14 recipes for making writing and drawing ink from things you can find in a kitchen, garden, or fire pit. Old as the Magna Carta, simple as a candle.
The classic brown ink of medieval scribes — made from fallen walnut husks.
The ink of the Magna Carta and Bach's manuscripts.
A brilliant pink from a roadside weed — used in Civil War letters.
The oldest ink on earth — soot from a flame, the recipe of ancient China and Egypt.
Blackberries, blueberries, or elderberries straight from the freezer.
Two of the easiest, most accessible inks in any kitchen.
Sunshine in a jar — from a teaspoon of spice.
A magic ink that changes color with vinegar or baking soda.
Soak rusty nails in vinegar — instant iron mordant.
Three avocado pits give you a surprisingly elegant pink.
Save the papery skins from your kitchen scraps.
Grind a lump of charcoal from the fire pit.
Used for centuries in Persian and Indian manuscripts.
True blue — the hardest natural color to make.