Getting started: Rubber stamp carving supplies, tutorials, and just-for-fun videos

  

Here's a list of the supplies I have, and the tutorials and "just for fun" videos that I found for rubber stamp carving.

Supplies

• Speedball lineoleum cutter assortment #1
• Speedball sketching pen set. The handle works with the cutter blades!
• Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drop Ink Pads. Easy to use. Refillable. Inc is fade resistant.
• Tsukineko Brilliance Ink Refill.
• Speedball Speedy-Carve block printing carving block
• OLFA self healing cutting mat
• X-Acto Retract-A-Blade No. 1 Knife

Tutorials

• How to carve a stamp: the basics of carving text
• Stamp Carving Tutorial for Beginners
• How to carve your own stamp | Easy tutorial for beginners
• Beware of Speedy Cut rubber. (Speedy-Carve is better.)
• Transfer your design using toner transfer

Just for fun

• Carve along #6: The White Rabbit Edition
• Linocut carving and printing - short film by Maarit Hanninen
• Tomoko Tsukui stamp carving demo

Fun with Perler Beads (crafting tips at the end!)

"If you continuously compete with others you become BITTER.
If you continuously compete with yourself you become BETTER."

This summer's family craft activity involved Perler Beads. Ever since I realized that cross-stitch patterns are ideal for fusible bead projects, I've been itching to create something. So I did. And the supplies that were left out for weeks (!) on the dining room table tempted my boys every time they walked by them, so they created some pieces, too. I'm a big fan of keeping art supplies on hand so that one can create the instant one has the whim to do so.

My "Bitter vs. Better" above was actually the second piece that I created. I honestly believed that my first attempt had satisfied my Perler Bead crafting urge, but then it occurred to me that I could do so much better. 

This is my first Perler Bead project of 2015.

“Love is a verb, not a noun. It is active. Love is not just feelings of passion and romance. It is behavior. ... The words “I love you” are not enough to make up for that. Don’t kid yourself that they are.” 
~Susan Forward

So many beads tediously placed! I truly thought I'd had enough fun! Nope. And if the supplies weren't all put away, I'd likely be busy on just one more piece because I've thought of a gift idea! But I shall refrain.

And, of course, the family that crafts together, stays together. Or something like that.

Oldest son's finished project.

Youngest son's finished project. He doesn't want it framed.

Some fusible bead crafting tips:

• DON'T iron the beads directly on the peg board. It will warp. Use the "masking tape method." 
• This tool works for large expanses of the same color (as was the case for my "Love is a verb" piece). This video explains how to use it. It's not complicated...
• This tool is a good scoop. But so is a teaspoon. And standard tweezers worked better for me.
• Minecraft, Google, and cross-stitch designs are excellent resources for pattern inspiration.
• Unless you really, really, REALLY enjoy sorting beads, don't buy a large mixed container of them. Individual bags of the exact colors that you need will get you creating much faster. TRUST ME ON THIS.

NOTE: I just created an affiliate account on Amazon. If you purchase items via the links I provided, then I get a few cents.

"Love Reminders" community outreach project

Last Sunday I had the great privilege of assisting with the StoneBridge Children's Ministry's Community Outreach project for February. Called "Love Reminders," the craft was designed by Michelle Chestnutt (one of my favorite people, y'all!). 

Take some basic office supplies, add some carefully chosen uplifting text (bible passages or favorite quotes), then give children free rein to decorate as their heart desires and you end up with day-brightening packets to distribute amongst friends and acquaintances.

"Love Reminders" community outreach project

Michelle and Jennifer Dew have been volunteering as the StoneBridge Church Children's Ministry's Community Outreach project coordinators for the past two years. They lead outreach projects 3 times a year for various groups---retirement home residents, StoneBridge missionaries, the U.S. troops abroad, and local emergency personnel. Together they come up with a project's focus, the accompanying lesson and a craft; Penny Harrison (StoneBridge's AWESOME and dedicated Children's Pastor) gives them her blessing and guidance, and lovingly allows them "free reign" to teach the lovely young hearts who visit the StoneBridge Children's Ministry.

For this particular project (centered around Valentine’s Day), Michelle and Jennifer wanted to remind retirement home/assisted living residents that they are loved and are not alone. They chose the verse 1 John 4:11 to teach the children "we are to love God and love others." And that when we help others, we not only show God’s love, we serve God. They  wanted to do a daily devotional of sorts, and chose verses and sayings to serve as the daily “love reminders.”   

