Carve your own Rubber Stamps...HOW-TO

I've been sittin', waiting, wishing.....

What else can a fully-preggers momma do in the heat of the summer and no physical energy? Why not carve some stamps? I took some printmaking classes during my time at Purdue, and have been dying to try these handmade rubber stamps. Want to try it too? Here's some help:

You'll need:

- Mastercarve block

- blank scrap paper

- soft-lead pencil

- Speedball hand-carving tool with tips sizes #1 and #2

- stamp pad and/or markers

Start with a Mastercarve carving block in your size of choice. I found mine (approx. 1.5" square) at United Art and Education stores.

Trace the outline of your carving block onto a piece of paper, to give you an idea of how large your design can be. Using a soft-lead pencil, draw your stamp design within the outline.

When you've rubbed the back of the drawing on top of your carving block, it should transfer like this...(any words will now be in mirror image)

The next step takes some practice...Use your carving tool to outline the design and carve away the excess rubber.

Try stamping it a few times to see which areas need to be carved further...

Did you also know that you can color the stamp by hand with markers?What's the next step? Make some handmade cards or use fabric ink to hand-stamp some linen!

Enjoy!