Monday, March 31, 2008

Trying To Cut It Out


All month, I've been making foam stamps for the GPP Street Team crusade, so I thought I'd finally try rubber stamp carving. I love making inchies, so I decided to try carving a couple on-inch stamps to use on those. The rubber carving material I bought crumbles very easily, so it was difficult to carve those tiny stamps, especially without the right tools. I used a wood-carving gouge, which wasn't delicate enough for those one-inch stamps. I managed to make three mini stamps: two flowers (back-to-back) and a face. Unfortunately, part of the nose broke off my face stamp when I inked it, so I trashed that one.


As you can see from the sample of my double-sided flower stamp, parts of those stamps have broken off the edges. I drew in the flower centers and leaves. Next time, I'm going to try carving a larger stamp! ;)

8 comments:

michelle ward said...

Bravo for trying to carve rubber in addition to your foam stamps. Carving small is hard at first isn't it? But these turned out great - I like that the edges aren't all there, very artsy. Thanks for sharing with the team!

Anonymous said...

I think these turned out wonderful and I too like that they aren't perfect. Makes them unique :)

Anonymous said...

I think the stamps are great! They have that primitive, artsy one of a kind look.

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed that you were able to carve something so small. It's hard enough to see what you're doing on the larger rubber! These turned out great and I agree, the almost imperceptible rough edges give them great charm. Lovely!

kmuhlstadt said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a nice comment. I love your little flowers. The uneven edges look wonderful and yes it sure is harder to carve tiny little things.

I also really love the post right below with the painted papertowels...they look great!

Rosie said...

It's so addictive Kat! And Bravo to you for trying to carve inchies - never occurred to me to try that small! *claps*
I think the imperfections are cool... nothing I ever make is perfect, but I don't care. The process is the fun bit! Can't wait for my rubber n stuff to arrive - the lino is very hard work! ;-]

Liisa Mannery said...

Here's another person who likes (prefers, even) a slightly rough, folk-arty look. I think your little stamps are perfect just the way they are. I think it would be cool to carve an assortment of (really small!) centers and little leaves to use with them. Have fun.

girlgonethreadwild said...

look at you- my new hero!