The prints on these notecards are made from a styrofoam printing plate that Samantha created at school. I received the styrofoam plate as a Mother’s Day gift, but I didn’t find the actual note card package until I opened Samantha’s backpack on Monday morning. Apparently she was hoping to use them as invitations to some event she has planned. I can’t say that I blame her, but I took possession of them anyway. Of course the beauty of printmaking is that you can always make more.
I only recently learned that you could use styrofoam for printmaking. It’s such a great idea and it seems to work so well that I think I will have to start stockpiling styrofoam before it is outlawed. I asked Samantha’s teacher about the process and she said the class used actual printing ink (like a Speedball water-base probably) that was applied with a brayer to the styrofoam plate. I love how she had the kids print their designs on different colored papers; she reminded me that you can also use different colors of ink. I will definitely have to give this a try. Perhaps my 2012 Christmas card? Click here to find directions.
pencil drawing on styrofoam
another great card idea, this one from Family Fun Magazine
