a guide to: make stamps!

I first drew the design I liked on the eraser. I went for a little rainbow. It’s a really simple shape, but the carving out a figure does take some practice. I suggest making a simpler design first, one that doesn’t take too much carving. These are also the ones that look better as a pattern in my opinion!

Then, carefully, carve the eraser. You have to carve what you don’t want to see on the paper. For example: I carved around the three bows so these would show in the final stamp on paper, and I wanted the rest of the square not to be visible. You could also swap it and carve out the three bows, so you see the outlines of the rainbow but not the inside on the stamp.

If you did all that, you have your own stamp and are ready to dip it in ink and stamp it on everything. If you’re still not happy with the end result or some things are showing on the paper you don’t want to see, simply carve out those bits (or carve them out deeper) and try the stamp again. (All my ink was dried out, so that’s why the rainbow is a bit grainy…)