I've been busy since my last blog, but have managed to find time to carve a few stamps and produce some Christmas cards!  Here are some of the the results...





 
I really enjoy using the lino cutting tool and have made this small kit of shapes for creating simple Christmas tree prints. They are made out of linoleum, mounted on a block of rubber for ease of use.

These are the resulting prints.  They were printed on paper made from recylced cotton rag.  I like the texture of the paper but it's a bit flimsy so will need to be mounted onto a stiffer background.  I've also used watercolour paper (300 Gsm) which is more rigid.  Both have a very pleasing texture to print on.  The texture makes for a bit of a patchy image, but I kind of like that effect.

 

 

 
And these are some gift tags which I made, again using hand carved stamps.

 And this is the vintage range!  The stamps where bought from a shop but embelished by hand.

 

 Coming up...

There's a vintage fair that runs in the pub up the road from me on the first Saturday of every month.  I checked it out this last weekend - just a few tables, nothing special.  Nevertheless I will book a table there for the first Saturday of December. It will force me to produce a whole load of cards and give me experience in setting up a stall, even if I don't end up getting many customers!  I've had a couple of bulk orders from friends and family so nothing will go to waste.  The proceeds will be donated to Children in Need.

So this month, I will focuss on mass producing the simple stamp designs.  I also have some more complicated designs in mind involving windows and 3D effects.  All results to be shown in the December issue of this blog...