Here's another card made with one of my hand carved stamps. I used the same ink, and similar papers as other cards made using other hand carved stamps. I like the country look to the projects I've made with the stamps.
I think this card needs a little something, though. Maybe a little greeting tag tucked under the button... I like how the stamps don't necessarily stamp perfectly every time. I think it adds to the charm and "handmade" quality. Oh what fun I'm having!
I thought I would share another project I made using one of my hand carved stamps! For this stamp, I drew my design directly on the block (instead of on scrap paper and transferring it to the block) and carved it out. I used a white pigment ink by ColorBox called Frost White. While I love the look and coverage of this ink, it's quite a pain to have to heat set it. Pigment ink takes a lot longer to dry, so if you want to continue working away on your project, heat setting is highly suggested. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting your fingers, palms, workspace, other layers, and NOSE inky. Speaking from experience.
While I had the heat gun out, I decided I would actually emboss the sentiment to make it a bit more unique. Because the pigment ink is so sticky, I was able to stamp the sentiment in the same ink and then emboss it with clear detail embossing powder, which made it shiny! The sentiment is from my Friendly Expressions set, and reads "it's the little things you do that make all the difference".
I'm not much of a technique gal, so just having to dig out my heat gun is pushing the limits for me. Techniques usually require more space than I have available on my work table. For some reason, even though I have a 4' table, I always end up working in 12x12 inches of space, on a good day.
For more info on the tools used to make hand carved stamps, see this post.
Here's a project I put together using another one of my hand carved stamps. Something about these hand carved images begs for them to be stamped in a repeated pattern. This isn't something I find myself doing with other stamps, so it must just be these! *grin*
I carved the little bird, leaving the bottom portion of the block intact, so when the image is stamped, the bird has a little bit of ground to stand on. I'm really pleased with how the image stamps! I love the line the ground creates when stamped repeatedly like this.
The decorative band around the box slips on and off easily, allowing the box to be opened and the goodies inside to be used. When it comes time to put things away, the band goes back around the box, keeping everything inside nice and tidy.
I thought a set of carving blocks and blades would make a nice gift. The person this is going to likes things tidy, so I made a little cardstock divider for the inside of the box to keep the carving blocks on one side of the box and separate from the carving tool's side of the box (that pink handle is the carving tool). I think she'll love that part!
Here is the stamp -- the little speckles on the white part of the block around the bird are little flecks of brown ink that stuck to the block while I was cleaning it before I used it for this project. I got to looking at this photo, and those dots looked a bit like flecks of mold or something... not so. Just ink. They cleaned right off after I took this photo! I could have cut away all of the extra block around the bird, but I like how that part of the block provides kind of a handle for the stamp. And when I'm storing my stamps, they line up nice and neat, with all of the straight edges keeping things in place.
I'm going to be doing a lot more of these little hand carved gems. They're so fun, and so different from my usual stamps! If you give hand carving stamps a try, come back here and provide a link to your project in a comment! I'd love to see your fun creations!
I have the day off from work today as a holiday. I love days off! I had planned on sleeping in, but Mister Farley had other plans for me. He woke up EARLY and needed to go out. So, out we went. Half an hour later, as I was just getting back to sleep, Mister Farley's tummy contents decided it was time to evacuate.
Thank goodness I could get him to the bathroom floor before he up-chucked all over the bedroom floor. Gross... Thanks for the nice start to the day, Farley!
Since I was up, I decided to clear my mind and simply stamp. Or maybe it's stamp simply. I hand carved a few stamps a week or so ago, and this little house next to an apple tree is one of the stamps I carved. I like the rough quality of images stamped with hand carved stamps. They're primitive...
I'm sure I was channeling the creative genius of Heather while I made this card. I can't use white ink and kraft paper without thinking of Heather and her delightful creations.
If you've ever carved your own stamps, you know how challenging and fun it can be! And, if you've never carved before -- well, I can tell you it's CHALLENGING and fun. *grin*
I recommend using Staedtler Mastercarve carving blocks. You can get them in all kinds of sizes, and they really do carve beautifully! I ordered mine from DickBlick. I also recommend using carving tool and blades -- you will want to have sharp blades. I use the smallest blades most of the time, saving the larger blades for larger areas/blocks. I've tried a few different kinds of stamping inks with the carved stamps and while most inks work ok, I like the look of heavier pigment or chalk inks the best.
Happy Friday!
