Stamp-a-rama Studio: Hand-Carving Time!

The moment when a creative project clicks is magical! When the #The100DayProject circled around again this year, hand-carved stamps made perfect sense to create!

Hand-carving stamps has become part of my daily studio routine to embrace each day positively in this surreal upside world in the United States of America!

Sharing my creativity with you gives me purpose, joy, and hope. I’m sending a hug of thanks to all readers interested in being here to encourage my creativity!

Stamp Carving My Day Sixteen Design In The Studio

Stamp Carving My Day Sixteen Design In The Studio

Hand-carving stamps is an imperfect process and you need to embrace the unexpected. This design project is a great example of what can happen and using it as a learning moment before you move on to the next carved stamp block. I recommend the Versafine CLAIR pigment ink pads for colors and excellent stamp detailing. Drawing in eyeballs, after printing, if one happens to pop off your stamp by mistake, is just fine. I snuck one on my robot, which you may catch, at the end of this video.

Favorite Basic Hand-Carve Stamp Tools To Use

Here’s a short video to share the simple tools you need to start hand-carving stamps. Speedball makes a very affordable set that is easy to find. I want to thank Ali at 3dottedpenguins for sharing about the Tack’N Peel to create your own reusable acrylic blocks. This is a big help when printing!

Hand-carved stamps sample prints days one through eighteen

Day 11 and 12 are two stamp designs combined to make one motif

This design got cut off in my photo above, so I wanted to share something about the process I used. This is a great alternative to make larger images using the 1” X 2.5” white blocks; you can get two days completed at the same time.

Bear Levitated Over The Magical Breath Bridge

Sketchbook time is always a journey, especially when it involves cut up old paint palette pieces. The bear appeared almost naturally as I glued the pieces down. There were a number of color options to try for the head and this one won to balance out the composition. I had to add the rabbits as they felt comfortable sitting on the bridge posts. The name came from cut out random words put together from old used books. The bird nestled below the bear is a Clark’s Nutcracker, and we share a love of eating pine nuts!

Here’s a photo of my collection of random words cut out from old books.

It’s a very therapeutic activity cutting words out of old books that I find for a dollar or two at my favorite used bookstore. The aged smell as I snip from the paper, and faded handwritten names inside well-loved covers pull my imagination to create mini tales of the book owners of long ago.

Sometimes, I just put a few words together to help me figure out the spark of an idea for a new piece of artwork. Do any of these words spark ideas for you?

Morning Robin On The Top Railing

Robins hold a special place in my heart. Nine years ago, my dad passed away and he presents himself in the form of a robin when he visits me. I think about him every day. He was a brilliant attorney and I wish his words of wisdom about the state of our nation could be shared with me. At the same time, I’m glad he is not alive to see what’s happening.

This visit was unusual as Robins rarely stop by on this top railing, and it was 10 minutes long. Reassurance and love hugged my heart, which I especially needed that day.

Find The Birds

I arrived early for an appointment and was sitting in the car looking out the window daydreaming. Movement in the nearby bushes caught my eye. It took a few seconds to focus before I realized the branches were filled with birds! Flashes of yellow identified these beauties as warblers and when I rolled my window down, their wonderful chirping came floating into the car like musical notes!

Nursery Outings For Colorful Inspiration And Joy

Last year, our jewel of a local nursery, City People’s Garden Store, was forced to close so they could tear it down to build luxury condos. It was very sad as it had been in the neighborhood for seven decades! We now drive about half an hour to this local gem, Swanson’s Nursery. Being amongst the colorful blooms and striking greenery was an uplifting and inspiring outing. I’ll share about their unique restaurant in another newsletter.

A New Feline Friend

While walking a few days ago, a friendly meow called my eyes upward to the top of a six foot fence. A purr greeted my ears and a forward tipped head asked to be scratched. How could I resist?! It was a lovely interlude on my walk and I hope to see this beauty again. Petting a purring cat is a truly calming experience.

Thanks for bee-ing here!

The next newsletter will have a stop motion and maybe an animation too. I will be sending out a couple short posts in the meantime, to keep you updated on my 100 day hand-carved stamp project.

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