aaaaand you are??????

The Ampersand....
has a well-deserved reputation as being one of our most fanciful characters, as well as one of the most fun to draw! I am working on an invitation for my sister that I am handwriting & I need a fun ampersand. Who would have thought that there was so much history behind this symbol.

"Like many letters in our current alphabet, the ampersand probably began as a convenience. The Latin word et (meaning “and”) was first written as two distinct letters, but over time the ‘e’ and ‘t’ were combined into a ligature of sorts. Once the ampersand was accepted as a single character, artistry took over and a more flowing design evolved. Credit for the invention of the ampersand is usually given to Marcus Tiro, who included it in a shorthand writing system he devised in 63 B.C. "
http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/Ampersand.htm