Make Your Own Diy Custom Eraser Stamps.

This weekend I had a go at making my own diy stamps using erasers. I did a little bit of printmaking in school and I've been wondering lately if there was a way to make my own custom stamps. Turns out plain, ordinary run of the mill erasers make excellent stamps.

Erasers (you may want to get a few of these. Remember, practice makes perfect.)
Lino/Stamp cutting tool.
A cutting mat to protect your work surface.
And some custom stamp design ideas.

1. Draw or transfer your design onto the eraser. Remember any words you choose need to be mirror images otherwise when you come to print your designs they'll be the wrong way around.

2. Next use the small 'v' shaped blade in the cutting tool to cut around the outline of your design. You want to cut away any negative space (the part you don't want to print). Use the flatter blade to cut away the larger areas.

3. I always do a practice run first. Tap an ink pad onto your stamp and press firmly onto the paper. Check for any places where you've not cut the eraser away enough and the ink has caught.

4. Clean your stamp and go back in with your cutting tool and neaten up any raised areas or uneven edges.

5. When you're happy with your design, ink up your custom stamp and print away.

Once you start making these stamps it's hard to stop. I love my gold striped washi tape, I use it on everything so it seemed like a good idea to make a stamp version of it as well.

There really are so many ways you can use these stamps. You could use them to make cards, decorate envelopes, notebooks or even use fabric paint and make your own textiles. Try layering them up with your existing stamps and experiment with different textures and papers. 

You can find more tutorials on my blog http://www.gatheringbeauty.com