Get organised this September with these funky printed clipboards. Hang them above your desk or in the kitchen and use them to keep timetables, shopping lists and all those other important papers handy or even leave reminders and notes.
Hand-printing is a lovely way to personalize your makes. Once you have cut your printing stamps you can use them on all sorts of projects, from gift wrap, greetings cards, and gift tags to fabric.
You will need
Selection of erasers
Soft pencil
Craft knife
Cutting mat
Lino-cutting tool
Sheets of letter-size (A4) white paper
Ink-stamping pads
Sheets of letter-size (A4) heavyweight gray board
Craft glue
Large binder clips
1. To make an oval-shaped pattern, use a rectangular eraser. Draw a leaf shape along the whole length of the eraser using a soft pencil. Using a craft knife, and working on a cutting mat, cut out the leaf shape.
2. With the lino-cutting tool, score lines across the width of the oval shape. Draw some pencil lines to help place the grooves or cut freehand. Make the lines different thicknesses by applying more or less pressure as you cut. Score a few lines that cross over each other to give you a more textured surface.
3. Use the oval stamp to print a repeat pattern on a sheet of white paper. You can achieve lovely effects by overprinting with a second colour. I have printed rows of blue ovals and then used the same stamp to overprint slightly to one side using silver.
4. Use a square eraser to make another stamp in the same way, and print a second sheet of white paper with a different pattern. I have rotated my stamp for alternate rows and have overprinted with a simple circle cut from a square eraser.
5. To make a clipboard, stick a sheet of printed paper to the grey board using craft glue.
6. Cut a strip of patterned paper to the same width as a binder clip. Fold the paper around the clip and trim the edges for a neater fit. Stick the paper onto the clip using craft glue.
Tip
When it comes to printing, it is a good idea to experiment with different shapes and combinations of colors before committing to a final design. You can keep your experiments as references for future craft projects.
For more seasonal projects, check out A Year in Crafts by Clare Youngs.