Tag: Self-made Tools

Pattern Paper

unikatissima Pattern Paper

Links of entry

I found a tutorial on how to make cute, fast, self-made packages. They are self painted, respectively self stamped boxes like the recycled card pillow box I presented some time ago.
Concerning the stamping I even found an instruction on how to mass produce greeting cards (it is no real mass production, but she’s making a good many beautiful greeting cards ;-))

I had no reason yet to make this, but it is not soo long until Christmas ;-))
On the photo I already arranged my (for a good deal self carved) stamps ;-)


Links:
Decorating Boxes for Special Occasions
Pattern Paper & Mass Produced Cards

At unikatissima:
Recycled Card Pillow Box
Eraser Stamps

Moldable Stamps

Moldable Stamps

Links of entry

I knew about those moldable foam stamps, but I never realized how versatile they are and what great stamps you can make from them. You can even combine them into stunning collages.
I’m speechless again ;-))

On the photo you see my attempt at stamping a clothespins pattern. Because I don’t have no moldable stamp, I used my kneaded eraser. I think this is a great background for a card.


Links:
Moldable Foam Stamps
Foam Stamping: The Follow-Up

unikatissima’s Eraser Stamps

Watercolor Button Garden

Watercolor Button Garden

Links of entry

Pink Paper Peppermints has a beautiful project: 31 Crafty Flowers.
I checked them all and I wanted to present one of them, although I haven’t tried it yet, because I dont’ have the right markers: the Watercolor Button Garden.
Aren’t they beautiful?
And be sure to check the other flowers too :)


Links:
Watercolor Button Garden

Letter stencils

Letter stencils

Links of entry

Rosie showed her beautiful carved stamps and mentioned that she wants to carve letters too.
I prefer to use letter stencils, because I can use them in such a flexible way.
On the first photo you see a page from an artist book of mine yet to be finished. It has the theme ‘Colour’ and I stenciled the word ‘Pink’. On the other photo beneath you can see the stencil.

This is how I did it:
You’ll need:

  • Plain paper
  • Different fonts on your computer
  • Clear tape
  • Sharp knife, like an Xacto knife

What to do:

  1. Print the word you’re interested in in the requested size on paper.
    Note: You can use just one font, but I found different fonts for every letter more appealing.
    Note: Best are big fonts because they are easier to cut out.
  2. Put some clear tape on the print.
  3. Cut the letters carefully.
    Note: The tape makes the paper sturdier, so that the cutting is a little easier.
  4. Stencil your word wherever you want (paper, cardboard, fabric, glass, wood etc.).
    Note: I painted with a marker on the clear tape round the letters and smeared them with my fingers onto the paper.

Letter stencils The tape makes the paper not only sturdy, but also quite waterproof, so that you can use it several times with nearly every kind of colours. If necessary you can put tape on both sides of the paper prior to the cutting.

You can find a similar tutorial on instructables.com for making your own freezer paper and your own freezer paper stencil. I guess it is better for making bigger stencils, but I haven’t tried it.


Links:
Rosie’s carved stamps

Eraser Stamps Tutorials
Photo Stamps Tutorial

My Artist Book

Freezer paper and stencil tutorial

Photo Stamps

Photo Stamps

Links of entry

I already presented links on eraser carving, but perhaps you want to go a step further and make stamps from your own photos?
I found a tutorial on how to prepare your photos for carving stamps.
The preparation of the photos is similar to the tutorial on making your own digital stamps (and while we’re at it why not making stencils from your own photos? ;-))
On the picture you see a stamp template I made from a photo from a magazine.
Not yet cut, first I must find a big eraser ;-)

 


Links:
Prepping Photos for Carving
Carving 101

art-e-zine: a cornucopia for artists
Make your own digital stamps
Stencil Art

Here at unikatissima:
Eraser Stamps

Eraser Stamps

Eraser Stamps

Links of entry

There are lots of tutorials on how to make stamps from erasers (look at the Google search result for ‘eraser stamp’).
I want to present three of them:

Some hints & tips for eraser-carving
This site shows how beautiful those stamps can be and gives helpful hints.

Kneaded Eraser Stamps
Craft Chi always have ingenious ideas and tutorials and I like the kneaded eraser stamp because it is a technique to create stamps from everything with a textured surface.

Making and Using Stamps with Watercolor
I liked this one because I don’t stamp so often and so I don’t want to spent too much money on ink pads. Using watercolour makes it easy to use different colours nonetheless.

By the way: On the photo you see my first attempts on carving stamps from erasers and although they’re very simple I still like to use them from time to time.


Links:
Google search result for ‘eraser stamp’
Google Suchergebnisse für ‘Radiergummi Stempel’

Some hints & tips for eraser-carving
Craft Chi: Kneaded Eraser Stamps
Making and Using Stamps with Watercolor