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How to Design Holiday Cards for Linoleum Block Printing

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

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Mass-produced holiday cards are available in a mind-boggling array of designs and themes, but making your own allows you to personalize your holiday message. And besides, it's fun! Here's how to design a card.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Choosing Your Design

Step1

Select a theme - a tree, a dreidel, a star, a sprig of holly.

Step2

Select a design with simple lines and shapes, which is most appropriate for linoleum block printing.

Step3

Decide how many colors you want.

Step4

Think about positive and negative space. There are only two ways to design a block print: Carve away everything but the design or carve out the design.

Step5

Decide how you'll use positive and negative space. Don't be afraid to use both.

Step6

Consider using text. An elaborate script is probably out of the question, but block letters are certainly an option, even for a novice. If you want to use text, you'll probably need a bigger (or separate) block.

Step7

Draw your design on tracing paper with a soft-lead pencil, using heavy strokes.

Using Color

Step1

Remember that each color gets its own linoleum block and its own place in your print run.

Step2

Carve one block with a sky background if you want a tree on a snowdrift at night. Print this block in midnight blue on white paper.

Step3

Carve a block with a tree.

Step4

Print this block in green. The white paper, outlined by the blue, becomes your snowdrift.

Using Positive and Negative Space

Step1

Remember that anything you carve away won't print - it will show as plain paper. Anything you don't carve will print in whatever color ink you choose.

Step2

Make a relief print by carving away everything but the design. Carve away the block around the tree so that the tree stands out and prints, to create a card with a tree on a snowdrift at night.

Step3

Carve out the design, alternatively. Carve out the tree so that you'll print a color block with a tree in the middle.

Step4

Use both methods by carving a snowdrift and a few stars out of one block; on another block, carve everything away except the tree.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 1/30/2006 1. Don't forget everything will print in reverse- including letters (learned this the hard way).
2. If you are going to use linoleum (there are softer options at art stores) then make it easier on yourself by heating it right before cutting. A quick blow dry or a few minutes on the radiator will do it.
3. If you want to see exactly what is going to print while you cut, then give your linoleum a wash with India ink first (let cure for 24 hours). The black with print, the brown won't.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Outline everything, then carve bigger areas. Thin lines don't show well. If thin lines have paint in them, take a paper clip, bend it so that there's an end sticking out and slide it through the outlines. It'll get the paint out and make them show better.