a little letterpress

Hello people!

Once upon a time, thanks to a supremely thoughtful husband, I took a class in traditional letterpress printing, using a vintage platen press, metal type, and wonderfully stinky, sticky ink. Amazing. (If you're interested in the real deal, try to come to MI for a letterpress class at the amazing Hollander's in Ann Arbor - that's where mine was. Plus, it's a super-fun paper store.)

Bringing home a letterpress is not the most practical thing ever. The thing weighs hundreds of pounds and makes a big old mess. Plus, hello? $$$!  Instead, I invested way less dough in the L Letterpress awhile ago, and I love it. It gives really great results, works in the Big Shot I already have, and though it's still a little messy, it isn't paint-thinner-messy. However, I haven't given it as much attention as it deserves. Ah, but that's changing. Check it:

This was the anniversary card I made for Andrew earlier this week. I laid out the green stuff first, ran it through, then laid out the text and ran it in black. Simple! I liked the layout so much I used it again here:

Instead of a card, this one's a postcard, and I made two of them for more Marty thank yous. Letterpress is kinda like old-school xeroxing -- I did the green on all three first, then the black on all three, just changing out the plastic plates.

Here's a closeup of the texture -- gives a better sense of the letterpressiness of it all:

Nice. So far I've mostly used the card blanks made by Lifestyle, but I've sampled it on watercolor paper, bristol board, and regular cardstock. They all look good, but this stuff yields the best impression with the least work. If you're interested in more details or how-tos, just let me know! Maybe I could try my hand at step-outs or a tutorial or something.

Before I go -- this year, I earned three anniversary sets from Papertrey. Besides indicating that I have a bit of an addiction, it also means I have three of the same thing. I'm considering selling the other two on the Buy-Sell-Trade forum on SCS, unless any of you, dear readers, would like one. You can see the images included here, and I'm quite negotiation-friendly on the price. For you. Not for strangers! Let me know if you're interested.