Carve your own stamps!

Have you ever carved your own stamps? I’ve been wanting to ever since I had a tutorial with Kathleen McTee when the Renegade Craft Fair came to Austin. I finally got to try it, yay!  I made a little kitty and a bow for a color swap that I am in, hosted by the lovely Nicole over at Adventures in Love & Happiness. My swap buddy is Courtney and she just got two super sweet new kitties, a girl named Nico and boy named Oliver.  They are so cute!  Courtney, if you are reading this, close your eyes :)

carving

It was so easy to carve the stamps. I used a Speedball tool that’s been hanging out for years in my studio, just begging to be picked up and played with, an xacto knife, and a master carve block by Staedtler.  As it says on the package — “cuts like butter”. It almost cuts too easily — the first time I tried it, the kitty lost an eye. Doh!

The second try went off without a hitch, whew. Then I made a simple little box for the stamps to live in.

box-set

I got the idea from this Japanese book, it has so many cute stamps that I can’t wait to carve!

book-cubbies

I especially want to try these..

want-to-make

If you’ve ever tried carving your own stamps I’d love to hear any tips and tricks that you have. Oh and! I found a great tutorial that gave me a little refresher. Thanks Carolyn!

Happy stamping,

14 Replies to “Carve your own stamps!”

  1. I have always wanted to carve my own stamps, too!  I even bought all the supplies to make them, I’ve just never unwrapped them. But I HAVE them. ;/  Thanks for the nudge!

  2. i have a bunch of stamps that i use for my packages and i’ve always wanted to carve my own, but the process looks intimidating.  i love these cuties you made. :D :D :D

  3. so much to try, so little time.  I have been wanting to do this forever! thanks for the reminder.  Your stamps are adorable.

  4. It looks like fun! But, I wouldn’t know where to start! Thanks for the links :)

  5. So cute…i have had the stuff to do this for a while…just need to be brave and try it!!  Your Kitty and Bow are so cute!

  6. This is sooo fun!  You are just beyond creative!

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  8. Oh that is darling, you have to have pretty steady hands for that, WOW!  I think I’d be afraid to carve my own stamp but looks really fun!

  9. Lisa, that looks like sooo much fun! Here is a good tutorial that I bookmarked but haven’t tried: http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/search/label/handcarvedstampstutorial
     
    :)

  10. your kitty and bow is sooooooo cute, Lisa! i can’t believe how small they are! you are amazing! i have carved a few stamps using the same tool (not sure the rubber thing-y is the same), but one thing i found out is that everything shows up!! little chips you got in the lines and things like that. my doodles are simple and are bigger than yours so they weren’t too difficult to carve. still think you are amazing to carve things that small! here is a card that i made using my “Elesaur” hand carved stamp if you are interested:
    http://aliceslittlewonderland.blogspot.com/2010/06/capture-moments-little-forest-friends.html

  11. Love to try my own stamps!  I remember using one of those xacto knives (or something similar) in an art lesson in school aged about 13.   I cut my finger,  promptly fainted and was sick over the teacher!  So embarrassing!! I’ll be more careful next time ;o)
    Such a cute kitty design Lisa!

  12. I keep hoping things will slow down, but nope!  They don’t!  I haven’t had time to pop in and see what you’ve been up to in so long–I should finish my housecleaning, but visiting you seemed like more fun. ;)  And, my oh my, you’ve been busy, too! :)  Lovely cards, vintage pillow cases, stamp carving! *hugs*

  13. Your stamps turned out so so cute … and the box is adorable too.

  14. That’s an adorable stamp set Lisa! Looking forward to seeing your macaroon and pancake stamps next. I’ve never tried to carve my own stamps but we used to have fun carving out potato stamps when we were kids!!

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