More Holiday Ideas.

With the holidays getting closer and closer, we wanted to share a few last minute inspiration ideas!   Laura, our product designer crafted this simple garland using our nesting stockings, old book paper and cardstock. 




We are also loving these ideas from designers Armelle Jewelry and No Biggie.  Check out their blogs for full tutorials on the projects seen below using dies from the Winter Wonderland release.

Left image courtesy of No Biggie and right image courtesy of Armelle Jewelry. 

12 Days of Letterpress: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from L!

I found an old photo of my grandmother and her brothers, cleaned it up a bit in photoshop and attached it to an A7 cream piece of a letterpress paper. The ornaments from the Holiday set 3 remind me of the vintage old world ornaments my grandmother put on her Christmas tree.

Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Letterpress Paper (A7 Flat)
Letterpress Ink (gold & custom purple)
Pallet Knife
Holiday Printing Plate set 3
Holiday Printing Plate set 2
Paper Placement Guides

How To:
I mixed red, blue and a bit of brown with my pallet knife to create a shade of purple that I was happy with.

12 Days of Letterpress: Reindeer Card

Here's another idea for a Christmas card to attach to a gift, give as a thank you or send with a family photo. I thought the hot pink and silver was a fun combination.




Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Letterpress Paper (square flat, white)
Letterpress Ink (silver, hot pink)
Holiday printing plate set 3
QuicKutz die
ribbon

How To:
Letterpress the square flourish pattern from the Holiday set 2 in silver. While that is drying, cut out a shape with a QuicKutz nesting die, then letterpress the reindeer on that shape with your hot pink ink. Attach ribbon and reindeer to your square card with double sided adhesive.

12 Days of Letterpress: Thank You

Thank you cards are always handy to have on hand. It's easy to create multiples of this card. Express gratitude for a particular gift you've received, or bring it to a holiday party for the hostess.




Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Letterpress Paper (A2 flat, white)
Letterpress Ink (silver & red)
Paper Placement Guides
Holiday printing plate set 4
Everyday printing plate set 1
Wedding printing plate set 1

How To:
First blind emboss the decorative frame from the Everyday printing plate set 1. Make sure you use your paper placements guides, as this will ensure all of your card are lined up. Next letterpress the silver tree then "Thank You" in red ink.

12 Days of Letterpress: Place Cards

I've used a combination of blind embossing and inking in golds and silvers to create this coordinated set of place cards. They are already packed in my luggage ready to take to Georiga where I'll be spending Christmas this year.



Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Lettepress Paper (No.10 Flat OR Mini Fold)
Holiday Printing Plate Set 3
Holiday Printing Plate Set 4
Letterpress Inks (silver & gold)
QuicKutz Place Cards

How To:
For the names, you can either run the letterpress paper through your printer or hand write them. Cut out the place cards using the QK place card die. You can also use your bone folder from the Accessory Tool kit to fold a piece of paper in half.

12 Days of Letterpress: Christmas Tree

I went to Target last week to buy this mirror tree I had seen a few weeks earlier. To my chagrin, they were sold out! This has happened to me so many times, you'd think I'd learn my lesson and buy instead of hesitating.



Fast forward to last night...

I was up with insomnia (thinking about some new letterpress designs, actually), and spotted a cone shaped piece of Styrofoam I had in a box full of other craft supplies to take to my basement storage. Add a little glitter and letterpressed ornaments and voila. I bit out there, but I was happy with the result. I think it would look so pretty on a mantle piece paired with glass candlesticks and ornaments. Make the ornaments with inks in traditional reds and greens, if that matches your Christmas decor.







Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Holiday Printing Plate set 3
Holiday Printing Plate set 4Letterpress Paper (any size, white)
Letterpress Inks (silver, gold, teal blue)
Circle Cutting Dies (from your LP combo kit, or QK)
Paper Placement Guides
bamboo skewer
ribbon
glitter
Styrofoam tree/cone
spray adhesive

How To:
Spray a Styrofoam cone (in a well ventilated area) with spray adhesive. Cover cone with silver glitter. Cut several circles out of white letterpress paper using your circle nesting shapes and Epic die cutting tool. Use your Paper Placement Guides to keep your paper circles secure as you letterpress a variety of snowflakes (Holiday set 4) and ornaments (Holiday set 4) in silver, gold and teal blue inks. Tie several knots/bows with your choice of ribbon and secure along with your letterpressed circle ornament to the dried Styrofoam tree with straight pins. Top it all off with your "star" using a bamboo skewer.

