Author: Linda Brennan

© 2000 Speedball Art Products Company

See Lino & Wood Cutting in our On-Line Store for purchasing details For some of you, your hand-carved stamp will be the first stamp you ever use.  Others of you have been using manufactured stamps for years.  But all of you, regardless of your artistic background or familiarity with stamping, will find it not only fun to carve your own stamps but addictive.

Tools and Materials

Speedy Stamp block:  Besides the obvious benefits of low cost and large size, it is smooth, easy to carve, and durable - a superior carving material!
Speedball wood handle and blades: This wood handle will fit all Speedball carving blades #1 - 6.  Insert the blades in the handle by simply pushing them straight into and around the wooden dowel at the top end of the handle.  Blades included in the kit are the #2 V-shaped and #4 U-shaped.
Tracing paper: For tracing images.
You will need: A sharp hobby knife (any flat-blade knife), Speedball Block printing Ink or a stamp pad, a work surface such as a kitchen table, a pencil and good lighting.

Choosing an Image

There's virtually no limit to the images you could use for your stamps - original drawings, tracing of drawings, paintings, photographs, transfers of newsprint cartoons or illustrations, and so on.

To start with, you'll probably want to carve solid images, such as one of the images included with the kit.

Keep in  mind that whatever portion of the Speedy Stamp block you carve away becomes unprinted white space in the final stamped image; whatever portion of the block remains - the raised portion - is what prints in ink.

Simple, solid images are good practice.  You'll also get better at seeing how a stroke here and a nick there can add texture, shading or decoration to your solid images.

Transferring an Image onto the Block is a Snap!

Use a pencil to draw your design on paper or trace it onto tracing paper.  Make sure your lines are clean and dark - the finished stamp will never look better than your tracing or drawing.
Use a hobby knife to cut off a piece of Speedy Stamp block from your large slab; cut it about ¼-inch wider than your drawn or traced image.  You can either cut through the block entirely, or score it (cut about halfway through) and bend the block back along the scored line to break off a piece.
To transfer your design to that piece of block, centre your drawing or tracing face-down on it, hold the paper securely in place with one hand and transfer it by rubbing the back of the design with the back of your fingernails.  When you lift away the paper, your drawing will be in place on the block.

Computer Printer Transfers
Using a freshly printed image, transfer ink-jet, printed clip-art and text as you would a pencil drawing (step 3).  Laser-printed images can be ironed on; start with a slightly warm iron. Newsprint Transfers
Transfer newsprint easily - just lay the block over the image and press down. Carving Tips
Below are a few hints to read before you start - and as you go along. How do I start carving?
Practice making cuts in an area of the Speedy Stamp block that will not be part of the design.  Hold the handle so that the V in the V-blade is upright.  carve, pushing the handle forward, away from yourself.  You will see the blade fill with small `strings' of the block as you carve.  carve in long, continuous lines as much as possible.  Apply even pressure.  It is not necessary to dig deeply into the block.
Warning! Speedballs blades are sharp.  use extreme caution when using and changing blades.

Hold your carving tool at an angle, as parallel to the block, so that you can make shallow, horizontal cuts.  If you hold the tool at too steep an angle, you'll end up gouging the block instead of `peeling' it.  Likewise, don't plough the block too deeply or you'll end up with ragged edges.  If you can't see the upper edges of your blade above the rubber, you are digging too deep.  If holding the handle horizontally is difficult you may also level your handle by simply pulling your arm toward your body until your wrist drops off the edge of your work surface.  this will automatically position your handle and blade more horizontally.
When following the curves of your design, it's easier to rotate the block than to twist the carving tool about.  Try placing a small piece of paper (about the same size as your image) between your image and your work surface to make rotating it easier.
Carve the perimeter of your stamp with your Speedball #2 V-tool, using light pressure for carving thin lines and heavy pressure for thicker lines.  Carve right up next to your pencilled line or shape.
Whenever possible, carve away from your image.  Use the blade's V-shape to your advantage; e.g. when carving a solid star image, place the V-tool at the inside corners, carving away from the centre, out beyond each point in the star.
To see your carving process better, ink the surface of the block with a dye-based ink pad - brown or dark blue inks work best.  You will see contrast between the surface left behind and the portions carved away.  (Don't worry, your pencilled design will be visible through the ink).
If your carvings are not clean and well-defined, try the following: Freeze the block prior to carving or run an ice cube over the area to be carved.  this hardens the block slightly, so that there's less "give" when you run your carving tool through it.  This is especially useful when your stamp has fine lines of raised rubber, which tend to bend away from your carving tool when you try to trim them further.  It's also useful when trying to clean up any rough edges and the like. Make sure your tools are sharp.
Cutting out the stamp: Use a hobby knife to cut out the stamp roughly in the shape of the image; this will enable you to see its approximate shape from the back side for positioning when stamping.  Cutting out the stamp is easiest when you pick up the stamp.  Cut straight through the block from the outside edge.  In the same fashion one would peel an apple, cut toward your thumb while turning your image.  Leave enough of a margin to maintain stability around and between protrusions.  Carve down (lower) any areas of block you don't want as part of your image.

