self made rubber stamps

for some reason i've been really "attracted" to rubber stamps lately ... actually since i started using them on my clay. and now i've started using them on paper as well (weird i know ... that's what they're actually made for right, paper). as usual, i've been googling rubber stamps and seen numerous tutorials on how to carve one on a soft carving block ... so i decided to try it out for myself of course :))

however, i haven't been able to find the same sort of carving blocks here, but i did find an alternative that i can carve on. linoleum sheets. apparently these are some sort of flooring, but since i found mine in the art shop ... i guess they're for art too ;p

the materials i use are :

- 4" x 6" linoleum sheets (soft)
- basic wood carving tools
- non-permanent ink pens
- lots of patience (and practice)

1. prepare linoleum sheet













2. and basic wood carving tools (i'll call them cutters for short)

(no. 1) - V shape cutter ... very good for carving slim lines and outlines

(no. 2) - large U shape ... to "scoop" up larger surfaces

(no. 3) - small U shape ... to carve thicker lines, or "scooping" surfaces that are too small for the large U


3. make your design with a non-permanent ink pen so that you can wash off the residual markings after carving











4. i began carving with the V shape cutter.
*apply some pressure onto the sheet to prevent the cutter from skidding off and creating lines that are not meant to be there :)

i decided to start the easier way by making this a "negative" stamp (the butterfly will look "engraved" on the paper) by carving ON the outline itself

*to make a "positive" stamp (design that looks "embossed" on the paper) you have to carve AROUND or OUTSIDE the lines.

5. as you can see, the U shape cutters are very good for "scooping up" the thicker edge of the leaf motif

* i START carving the wide edge of the leaf motif with the U cutter ...








* and then i change the cutter to the V cutter to finished the leaf motif off, creating a clean pointed end












this is the finished butterfly stamp, with the residual purple ink washed off.

*note that the design and outlines are the actual "carved" places and this becomes what they call a "negative" stamp (see the next image)

butterfly design

tree design

*negative stamps ... where the motif comes out looking engraved.

heart design

this one started off as a negative stamp, but i decided to remove linoleum all round the heart so now it's "sort of" a positive stamp :) also, can you see the residual markings on the linoleum? that's what happens when you use a permanent ink pen to draw your design :(

elven design

this one is how a proper positive stamp would look like. i have carved all AROUND the motif so that the motif becomes the focus. most rubber stamps that you find in the market are made in this manner.

happy pimping! :)