Stamp-a-licious

I have a new [sort of] obsession: making stamps!

I’ve wanted to try this particular art form for some time now and upon discovering this lovely blog the other day, I wanted to try it. NOW.

Due to unexpected circumstances yesterday, I found myself with a huge chunk of time to waste so I went to SM North to look for supplies for making stamps. As I said, I’ve wanted to try it for some time so I’ve already researched on materials. I couldn’t find Linoleum blocks for making linocut prints (I don’t even know what they look like) so I settled on getting a sheet of rubber sole from Deovir whose website says that it’s a good alternative to linoleum.

Here’s my loot:

• Upper left: Lino cutter with interchangeable nibs. PhP224 from Deovir. They’re basically like woodcarving tools, I guess. I don’t know if I could use this for wood, though.
• Lower left: My first ever X-Acto knife! ❤ I’ve always wanted one of these. PhP114 from Deovir. I also bought replacement blades, PhP 68 for 5 pieces
• Right: Various erasers from National bookstore. I wanted to try which one was best for carving stamps out of.
• Background: Rubber sole, 9″x12″ sheet. PhP 98 from Deovir. It smells like rubber. *BLECH*

I finished the buying part quickly so for the rest of the time I was supposed to burn, I used it up by going around the mall looking for design inspiration and drawing my ideas over a late lunch (and buying a new swimsuit. Haha).

When I got home, I started working on my first ever hand-carved stamp. I tried the rubber sole first, but it was tough to cut and I had trouble controlling the lino cutter. Either because it’s my first time, or it’s really not that easy to work with. After some practice cuts, I gave up on the rubber and picked up one eraser. Here’s the result!

I used poster paint because I didn’t have a stamp pad. It’s fine, as long as I don’t put on too much paint. Plus, I could mix any color I wanted. The eraser I used was the Faber-Castell Natural Rubber Eraser, PhP19.75 for two 1″x1.5″ sized pieces. IT’S SO SOFT AND EASY TO CUT. I love it!

For my second stamp, I used the flip side of the same eraser. HAHA yes, I’m stingy like that.

I found our really really really (really!) old stamp pad in the office supplies drawer. It’s amazing that it hasn’t dried out yet. I’ll use it for testing my future stamps 🙂

So, what do you think? I want to make more, and I’ll try the other erasers for comparison. I’ll blog about it when I do 🙂

Advertisement