Block Printed Tote

customize anything w/ block printing

Posted by Becca

About

great for a purse or a shopping bag. sometimes i add lining to the inside too.

this technique can be applied to anything, tshirts, note cards, your jeans..anything.

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You Will Need (5 things)

  • Wood Cutting Tool japan wood worker makes a great 5 piece set
  • Linoleum Blocks one for each stamp you want to make
  • Block Printing Ink
  • 1 Tote Bag
  • 1 Brayer Paint Roller (its the rolly thing)

Steps (6 steps, 120 minutes)

  1. 1

    once you have all the supplies you can reuse many of them. for a one time only project this can get a little pricy but it evens out considerably if you use your supplies a bunch.

    first, decide what you want to print on your bag. you can draw it on paper first or like i like to do draw it right onto my lenolium block.

  2. 2

    cut away all the places that you DONT want to print. (the negative spaces) your block is now ready to print.

    (i had to do this step twice because i used 2 different blocks, the stripes in the background and the high heel in the foreground)

  3. 3

    roll a small amount of ink onto a piece of glass or plexiglass or plastic (something that can be cleaned up. i use my coffee table but my boyfriend gets mad at me)

    i uses waterbased block printing ink. it comes from most art stores. a lot of other paint wont work because it isnt the right consistancy. oil based ink will wash a little better but its harder to clean up.

  4. 4

    roll the ink onto your block. make sure you get a thin, even layer over the whole thing.

  5. 5

    place your block ink side one the bag. you only get one try so make it count. press it down really well all over. i like to also flip the whole opperation over (make sure the block stays in place)and rub on the fabric side to make sure all the ink prints.

  6. 6

    pull the block off and you have your first color printed. follow the same steps with the second block. you can line it up however you like.

    let it dry and voila! you'll probably want to heat set it with an iron if you're planning on washing it.

    and dont worry it sounds harder that it really is.