Graphic Arts

MAKE YOUR OWN RUBBER STAMP

You can make your own stamp design to use as a crafting tool to decorate cards and a wide variety of household items. You will need minimal tools and equipment for this project:

- Rubber White Eraser - Tracing Paper

- Pencil - Needle

- Craft Knife - Sandpaper

- Wood Block - Saw

- 1/4" thick Cellulose Sponge - Glue

1. Choose a design that can fit on a white eraser and trace the image onto tracing paper with your pencil making a heavy, thick line.

2. Turn the tracing paper over onto your eraser and draw on top of the lines of the design while applying pressure. This will transfer the design to the top of the eraser.

3. Use a pen to re-mark the pencil line to make them more obvious. The reversed image will be easier to see now and you can cut out the areas of the eraser with a needle that are not part of the design.

4. Using a needle, trace the lines several times to allow the surface of the rubber to be scored. This initial scoring should be away from the image with no undercutting.

5. Next, use a very sharp crafting knife to cut the lines of the image deeper. Cut the angles at a slope with the narrow section towards the top of the eraser.

6. Clean off any left over ink from the eraser and place the stamp on a ink pad to take a test print of the design. This will help you to see where the rough edges of your stamp need to be trimmed. If you make a mistake while cutting, you can use sandpaper to sand-off cuts that are not to deep.

7. Cut the sponge the same shape as the stamp and then glue the sponge to the back of the rubber stamp.

8. Cut a piece of wood that is the same size or slightly larger than your design and glue it to the back of the sponge and rubber stamp piece.

You can use almost any kind of paint permanent or non-permanent for printing your design but generally the thicker the ink the more vibrant the color will be. Be careful not to over-ink your stamp or your result will be a smudged image. If you are using an ink pad lightly bounce the stamp on the surface and avoid pressing down hard. If the image is highly detailed less paint will be needed. Always stamp on a flat hard surface and allow plenty of drying time in-between layered colors. Do not "rock" the stamp when applying it to your surface material because the images could blur. Only light pressure is required around the edges of the stamp. To make sure your stamps stay in good condition you will want to store them rubber side down and clean them immediately after use and between colors. Do not immerse your stamps in water as it could loosed the adhesive. There is a wide variety of stamp cleaning products available commercially or you can blot the image on a paper towel until the ink is gone. Use a solvent based cleaner or liquid detergent and old toothbrush to completely clean difficult designs.