writing home

Arlo is fascinated by my print gocco machine, so last week he and I worked on a printing project together- making his own set of postcards to send to his family and friends at home in NZ.
He wanted the design to reflect a bit of his life here in Norway- so he chose to include a flag (which are everywhere at the moment in anticipation of May 17th celebrations), a tree, and a path showing the way to his school from our house.

The most exciting part of making these was probably applying the 'golden' (metallic) ink on the screen for the sun- he and Keira felt that surely it must be a very valuable ink indeed.
If your child wanted to make a set of personalised postcards without a gocco machine, you could try potato printing, linocuts, or maybe just... a photocopier?  There's something slightly thrilling for them about a print run, i think. 

And now, we have a bit of writing to do.

Comments

[AJ]

You make me want a gocco machine. How awesome is that!

[kirsten]

such fun! please tell him he did a great job!

don't tell my daughter, but a 'coupon' to get a chance to use my gocco will be wrapped up for her birthday! ;)

[Suzan]

Awhh - that that's sweet! I love the "map"!

[Di]

I love Arlo's postcards and I am sure everyone back home is going to love them!!

[Jo]

Lovely Arlo! I love the little houses in the distance.
Last Christmas Keira did a drawing of Santa and a reindeer which I tunred into a bulk load of Christmas cards! Was fun!

[celine]

brilliant idea! What a nice way to include your children in your craft

[Sally Anne]

Hey, Arlo,hope one of those valuable golden cards is coming our way. They look fantastic.
Pa

[artycho]

Eh, that gocco machine is a must have! I love it! Arlo's design is great too!

[Jacinta]

Ohh, beautiful. I've been thinking about getting a Gocco for this exact purpose. Not post cards, but printing my children's artwork. My eldest does those beautiful line drawings just like Arlo, and I LOVE them. She sits in bed at night with her doodle pad and a pen or pencil, and I found lovely pieces of artwork in her room the next morning when I'm opening curtains and making beds. And my youngest drawings are now becoming distinguishable too. Maybe it's time to finally invest in a Gocco.

[flowerpress]

How wonderful! It's a great gift we give our kids, the enjoyment and confidence to make art. Occasionally when i'm stealing a moment to draw or print i wish they weren't quite so keen LOL but mostly it makes me really happy.

[manda]

Hello.. I think I might makes some balls today with your help thankyou :-)
cute postcards..my kids have had great fun with our gocco too.. our kitchen ends up full of prints..its definitely addicitive.

[Lies]

Precious! A golden sun... You've such nice idea's of things to do with your kids!
Lies

[Gwyn]

Hi - I love this - what a wonderful way to share his art - whenever you post something about the gocco I want to buy one - maybe tonight - ha ha!

[Roze]

That is such a brilliant idea! Im sure he is bursting with pride at his creations. His post cards are lovely.

[Kitschy]

They are brilliant! What a fantastic idea, I bet the recipients will be chuffed to bits to receive them :o)

Kitschy x

[Ruth]

They are fabulous - what a great idea!

[jendoop]

How great that you share all your art stuff with the kids, some parents won't because its too 'valuable'. I even have a friend who said her mom wouldn't let her mix playdoh colors together. How sad.
Your day sounds lovely, thanks for sharing. Tell Arlo thanks for letting you post his work.

[lissilulu]

Arlo, your postcard is beautiful.

Melissa, my children have cut watercolor paper to postcard size in the past and painted on them for mailing. I think potato stamping the same design on postcards would feel like printmaking. Thanks for the idea. Have a great day!
Lori

[Ali]

How gorgeous are they?! Make sure he sends one to you for keeping.

[Claudia]

I think this is the best idea ever! Arlo is so cool. I just bought some card sets from Sally Shim at www.shimandsons.etsy.com for 5&6 year old boys, as I thought that practicing their writing on nice cards would be learning through fun. Seems as though Arlo's idea would be a great one to share with them too.

[Molly]

Lovely idea! It's posts like this that remind me how much I want a gocco machine, and children! I think my boyfriend will allow me the first, but not the second just yet!!

[Ellen]

How sweet and wonderful. I bought some watercolor postcards quite awhile ago - I should pull them out and let the kids use them. (We unfortunately do not have a gocco - not sure if I should buy a machine if the parts/inks/bulbs are hard to find?)

It's funny too, what you said about their thoughts on the gold ink. We were at a thrift store when my youngest picked up a spray-painted basket and with wide eyes, he said, "Look, Mom. It's gold! It must cost a lot." I was about to tell him that it's just gold paint when I realized that he knew it wasn't worth much: he was lifting it up, grunting, pretending that he was holding up gold bars.

[amisha]

these are so sweet. what a fantastic project! i remember doing photocopy stationery as a kid and just loving it... you're right, it's the idea of a "print run" that is super exciting :) xox

[anonymous]

what kind of pens are in these photos?

[anonymous]

what kind of pens are in these photos?