When designing projects for the StoneBridge Children's Ministry, a challenge is not only the time limit, but the age difference and sheer quantity of children. So they generally choose small scale projects, but with the hope that the impact on both the recipients AND the children is big. This project definitely more than lived up to those objectives! (Honestly, I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this project!)

PROJECT NOTES and HOW-TOs

In preparation for the craft, we created stacks of the following supplies: 

• Blank book marks
• Open ended envelopes (Michelle found these and the book marks at a SchoolBox store; I couldn't find them online)
• Ribbon cut into 9" lengths
• Index cards (stacks of 10)
• Uplifting text (stacks of 10 different passages)
• Glue sticks

At craft time, the kids lined up and two parent volunteers handed out the required supplies to each child. Then stickers and buckets of markers were distributed amongst the children and everyone set to work. In an hour and a half, the StoneBridge team was able to welcome the children, explain how to create the project, teach a lesson, make the project, clean up, present a followup to reinforce the lesson, and still had some playtime at the end! It was a truly admirable and effective effort!

My heartfelt thanks to Michelle Chestnutt for supplying content for this write-up! Here is the lovely lady herself giving direction to the kids as they work on their Love Reminders project.

Five pillowcases...in a single weekend

Floral pillowcases with lace accent

For weeks now, my oldest has been asking me to teach him how to make a pillowcase. Last month, I finally found time to teach him and a friend how to make one. And we ended up with 5. Because I’m an over-achiever like that.

Actually, I ended up with 5 pillowcases because I tried a variety of methods. The very first one had exposed seams which I did not like at all---even after I finished the seam edges with a zip zag stitch. Next, I made one with a regular border and French seams. This was better, but not good enough. That’s when I decided to make a “sausage-style” pillowcase with French seams. The result is a pillowcase with no exposed seams.

I originally found text-only instructions for the sausage method. They made sense, but it hurt my brain to picture what the instructions were explaining. So I was grateful for the video tutorial that I later found. Online tutorials are awesome. Especially when they’re free.

SUPPLIES: To make a standard-sized pillowcase you will need 1/3 yard fabric for the border and 3/4 yard fabric for the body. If you want to add an accent strip (I used lace in my floral pillowcases) you’ll need 1/8 yard of fabric or about 45 inches of at least 1-inch wide lace or ribbon.

I made three floral pillow cases, then taught my oldest and his friend how to make one.

Update: I originally used 1/4 yard for the border but I've decided that's not quite large enough. 

Making the pillowcase "sausage." (Hey! I made those gloves!)

Straight stitches require intense concentration

This part was fun until one of the pins jabbed him in the neck

Proud owner of a green-checkered pillowcase

I originally planned to help my youngest make a pillowcase also, but he chose a pom-pom border that was too difficult for a six-year old to manipulate through a sewing machine. (Goodness! I had a time of it myself!) So I made that one, too. Result: 5 pillowcases in a single weekend.

Hula hoop rug

The lovely (and talented! and hard working!) Rebecca DeShon of HoopEssence* shared a link to this craft and I squealed when I saw it! I'm still fine tuning my blog's identity, but "crafting" and "hula hooping" are included in my profile and this project merges them both!

Image is from FamilyFun.com. Instructions are here.

Coincidentally, I have been eyeing this Etsy item and considering making my own version.

To purchase this Etsy item, go here.

Then the planets aligned and Rebecca shared her link. (My imaginary chorus is singing "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh" and raising their hands to the heavens.)

Spring Break is coming up. I now have a project planned for it.
__________
*Rebecca teaches hoop dancing classes in the Atlanta area. I've never attended one, but I've heard that they're very popular. If Marietta and my local favorite teacher Laura Roinestad are too far away, then I point people to Hoop Essence. (You didn't know that, did you Rebecca? :-)

Year of the Rabbit

Images from this EXCELLENT Chinese New Year educational resource

I’ve volunteered to put together a small Chinese New Year’s activity for Cooper’s Kindergarten class. The key word in the preceding sentence is “small.” (Unlike Valentine’s Day last year in which I made these little trinkets. I LOVED that craft, but there’s no way I can do anything along those lines this year, what with a writing deadline that falls in the same Valentine’s Day timeframe.)

Even though we won’t be making any detailed crafts (again, thank goodness!), I’m still excited about the event. Following is a quick list of what I have planned and information about each item, including links to resources on the web, when applicable. Although it's not as detailed as I'd like it to be, perhaps this information will be helpful to someone sometime. If not for Chinese New Year (which is this Thursday, February 3^rd!), then perhaps as ideas for Easter activities.

