I find I’m missing being able to print so I bought a tiny portable press.

I did some research about small portable printers and discovered the Xcut Xpress. I Googled it and came across Sally Hirst’s video on YouTube where she described using this machine. It is actually a die cutter but you can quickly repurpose it with a longer bed and felt from HandPrinted, which I also bought. I got the Xcut from eBay as it isn’t actually in production anymore and read the articles on how to use it from Sally, HandPrinted and Colin Blanchard. I’ve quickly tried it out just using paper stencils and I’m very happy with it and looking forward to getting to grips with it properly.

Here are the links in case you’re interested:

Colin Blanchard - https://www.colinblanchard.com/blog

https://www.colinblanchard.com/blog/the-handbag-press

Handprinted - https://handprinted.co.uk/blogs/blog/printing-with-the-xcut-xpress Accessory pack: https://handprinted.co.uk/products/printmakers-accessory-pack-for-xcut-xpress

Sally Hirst - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6er85l12Bdc

Jenny McCabe - https://www.jennymccabe.co.uk/blog/2020/6/21/printing-in-lockdown-using-the-xcut-xpress

The Curious Printmaker - https://thecuriousprintmaker.co.uk/x-cut-xpress-little-printing-press/

As well as trying out the new press, I’ve been experimenting with stencils. I tried making my own which was a dismal failure, then bought some by ‘StencilGirl’ after watching another Sally Hirst video on YouTube. I’m looking for ways to combine media and I really like the delicate charcoal and pencil effects; I’m going to start doing a lot more drawing now that the bad weather looks to be here.