Impressed Sugru Stamps

For my mixed-media art, I like to use stamped patterns. I'm always looking for ways to create my own patterns and textures. Enter my local makerspace, Phoenix Asylum, and its Sugru Build Night!

1. Sugru

2. Bases for stamps (blocks and sturdy cardboard tube)

3. Release (foamy soap)

4. Various things for making impressions: this time I used buttons, lace, and a design created with a glue gun

• Make sure the bases are free of dirt or grit.
  One of the blocks still had sawdust on it from cutting it; result = no adhesion and sawdusty blob of Sugru.
• Apply a layer of Sugru to the blocks and tube. Flatten the surface as evenly as possible.
• The layer doesn't need to be very thick. Each block used about 3/4 package, and the tube used 2 packages.

• Before you press the soft Sugru into your pattern-making materials, apply some of the soapy water to either the Sugru or the patterned stuff. Sugru's pretty sticky, and you want to get the materials off without disturbing the pattern.
• You've got a half hour before the Sugru hardens. If you make a mistake, you can flatten out the Sugru and start again. That button impression was a mess! I flattened it and tried again for the final stamp.
• I wasn't too worried about having a level stamp surface, so I didn't trim off any burrs or bits sticking out or around the stamps. Also, after I'd impressed the pattern, I didn't try pressing the still-soft stamp onto a flat surface to level it out.
• With the lace, I wanted to control which section of pattern ended up on the stamp, so I measured out a complete turn of the tube and marked the starting point on the lace itself.

• Acrylic paint--with a little gloss medium in it--made good prints. I tried some acrylic ink, too, but it was too watery and beaded up on the Sugru surface.
• In some cases, the Sugru did a great job of picking up details: look at those button holes! The lace pattern is a little less clear than I'd hoped, perhaps because I didn't press hard enough when making the impression, or perhaps because the material wasn't thick enough to leave a deep mark.