Printing without ink is kinda nice lol, it's so clean!
[Video description: the process of of printing an embossed Christmas card with an etching press. It's filmed from above, with a big cilinder horizontally in the middle of the frame.
I show the camera the carved lino and after laying it down on the press, place a piece of white paper on top. Then I cover both with thick felt and the table surface starts moving underneath the metal cilinder, which pushes the paper into the lino. I then uncover the print and lino on the other side of the cilinder and show an imbossed image of christmas trees in a snowy landscape. /End video description]
Okay, so I made two Hua Cheng sketchbooks. This is the first one I made. It's got braided faux leather for the ribbon, which is to represent Hua Cheng's little braid and the little bead.
I used a paint pen for the splatter, which I believe i like more than the other book's distress mica spray, though that might be my lack of experience with the spray showing through.
The end pages are acrylic pulls on my diy gelli plate in a paste paper "style" without any actual paste. I used the cloth and beeswax method to apply some wax to the end pages so they don't stick like acrylic likes to do and kind of "seal" it.
The bookcloth is homemade from 100% cotton, I tried fusible interfacing and hate it. It's filled with a 1:1 mix of matte mod podge and water, painted on, to offer some water resistance and (most importantly) glue resistance. I appreciated that any pva I got on it or that seeped through could literally be wiped away and then be rendered invisible.
The words and butterflies are heat transfer vinyl. I'm actually a huge fan of how the butterflies feel, texturally. It feels very much like they're imbossed or a little recessed, which is amusing because the vinyl is actually a raised surface-- ironed onto the cover-- but it doesn't feel like that.
The Chinese is a very bad handwriting version of Xie Lian's name, which Hua Cheng has as a tattoo. It's done with gold paint marker.
It's so pretty and fun to hold. It's for @tsukinorakuen!
i havent yet understood how to switch the language on my new laptop to english so when i write on here, it highlights literally every word and that means that i miss actual mistakes.
so basically what im saying is i wrote “imbossibly” and stared at it for a whole minute trying to decipher why it felt wrong
w/ Padme, Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi wan and the Skywalker twins ;)) they’re all very much alive and happy.
After the war, with no order 66 because I said so. This is my first time ever writing children, a weird milestone i know, but I hope I did okay let me know! I was gonna give the 501st boys a mention or a scene, but it didn’t feel natural and I couldn’t squeeze it in - so if you want them there, they’re there <3
Also I decided on the name Mira as ‘mirjahaal’ translate to ‘peace of mind’ in Mando’a, and I just know that Rex would name his kid after something like that. (also i felt smart with the whole deeper meaner situation)
taglist -> @pinkiemme
———————————————————————
“Da!”
Rex swivelled his head to the table he had been called from. He still reacted to ‘Captain’ as a variation of his name, but for around three years now ‘Da’ had caught his attention far quicker.
“Yeah C’yare?”
Perched on the edge of the table was his four year old daughter, Mira, smiling smugly as she puffed out her chest and straightened her back just how she’d learnt from Cody. She beamed as her father walked over and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.
In a short check formed out of habit, he recognised her now braided hair, which had been partitioned into two dainty lines down her blonde head. He had gotten better at doing hair for her sake, but not that good; Leia must’ve gotten ahold of her. Whereas Luke was becoming so much like his father, Leia already had the willpower and strength that mimicked her mother, though that was no bad thing.
Her dress, again courtesy of Padmé, was a beautiful blueish pink colour, and it matched in harmony with the rosemary hue of the sky that bled through the wide windows behind them. It was almost night, and somehow there was an undeniable peace in the air. Perhaps it was something about the time of day, or perhaps it was purely because nowadays there were hardly any reasons for it not to be peaceful.
“Tell Unca Ani I’m right!” Mira spoke with surprising indignation for someone so small. That had always made people laugh.
“I’m not wrong!” Anakin proclaimed, appearing to be hurt by the child’s comment, but failing to hide his grin.
He was rested against the kitchen counter, still slumped like he always did. He perked up slightly as the ‘argument’ began again.
Jaida was near enough to have heard most of their conversation from where she sat beside a dozing Ahsoka. She was mostly focused on the datapad in her hands: lists of still uncompensated troopers that still needed to be helped, but she was far more inclined to listen to the sounds behind her. She smiled distantly at how Anakin acted around her daughter. He softened, even as Mira babbled away.
As Rex and Mira sat and stood respectively, Anakin found it almost laughable how much they were alike. She looked so much like her mother, but her blonde hair and honey eyes were the exact copy of his, that was undeniable.
“Unca Ani say that on Flucca plants glow in tha dark!” Rex smiled sweetly at his daughter’s awe “But that’s imbossible!”
“It’s not!”
