STAMP MAKING!

Since I am really enjoying the paper collage process, and want to do additional pieces, I needed more stamps to make the paper. Hand made stamps are really so much better than the commercial ones I think. Your own stamp creates paper that is truly made by you. The process is quite simple. Roy cut several blocks of wood in various sizes. I had several sheets of the black foam that is adhesive backed. I sanded the blocks and sprayed them on all surfaces with an acrylic to add a bit of protection to the raw wood. It is important to clean the stamps with water so this was necessary to preserve them. I drew the stamp design on the back side (where the white paper is) and then cut the design out with tiny scissors. Remove the sticky paper and put the design pieces in the wood block. As an added bonus, you will end up with uniquely shaped scraps that you can attach to another stamp block for an additional stamp design. I played around with the first two stamps on a piece of deli paper and really like the results.

I stamped an image on the deli paper, let it dry, cut it out, and using Mod Podge, adhered it to the top of the block. this way I know what the stamp looks like and which part of the design is at the top.

Here are the five finished stamps, ready to create paper! Go make some stamps. It is easy, it is fun, and no one in the entire world will have stamps like yours!