Once you have made a stamper, you can use it for card making, wrapping paper, scrapbooking, cookie press, modeling clay or just plain decorating. You can stamp with ink, stamp pads, paints, and in some cases even markers will work.
If your child really likes a cartoon character but the stampers available to stamp a border are either too small or too costly, make your own and you can choose the pose and the size.
If you want to make an Andy Warhol type print, use a large stamp with four canvases. Paint each canvas a different base color. Stamp the image in black on all four canvases.
There is no limit to what you can do. But first you need to make the stampers.
Materials Needed:
- Printing block
- Carving tools
- Paints or ink
- Scissors
- Tape
- Large pin or small nail
- Pencil
- Optional-computer with internet connection and printer.
Preparation
- You must first decide on the use for your stamper because it will define the size block you will need to purchase.
- If you are using a colorbook picture, trim the edges so that the paper is the same size as your block.
- If your colorbook picture is too large or too small you can alter the size by scanning it into the computer, shrinking or enlarging the picture and printing out a new copy. You can also use a digital camera if you don't have a scanner available.
- If you are using the computer make sure to choose a simple line drawing your first time. You can get more complex once you get comfortable with the process. Print and trim the paper to the size of the block.
Transferring The Image
- Tape the trimmed paper to the block so it is secure and wood side down.
- Using your pin or needle poke a hole through the paper and into the block on the lines of your character.
- Following the lines of the picture continue to poke holes very close together (about every millimeter).
- Poke all of the lines you intend to transfer.
- Remove the paper and your block should show an image of your character. Trace this image with pencil.
Carving Out The Image
There are two different approaches to the carving. If you think of it in terms of negative and positive it might help. If you want your stamper to stamp the actual line drawing then you need to make sure the lines remain intact and you remove the background and the inside of the character. If you want to be able to stamp the character as a solid piece, remove outside of the lines and create a groove near any detail lines to make sure they appear on the final image.
There are many different types of linoleum blocks. They all use primarily the same carving tools but can be a very different experience to try to carve. You can find one of the easiest blocks to carve by clicking on "Printing Block" in the materials list.
