The first time I tried to carve rubber, I created this owl stamp.  It was harder than I thought, so maybe that’s why I’ve waited so long to try it again.  Here’s my second attempt! I chose this pencil drawing from my sketch book, cut it to the size of the rubber, and transferred the design to the rubber with transfer paper and pen. Here are my tools, which aren’t that impressive. You can find Speedball carving set at any craft store and I had a few various x-acto type tools to play around with.

I’m sure there are great videos about carving stamps on YouTube. I would never make a video because it would put you to sleep. It’s slow going!

Half-way through, I decided to add a tiny unicorn in the background.  

My best tip: Ink your stamp a few times as you go so you can tell what remains to be done. Here is an inking I did to check and see what looked right, and what needed more work.

Inking it in black and stamping it on scratch paper can help you see areas that need work.

This is one type of art that I love to do, but I need a lot more practice.  Do you find that once you’ve tried a type of art making and enjoy it, the first things you want is better tools? I need a carving tool about two sizes smaller than the smallest one in the Speedball set.  Maybe with pumpkin carving season at hand, I’ll find one!  Thanks for stopping by!

*Song on the player is “In the Beginning” by Fahrenhaidt