How to Letterpress {without a letterpress}

Feb26

Erin here, I’ve showed the May Arts Blog some fun letterpress goodies, but perhaps you love the letterpress look but don’t have the tools? I’ve got a few examples on some fun faux letterpress cards. I made some monogrammed cards and loved the added texture of the faux letterpress look.

For the first card I used a PTI impression plate, start my rubbing a few different colors of distress inks along the impression plate (don’t worry, it’ll come off) and then emboss. Wipe the impression plate with a baby wipe after you use it, and consider using a piece of scratch paper after you ink to double check that you’ve removed all the ink. Once I’d inked up the paper, I die cut it out with Spellbinders Nestabilities 8.

Next I took velvet ribbon and wrapped it around the inked up die cut. I wanted a smaller ribbon to match, so I took some ¼ inch white silk and dyed it to match with one of the distress inks. To add the monogrammed I die cut out a vellum stitched mat, stamped and heat embossed half a label and added a sticker. I attached the panel with a mini paperclip and die cut out the card stock to create a shaped card.

Next up I wanted to show how you can add a bit of color to a woodgrain embossing folder. I took the Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder and added some distress ink to the inside of the folder and then ran it through the die cut machine. Once I inked up the card stock, I punched the corner and added a die cut and Cosmo Cricket chipboard sticker. To add a sophisticated touch and added a 5 ½” piece of May Arts woven corduroy and a ¼” silk ribbon (dyed to match).