A piece of lino covered in blue ink, with a printed blue card next to it, from a workshop making linocut Christmas cards.

Making Linocut Christmas Cards

23rd November 2024 - New Experience Number 31.

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Have you ever tried making linocut Christmas cards? Here’s how I got on when I gave it a go as an experience towards trying fifty-two new things in 2024. It was a fab-yule-ous opportunity to visit a wonderful spot in York, and try a brilliant craft.

I love trying new things in the festive season. It’s a particularly busy time of year, so it’s nice to carve out some time to switch off from the busy-ness and to-do lists, and get creative.

This was a brilliant workshop bringing Christmas past and present together, as we’d be using traditional printing techniques and equipment to make something for today.

Thin Ice Press

I signed up for a workshop run by Thin Ice Press in York. They’ve been in action since 2017, and settled into their new home in 2024. Located in the old school house in St Anthony’s Gardens on Peasholme Green, it’s a lovely little oasis just a stone’s throw from York Minster.

The old brick building has been transformed into a wonderful space dedicated to traditional printing. The pressroom houses beautiful tools and equipment seldom seen in modern printing. There’s also a museum and gallery. It’s well worth a visit even if you’re not doing a workshop.

Recognising that the traditional ways of printing are at risk of being lost and forgotten, Thin Ice Press are on a mission to help it thrive for centuries to come. Showcasing tools, techniques, and a joy of printing, they’re preserving the past and bringing it to life for a new audience, and I think they are doing a superb job. 

Exterior of a brick building with a pitched roof. There are lots of plants in the courtyard at the front. This is the home of Thin Ice Press where you can try making linocut Christmas cards at a workshop.
A grey day, but warm and inviting at Thin Ice Press
A whiteboard on an easel with lots of writing on it about Thin Ice Press, a place dedicated to traditional printing and where you can take part in workshops such as Making Linocut Christmas Cards
There's lots going on at The York Centre For Print

The Workshop - Making Linocut Christmas Cards

Over the course of 2 hours, fuelled by coffee and mince pies, our small group were going to go through the process of making linocut Christmas cards from start to finish.

Our fantastic tutor took us through the steps from designing, cutting, and printing, offering helpful tips and advice along the way so that we all created our own unique cards that we’d be proud to send over the  festive season.

Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair smiling at the camera as she stands in a craft workshop where she is having a go at linocutting as she is trying fifty-two new things in the year.
A lovely space and a wonderful workshop

Design

Rather than drawing the design directly onto the lino, we sketched out the image we wanted to create onto a piece of paper first.

I didn’t want to be overly ambitious as I know I’m not particularly gifted when it comes to drawing – how I imagine it looking in my mind, never seems to translate to my hand and I’m often left frustrated by what I create on the paper. When I found a simple but stunning holly image on Pinterest, I thought that would be perfect. I can just about draw holly, and I was pleased with how it turned out.

But then, just before transferring the design to the lino, I had a flash of inspiration. Wanting to make something personal, I had a sudden thought that I could create a simplistic winter scene featuring our campervan!

Quickly sketching out the line drawing, I asked our instructor for her opinion on whether it was do-able. With a few helpful hints and suggestions, I decided to go for it, and traced the image onto my lino.

Close up of a pencil drawn holly image on white paper.
My initial holly design came out quite well...
Close up of a pencil drawing on a piece of white paper. The image is of trees, mountains and a camper van, and is going to be used for making linocut Christmas cards
...but I decided to make the design with our van!

Cutting

Cutting the lino was a therapeutic process. Using small tools in either a V or a U shape of differing widths, the secret was to cut slowly. Smoothly gliding through the material, straight lines were fairly easy to create. Curves were a little trickier, and best made by turning the lino rather than moving our hands.

A metal tool with a wooden handle, used for cutting lino
One of the tools used for cutting the lino
A piece of lino on a table. The lino has a design cut out of it.
Cutting the lino was quite theraputic

Inking

We used some beautiful inks for our prints and it was incredible how little was needed. 

Smearing a small amount of the rich colour onto a smooth sheet of glass, we rolled it out to a thin, and even layer. It made a wonderful sound, a sort of sticky and tacky noise, or a bit like lightly frying bacon.

