My kid’s school hosts a summer lemonade stand, operated by the kids. They get to squeeze and prep the lemons, dispense and serve the lemonade, and greet the community with their “free lemonade” chants and smiles.
I found out about a week before the event which was juuuust enough time to order a two-piece track suit and carve a new stamp to create a coordinating lemon ‘fit, because that seemed like the normal craft lady reaction. 😉
I already had block printing supplies in my stash (win!) and yellow straight from the tube was the perfect yellow, so prep for this project couldn’t have been any easier! Here’s how you can make your own.
Materials:
- Pencil
- Paper
- Carving block
- Carving tool
- Block printing ink
- Gel plate (or other plate)
- Brayer (or foam brush)
- Fabric/outfit, pre-washed
- Printing baren (optional)
I like to start by drawing my design on paper with pencil. This creates a transferrable design. Then I press the carving block onto my drawing to transfer the design. You can also draw directly on the carving block; just note that you cannot erase (that well) on a carving block.
When carving make sure you carve the parts of the block that you want blank / the non-carved parts will be the printed design. The tool I like to use comes with many tip sizes for different detail work and it’s easy to swap between the tips. Go as slow as you need to when carving; there are no do-overs once you carve a piece off.
Select your preferred ink colors; blending as needed. Then use the brayer to roll out the ink into a thin layer on the gel plate. Roll a thin ink layer onto your stamp; then stamp, stamp, stamp onto your pre-washed fabric. If you’re using a thinner fabric, you may want to also use cardboard under the fabric to protect any surfaces. Check the dry times and suggested washing instructions on the ink package. For the Speedball ink, generally a 24-hour dry time is suggested, and a 7-day waiting period before washing.
Since I was short on time I ended up speed drying with a blow dryer so that the ink was at least dry to the touch before wearing. There was still an ink smell, but the ink didn’t get messed up even after a day of play.
I’m so excited for how this turned out! I definitely need to create my own matching set!
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