This year I decided to do letterpress for my Christmas card again, because (1) I’m lazy and this was easy, and (2) I’m cheap and I already have all the supplies and equipment. But really, I just love the look and feel of letterpress.
The wreath design was based on one I obtained from Creative Market but I did do substantial editing to thicken up the lines so they wouldn’t collapse under pressure. I engraved the design deeply in Draftboard, then did a peripheral cut and stuck the design to a plate that goes on my Big Shot Pro (I don’t have access to a real letterpress). Inked it up with Distress Oxide ink using a brayer, placed a sheet of cheap watercolor paper on top, and ran it through the machine. After that, I die cut the stitched rectangle shape, stamped the berries and greeting, and mounted on a folded card. I made 38 of them.
What a fantastic look! Sure can see why you go back to using the letterpress process (I’ve never tried it)…these look sensational. Nice and clean…and you have such great style in your designs. Very nice.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that I used Draftboard. I edited the original post.
I have to say that this plate which was engraved did not hold up to multiple impressions nearly as well as the one from my card last year. That one was cut out completely from Draftboard.
Heh heh. Fooled you! The faux stitching was applied during the die cutting process, using one of these frames with my diecutting machine (Big Shot Pro).
That looks really great! I took a printmaking workshop a few years ago where we did various kinds of printing, and one kind used rubbing the back of a wooden spoon on the paper to transfer the image from the block. Do you think that would work in this case?
We also made thin printing blocks using pieces of paper and tape stuck on masonite (super quick and fun). A laser cutter opens up lots of new possibilities for that too!
It might work, give it a try! You might need more pressure to make a deep enough impression, but you could always place it on the floor and step on it—there’s a hundred pounds plus right there.
I can certainly make SOME.