Block printing is a technique where you carve an image that can then be printed on a variety of surfaces such as fabric, paper, metal or wood. You can use this technique to personalize or revamp a pair of wooden earrings by printing on them. To print on wood you will need to use gloss enamel printing ink, as this type of ink is designed to stick to difficult surfaces such as wood, metal or glass.
Instructions
1. Draw a design to print onto the earring on a piece of paper. Scale your design so that it fits within the boundaries of the wooden surface. Trace the design onto a piece of tracing paper using a pencil.
2. Cut a piece of rubber carving block that is slightly bigger than your design. Place the tracing paper on top of the carving block, drawn-on side facing down. Draw over all the lines of the design with a pencil.
3. Lift up the tracing paper. The design will have transferred onto the carving block.
4. Carve out the parts of the design that you do not want to print. Hold the lino cutters so that the blade skims along the surface of the rubber. You will only need to carve 1/8 inch deep in the area that you do not want to print.
5. Rinse your carved rubber in water to remove any dust, dirt or extra pieces of rubber from the carving. Leave the carving to dry.
6. Place a blob of ink on the palette. Spread the ink out over the palette using the brayer until it forms a thin, rough looking consistency on both the roller of the brayer and the palette.
7. Roll the brayer over the carved design. Make sure all areas of the design that you want to print are covered with a thin layer of ink.
8. Press the carved block face down onto the wooden earring in the desired location. Apply even pressure across the back of the carving block. Lift up the carving block to show the printed wooden earring.
9. Repeat steps 7 through 9 to print a second earring to make a matching set.
