Let’s make home-made stamps! You don’t need any fancy materials for this craft, and there is no carving.
Here are the needed supplies:
-plastic forks
-foam shape stickers
-ink pads
-scrap paper
-paper cards + envelopes
If you don’t have ink pads, you can actually use markers! And if you don’t have pre-made paper cards, you can just use regular old paper and make your own! I purchased all of these supplies easily online. You can get foam shapes like this at any craft store like Michaels, or Joann Fabrics, as well as ink pads and lots of different paper and pre-made cards. Michaels and Joann also always have really amazing coupons found online or on their apps. If you want super fancy ink pads check out Paper Source. https://www.papersource.com/
If you have a local mom + pop craft store, by all means please shop there! Here in Brooklyn I love Saveathon Fabrics. I don’t think they have a website, but their IG is here: https://www.instagram.com/saveathon/?hl=en They also just opened in Jamaica, Queens.
I don’t like the idea of plastic cutlery AT ALL, so I tried to make it less offensive by purchasing these compostable forks.
Start by choosing some foam shapes you like! My shapes are mostly geometric with some stars. You can get these stickers in all kinds of shapes and the bags have thousands. These are perfect for so many fun things. I chose a larger circle, a smaller circle, a triangle, and a star.
NOW: Put those shapes aside. We are going to call those your design shapes.
NEXT: Gather together a bunch of squares. These will be your base shapes.
Peel the paper off and stick a square onto the backside of your fork like so:
Now: double up! Stick another square right on top of that one!
Yes! You have created your base. These will give your stamp a little ‘lift’. This method of stamping also helps to keep little fingers (and big ones) and surfaces clean. (Well, cleanER.)
Now, go back to your design shapes. Choose one and stick it on top of your base.
Get your ink and scrap paper out. Press your fork with your shapes onto the inkpad. Hold your forefinger right on top as you do it, like in the photo. You don’t need to press hard – just dab and dab a bunch of times so that your shape is covered with ink.
Practice stamping the ink onto your scrap paper. Again, press your forefinger down as you stamp so you can get an even coating of ink on your paper. See what it feels like and how it looks, practice and see how your shapes look printed on the paper! Cool, right? You can stamp 2 or 3 times before needing to re-ink.
If you don’t have any ink on hand, you can actually use markers! Take some washable markers and color your stamp, then stamp away. This works just as well as the inkpad, just a little different look.
Try another stamp!
I think you are ready to stamp on your card! Don’t be afraid. Sometimes you may get little lines or dots or extra stuff, but that is the beauty of the handmade. Just roll with it, and see what beautiful images and patterns you create. I like to stick with two colors to keep it simple, but you should do what you feel in your creative heart! The ink does not take long to dry – maybe a couple of minutes. It’s a good idea to let your first shape dry before adding your second.
First are my dots:
Now, I added stars!
I love how it came out. Now I am going to make some more!
I am loving these! I am going to send them in the mail to some people I love. ;o)
Do you have any large paper? You can make your own giftwrap! Or just print right on top of newspaper to make some beautiful home made papers. You can keep your stamps and use them again and again.
Here are some great ones some of my students made!
If you make these, I would LOVE to see what you come up with! Tag us on Instagram @thecraftsalon or you can always email us at Dari@thecraftsalonstudio.com
STAY CRAFTY, MY FRIENDS!
XO
Dari