Stamp, Stamp, Stamp!

I have finally finished my big embroidery piece, and I hope to be able to take some photos in the next couple of days. I'm really excited about this one, so I'm eager to post it.

I've also started to use my new stamp carving tools, but I haven't gotten very far thanks to a jumpy, bumpy toddler and a busier-than-usual schedule. Before I started with the new tools, I did get in some more practice on pink erasers with varying results.

The first one was still very crude.


I was winging it, just using an X-Acto and basically slicing away rubber where I didn't want it to print. I had no clue as to technique and wasn't sure how to achieve the carved look that I so admire. (That's half the beauty of the stamps, I think.) Despite all that, I still found it quite satisfying to have that lovely, stampy look when I was done.

Then I read some more tutorials, especially one with info geared toward using an X-Acto. That's when the lightbulb flashed on. I'm not sure I can explain it all that well, but I realized that all I needed to do was use the X-Acto to cut out the same sort of shape that a carving tool would, which would take two cuts as opposed to one. Aha!

My first try was pretty clumsy. I hate how crumbly it is, and I accidentally sliced the rubber in some places I didn't mean to.


Then I started to get the hang of it.



The tree is my favorite, and oh, do I ever have plans for more. I'm eyeing up several good doodles in my sketchbook. So far I have no real use for the stamps, as I am not really much of a stamper, but that doesn't seem to matter. I can't help myself!



P.S. Head over to Ravenhill for an awesome double giveaway! Her projects are always beautiful, and she's been featured in one of my favorite magazines!