gettin' busy

Posted by debbie lee on

more ebay purchased type (36pt goudy and a mystery font) arrived in the mail! the seller of the "mystery" type didn't know the name or size of the type, so i was pleasantly surprised when it arrived! if anyone can identify the type name, leave me a comment please, i would appreciate it. i'm excited that i have a few projects scheduled for two good friends of mine that will be keeping me busy.. 60th birthday invites for my friend's mom and save the dates for a wedding that i'm also a bridesmaid for. i'll be sure to post pictures of the end product. i also might have a retail opportunity.. my husband's cousin has a retail gift shop and asked if i want to sell some of my cards there.. yah! below are the newest ebay purchases, vintage and all- if you look real close at the curvy type, you can even see vintage dust!

garamond type

letterpress script type

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almost officially official

Posted by debbie lee on

i had magnesium plates made of my logo and business card from owosso graphic arts and ups just delivered them! it's surreal seeing my little logo made up in magnesium, it looks so official! and in the mail, my business license registration from the county arrived. it outlined a few more steps for me to take and then penelope's press will be officially official, ta ha! exciting stuff! now, i just need to find the time to ink up penelope and print some business cards. can we get a yee haw!

magnesium cuts for letterpress printing

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cleaning type

Posted by debbie lee on

lately i've been addicted to ebay for purchasing type and vintage cuts. i've snagged some good deals.. i watch the item and right when there's only seconds left, i pounce on the other bidders and put my bid in! it's a rush as i wait for the last few seconds to wind down hoping other bidders don't beat me to the deals! the only bad thing about getting used type is that it's usually vintage and with the age, sometimes comes layers of paint, oxidation, and a lot of dirt. to clean the type i googled and found that you can mix together a solution of lemon and vinegar. i bathed the type in the mix for a few days and some junk came off, but not enough. so i dunk the type in another bath of mineral spirits over night. after cleaning each and every piece of type with a toothbrush, it didn't come out as shiny and clean as i want, but clean enough. for weeks, the pied type sat until the other day when i finally decided to separate and organize. the type has been sitting on the kitchen counter for days.. so now i just have to figure out where to put the type in my little workroom.

letterpress type

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backtracking: first lesson

Posted by debbie lee on

not only did the kind mr. patrick hogan sell me his beloved letterpress and goodies, he also drove to my home and gave me a one-on-one, hands on tutorial! sure, i didn't learn everything there is to know about letterpress in one day, but i got my feet wet and printed for the first time! he went through the basics of measuring type, quads and spaces, how to set type and create a forme, make-ready, registration, how to pull a print, how to ink up, clean up, and more. it was information overload in only a few hours, but interesting and fun. after he left, i successfully removed the chase, handset type, and pulled my very first print completely on my own. it was exhilarating! i am hooked!

handset type thank you letterpress cards, 1st pull

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backtracking: welcome penelope

Posted by debbie lee on

a kind mr. patrick hogan sold me his craftsman superior last month. i saw his post on briar press and quickly emailed him. he sent me home with a lot of letterpress goodies: complete press with rollers & chase, several wood type cases, a ton of 12pt times new roman type, handheld slug cutter, reglets, paint, tympan paper, gauge pins, composing stick, planer and brush. after picking up the goods from patrick, we visited the home of mr. meers and his sidekick jenny of lock and key press- jenny is helping mr. meers liquidate a lifetime of letterpress. from his awesome collection, i left with a big box of furniture, more paint, leads/slugs, regular and hi speed quoins, and some fun vintage letterpress ephemera printed from mr. meers himself. by the end of the day, the trunk of the suv was packed and the car tail-heavy. i remember that day, i had a heavy feeling in my chest, an overwhelming feeling of, "i am in over my head, what have i gotten myself into?"... that feeling lasted for only a split second. and on that day, after the anxiety subsided, i named my newly acquired letterpress 'penelope'

craftsman 6.5x10" tabletop platen printing press

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