Blackberry ink and picking rules
Pick late summer blackberries, squash them into ink and write with a feather or a stick.
Before bottled ink, people wrote with what grew in the hedge. It still works.
What you need
- A handful of ripe blackberries
- A sieve and a small bowl
- A pinch of salt and a little vinegar
- A feather, twig or old paintbrush and thick paper
How to do it
- 1
Agree the picking rules first: only from a hedge you know, only above knee height, never near a road, and always with an adult.
- 2
Squash the berries through the sieve into the bowl.
- 3
Stir in a pinch of salt and a few drops of vinegar to keep the colour.
- 4
Dip a feather or sharpened twig and write your name.
- 5
Leave the paper to dry, then check the next day to see how the colour changed.
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