It is an incredible feeling to create something on your own and it looks beautiful enough that everyone cannot help but admire it. And when you are making a stamp of your own, there will be undoubtedly a lot of crafty fun in your future. Stamps can spruce up everything from envelopes to wrapping papers and from any home décor item to even the pillowcases. A smack of the stamp and the thing is transformed into something really amazing. But we all know how expensive the stamps can be. So why buy when you can make them yourself? Because today we will tell you How To Make A Wooden Stamp With Your Own Art.
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Stamps come with pretty high price tags and the customized ones even more so. But you can’t deny their appeal either. By making these stamps on your own, you not just get to steer clear of those high price tags but also get the freedom to create your very own customized stamp. And making stamps of varying designs is definitely a winner!
How To Make A Wooden Stamp With Your Own Art
Before we plunge right into the process of making a wooden stamp, allow me to enlighten you about the other alternatives that you can go for before you start with the wooden ones.
Erasers
For smaller stamps with small designs, you can carve out an eraser and make use of it. They are very easy to carve and let’s not forget that they have no connection with the word ‘expensive.’ So for a beginner, practice your carving skills on the eraser.
Potato Stamps
Don’t be so shocked, the potato stamps are actually quite fun and yes, they do exist. Ask any kid if you doubt that! Well, though it is true that creating stamps from potato is mostly a children’s fun activity, adults too can make use of it in times of constrained budget. All you need is a touch of sophistication while you are cutting out the potato for your stamp.
Foam Stamps
If carving a potato sounds messy then you can opt for foam stamps. All you need is to make your desired shape on the foam, then cut it out and attach it to a block or a solid substance that will work as a holder.
Carving A Wooden Stamp
You will need a block of linoleum to carve out a stamp of your own artwork. And there is a reason why we provided you with a list of alternatives above. You see, the linoleum is quite hard and thus more difficult to carve as compared to other alternatives like rubber and foam. So it will be a great practice for you to begin with carving on rubber blocks. And if you don’t mind your artwork looking a bit not-so-perfect then you can even try carving on wooden branches. In this case, you can even bring in your kids and work together in creating wooden stamps.
Now that we are clear on what wood to use for making stamps, let us quickly have a look at these tools and essentials that you will need to make a stamp.
• Carving tool
• White paper
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Ruler
• Craft Knife
• Glue
• Stamp Pad
All the above tools are available in art stores and online sites. So you don’t need to worry about them, especially the carving tools.
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Step 1:
Take that white paper, grab your pencil and make a design or your artwork on it and then cut it out. Make sure you use a ruler to mark the approximate design definitions on the wooden block.
Step 2:
Now place this piece of paper containing your artwork on the block face down. Burnish the back of the design until it is transferred clearly on the wood. Or you can glue it to the block for reference to avoid any errors.
Step 3:
Once you are sure of your artwork looking clear enough on the wooden block, you will need to cut the outside of the transferred design. This way you can get rid of the part of the block that you do not need on your stamp.
Step 4:
Make use of the carving tool and make sure that you carve away all the empty space around the design of your stamp. For a cleaner and sharper end result, use the craft knife.
Step 5:
Now that you have a bounded region marked and carved out, you will need to focus on the inside of your artwork design. Use the blade from your cutting tool and carve out the inside design of the stamp.
Step 6:
If you think you have carved enough then stop for a bit and make a sample print. If the impression looks good enough then start making another one. And if there is an imprint not to your liking then get back to the carving until it gets better.
Tips To Ease You!
With these few stamps, you will be ready to make wooden stamps soon enough. For a beginner, I would suggest sticking to simple designs like geometric patterns to make it easier for you to carve. Another tip that I would like to give is that you should do the cutting at less than a 45-degree angle. Another suggestion is to rotate your wooden block while carving rather than moving your carving tool and always cut away from yourself.
Wooden Embellishments
It will be a while before you can make some really cool and clean stamps. So while you are practicing, you can take the help of old embellishments for making the stamps.
Go Crazy With Your Art
DIY concept is just to die for. In our case, it is to live for! Combine the craft and DIY together and you will get something so impressive like these DIY Craft Figures Made with Paper Wire.
Once you get the gist of carving out wooden blocks, you can create as many stamps as you can. From mesmerizing sun and moon to small birds or heart designs, you can make any kind of artwork for your stamp.
They might not be perfect in the beginning but with some time and practice, you will be making the wooden stamps like a pro. And then all you need to worry about is what design or shape you want on your stamp the next time.
