Stamp Carving week day 5

Today has escaped me so I decided to do a quick stamp that I can pair up with my punch. I punched out a stamp using the fiskar large postage  stamp punch. I then traced it and carved away.

 My intention is to be able to stamp some faux stamps.

Happy Friday! Thank you for joining me this week as I carved my way through. 

5 Things.... A Crafty Challenge

I few months ago I came across Karen Kavett's youtube video for Rejected Craft Supply Challenge, I thought that this was a great idea.  So, I recruited my friend Mel from A Mynah Production long for this artful ride. We decided to swap out 5-6 items and see what we could create with them. We can create one item or multiple items the main rule is just to use the items sent. This is a great way to pass along some art supplies from your stash...because lets face it... we're all hoarders! I'm sure I'm not the only one with boxes of things that "would make some great art!"  What better way to see it turned into art than by passing it along and challenging a friend to an "Art Off"

My 5 Things Challenge items:

I have some popsicle sticks, a couple of tins, dyed coffee filters, vintage playing cards, embroidery transfers and some tissue paper. I also included the card which is just perfect for this project. 

"Begin Anywhere" 

Please stay tuned as I come up with a plan for my goodies.  

Want to play along?  Find a friend or two and challenge them.

Stamp Carving week Day 4

I've done a few of the large erasers and thought that maybe I might give the regular eraser a go.

So, this time I drew onto my regular eraser.

Using my smaller blades I carved around my outline then worked on the inside detail. 

I inked and tested my stamp. 

I paired my stamp with yesterday's stamps to create a tag.  I stamped my image then added color. I then re stamped over the paint. 

It's  a cool small stamp that will be great for ATCs.

A close up of the tag background using my freebie images. If you haven't tried carving, these are great for beginners. 

Stamp Carving Week Day 3

Carving up a storm! On Tuesday during the Kraaft it Live show, I drew and carved this fun stamp. I used the speedball speedy cut for the first time and I have to admit, I'm not a fan. It was too soft for my preference. I also noticed that it crumbled a lot. Even now after I'm done with it, if I run my hand over the block,I get a grainy texture flake off. Other than that, I love my new stamp that will go great on a journal page.

On yesterday's blog, I offered some images to try carving. I decided to carve my flower ones. I've been wanting one of these layer stamps. I love how easy they make it to add color. I used CTMH inks ( pear, pixie, cotton candy and topiary)

I took my stamps and paired it up with yesterday's eraser stamp to create this sweet tag.

An finally a bonus:  I took a dollar store shaped eraser and carved on it. I was surprised that it was a bit harder to carve but once I got my pressure correctly, I managed to create an animal face. Stay tuned because I have a plan for this cutie. 

Stamp Carving Week. Day 2

I came across a mixed media piece that I just fell in love with on Pinterest. So I decided to use it as my stamp inspiration for today. Live Stamp Carving TODAY!!!  (1pm central) @ the Kraaft Shaak

I used a large eraser as my carving block.  I drew directly onto my eraser with a sharpie.  I darkened my final lines when I was happy with my image.

Carving an eraser is easy however, the texture is a bit different than stamp carving blocks such as speedy carve. I've noticed that it's a bit crumbly, when making small cuts or short strokes it sometimes falls apart. So I find myself having a hard time cleaning up smaller areas.

My stamp and test. I really love this style of faceless stamps. I can now stamp on an art journal or use it on book text pages. I hope I've done my Pinsperation justice. 

Want to give stamp carving a try? Here are some original art freebies you can use to carve up some fun stamps. Enjoy!

Stamp Carving Week Day 1

I love stamps! There is just something about being able to take an image you like and placing it anywhere you want.   I guess it's very similar to when we first discover writing; we have this innate urge to write everywhere.  Stamps just takes things to the next level. You can leave your mark with an image you love or you've created.  I enjoy stamps and stamp carving so much that I will be doing it LIVE tomorrow 1 central at KraaftShaak.com join us. 

When I first started carving, I wasn't sure if it was going to be something I would enjoy. So, I went to my local Hobby Lobby and picked up a basic carving tools set for $6 and some erasers at my local Dollar Tree. I practiced on the small erasers until I felt I was ready for the "fancy" Speedball Speedy Carve. 

The giant erasers make a great carving base. I like to draw directly onto my easer when I don't have to worry about the orientation of my image. Since the giant erasers have some words on it, a white or silver marker might work better to help you see your image on those areas. I didn't have a huge problem with this. It just took a bit of focus. 

I carved around my image and cleaned it up as much as I felt comfortable with. Since it's a hand carved stamp, I'm ok with it not being a clean image when stamped. I think the missed lines give it character. The erasers are very easy to carve, it's very soft so it doesn't take a lot of effort or pressure to get your lines carved. 

I created a tag to test out my stamp. It's a great way to see how it will look. 

The great thing about the giant erasers is that they are thick. This means you can get a stamp on both sides. So I flipped it over and created a second stamp on the same eraser.

I tested my stamp out by stamping it onto some textbook page. I then added it onto my tag.  I love this look. It's perfect for this stamp.

My tags side by side. I love that with $1 I can get two unique large stamps. 

I will be devoting all week to stamps. So, grab some erasers and join us Live tomorrow!  I will also have some original line images that you can use to carve tomorrow. 

My Style Stamps pocket page kit

I created a fun card using the pocket page kit from my style stamps. 

The pocket kit I'm using has a camping rustic theme. So I used the paper assortment to create a card. I cut out one of the cards that had a flower bouquet. I then layered two of the smaller cards to create my background. I tied some twine around my jar and added a sentiment on a wood piece of paper. Everything was taped down rith foam tape for dimension. I love how the card came together. The pocket page kits aren't just for scrapbooking! 

My Style Stamps pocket page kit

I was given the opportunity to play around with one of the pocket page kits that My Style Stamps sells. It's a great mix of items for $10.

I've dabbled in scrapbooking but, like many I got overwhelmed with the materials and actually printing pictures. I have boxes of pictures that I've told myself "someday I'll scrapbook them." So, when pocket scrapbooking became a thing I thought this would be a great way to start things off again. 

 For this layout I used a pocket protector from Colorbox. I liked that it has different size openings. i used Pacifica Ink from CTMH to add some blue to my base page. I used some green dot washi tape to tie the pages together.

Close up of focal layout. 

Over all I'm happy with the layout. I left room for lots of journaling both in the top tag and on the white space by the picture.