Botanical Ink Recipes: Nettle, Oak Gall, Hawthorn — Printed Notes Vol. 2
Botanical ink is one of the oldest art materials in the world. Oak gall ink — the same type used to write the Magna Carta and pen Jane Austen's novels — can be made at home, from materials you've gathered yourself, with nothing more than a saucepan and a handful of kitchen ingredients.
Printed Notes On: Making Botanical Ink is a full colour, 32-page printed booklet by Emma Hogbin of Princetown Press, made in Devon on recycled paper. It takes you step by step through turning foraged and kitchen plant matter into richly coloured, chemically reactive botanical inks.
What's inside
Covering the three core stages of ink-making — collecting plant matter, creating plant liquor, and adding a binder — this booklet goes into the details that make the difference: how water pH affects your colours, how to test saturation with paper strips, how to work with gum Arabic (including how to make your own), and how to get the most from each batch.
Detailed recipes are included for:
- Nettle ink — greenish yellows to olive greens
- Spruce bark ink — warm reddish browns
- Classic oak and iron gall ink — near-black, historically proven
- Hawthorn haw ink — salmon and orange through to red, purple, and grey
An extensive section on modifiers — kitchen staples like citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar, alongside iron sulphate, copper salts, and tin — opens up a world of colour play and experimentation.
This booklet is perfect for:
- Watercolour artists and illustrators looking for expressive, earth-connected media
- Calligraphers and dip pen enthusiasts wanting to make their own historically inspired inks
- Foragers, gardeners, and naturalists ready to take their relationship with plants one step further
- Crafters who love hands-on, slow making with natural materials
Common questions
How do you make ink from oak galls?
Oak galls are simmered to release tannins, then combined with an iron modifier to produce a near-black ink — the same chemistry used historically for iron gall ink. Full recipe and ratios are included in this booklet.
What household ingredients can change the colour of natural ink?
Citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar are all kitchen-cupboard modifiers that shift botanical ink colour — this booklet has a full section on how each one reacts with different plant inks.
Do I need Volume 1 before this one?
Not strictly — Volume 2 stands alone as an ink-making guide — but Volume 1 covers the foraging and plant identification that pairs naturally with it.
Want to see this level of detail applied to your own land? Enquire about a place-based commission.
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
Botanical ink is one of the oldest art materials in the world. Oak gall ink — the same type used to write the Magna Carta and pen Jane Austen's novels — can be made at home, from materials you've gathered yourself, with nothing more than a saucepan and a handful of kitchen ingredients.
Printed Notes On: Making Botanical Ink is a full colour, 32-page printed booklet by Emma Hogbin of Princetown Press, made in Devon on recycled paper. It takes you step by step through turning foraged and kitchen plant matter into richly coloured, chemically reactive botanical inks.
What's inside
Covering the three core stages of ink-making — collecting plant matter, creating plant liquor, and adding a binder — this booklet goes into the details that make the difference: how water pH affects your colours, how to test saturation with paper strips, how to work with gum Arabic (including how to make your own), and how to get the most from each batch.
Detailed recipes are included for:
- Nettle ink — greenish yellows to olive greens
- Spruce bark ink — warm reddish browns
- Classic oak and iron gall ink — near-black, historically proven
- Hawthorn haw ink — salmon and orange through to red, purple, and grey
An extensive section on modifiers — kitchen staples like citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar, alongside iron sulphate, copper salts, and tin — opens up a world of colour play and experimentation.
This booklet is perfect for:
- Watercolour artists and illustrators looking for expressive, earth-connected media
- Calligraphers and dip pen enthusiasts wanting to make their own historically inspired inks
- Foragers, gardeners, and naturalists ready to take their relationship with plants one step further
- Crafters who love hands-on, slow making with natural materials
Common questions
How do you make ink from oak galls?
Oak galls are simmered to release tannins, then combined with an iron modifier to produce a near-black ink — the same chemistry used historically for iron gall ink. Full recipe and ratios are included in this booklet.
What household ingredients can change the colour of natural ink?
Citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar are all kitchen-cupboard modifiers that shift botanical ink colour — this booklet has a full section on how each one reacts with different plant inks.
Do I need Volume 1 before this one?
Not strictly — Volume 2 stands alone as an ink-making guide — but Volume 1 covers the foraging and plant identification that pairs naturally with it.
Want to see this level of detail applied to your own land? Enquire about a place-based commission.
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase
- Delivery costs will be calculated at the checkout
- Free UK delivery on all orders over £30
- You can return your order for a full refund or exchange within 30 days of purchase