Seeing Stars and Moons

Occasionally there's a collection of ornaments sitting in the studio just begging to be put to use. This is the case with our hundreds of stars and little moons faces. So it was time they saw more action in the form of new cards. compile1Starting with stars (for obvious reasons), I built this form, hoping that it would be relatively, ahem, starshaped. After a bit of tweaking with different sized stars, it came together:

TstarI wanted to explore pressure printing as a way to round out the card and add another color. So I cut out the star (and ultimately the moon) from a piece of chipboard that was taped to the initial carbon proof of the form. The solid background could then be placed in the makeready on press to alter how both a piece of linoleum and wood would print on top of it.

pressureprintsThe background was printed first with the linoleum block, and then with a same-sized piece of wood type (the back side of the type). These were both done in the same color, so as to add texture without overwhelming the design. They printed more heavily where there was extra cardboard, leaving a ghosted star image inside. Then the burgundy stars were printed.

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2star4

2star2After all that, the thought of a reversal of the pressure print came to mind. So instead of printing the solid background, I put the chipboard star down in its place so that only the star printed with a bit of 'noise' around the edges. I did this after printing the stars, so it made the burgundy a little darker.

star3

star4Now that you've enjoyed these stars, go watch this.

Time for moons! These guys got the same treatment as the stars, but in a round moon shape. Love the lined details on the tiny ones.

TmoonsThe background is printed in a slightly different blue, but with the same linoleum-then-wood process.

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2moon4Then I did the reverse as well which gives the moon a different look with fuzziness around the edges.

moon2You can see a process shot here with the 2-hit version at the bottom and the linoleum-only shot at the top. Everyone loves wood grain, right?

comparison

moon3Both the moon and star cards are available individually and in sets on our etsy site right now. The perfect little blank greeting for everyday correspondence.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...

...Holiday card season! Sure, it's not even Halloween, but our presses are running nonstop and we want to make sure you've got a chance to place custom orders in time for the holidays. holiday2013bOrders start at quantities of 25 and run as little as $2 a card for 100+ cards. Letterpress personalization is also available for an additional flat $50 up to 200 cards. Check out our designs to choose from, and contact us (below) for more specific details. We're always happy to reinvent the wheel, so if you'd like a completely new design catered to you, we can do it. Orders placed by November 4th ship before Thanksgiving. Just need a handful of cards without any personalization? You can shop our Holiday selection here.

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Holiday Sneak Peek

Sure, it's May, but on the stationery calendar, that means it's time to present the year's holiday offerings. We've been busy designing, setting and printing fresh new cards and will be showcasing them very soon. This year we're featuring a number of hand carved multi-colored linoleum cuts, as well as intricate and layered patterns. We've also got two fabulous 2014 calendars which we can't wait to share. In the meantime, enjoy a sneak peek of some of the fabulous type and ornaments used for our new collection. Both single cards and boxed sets will be available this Fall... we don't blame you if you want to wait until then!

Tcheerstoyou

Teightaredays

Tletsbejolly2

Tletsbejolly

Thohoho

Tnoplacelikehome

Tohstarrynight

Tseasonsgreetings