Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Carved Stamp Collection

Back in December, I share the results of my first foray into stamp carving.  I used Geninne Zlatkis's book Making an Impression:  Designing and Creating Artful Stamps to instruct me on the basic technique and to provide my first few designs.  Then I branched out to some designs from other books, as well as some freehand efforts.

I've picked up my lino cutter and some Speedball Speedy Cut carving block several times over the past few months, and I want to take you through a little "Gallery Walk" of the carved stamps I've added to my collection.
You can see the carved stamp at the top, and the rubber stamp impression using black Staz On ink on card stock on the bottom.  I love the little cupcake.  At first I was going to carve out all the marks on it, but then thought it looked like sprinkled frosting, so I kept them!  And I saw the idea for the rain cloud with different facial expression online.  I've only carved the happy face option, so far.  The two letter stamps in the middle are perfect for mail art, of course!
To create a hand stamp, I printed an image from the internet, reduced its size on my printer, and used the smaller size as my template.  I think it looks like a hand waving "hello," so it's fun for mail art, too.
I have really fallen in love with carving silhouettes.  So far, I have used images that I have printed from the internet.  Usually I shrink them to a more "rubber stamp-appropriate" size.  I think they look so amazing!
I used an actual tag (shown on the left) to create the tag stamp shown here.
And here, I used actual objects--two tags and a mini-clipboard--to design these simple but useful stamps.
I was super-excited to use an old-fashioned Dennison label (my favorite!) to create the stamp on the left.  The red Staz On ink makes all the difference to the effect!  And the "hello" stamp is my first word, and I was really pleased with how it came out.  (Geninne's technique makes word stamps really easy to create--no need to write backwards on your rubber!)
I wasn't so excited about how my handwritten name stamp came out, but it was a first try!
I was kind of proud of the "houses on a hill" stamp, above, because I completely designed and drew the image myself--no relying on internet images!  And it's kind of cute.  The butterfly was made from an image off the internet.
I was going to cut away the background so this was just a hand with a heart inside, but I kind of like how the background looks along with it.  I can always carve it away later if I change my mind!
I carved this stamp to look like the journaling lines that Traci Bunkers uses in her book, The Art Journal Workshop.  I think these could use a little work, too, but they could work on a certain style page.
I made these three little houses using the design I found on A Beautiful Mess.  Then I created a little house with an interchangeable roof.  I think it needs some work (I was just using up my scraps to create the roof options), but I love the idea!
I think that about covers the stamps I've carved so far.  You can see some postcards I created with my hand carved stamps in an earlier blog post.

And you can check out my ever-growing bank of ideas for stamp carving designs on my Pinterest board.  I have loaded up on Speedy Carve blocks, so there will be plenty more hand-carved stamps in my collection soon!

22 comments:

Ashley Calder said...

Super cute!! Love the houses, houses on the hill, and the little envies! Great job! Stamp carving is addictive. :)

Anne said...

I think your silhouettes are amazing! But there are the houses, and I love the little feet, and the cloud is really cute. Had no idea you had carved that many. Great job!

iHanna said...

LOVE all of them! Specially the hand ones, they are so cool! Every time I see new carved stamps I think I should get my own stuff out but not tonight, it's too late. Again! :-)

Beverley Baird said...

Your stamos are all gorgeous! I must get bacvk to it - there is something soothing about creating your own.

Naomi said...

I love the house on the hill and the other houses too, and the silhouettes are awesome! I'm so impressed you did this. I think I would most definitely hurt myself. :)

Bad Jones Rising said...

So, I am always reading whether you know it or not. I usually don't comment unless I just am too overwhelmed with excitement and just have to say something! This is one of those times.

LOVE these little stamps. I make stamps all the time. Out of all kinds of weird things too. It reminds me to write a post about all the strange things that make good stamps. Anyways, I love all your little ones, and they look so nice all together. They will do wonders for your artwork. Making art for others with your own special materials//tools makes it all worthwhile.

I love the background on the hand with the heart in the middle. Keep it! Also, the houses are my favorite.

Patty said...

You create neat things Andria. I always enjoy seeing what you do. I wouldn't have thought to make stamps. They are really cool!

uncustomary said...

Ahh yours are so much better than mine turned out. Also, I LOVE that clipboard one!

Janet said...

You've made some really cute stamps. I love the hand and the houses...and of course the cupcake!

Karen Isaacson said...

oh my gosh, where to begin??? I love that Denison label, and that round tag with the ring. and I agree, that I like the hand with the background. wonderful work!

Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.com said...

Love the mail-art stamps -- the Dennison stamp and the letters....really fun to see them. You have been busy. I just got a set of carving tools at Diaso for $1.50 so i may join you in carving....

scrapwordsmom said...

Ok Andria!! I recognize the cute little Hello stamp:) And those house stamps????? Oh my heck...LOVE those!! You are sooo artsy and clever. As always love your work and all the things you do. How much time do you spend in your studio a week?? I admire that you have two little girls and still make time for your art. That is hard to do!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Joyfulploys said...

wow! you made a lot of stamps!!! Love all of them!!!
Mary

Joyfulploys said...

I had to come back and tell you that I ordered that stamp carving book by Geninne...and it's all your fault...lol
Have a good weekend!
Mary

Dianne said...

Really terrific hand-carved stamps! they are all great, and having tried making my own I know it's not as easy as it seems. wow!

Parabolic Muse said...

Andria, these are so wonderful. I used to think silhouettes were too old fashioned for me, but I have been appreciating them more and more, and you've done them justice.

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Good one and I really like handwriting name stamp. This is useful for me. Thanks for sharing with us. We offers custom metal stamps. To order now visit website.