !!
willa w chorwacji says
Hello! I’ve been reading your site for a while now and finally got the bravery to
go ahead and give you a shout out from New Caney Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the great job!
Ellen G. says
This is probably going to sound a little crazy, but just wondered if anyone else had the same issue. I downloaded the Sketch Rockwell font a few years back when this post was new – love it! But today I was trying to print some magnets for a fridge calendar project and I can’t seem to get a capital M to print – ugh! Anyone else noticed this? Or is it something sketchy with my system….
Carolyn says
Abermarle costs $12! đ
Carolyn says
Never mind: found it here : http://www.ufonts.com/download/albemarle-swash/194158.html
Thank you!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thanks for the updated link!