Card idea c/o Apartment Therapy
Yes, it's that time of year again and if you are not already on top of your Christmas cards here's a great idea to help you on your way.
Card ideas c/o Penny Black
I love the idea of homemade cards. By going that extra mile shows recipients that you care and your card's uniqueness will leave a lasting impression. Plus there is something seriously satisfying about working with crisp clean paper... This year I think I'll go with this stamp option: it's not as time consuming as some of the designs I've created in previous years yet the results are just as impressive.
Card idea c/o Penny Black
FYI - the pictures included here are ideas I came across online - to provide a little inspiration! But the origin comes from a post on fave blog Apartment Therapy which can be tailor-made for Christmas.
For this project you will need:
Stamp block
Tracing paper for tracing images
A carving tool
A sharp hobby knife (any flat-blade knife)
Block printing ink or a stamp pad
A work surface such as a kitchen table, a pencil, good lighting and a bit of creativity!
This is how to do it:
Use a pencil to draw your design on paper or trace it onto tracing paper. Make sure your lines are clean and dark - the finished stamp will never look better than your tracing or drawing.
Use a hobby knife to cut off a piece of block from your slab; cut it about ¼-inch wider than your image.
To transfer your design to that piece of block, centre your drawing or tracing face-down on it, hold the paper securely in place with one hand and transfer it by rubbing the back of the design with the back of your fingernails or the blunt part of a pencil. When you lift away the paper, your drawing will be in place on the block.
NB Laser printed imaged can be ironed onto your block at a low temp!
To cut the stamp out, use the finest-edged carving tool to slowly and carefully carve away all of the excess of your stamp block. Only the portions with pencil marks should remain. Leave enough of a margin to maintain stability around and between protrusions. Carve down (lower) any areas of block you don't want as part of your image.
Keep in mind that whatever portion of the block you carve away becomes unprinted white space in the final stamped image; whatever portion of the block remains - the raised portion - is what prints in ink.
Then, using a hobby knife, roughly cut out the shape of the image. This will enable you to see its approximate shape from the back side for positioning when stamping. This is easiest when you pick up the stamp and cut straight through the block from the outside edge, like you were peeling an apple.
Finally, you're ready to stamp! Press your stamp firmly into the ink pad, line it up above the blank card and press firmly down on all edges. And voila! You're on your way.
Card ideas c/o Decor8 and the style files
HELPFUL HINTS!
To see your carving process better, ink the surface of the block with a dye-based ink pad - brown or dark blue inks work best. You will see contrast between the surface left behind and the portions carved away. (Don't worry, your pencilled design will be visible through the ink).
If your carvings are not clean and well-defined, try the following: Freeze the block prior to carving or run an ice cube over the area to be carved. This hardens the block slightly, so that there's less "give" when you run your carving tool through it. This is especially useful when your stamp has fine lines of raised rubber, which tend to bend away from your carving tool when you try to trim them further. It's also useful when trying to clean up any rough edges.
Card idea c/o the style files
Simple, solid images are good practice. You'll also get better at seeing how a stroke here and a nick there can add texture, shading or decoration to your solid images.
If you are still feeling a bit daunted, check out this really helpful 10 minute video from Gennine's Art blog which shows the whole carving process from start to finish.
Of course, you could also just buy a stamp with a suitably festive theme and take your creative process from there!
Credit: Apartment Therapy
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