12 Days of Letterpress: Season's Greetings

I guess I was inspired by the below freezing temperatures and loads of snow we received last week when I made this holiday card. I love that the shapes in the Holiday set 4 can be used throughout the winter season.




Supplies:

L Letterpress Tools
Letterpress Paper (square fold)
Letterpress Ink (silver & red)
Holiday printing plate set 4

12 Days of Letterpress: Two Color Christmas Card

I used the diamond pattern from the Baby printing plate set 1 to create this Christmas card. By applying a second color ink to my printing plate and shifting my paper, I was able to create this two color design.



Supplies:
L Letterpress Tools
Letterpress Paper (square fold)
Letterpress Ink (light green & red)
QuicKutz die
Holiday printing plate set 3
Baby printing plate set 1

How to:
To create this two color background design, first letterpress the green diamonds. After wiping off the light green ink, apply your red, then simply shift your paper slightly. You can use the grid printed on the clear base and lid to be precise or simply look through the top of your clear lid and eyeball the placement of the diamond pattern. I used the blind emboss Letterpress technique to print the Merry Christmas phrase.

12 Days of Letterpress: Christmas Tree Card

One of our employees, Amy, letterpressed this elegant holiday card. The Christmas tree is one of my favorite shapes in the L Letterpress printing plate line. The impression is beautiful and I love the added detail of the blind embossed snowflakes.




Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Holiday printing plate set 3
Holiday printing plate set 4
Letterpress Paper (A2 flat)
Letterpress Inks (silver & red)

12 Days of Letterpress: Jelly Labels

This year for Christmas I made my Grandmother's pepper jelly to give to my friends and co-workers. QuicKutz Double Sided Adhesive sheets as well as the L Paper Placement Guides came in handy with this project. I tried to do a step by step photo style to explain how I used these accessories.

Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Letterpress Paper (mini flat)
Letterpress Ink (dark green)
L Paper Placement Guides
Quickutz Double Sided Adhesive
QuicKutz nesting oval scallop (CC-SHAPE-3-036 )

How To:
First cut a piece of double sided adhesive, about the size of the mini flat letterpress card. Peel off one side of the adhesive and place the mini card on top.

Use the scallop oval from CC-SHAPE-3-036 or any other QuicKutz shape to cut your label out of your letterpress paper. You'll notice you have to use the light grey platform to cut paper using QK dies.

The paper placement foam guides are really useful when making multiple copies of a design. The foam guides have an adhesive on one side to hold your paper in place to make sure you get a perfectly aligned design each time.


After you letterpress your design, peel off the back of the adhesive and place it on your mason jar. Make sure the jar is clean and dry to ensure that the label sticks.

12 Days of Letterpress: Family Christmas Card

I've been receiving a lot of Christmas cards over the past week from family and friends. This is Michelle, our director of product development, and her lovely family. Check out the directions for this card below for a super simple and quick way to keep in touch with friends during the holidays.

Supplies:
L Letterpress Tool
Letterpress Paper (square fold)
Letterpress Inks (red & black)
Holiday Printing Plate set 3
Ribbon

How To: (pretty self explanatory, but here you go).
Letterpress the flourish square pattern from the Holiday set 3 onto your square flat card. Letterpess a holiday phrase onto a piece of letterpress paper. Here the family photo is mounted on a piece of black cardstock to add extra dimension. Attach all the pieces together with double sided tape.

12 Days of Letterpress: Cupcake Liners

I often use Letterpress printing in conjunction with QuicKutz dies, which is what I did here with these festive cupcakes. I couldn't resist jumping on the cupcake bandwagon after QuicKutz released a cupcake liner die. With this die I was able to cut out liners in letterpress paper then print on top. Last week I brought this little ensemble to a Christmas party.



Supplies:
Cupcake Liner Die (CC-SHAPE-079-1)
No. 10 Flat Paper
Letterpress Inks (red, light pink, teal green)
Holiday printing plate set 4
Wooden Skewer

How To:
Polka Dot Liners: Letterpress the polka dot pattern in your desired color on a No.10 piece of letterpress paper first, before cutting out the shape (this makes it easier to line up the polka dots). The No.10 paper is longer than the square polka dot printing plate, so I had to print half of the No.10 paper, then slide the paper to letterpress the other half. After the ink has dried cut out the cupcake liner shape using your QK die.

For the other liners, simply cut them out using your QK die, then letterpress holiday shapes in various colors on the front.

Top it all off by letterpressing a holiday phrase and attaching to a bamboo skewer.