Clean-Up

Clean your stamp when you have finished a stamping session.  Simply rinse it with soap and water; don't rub it to clean it or dry it, as this could, over time, break down its surface.  Instead, pat or press the stamp clean and dry.  Some inks will dye your stamp, but in subsequent use the stamp will still print cleanly in other colours.

Inks and Stamping Surfaces

While you can stamp just about any surface or material, it's likely that you'll start out with paper projects.  But don't stop there.  Try stamping furniture, walls, tiles or lamp shades.  Personalised linen napkins or uniquely filled and stamped terra-cotta pots make great gift ideas!

Most inks you will want to use for stamping are available in raised pads, which allow you to ink stamps whose surface area is larger than the ink pad itself - just pat (don't rub) the pad all over the surface of the stamp.
	Many inks also come in multicoloured pads referred to a rainbow pads.  Rainbow pads can give you interesting graduations or stripes of colour with one ink application
Another way to get multiple shades is to colour your stamp with watercolour markers; of course, you can also colour in a stamped image with markers.
Huffing on a stamp (as you'd huff on spectacles when you clean them) can "reactivate" the colour of drying, dye-based ink so that you can make several images before re-inking.

A Few Inks Commonly Used by Stampers:

• Speedball Block Printing Ink is a traditional and delightful way to ink your images for an opaque, bold look.  These inks are specifically made for printing, and are well worth experimenting with.  Block printing inks are rolled out on a plate and applied to the stamp with a Speedball roller.  Speedball Block Printing Inks are available in art stores as well as craft stores, in an endless array of colours.

• Dye-based inks are best for most papers except plastic-and-oil based papers.

• Pigment Inks dry slowly and can smear, but they're great when you want bold, vivid colour.

• Fabric Inks are favoured because they work well on many surfaces as well as fabric.  Read the manufacturer's instructions when heat-setting stamped fabric.

Making Stamps from Photographs

You can create an infinite number of designs from images traced from photos - either those you have taken yourself, or photos from catalogues and magazines.  For example, a gardening catalogue will yield beautiful bouquets, a pet catalogue offers the basis for playful or elegant animal images, and so on.  Profiles are best when making images of people.  Keep in mind that whatever you trace will become your image.

If you have difficulty in determining what areas of your photo to trace, try photocopying your picture and then tracing it.  Use the lighten button on the photocopier to eliminate greys and to achieve a clear black and white image.

Making Stamps from Nature

You can trace anything that is flat - or nearly flat- such as a leaf, a thin cross section of apple or ball pepper, and so on.  Flatten the item in a heavy book overnight and then trace it.  Follow the instructions above for transferring and carving.

As you delve into the stamp carving world, you'll be amazed by how many different and wonderful ways stamps can be used in the arts, home decorating, novelty gifts, stationery, clothing and on and on.  Fire up your imagination and stamp away.  Speedball understands and is committed to this growing art form.  Look for, and expect, the best from a vast array of carving materials, inks and tools made by Speedball Art Products Company.

See Lino & Wood Cutting in our On-Line Store for purchasing details

Linda Brennan

Linda has been teaching stamp carving since the early 1990's.  She is the author of The Hand Carved Stamp - an information-packed carving booklet.  Linda is the owner/operator of ECHOes, a stamp carving business based in Pleasanton, California,