Here is a tiny harvest mouse reaching out - perhaps for a ripe blackberry or maybe curious about the Soloman's Seal flowers arching overhead.

I used cherry ink on the feet, tail, hands and nose of the mouse.

I used Juniper Berry ink on his body, with Paprika ink on the sandy soil the mouse is standing on and I think it was various Red Cabbage inks on the leaves. I did not add vinegar and salt to every ink as I wanted the option of altering the inks' original colours using acids or bases. I'm afraid I made these inks before seeing your instructions. But I've now ordered some Red Yeast Rice powder that you demonstrated, I am very much looking forward to trying that as reds are hard to come by.

All my red flowers like coreopsis just give me blues.

Very nicely explained method apart from my doubts about using vinegar and salt as a mordant. I prefer alum.

And very glad to now know that Alkanet needs oil. I tried water (and got a brown) tried alcohol and only got a very faint red, pink really. So I'll go find my linseed oil and try that. Thanks.

Do you have a video on alkanet in oil?

I'd love to see that!

Fran Baker