printing » by elke

Patchwork Apron

I made this a while ago for my husband. He is a really great cook & was just ruining his shirts so I thought this would be a practical but fun gift. I took a 4 pack of IKEA dish towels & just sewed them together to create the base than cut out the shape of the apron. The straps are linen & all the patches & embroideries were made by hand & then sewn on. I made my own stencils out of plastic sheets. This really is a one of a kind apron made especially for him. I must have had a lot of patience back then as I’m not sure I’d have the time any more to create such a detailed piece.

Two B’z

I spent the weekend helping to organize my son & his friend with their new business “Two B’z”. They carved rubber stamps & I cut the paper to size. We went to the art supply store, picked out paint colors & then they went to town. Every surface of our living area was covered with beautiful post cards drying. They are working in anticipation of the Firefly Gypsy Market in September where they will be selling their cards & braided bracelets. Between all the color combinations, each card had a very distinctive feel & together they looked like a pile of candy- So beautiful! Great work boys on your first business venture. I just know it will be a success!

Logo Stamp

When I saw this circular stamp kit at a local art supply store my first thought was- It was made for me! I like to use different techniques for adding my logo whether it is on a paper bag or on a label. It was so easy! I traced the typeface in pencil on paper than rubbed it onto the rubber carving surface. Within about 3 minutes I had a brand new stamp. It is not perfect by any means, but it does stick with the general idea & is recognizable. Paper bags are waiting…..

Wooden Duck

I have an old wooden duck puzzle that sits on a windowsill in our home. I’ve had this since I was very small. The more I look at it, the more I see the beauty of the shapes & the graphic element of all the pieces fitting together. I decided to play a bit & make some fabric patterns & an embroidery idea. I think these would look great in a baby’s room. I may go ahead & make myself a linen pillow like the embroidery example.

Painted Cork Board

I picked up a regular old cork board at the local target & slapped on a coat of red paint. Afterward I had a rubber stamp in the shape of an irregular circle that I stamped across it. Since the print was so light I used it as a guide & painted in the circles with light blue paint. Then I went back in & painted a 1/2 circle in darker blue. Done. I like to use those little paint testers that you can buy at a hardware store. There are tons of colors to pick from & they are very reasonably priced. It’s so easy to make something so basic a little more special especially since it’s hanging in my kitchen.

Photo Rubber Block Print

A couple of years ago when I started getting into carving the rubber block prints I figured out how to get pictures transferred onto them to create these more realistic prints. If you have Photoshop this can be very easy. Getting the right picture can be tricky because you really need to find one that translates well into black & white. This basically just takes trial & error playing in photoshop with different photos in stamp mode. Once you find the photo that works well, it’s just a matter of transferring the picture to the rubber block & VERY CAREFULLY cutting away so the original feeling still remains. As you can see, the copy from my printer & from the rubber block are very similar but not exactly the same. That’s the fun of it. You never really know if you succeeded or not until you apply the ink with the brayer & have a go at it. I haven’t done this for a while & felt a bit rusty. It also didn’t help that my ink was very light on the block. In the past I’ve had a much better image transfer. Well, all in all I’m happy with the results & the real test was when I showed my son. He approved!

More Print Examples

Rubber Block Prints

Lined up above the bar is a display of rubber block prints that were made by my children & me. When we moved to Colorado I had them stacked in a pile on the floor for quite a while until I found just the right place to put them. They are the type of print that look so good as a group. All the frames are black but of different sizes & styles which make the simple prints pop out that much more. This is such a great project to work on with children as it seems they can do no wrong. All their carvings come out looking cool.

Silk Screen Totes, Aprons & Dish Towels

I started sewing the silk screen scraps into functional items & so far, this is what I’ve come up with. I’m thinking of putting together just 4 “Ultimate Kitchen Gift Bags” for the holiday Firefly show. Each gift bundle would include a shopping tote, cafe apron, linen dish towel, pot holder & perhaps a selection of different salts…. Any other ideas? Each item has a hand screened picture & the bags were made with the natural vegetan leather straps with the contrast signature painted tips, The dish towels have a linen ribbon attached to the top corner with an antique button for hanging on a hook. Being that repetition is not my strong point, each package will be different & unique.

Chipmunk Pencil Cases

While we’re on the subject of Chipmunks I thought I’d plow right ahead & introduce you to my pencil cases. The pictures were taken last summer at Rocky Mountain National Park where Chipmunks abound….. especially at picnic spots. I blew up the images & printed them with heat transfer onto a really nice linen. Each one comes out a little different depending on how well & sew along the outline.

Silk Screening

I just completed my silk screening class ! I have wanted to learn to silk screen ever since I can remember & just my luck, I stumbled over this one available just down the street from where I live. It was way to convenient to pass up. We had an initial meeting then were given 1 week to come up with some designs. Our Teacher Edie was fantastic & in just 1 day we were on our way. I decided to work on a kitchen motif as I’ll be making these into cafe aprons with bright straps! The most fun was when Edie insisted I try the discharge print on a t-shirt. It was absolutely the coolest process & the effect is my favorite. I’m ready to go load up on all the silk screen supplies & print away!