Letterpress Love: New Business Cards

I had a wonderful date with a Chandler and Price letterpress on Sunday.  The result, my new business cards!  I'm super proud of these, they turned out great and I can't wait to start handing these babies out! 

Besides actually allowing me some time with her press Tanya over at Snap and Tumble was a great help including her guidance mixing the blue ink you see on the cards. Thanks Tanya!

New in Store: Letterpress Coasters

Drum roll please...They're finally here!  Letterpress coasters are available for purchase here or here.  These coasters are great as a hostess gift for all the holiday parties you will be attending.  Right now they are available in blue, but if you had a specific color in mind contact me and let me know!

Hiccups and Headaches: Holiday Cards on the Showcard Press

I've finished my first set of letterpress holiday cards using the Showcard Press!!! As I expected there were some hiccups and headaches along the way. Initially I though the most difficult part of the printing process would be the registration, boy was I wrong. The most difficult part for me, was the mixing of the ink and consistent inking of the plate (some times there's too much ink and other times not enough). I haven't figured out how to solve the issue of inking the plate, but for mixing I think I may try using opaque white instead of transparent white for my lighter colours. If anyone has suggestions please let me know.

new in studio: Showcard Press

I'm really excited to share with everyone, what I've been working on in the studio!

On Saturday, October 2nd, I went a long with Akemi of Kozo studio for a group trip to Don Black Linecasting. What a great adventure! For those of you who don't know, Don Black Linecasting is a mecca for all things letterpress. There were a bunch of C&P table top platen's in various stages of repair, I saw a Heidelberg and Vandercook's and a ton of other things that I had never seen before (but are really impressive like the Linotype and Ludlow Machines). At the end of the 4 hour trip I went home the proud owner of a Showcard Press! The Showcard press is a flat bed press, and not what I had initially envisioned as my first press but I couldn't be more excited! In addition to the press, I left the outing with an increased knowledge and a feeling of kinship with the other group members...Not bad for a Saturday morning!

Since that trip I've been busy getting the materials I needed to start printing. I've started with the basics, black ink, blue ink, a Speedball brayer and one custom die. These are the results...

A 5x7 print of a rose

And a coaster printed with the same rose

Stay tuned, these letterpress goodies, plus much more, will soon be available for purchase at my Etsy shop!

letterpress curiosity workshop

While I write this post, out of the corner of my eye I see the perfect spot to but my letterpress machine… no I don’t own one, not yet anyways, but any successful person will agree that the first step to achievement is visualization. Although I’ve been infatuated with letterpress printed stationery for some time, I never really thought seriously about owning my own press. Well, that changed after my wonderful Letterpress Curiosity Workshop with Tanya @ Snap and Tumble. I signed up for the workshop hoping to gain a more complete understanding of the technique and process. I loved everything about the workshop. Mixing colours setting type by hand (I enjoyed that more than I thought I would) I even enjoyed the repetitive motion of running the press. I was so consumed by the process that I didn’t touch my homemade white chocolate macadamia nut cookie (courtesy of Tanya) until mt drive home.

Yes, I made a few mistakes, but I never once felt defeated or frustrated. I LOVE letterpress printing and I’m grateful to Tanya for the experience and her willingness to share her expertise. I only wish the workshop lasted longer!

This is what I made at the workshop!