How to fix curled polymer plates

I recently discovered that all my polymer plates had curled and hardened from not storing them properly. And some were just getting old—but some were not and I had not even printed with them yet. So I was pretty upset with myself. I read some suggestions online for how to rehydrate and heat them to get them to a softer state and then put weight on top to flatten them. So I tried the method of soaking for a minute or so and then putting them in a box and using a hair dryer to circulate heat around it, then stacked some books on it. Didn't work—they still curled back up even after several attempts.

My husband, who is an artist with experience in many materials, watched me get upset and frustrated and made a suggestion, that at first I disregarded and had no faith that it would work at all. Well, I tried it since I was out of options and guess what! It worked perfectly! So once again, I realized I should listen to him when it comes to manipulating materials. He knows what he's talking about.

The Solution: A Heating Pad

Plate curled and hardened

As you can see the plate has curled and gotten stiff. If I were to try bending it or flattening it, the plate would simple crack in half. I know because I did it to one of them not thinking.

I heated the pad for 3 mins in the microwave and placed the plate on top.

Then I folded the pad over the plate. I kept the plate in there for 2-3 mins.  

The plate came out completely flexible again (different plate shown here). You of course could use two smaller heating pads if you don't have one large enough to fold over. I aslo discovered that if the adhesive had gotten worn out and not sticking well enough to the base, that a couple well placed pieces of double sided tape worked well. It didn't seem to affect the printing.

Valentines Day Letterpress Cards

I'm pretty happy with the amount of cards I got done and up on my Etsy shop. Also happy with the designs. Some were just hand drawn doodles I did over Christmas break at my folks house. Converted them in illustrator to clean a couple things, but tried to keep the imperfections since I wanted them to have a hand drawn feel. I think I'll be doing more designs like that. It's a much more creative process for me. Often, when I recreate my ideas on the computer, they loose some of the creativity that was initially there during the design process.

Final Giquita Business Card / Hang Tag

Finally getting around to posting photos of the finished product. My client is using these as business cards and hang tags for her products. This was my first time printing on a 100% cotton paper. I loved the feel and the depth you get, but it's definitely a challenge to get fine line work to come through clean and crisp.

Giquita Fiber Arts Logo Concepts

At my first craft fair in East Haven, I met another mother, Steph,  looking to turn her hobby into a more legit business. She is a Fiber Artist doing incredible weaved blankets, scarves and towels. And she's learning to do Kumihimo as well. Even though she knew it would not turn into a full-time business, she wanted to get her business looking as professional as possible so that she can begin teaching others this centuries-old craft.

Our first meeting to discuss her logo and business card was at a cute little book store cafe in Hamden, CT. Perfect-can't beat discussing a life passion over a hot cup of joe and a scone! She showed me a bunch of pieces she had made, discussed why she liked certain colors and we went over some questions I had for her. It was great. I love meeting people in person and seeing the passion come out in their stories and expressions on their face. It's important to be able to connect with that energy when designing something that represents them.

Between our meeting and some emails, I learned a lot about Steph and what qualities I should look to evoke and inspire through her logo. One big piece of inspiration I used was her love of the 1940's—claiming to be born in the wrong century. I TOTALLY get that! So after gathering enough info, I started to sketch and look at some old 1940's logos and color palettes. Then I selected some of the sketches and rendered them in Illustrator.

Lace Heart, Doodle Flowers and LOL Letterpress Cards

Finally have some decent photos of my first collection of prints and cards. Pretty excited. I haven't had the camera too long, so I'm still learning how to use it and get the lighting right. Below are photos of my doodle flowers and lace heart custom designs. And the LOL uses some metal type and ornaments my husband gave me for Christmas this past year. I love the small imperfections on each piece that comes with a hand made item. Each one is truly unique.

First Print

I had the press for almost a whole month before I was able to find time to put ink to paper. It was very exciting and I think I may have been a little intimidated for a while. It felt so good to get my hands a little dirty and hear the gears moving. The block I printed of the lady with her book is a vintage block my husband gave me for our anniversary. She's very proper!

Bee Bottom Designs - Logo

My husband and I came up with the name Bee Bottom in 2009 on a drive to New Hampshire. I didn't know I would be doing letterpress at the time, but I did know that I wanted to start getting into surface design and textile design. Originally I was going to have it be BeeBottomPress. But then the more I thought about it, I didn't want the name to sound limiting since I would still be doing the design. Hopefully this is the right decision. The photos below show some of the initial sketches and then the final. I love "Bee Bottom" for a number of reasons. First, it's fun to say! But also because the "bottom" or stinger can represent a sewing needle, a pen, pencil, etc. I also love Bees and how they all work together for the greater good. It's like when everyone does a little, it can make a big difference. My goal is that someday, the little items I make can at some point give back by donating a percentage of my profits to charities. That's the goal anyway!