“Nope!” Mira popped the ‘p’ like Jaida always did. Anakin laughed at that. It was a solid argument.
“Well, then we’ll go to Felucia. You can see it all for yourself.”
It was a promise Rex was happy to make, especially as Mira lit up at his words.
“Gotta be careful though, sometimes they bite!” Jaida teased from behind the sofa back.
As Mira giggled, a knock sounded from the door to the apartment. Ahsoka stirred up in her light sleep, though Jaida hushed her and moved instead. She pushed off the couch beneath her, winking at the grinning toddler before she made it to the door.
As it opened, Padmé and the twins were revealed, both looking perky behind their tired faces. Luke looked half asleep in truth, but Leia was tugging the senator along with a fist she’d latched onto a few fingers. It had been a long day; no words were needed for Jaida to understand that.
“Hey! You all look so tired what happened?” Jaida laughed lightly as she welcomed them into the room.
“Yoda went bonkers.” There was a hint of remorse in Luke’s voice.
The Jedi chuckled, “What’s new?”
Padmé watched with kind eyes as her children weaved off, and laughed as Ahsoka only just managed to reposition her posture before she was attacked by them both. Luke and Leia were only a year and a bit older than Mira, but they matched each other in energy.
It took them no time at all to close the door and cross into the kitchen where Anakin, Rex and Mira were. Mira had resorted to asking about the different planets, to which Anakin found himself wishing to remember the answers. Rex couldn’t help himself from laughing at the exchange.
“Is the Senate in disagreement again?” Jaida asked as she grabbed a mug for Padmé’s tea, and judging by how she rubbed her temples she suspected she was right.
“Not entirely; it’s just this new vote. Some of the Senators are too focused on the expenses of it all, and I can’t blame them. It won’t be cheap, but it needs to be done.”
“This that liberation bill Cody was talking about?” Rex interjected.
“Yes, it should be simple enough. Only they’re just some people who I can’t seem to budge on it.” Padmé sighed, but didn’t hold that annoyance for much longer. “But anyway I didnt come here to discuss even more politics, how long until they start?”
The reason for their gathering. It wasn’t often that coruscant had fireworks, but when they did it was always something spectacular. The cause for this celebration was particularly important; the 5th anniversary of the end of the clone wars. The senate had decided without much debate to introduce the idea of fireworks, Anakin even joked that it was the quickest they’d ever decided something, yet it was still exciting nonetheless.
Ahsoka got up from where she had been talking to Luke and Leia and grabbed a fruit from the bowl. She laughed along with what conversation had been happened, and grinned at each joke and jibe.
“It’s a shame Obi-wan couldn’t make it back in time.” The togruta spoke after his mention.
“It won’t be the last time we have something like this, and plus, I think Mandalore have something planned as well!”
Ahsoka shrugged in agreement at Padmé, taking a bite at the same time.
“Oh, look!” She spoke between mouthfuls. They all followed the line of her outstretched hand, looking towards the window now beginning to light up in disarray.
“It’s starting!” Luke interjected. He pushed through to the front with Leia hot on his tail. And indeed it was, the beginnings of bright crackles started to compete with the stars behind them. The fireworks were just above the senate building, bemusing the gathering with small, golden splashes of light in intricate patterns. It wasn’t loud, the apartment being so far away, but the distant sound of bangs made Mira jump a few times.
Rex comforted her, taking her up in his arms. She relaxed as soon as she knew she was safe with him; he kept her safe. That was the promise he’d make a thousands times over and more if he could. Jaida met his eyes, and hugged his arm with her head rested on his shoulder. Everything was right; real. The war was over and they had won. The fireworks were a beautiful touch, but nothing could displace the satisfaction of watching your own life grow into something you never even imagined it could. Rex had endured enough, and now he could honestly say it was worth it. He kissed Jaida’s forehead as she melted into his side.
The smaller, yellowish bursts began to grow: feeding into the sky as pinks, oranges, blues and greens spiralled off from their sources. Each pop of colour that continued into circles or stars had it’s own mind, yet still unfolded as if it were puppetry. Some shot straight up and exploded after a minute of delightful teasing, and wove between themselves like missiles. They were the ones that made Luke squeal in excitement the most.
Others whirled in spirals, endlessly collecting momentum and continuing in their talented hast; or shattered into millions of personalised sparks you couldn’t choose which one to follow. They tumbled down in rains of coloured stars, settling as if the art they’d shared with an entire silent city was only fiction. Their message was received in awe, and Jaida held a teary gaze even as they faded. Luke and Leia clapped, Mira laughed, but the adults shared pregnant silence, a moment for what they had found for themselves. Children, family, peace. Love.
The war weighed heavily, it always would. But it was over, they had lived, and a new life had begun.