reunion prep : printing

This might seem like putting the cart before the horse, since I’ve already posted about the reunion. However I had my reasons for holding off on preparation details. I simply didn’t want to ruin the surprise. (Not that I really think anyone reading this blog would attend the reunion, but it mattered to me.) So, without further ado, here’s what I was working on before the big week-end. I carved a likeness of the Lethbridge collegiate Institute mascot – the LCI Ram. (Big news to me – apparently his name is Sam.) I wasn’t able to use it as I’d planned on the nametags, as I discovered that my printer ink wouldn’t stick to the stamp ink that I used. Oh well. Instead I added this stamp to nametags of the committee members and I used it on the candle holders.

Then I thought it would be great to have our own 40th reunion image printed on cards for thank you notes and gift enclosures. I hadn’t carved anything for a while, so I spent a lot of time working on the image and figuring out the easiest way to transfer my drawing to the carving material. I printed my image in reverse so it would transfer the right way to print. BUT, imagine my surprise to discover that the transfer technique I wanted to use would not work on my carving plate. Carbon paper does not leave a mark on that stuff – nada, nothing, clean as a whistle! So I had to go over my design with pencil and rub the back to apply the image. The problem here was that with all the difficulty in transferring, I forgot that my image would now be backwards. I discovered this about 2 minutes after I had finished carving the entire piece. I was holding it up to show my friend, Susan Fae, when it hit me what I had done.

So I started all over again,

this time remembering that what you carve prints a mirror image of the carving. Nice I had that first one for practice, right? OMG Who is that grey haired woman wearing my shirt?

I still have a stash of cards, so don’t be surprised if you get a weird LCI card in the mail for no particular reason. I really do hate to waste!