March 25, 2008

Crusade for Art

Here I am joyfully carving stamps and I find Michelle Ward's Art Crusade # 18 which is carving your own stamps! I love carving my own stamps! I am addicted to it! I can't wait till next month...stencils! I'm so happy she has this crusade I can join! There are others out there like me!
Freshly carved stamps. These will be used in my journals and art quilts. They work great with fabric paints

Here is how I transfer my designs: I draw or trace the design onto the back of a Post-it-Note with a 0.7mm #2 mechanical pencil. Then, I flip it over, sticky side down onto the rubber. Use a bone folder, edge of a ruler or whatever to rub the image (carefully) onto the rubber. Presto, your image is transferred. I use the pink and white carving material that comes in blocks. I also use the poly white erasers. Another hint, sometimes the material has a lot of loose, carved tiny bits that keep getting on your ink pad. I use cellophane tape to remove it. Just press it onto the newly carved stamp and it removes all those tiny bits.
Remember, I carved stamps and posted the fabric in this post? Fun!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Vivian! I love your stamps, especially the birds and the flower that you carved one half of... SO clever! And thanks for the tip on how to get those pesky little rubber bit off the newly carved stamps! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for leaving the very kind comment, I really appreciate it!

Jo Anne O. said...

Vivian! LOVE your birds and the fish rocks too!

Can I ask you something? Since you have been carving a while, what do you find is your favorite brand of rubber to use? I am a new carver and want to get it right from the get go! Oh yeah, thanks for leaving a nice comment on my first posting in Michelles Crusade...did you see my second post?

Anonymous said...

Hi Vivian, WOW what a great stamps!! The birds are amazing and the strawberry is likely to bite in! Thanx or sharing,
Hedwig

Anonymous said...

Hi Vivian, WOW what a great stamps!! The birds are amazing and the strawberry is likely to bite in! Thanx or sharing,
Hedwig

Kat W said...

You made so many stamps, and they're all so wonderful! I especially like the birds and the two small background stamps! :)

Dawn said...

I love your stamps! The birds and fish especially, but the half flower is great too. What a neat way to get a bigger design from an eraser.

Anonymous said...

Vivian.....Wow! These are fantastic. Love all of them especially all the leaves. And of course the birds are fabulous :)

Anonymous said...

What a clever idea about the tape. This is what is great about the online world - all these little tips and tricks. I like the scalloped circles pattern - it would bu fun on fabric - maybe even BIG!

Maj said...

Those birds are just incredible! And I see, that I am not alone in cutting the work (i.e. the stamp) in half - to save some work - or in my case, some rubber, I didn't have it any bigger! ;)

michelle ward said...

Vivian - you crack me up, "there are others like me". You found the right place girl, we are crazy for carving and are so glad you came to play with us so we can spaz with you over your terrific images. Thanks for your tips, especially the cleaning out bit - I run mine under water with a toothbrush, but the tape is much better!

Roberta said...

Lovely stamps, all of them! You've done a great job. I love the round leaves, the one you showed a post or two ago... do you mind if I "copy" this stamp? It makes such a wonderful background!!

Best regards,

The Tattered Rose said...

I love your carved stamps and all the bright, perky projects going on here! I don't need another addiction, but I may have to try the stamp carving. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Cheers, Trish G.

Ursula Clamer said...

These are really great images, you have done a wonderful job carving them. I think they will all look great stamped onto fabric...or anything for that matter.

Kim Tedrow said...

Love the stamps, I think the fish is my favorite. Thanks for the tip on cleaning the bits off the stamp, I'm going to use that! -Kim

Anonymous said...

What a great blog, love the stamps and will look out for the stensils you create. Thanks for the Link to Michelle.

x said...

Ohhh fab stamps...all so great...

Hugs
Nicole

Cindy said...

This is my first crusade, too. Isn't it fun? Lovely stamps. I love how they are all organic images.

carin.c said...

Great scotch tape tip, Vivian! Those bits were starting to bug me. Love all your stamps... you now have a great collection of birds.

Vivian said...

Thanks for all the nice comments on my blog! I do appreciate it. I am so enjoying this art crusade! Can't wait for the next one!

Anonymous said...

Vivian, you are so not the only one like you out there! I know exactly how that feels *grin* I love your bird and that fish...this really is an exhilerating challenge.

Judy Scott said...

I love the stamps the birds are fabulous and the strawberry too ~ Id love to try this out!