stamptastic monday!

among the numerous things we have to thank MLK for, a day off from school is one of them. which means a day off of work for me! so today i decided to tackle some stamp making. with this whole business kick-off thing, i thought it would be nice to make tags for my items with a personal touch. since stamps (plus any ink you need) can get pretty pricey...i thought i would just fall back on an old high school project...print making.

if you have ever worked with lino cutting tools and carving blocks, then you know it can be pretty therapeutic once you get in the rhythm. if not, well...that's why i am writing about it :)

you can find the lino cutting tools at your local craft store. they are hardly ever on sale so they happen to be a good candidate for those 40% off non-sale item coupons you hang on to! the carving blocks will be right with them...and you usually find this stuff in the more professional artist side of the store, near all the paint and canvases. the term carving block can be a little bit of a misnomer because what i used was less of a block and more of a...4x6 flattened our eraser like so. 

the packaging gives you tips on how to transfer your image onto the block. in my case, i just drew with a ballpoint pen because i am impatient. so there's always that. 

if your image is small, you can always just use an eraser. but...if you plan on making multiple stamps, it would be more cost-effective to get the block and just cut it up. 

after you draw your design, you may want to color in the space you want to cut away, so that you don't remove the wrong parts. be mindful of the positive/negative space! the tool can be pretty sharp...so i recommend you cut away from your body and away from your opposite hand if you use it to steady the block. or, if you're cocky and believe yourself to be invincible (don't we all?), then cut in whichever willy nilly direction you choose.

my plan was to remove the space around the cloud, as well as give him some eyes and a smile, so that my cloud would be mostly whatever color i stamped. it's funny how plans change...

after removing what i thought was all the space i wanted...my cloud looked a little creepy. i'm not sure if it was his eyes, or his crooked grin...but the combination (plus my wack cutting skillz) made him look a little dastardly. so i removed his face and all his insides and just left him an outline, empty and alone. 

test out your stamp! you'll probably find some areas you thought would be below the ink line, but clearly arent. like i did. so using your print as a guide, just cut those areas away. re-test until you're happy.

and voila! a custom-made stamp that no one else has :)