Woodland slumber linocut printmaking kit

A special edition kit presented in a sustainable bamboo gift case. Create your own woodland underworld, learning the artistic skill of printmaking as you go. 

Presented in a woodland theme gift box, the kit has natural jute binding and a handprinted hedgehog postcard which I have enjoyed to print each one myself by hand. The box can be later repurposed or keep as a place to store your toolkit as it grows. 

Perfect as a gift & also as a set for yourself, a perfect choice for creative & mindful time. Catering for all abilities, especially those who never tried anything creative before, linocut is a very accessible arts activity. Suitable age 11 upwards supervised due to sharp tools.

Made popular by Matisse & Picasso, linocut & print is easy to master with the right instruction, often taught in education as a gateway to other arts disciplines. The kit itself will inspire you to have a go! I hope this gives confidence which I have found in my teaching experience, is often the first battle.

The tools:

• A4 white trays x2, space on each to roll out 2 or 3 colours. Easy clean in soapy water, white plastic to show you the true ink colour
• Wooden handle palette knife, Italian made. The super fine flexible blade makes learning to mix colours super easy
• Professional rubber roller (brayer) size 55mm wooden handle
• Professional rubber roller (brayer) size 100mm wooden handle
• Japanese bamboo baren, this item we use in place of hands or fingers, will spread the pressure more evenly over the print in the process of print pressing manually.
• Cutting tool set of 4 UK made handles manufactured by Essdee, each with a cutting blade (numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4). During cutting we often swap between the blade shapes and sizes to create various marks
• A canvas bag to keep your tool set free from damage and in a place you can find them again. These tool bags are 100% cotton. 

The inks:
Water based, mixable and non toxic by Essdee UK. Included are 6 tins of 30ml ink. Create your own shades, any excess ink scoop back into the pots for later. 

• pumpkin orange
• vintage teal
• espresso martini
• true blue
• forest green
• mustard
• also a small tint pot of both black and white to help you learn about mixing

The lino:

• A6 size set of 3 sheets: easycut blue, mid density dark grey, light grey traditional hessian backed
• A5 size set of blue easycut and the dark grey mid density
• practice lino, an offcut to help you get started before working on your designs

The papers & cards:

• 4 sheets of A5 size natural handmade 80g LOKTA paper from Nepal
• 10 sheets of A5 size KENT paper super smooth 190g weight
• 2 postcards off white colour, a vintage feel, send to friends!
• 10 pack 15cm x 15cm bright white 240g greeting cards with white envelopes

The templates & instructions:

• written instructions guide with hints and tips, or watch the video tutorials
• an example of mark making, use this to get started carving lines, curves, dots & dashes
• design templates to inspire and for you to copy as you learn. A4 sheet x 5 with  design ideas from easy, moderate to more difficult (correct scale 1:1 for the lino provided)
• tracing paper to help transfer the template design to lino
• links how to get to my demo & tutorial videos

At home:

• access to a sink
• rags/cloths for inky fingers and for drying equipment
• scrap paper & pencil