Here's what to do:

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  What you need

  • Polystyrene – some pizza bases, plates or containers made of polystyrene. You can also buy polystyrene blocks or rolls.

  • Water-based printing ink (or you could water down acrylic paint, but this won’t give you as good a result). High contrast colours work best!

  • An apron.

  • Something to roll the paint or ink onto – a paint tray, a flat, plastic board, a piece of cardboard or a glass tile.

  • Something pointy (but not too sharp) to carve into the polystyrene – a blunt pencil, a knitting needle, a ballpoint pen with a lid on it, or the end of a paintbrush.

  • A rubber roller

  • Paper or card – the flatter it is, the better.

  • Rolling pin or spoon (to press the print down with).

  • Newspaper to cover your work area.

  • A roll of greaseproof paper.

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  1. Sketch your design

  Make some sketches of the print you’d like to make on paper.

  Lines will work well carved into the polystyrene. As you sketch your design, think about how you could incorporate a mix of lines and patterns, using different tools.

  Two things to remember: 1. Your print will be a mirror image of what you see on the printing block 2. The parts you press down will not be inked, so will be the colour of the paper on your final print.

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  2. Prep your polystyrene

  Give your polystyrene a good wash if it’s recycled.

  Next, if you are using a tray or takeaway tray, make your polystyrene flat by cutting off any edges that are sticking out.

  Cut your polystyrene, the printing “block”, to the shape you want to have for your print.

  Think about your edges – make them smooth, or just be aware of how they will print.

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  3. Press into your block using your tools

  Different tools will make different marks.

  Before you start, you might want to practise on some spare polystyrene and look at how the different tools work.

  If you make some lines deeper and some slightly shallower, your print will show the variation. Test the resistance of the block. Keep stepping back and looking at the overall design.

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  4. Get your ink ready

  Once you are happy with your design, prep your work area, covering it in newspaper.

  Squeeze a thin line of ink into the tray.

  Make sure there’s not too much: you only need enough to cover the roller in a thin, even way.

  Roll the ink out, using your roller. Keep rolling until the ink is evenly and thinly spread all over your roller.

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  5. Apply ink to the block

  Then, gently roll the ink onto the block using the ink-covered roller.

  Cover the block all the way to the edges, rolling the ink back and forth gently over the block.

  Add more ink if needed to get an even coat of ink. You’ll start to see where the ink is going to go once it’s printed.

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  6. Place the block onto the paper

  Carefully place the block in the centre of the page. Try not to move it once you’ve pressed it down.

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  7. Press the block down

  Take your greaseproof paper and lay it on top of the block and on top of the paper.

  Use a rolling pin to press the block down. You will need to press quite hard and make sure the pressure you apply is even. Get a grown up to help!

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  8. Peel off the paper to reveal your print

  Peel the paper off the block, ensuring you do so slowly, so it won’t smudge or wrinkle the print.

More ideas to try...

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  Make multiples!

  Add some more ink to your roller, as before, and ink the block up again.

  Make sure you cover it evenly, with enough ink. It will be harder to see where the ink is this time, as the block will still be coloured from your last print.

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  Try another design

  If you want to, have another go with a more abstract design.

  You can try and line up the design so if you do more than one on the same sheet of paper, it will connect into one big pattern.

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  Create multiples on the same piece of paper

  Get a sheet big enough to do two, three or four prints all in a row and line the edges up carefully.

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  Your patterned print

  If you line up the design in the same big print, you will get a result something like this! Your pattern can be as abstract as you like.

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  Try something new with colour

  Try printing a solid shape using a new piece of polystyrene, and use that as a background.

  Choosing two highly-contrasting colours will give the best effect.

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  Keep experimenting!

  You can keep experimenting with different coloured paper backgrounds, different coloured inks, and new designs. Each time you print using your block, you are creating a new artwork. You can use your block to print all sorts of things, like cards, wrapping paper or even on fabric!