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.