Pink flowered Botanical Ink
I think these may be called Lesser Knotweed (if I have identified them correctly from this amazing website of Irish Wildflowers) I came across an abundance of them close to Lough Hyne in West Cork and decided to try and make a botanical ink out of them.
basic botanical INK RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
Dried flower petals
Water
METHOD
Pick the petals from the flowers
Leave to dry over a few days
Add boiling water
Leave to steep over 3 days
Strained mixture through a coffee filter
Leaving the plucked petals to dry over a few days
Once the petals have dried, place them in a clean glass container and add enough boiling water to cover them completely and leave to soak over several days.
Strain the liquid through a coffee filter to separate the liquid from the petals.
TOTAL FAILURE!!! Once I had separated the 'ink' from the petals it became apparent that there was little to no colour to this ink in spite of the fact that the liquid looked a promising vibrant pinky red colour. You can just about make out the marks on the paper to the left of the filtered liquid - they can't all work out I guess!