The Joy of the Dance

After a recharge of knowledge from Boxcar and Briars Press, printing seems much simpler again, almost like dancing. At least I was dancing around my "print shop" or small little multi-use room last night after successfully finishing my friend's wedding invitations. I definitely get a surge of happiness and the urge to Yippee at the top of my lungs when Printing goes smoothly.

Dancing really isn't that simple. Similar to printing.. when you remember every single step, it looks easy. My husband and I took a class to learn the Charleston a few years back. The only thing I remember about the Charleston now, is that you swivel on the balls of your feet a lot. It was fun after you worked out the kinks. Freestyle, cutting the rug is more our style.

The goal last night was to print the orange flower arrangements and that I did with my little helper, the Bride. The Flowers I drew in Illustrator and made Photo polymer plates from the files. It's just amazing what a little masking tape can do. In past runs with polymer plates, I would get ink on the edges of my wooden bases which would then print little lines on the paper... frustrating me to no end. Using a few layers of masking tape to adjust the roller height cleared the problem right up. In addition to the correct amount of Tympan, making sure the handle goes all the way down, and after adjusting my impression screws earlier in the week, we had all the right steps for jazzy printing. With a little Swing music going in the background, we cranked them out and hung them to dry. Right now the little creations appear to be dancing in the breeze from the fan.

Up next, matching Thank You notes! I'm going to take a break to print a few other projects first. I have a few months until she'll need to formally thank anyone via note. She said many Thank you's last night :)