Handmade ink from plants and berries? Yes please! I always wonder how my rubber-based ink fairs on the environment while doing letterpress. Not good I’m sure. I use such a tiny amount for each project though. But how about Britt Browne from the PaperMoonProject on her ink made with cranberries. This is how ink was originally made and I love the idea of going back to it.
Seems very challenging to letterpress with handmade paper because the paper won’t be perfectly even so your design/type won’t be perfectly even in my mind. But Porridge Press does a beautiful job!
Thick Neck Arts makes paper out of fruit/egg crates ( you know that soft brown layer in between fruit in grocery stores?) and here are her step-by-step instructions.
My sister and her fiance are having their wedding in Lancaster County, PA in a barn so using hex signs was a good visual element that was fitting to the location and folky atmosphere. Whew, finally finished!
A couple of things learned from the second part of the save the dates (here was the first part):
1. Pressboard, pressboard, pressboard! I had no idea how important pressboard is for the packing. I hadn’t used pressboard before because it wasn’t convenient or cheap to buy it so I just had a substitute of poster board which was just ok…until I bit the bullet and bought the pressboard folders. The ease of pressing now is amazing! The ghosting of the plates is gone!
2. Big plates with a large surface area do not press well. At least, I don’t know how to get it to press consistently and deep. I had to break up those hex signs and do 3 runs of them instead of one. :( Does anyone have any tips on this? Or because I have a tabletop press, I’m limited to the type of plates I can use to have a successful press?
3. Bleeding: Well, of course I should have made the hex signs have a bleed so I didn’t have to be perfect with lining it up with the edge of the paper. Oh well — it just took a bit more care.
4. I found some success using tissue paper in the packing on top of the pressboard when trying to press the largest surface area hex sign. Not sure if that was a good idea, bad idea… anyone try that before?
My photographically talented boyfriend documented the process of the save the dates creation and compiled them into a little movie! Wanna see?
(Clearly, I’m very excited learning and completing a letterpress piece!)
Even though holding a clutch is not very practical for me, I LOVE these clutches from Mad Imports. They’re hand-woven from sustainable goods and are fair-traded from Madagascar.
This one is more practical for me; it’s even called “The Lug”:
This is a perfect beach bag — or even a magazine holder at home:
One of the best parts about these handbags? They all come in a rainbow of colors!
Here’s her step-by-step process.
