I love pears, they are my favorite fall fruit and I love images of them! This year I also picked up an L Letterpress platform with a leaf plate and I put the two things together this year for my Thanksgiving card.
It has definitely been a strange and difficult year but I still have many things to be thankful for, one big one is all the art and crafts that I make! It was so exciting to try out a new technique with the letterpress platform and I look forward to using it a lot in the future.
Of course this was one my Tuesday Morning finds, the L Letterpress platform and a bunch of the plates. One of the sets I picked up was the Thanksgiving set and it came with this stylized leaf plate.
The gold ink I used gave some unexpected but kind of nice variation to the design and the de-bossed look is very satisfying.
Then on to the pears! This was the image I used, from The Graphics Fairy, I really liked the soft tones of the pears.
I wanted to have a nice sentiment on the card, so I stamped out a bunch of “Give Thanks” and heat embossed them with copper powder. I do like all the warm metallics for fall!
And to bring it all together I tied some string around the top!
For the inside of the card I used the letterpress and a “Happy Thanksgiving” plate. I also used some toile patterned paper that I have had for years in my stash!
I really hope that everyone has something to give thanks for this year and I am also thankful for anyone that stumbles across my little blog!
Happy Thanksgiving!
*A Note on Letterpress*
If anyone is interested in the techniques and what supplies you need for the L Letterpress platform, Boxcar Press has some of the best information out there. The platform set, from We R Memory Keepers is kind of hard to come by, but can be found on the internet. It does require a die cut/embossing machine. I use the Evolution Advanced die cutting machine which is also from We R Memory Keepers.
I so far have only used the plastic plates that are made for the L Letterpress system but Boxcar Press will sell you polymer plates, some pre-made designs or get custom made ones, that work with the platform. I can’t wait to get some custom plates made!
The last things are ink and paper. I found some nice soft, thick paper from my local art store that worked beautifully. You definitely want something that the plates will press into. Ink is probably the most expensive part of this. You can get the ink made for the L Letterpress but I wanted something that had an easier clean up and that I could by at the art store.
I ended up using Speedball Fabric Block Printing ink, it is an oil based product (so protect your skin and use in a well ventilated area!) but can be cleaned up with water which is nice. It is not the best ink for this type of printing, but it did work. I will have to be careful if I get the custom plates made because you can’t get them wet, but if you get the ink on the plates properly you can just wipe the ink off without much cleaning.
There is a lot to learn with this technique and there is a lot of information out there about it. I enjoyed it and hope to do more cards with it!
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