Lately I’ve been feeling artsy with a capital A. I think it’s a reaction to the heavy production cycle I just finished, but I’ve had the urge to get my hands dirty for a few weeks now.
I’ve also been experimenting with creating limited edition prints with some of the new printing plates I created for the new collection (catch it here if you haven’t seen it yet!). I had sketched out the overall design of each print, I just couldn’t seem to find the right color combination to make them jive. I actually printed a few in silver and a few in gold, but didn’t love them… and then I had the idea to keep the ink neutral (black and white) and use bright watercolor washes for the backgrounds!
The white ink ended up being a little more transparent than I expected, but I still really love the results. And I love how each one is absolutely unique—the cross between painting and print really speaks to me right now. 
I printed 14 of each design and they’re available as a set of three in the shop—enjoy!
622 press | LETTERPRESS GOODS MADE BY HAND 
These are beautiful! I am a designer working on my own wedding invitations. I have been looking for info in regards to watercoloring by hand and letter-pressing. Would you mind sharing whether or not you watercolored first and then letter-pressed? Do you happen to know if the watercolor would interfere with the letterpress ink if I chose to do a wash over it AFTER printing?
Thanks for any advice :)
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for reading! I painted the watercolor background first, and that’s what I would recommend. I use oil-based inks, so watercolor wouldn’t make them run, but if the watercolor was too opaque it would obscure the letterpress printing, and since letterpress creates an indent in the paper, the watercolor wash would likely pool in the printed areas.
If you do decide to do the wash after printing, make sure it’s a very light color, and keep a paper towel nearby to daub up the pools that may form in the impression of the letterpress printing. Good luck!
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
This is very helpful, thank you so much! That makes perfect sense, and I am leaning towards doing the painting before like you mentioned. Do you recommend any types of letterpress paper that will take the painting well?
Thank you again! Much appreciated and happy designing :)