Completely true! I thought stamp carving would be excruciatingly hard. I mean, look at them! They're gorgeous! Of course they took a million years and Matisse reincarnated to do.

Not so! I made a trip to Michael's one day, and came back with:

two exacto knives

a five-dollar wood carving kit

and several erasers (all different kinds, just to see what worked best)

My husband and I spent a very happy evening carving our stamps on the patio. It really is easy! The only trick is to remember to do mirror writing on the stamp. I can't tell you how many new swear words I've invented after my husband casually points out that I'm "doing it again." *grrr*!

And, if it makes you feel better, I would always prefer to find a hand carved stamp in a box. The simplest handmade stamp I think is always better than the most intricate machine made one. I doubt I'm alone on that sentiment, too.

Hope you give it a try- it really is fun and relaxing (except my chiropractor can always tell when I've been working on a stamp. *grin*)

Cheers,

Delirium


---------------------------------
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I agree with that. I like going to a box and finding a one-of-a-kind treasure.
I took my wife out for her first day of boxing and one of the boxes we went to
had a tiny store bought stamp that was made kids. This box required a bit of a
hike up a rocky riverbed. She was getting pretty burned out from slipping over
the rocks. She told me that if that had been the first box she had ever found
after all that effort, I would have never been able to get her to a letterbox again.

Fortunately, we had found several hand carved ones earlier in the day... : )

And it is really quite simple to make a hand-carved stamp. I for one, don't
expect perfection from the stamps I find and I know that (almost) everone else
doesn't expect that either. I enjoy the stamps for unique creative effort that
was put into them.

Delirium wrote:
>
> Completely true! I thought stamp carving would be excruciatingly
hard. I mean, look at them! They're gorgeous! Of course they took
a million years and Matisse reincarnated to do.

Lizardbutt's stamps look like something from the cubism period. He is
only 6 and last night he carved a new stamp that is a beyblade.


The only trick is to remember to do mirror writing on the stamp. I
can't tell you how many new swear words I've invented after my
husband casually points out that I'm "doing it again." *grrr*!

Try writing the word on a piece of paper, then put the stamp on top
of the word, then turn stamp and paper over, then rub paper with your
finger or pencil eraser. This may be a simple way to do it , but it
works.

The Hungry Eye

Tracing paper, lots & lots of tracing paper! Cut it into smallish
pieces, for me about 2 x 3" and then draw or trace the image with a
mechanical pencil onto a piece. Then on the reverse side of this
paper I re-trace the image with ink. Then I place the paper with the
pencil side down onto paper or carving material & gently rub with my
finger. For me this usually is enough pressure.
:-)
catbead

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "lizardbuttsfamily"
wrote:
> Delirium wrote:
> >
> > Completely true! I thought stamp carving would be excruciatingly
> hard. I mean, look at them! They're gorgeous! Of course they took
> a million years and Matisse reincarnated to do.
>
> Lizardbutt's stamps look like something from the cubism period. He is
> only 6 and last night he carved a new stamp that is a beyblade.
>
>
> The only trick is to remember to do mirror writing on the stamp. I
> can't tell you how many new swear words I've invented after my
> husband casually points out that I'm "doing it again." *grrr*!
>
> Try writing the word on a piece of paper, then put the stamp on top
> of the word, then turn stamp and paper over, then rub paper with your
> finger or pencil eraser. This may be a simple way to do it , but it
> works.
>
> The Hungry Eye

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Silent Doug
wrote:
> Before you convince yourself that you can't carve your own stamp,
check out
> Ryan's tutorial:
> http://www.geocities.com/rscarpen/Lb/Docs/Carving
>
> It's really quite easy to make a simple stamp; an eraser and X-acto
knife
> from Wal-Mart are all you need (along with a design).

I agree with Doug! I hardly have a creative bone in my body, but I
thought I'd give it a try anyway. I really wanted my own, personal
stamp, and didn't think a store bought would do the job that I
wanted. I wanted it to be "me". :)
So I got some so that pink speedball carving stuff, and a handle and
some tips. Then I made my design, transfered it, and started carving
away. I had a blast! I love carving! Hopefully, I get a little better
at it though. I've found that the crumbley carving stuff is easier to
carve than the pink stuff.

Good luck, and happy carving!

NeverEnuff
F5 P0 X0 HH0 V2

Some of the stamps I have found aren't the greatest masterpieces ,but
have a real neat story behind them, or it is special for that particular
location or letterbox theme . That's what makes carved stamps special
for me.
Also hand carved " Signature " stamps are fun to find from your
letterbox visitors.

J


P177F212X39E2PB10



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I recently came across a kit at my local Michael's that included the
pink stuff, a carving handle, two nibs, some tracing paper, and a
little booklet. The carving tool is perfect- one nib is a sharp
narrow cutter, and the other a broad, flat cut. outlining, shading,
surfacing, and lettering are all pretty easy with just these two
nibs. You can get more pink stuff and a wider assortment of nibs at
stampeaze.com. I've already run out of the stuff to carve into, the
pink stuff, so I'm waiting on an order of pz cut as we speak. As far
as xactos and such are concerned, I had issues with undercutting and
getting even lines... the nice thing about the V shaped nib is that
you can cut shallow for a fine narrow line, deep for a wide one, or
go from shallow to deep for a line that gets wider, and vice versa.
Anyway, I recommend the kit. Good luck and have fun carving!