A second attempt at stamps for my sister’s save-the-dates…(hmm. I’m sensing a theme…). Anyways, the first save-the-date stamp was not as sucessful as I had hoped. I had trouble with both the stamp itself and the ink. Well, after searching for about a week I finally found some ink that I could use. It is a full pad, instead of the tiny one I had before, with actual ink, instead of some chalk stuff, and it is the right color. Yay!!
I also found my craft knife (also after about a week of searching), so I attempted to cut the stamp a second time. I definately think this stamp turned out better than the first. I was very careful to avoid having pin holes around the image by cutting a little wider than before. There are definately less rough edges, though there are still a few.
On the one hand I sort of like the rough edges because it doesn’t look too perfect. On the other hand, I am not sure I want to keep them because it doesn’t look perfect enough. I think there is a fine line here, and I’m not sure which side of it I am on. What do you think? Do the rough edges add character, or does it just look messy??
I’ve some blockprinting in the past (mostly on fabric with small stamps), and I think this is a pretty good attempt. The design is really cute, but I was wondering where you found the full sized stamp pad? I’m wanting to start printing again, and I’d like to do some larger images.
actually, the stamp pad that I used is just a regular old stamp pad… I think it measures something like 2″x4″. I found it at Michaels. When I need to ink a larger stamp, I usually hold the stamp pad and press that onto the stamp instead of holding the stamp and pressing that onto the ink pad. It seems to work pretty well, but you do have to work rather quickly because the ink will dry. I have also used an ink roller and liquid ink (both of which I have found at Hobby Lobby…in store…and at Dick Blick…online). I do like to do it this way, but it definately takes practice to get the hang of it. If you are interested in getting into printing again, I would recommend checking out the book “Printing by Hand” by Lena Corwin. This is the book I used to get started, and it is really really good. She describes all forms of printing, from block prints to stenciling to screen prints. She also goes through all the different types of ink and what works best with verious projects. Good luck with your printing!!
Thanks! I will definitely check that book out. I’ve used a roller and ink before (and I’ve also screen-printed), but it’s a little too expensive for me to get into right now… I have a lot of projects on my list!!
Emily