stamp making for fun, one oh one

This is most definitely "stamping 101" as I am of the inexperienced sort.  If fact, I haven't stamped or printed since college printmaking and not only am I not telling you how long that's been,  it was also an entirely different printmaking ballgame. This is a much easier, totally addictive way to play and use your imagination.

To begin, sketch a design onto paper using a pencil, or if you're comfy, sketch directly onto your block. Your design can be as simple as circles, blocks, or lines.  I drew a simple flower. 

If you've drawn your design onto paper, turn the paper face down over your carving block and rub over the design to transfer the image. I used this block for carving, but you can go as simple as carving into an everyday block eraser.

I initially dug out my old woodcarving tools (shown above) and they worked fairly well. But this little, all-in-one Speedball tool (shown below) was the bomb.

I used this type of ink and first tested the print on scrap paper.  Any areas which need to be more deeply carved will show up.

Using fabric ink allows for block printing on fabric. I've stamped here onto scrap linen.

tags

kraft paper

Yep - I'm seriously addicted now.