Christmas lino cuts

There's no better excuse for getting out the lino and the cutters to make something festive for some Christmas cards. But what image to use? I tried a simple tree, but it didn't look right, then I found a 5 pointed star which is kind of chunky and friendly - that'll do. Here it is in various trials with ultramarine ink - such a lovely rich colour!



I masked the star shape on the top two prints with some plastic sheet, cut to shape, and then I embellished three of the prints with yellow felt tip, to add a bit of contrast.....

But somehow these weren't coming alive enough...so another, more complicated, block was born, which made prints like this:

I tried it first with flat colour, but it just looked flat! Here I've used the (I think) Japanese technique of getting the roller to blend two colours. I think it gives depth to the design. I also tried it from blue to red:

It's more sombre, but has a certain rich velvety quality.

Then the combination of blue star below and dual-colour block on top:

Not easy to get the registration right....I'm pleased with the result! I can't seem to get even colour without a press, but the blotchiness adds another dimension - a bit like an old, worn out cushion.

And when I used yellow tissue paper as chine colle, I got this:

I've really enjoyed myself! And I've got some cards to send out as well....