Once it was the right consistency, we stroked the roller directly across our lino design building up a couple of layers of colour, ready for printing.

A roller with a stripe of rich blue colour evenly spread across a sheet of glass. There is also a stripe of sliver paint.
Rolling out the beautiful inks. If the image looks a little fuzzy, it's due to the glass that the ink was rolled on to.

Printing

Positioning the blank card over the design took concentration, simply because it needed thinking about where the print would eventually come out. It could be very easy to have the print upside down.

Finally, we rolled the old machine over the top. Dragging the mechanism by hand forwards, and then backwards over the designs. It was that simple, and all human powered, and amazing to ponder what other wonderful things have been printed on the equipment over the years.

Close up of an old machine used in printing. A pair of white hands are positioning a piece of white card.
Lining up the card and lino took a little concentration
Close up of an old machine used in printing. There are 3 pieces of white card on top of it, ready for printing.
Three projects ready for printing

Revealing

Peeling the card off the Lino, carefully turning it over, and there was my design in blue! I knew when I had done the cutting that I’d slightly messed up a couple of lines. Whilst I could have beaten myself up about it, I actually think it looks quite effective and you can tell it’s hand made.

Seeing all of the finished printed designs was brilliant, there were some very talented people on the workshop! The candle and the holly were beautiful, and I love the abstract sleet design in silver too.

Close up of a piece of lino that has been cut and painted silver. The image is abstract and represents sleet. An example from a workshop making linocut Christmas Cards
A dynamic silver sleet design
A piece of lino from a workshop making linocut Christmas cards. A fantastic design of a candle has been cut from the lino, and it has been covered with red ink.
A striking red candle design
A piece of lino next to a printed piece of card with a brilliant holly design on it.
A brilliant holly card and the original lino
A piece of lino covered in blue ink, with a blue printed card next to it, from a workshop making linocut Christmas cards
My winter scene featuring the van!

A Ink-redible Experience

I really enjoyed the workshop with Thin Ice Press. From the relaxed atmosphere and pace of the session, to having the opportunity to be creative, and all topped off by having a great tutor and being surrounded by the amazing traditional equipment. 

The workshop was kept small and informal. We got the chance to chat and get to know each other in the session, and it meant our instructor was readily available with support and guidance.  We were all invested in each others designs, and I loved seeing the fantastic finished creations.

Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair in a workroom holding a card that she has made during a workshop making linocut Christmas cards.
Pleased with my finished print!

Why You Should Try Making Linocut Christmas Cards

  • If you like craft, design and heritage, you should definitely get along to a workshop at Thin Ice Press!
  • You cover every step of the process from design through to printing.
  • It’s an opportunity to make some bespoke, unique and personal Christmas cards!
  • I often use Christmas cards as a way of wrapping vouchers, and you can make a personal card for a more personal present!
  • It’s a lovely way for some mindful time out at a busy time of year.

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • For the same workshop that I tried, you need to visit Thin Ice Press in York. They offer workshops throughout the year so keep an eye on their website and instagram for details of upcoming sessions.
  • Take a look at Craft Courses,where you can search for linocut workshops across the UK.
  • Visit event brite to see if there are any linocut sessions happening near you. 

Click here to read about other festive experiences you could try

Cost Of Experience

  • The 2 hour workshop I joined cost £40 per person which included all of the materials and equipment, tea and coffee, and step-by step instructions.
  • The cost of a workshop will vary depending on where it takes place and the duration of the session. 
  • You can buy make it yourself craft kits to try at home. Again, these vary in price and can start from £30.

Recommendations

  • Find inspiration on Pinterest. If you’re not sure about what you’d like to design, you can find some spectacular examples on Pinterest.
  • Words may be more challenging. Something to remember is that your printed image will be a mirror image of the design on the lino, so it may make letters more difficult.
  • Go in your scruffs. We were given aprons to wear, but, you could easily get ink on your fingers which you then inadvertently wipe on yourself. Wear things you don’t mind getting messy.
  • Stay safe. The tools for cutting may look harmess, but they’re actually really sharp. Listen to your tutor and follow their instructions.
  • Take some pictures. Get some snaps of your crafty creations before you send them in the post. If you give it a go, I’d love to know how you get on!

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