How To Make Hand Printed Wax Bunting

Things you will need:

* Wax Pellets- available online at good old Amazon.

* Paper about the thickness of cartridge or something similar.

* Ink (I'm using an oil based but you can use water based)

* Lino/vinyl and cutters

* Rollers

*Something to burnish the print- spoon or barren.

*Old Tin/pan

These are just my suggestions it you find a better way then please share :)

That's the way to do it: Christmas Bunting...

1) Begin by drawing and carving your design that you would like to print. Each flag on my bunting measures about 14cm square.

2) Once you have decided and mixed your colours you can begin rolling out evenly and applying an even layer to the linoleum.

 

Do you like my chopping board?

3) Place the paper on top of the lino or vinyl and if you don't have a press or one of these...( a car jack press)

 then something like this will do; spoons, disc barren or even a heavy smooth object like my glass candle can work a treat...

A Note on Paper for bunting- I wanted to use as thin as possible but having tried rice paper once the wax was applied I found it folded easily resulting in cracks in the wax. I bought some recycled A4 paper which still has slight transparency about it whilst being thick enough to produce a more robust result.

4) A bit of elbow grease later...

5) Waxing:

I melt wax pellets on my hot plate! (Very glamorous!)  Yes in an old baking tin, it's shallow enough so I can melt a little at a time...

It's worth mentioning when I cut the images ready for hand waxing I leave surplus at the bottom edge and a little paper corner as a handle- then there is no need for tongs and the little drips that collect at the bottom can be tidied up once dry by cutting off.  I found painting the wax on very messy and not an even result, therefore DIPPING  the image into the wax gives a lovely even coat with very little mess.

If the wax is too hot it will re-open the ink and cause it to smudge, too cool and it will not coat the paper properly, it's a bit trial and error so best test with a scrap piece first. If you don't have a hot plate you can use a wax melting pot which is specially designed for this job, I tend to turn the hot plate on and off so it doesn't over heat- obviously I recommend using something especially designed for melting wax- but I have to say that for safety reasons! ;) Please stay safe!

I use the brush to dab the image to ensure it is fully submerged in the wax and have grease proof paper next to the tin so once the wax finishes dripping you can place the newly waxed flag down to finish drying.

So there you have it, I hope this inspires you to have a go at making your very own unique waxed bunting, now where's the mulled wine and minced pies!

 If you like my Christmas bunting you can find it in my shop at: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/163707086/christmas-bunting?ref=shop_home_feat https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/163707086/christmas-bunting?ref=shop_home_feat

These images are also available as Christmas cards in my Etsy shop. Over the next few months I will be developing my designs onto other items such as fabric so I will try and document my progress. Wish me luck and thanks for reading,

Happy Printing

Dawn Sheridan :)