Welcome to the first of our seasonal natural ink challenges, starting off with willow bark or twig ink. If you can’t find willow, try birch, cherry, apple, or plum bark instead. This recipe was courtesy of Bohemian Raspberry Art, who you can find on Etsy and Instagram (see links below).

Recipe and shortcuts:
0:00 Fallen branches can easily be collected after winter storms – or you can carefully trim twigs from trees using secateurs. You can use bark for this too, but I chose to gather twigs this time.

0:55 Cut twigs into 1-cm sections. You need roughly a double handful of chopped twigs/bark.

Place your prepared bark in your ink pot (a pan you use for craft and ink making only) along with ½ teaspoon washing soda. See why I think you need to have washing soda for this ink at 4:16

2:20 Pour over twice the volume of boiling water, cover and leave to steep overnight (or longer).

2:35 Simmer gently for 1-2 hours, topping up with hot water if needed. Make sure you have good ventilation and be sure not to lean over boiling pans. Check the colour strength every 20-30 minutes by removing from the heat and dipping a strip of paper into the liquid.

Switch off, cover and let cool. If you have time, let the ink steep overnight or longer.

6:06 Strain the ink, then test the colour. If it’s not intense enough, return the liquid to a clean pan. Simmer gently, uncovered to reduce the liquid until you have a well concentrated solution.

7:00 For better flow and adhesion, for every 100 ml of liquid, add 10-20 ml gum arabic solution and stir well. Aim for a consistency similar to single cream.

7:28 Decant into clean bottles. You can add a whole clove to each bottle to deter mould, (and/or you can try add 2-3 drops of thyme, bergamot or clove oil).

7:52 Be sure to test out your new ink, trying multiple layers and perhaps trying it out with other inks.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. We'd love to see your results, so please do share on Instagram using #botanicalinkchallenge and tag @bohemianraspberryart and @the_daily_nature_journal or let me know about your experiences in the comments.

If you would like to try out these inks but don't have time to make the recipe, consider checking out my Patreon, where I will be running a botanical ink club from1st Feb 2022. In the club, you can receive a vial of previous months' botanical inks, plus see all the extended Daily Nature Journal content and paintalong videos. Numbers receiving the botanical inks will be very limited as I make them in very small batches, so be sure to join up soon!

Patreon:   / alexboon  

Botanical inks by Bohemian Raspberry Art:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Bohemian...

You can also find me using the links below:
Instagram:   / the_daily_nature_journal  
  / alexboonart  
Website: https://alexboonart.com/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AlexBoonArt
Contact: [email protected]

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