Book - "My First Chinese New Year":

My First Chinese New Year follows a young girl and her family as they prepare for and celebrate Chinese New Year. 

Craft - Rabbit Tangrams: 

Tangram puzzles were invented in China! I was super-excited when I learned that. The image above is from the Family Fun web site which has a wealth of family crafting activities and instructions. I printed the templates on cardstock from the Family Fun web site (the template link is near the bottom of the instructions). The kids will cut them out and then glue their completed puzzles onto cardstock. Hmmmm. I just realized I used pastel colors because I was thinking of Easter. Gold, red, and black would have been better. Ah, well!

Gifts - Lucky money envelopes, rabbit and goldfish cheese crackers, scroll with each child's name in Chinese characters.

• Lucky Money Envelopes. I will make these using a Sizzix mini-envelope template and put a quarter in each one. I was originally going to copy this pdf (http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/red_envelope_template.PDF), but I need a quicker method this week. I’ll most definitely use it next year though.
• Rabbit & Goldfish cheese crackers. Annie’s organic cheese crackers are shaped as rabbits! I gasped when I passed them in Target’s crackers aisle. And then, of course, the standard goldfish crackers.
• Print of each child’s name in Chinese. This site has 6,000 names “translated” into Chinese so it’s an excellent resource. I used it a few years ago for my oldest son’s Kindergarten class. I copied and pasted the Chinese name into a Word document with the English version underneath. I roll each one up and hold it closed with red ribbon.

For a TON of Chinese New Year for Kids information and resources visit http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm. I love, love, love that site. Wish I had time to explore it in more detail.

p.s. We are enjoying lovely Spring-like weather today. I’m having a very. difficult . time. concentrating on work. Which is perhaps why this blog entry came into being. Procrastination and all that…

I might have to put away the fingerless gloves

I need to finish up the fingerless gloves that I started earlier this year. But this is so dang cute.

Pattern is available here

The more I look at it, the more I want to make one.

...I will be strong. I will be strong. (Hmmm. I wonder if I have any rust and brown wool handy?)

...I will be strong. I will be strong...

Valentine's Day Goody Bags

This year I volunteered to supply the goody bags for my youngest’s pre-school Valentine’s party. A top priority was to not fill the bags with plastic junk that would be looked at for a second and then tossed in a landfill. Since bookmarks are small, useful, and can be designed for any holiday I chose a reading theme.

Each goody bag would be filled with:

•     A card
•     A bookmark
•     A full-sized Kit Kat candy bar (because of its red packaging)
•     2 pieces of Valentine’s Day taffy (to share with siblings. and because I love taffy)

First the bookmarks. I originally intended to create a cardboard bookmark. Well, I’d like to THINK that was my original intention. Because that would have been the wiser (and cheaper option), but I ended up making ribbon bookmarks. After scouring the web, I found instructions for creating them here and here. (I'm so glad that I found ImogensGarden's blog because that's where I learned to look for "ribbon clamps." Using the right words can save so much time when explaining to a sales person what one is looking for.)

This project could have cost a lot more than it did but I made several trips to Michaels with coupons in hand. I also found that the wedding craft section of that store is a great alternative for charms. If I’d chosen them from the jewelry section, it could have cost as much as $5.00 for 5 items. As it was, the wedding section had a packet of FIFTY (50!) heart charms for $4.99…that combined with a 40% discount made them very inexpensive.

I also returned to the wedding section for a package of 50 mini tulle bags to put each bookmark in. I then secured a bag inside each recipient’s Valentine’s Day card.

But I didn’t make 50 bookmarks. Oh, no. I didn’t have THAT much time on my hands. Besides which, each ribbon clamp package was only available in packs of 5 complete sets of varying sizes. Rather annoying. So as I was using coupons very actively, I only managed to get 5 packs…for 25 bookmarks. (It was annoying at the time, but in retrospect I am relieved that I was unable to find large packs of ribbon clamps. Because then I'd have had to make 50 bookmarks.)

Fortunately, though, the bookmarks were really quick to make. The most time consuming part was gathering the supplies. I applied the clamps and then focused on adding the beads. We were able to get them done in an hour or so. (I doubt it took much longer than that as I distinctly remember my sons patiently hovering around us as we worked…and it was getting to be dinner time…and they SO wouldn’t have let us work peacefully if their stomaches were growling…which means I was multi-tasking…but, regardless, it was a peaceful evening.)

I didn’t take any pictures of the bookmarks in progress, but I’m not going to reinvent the wheel with instructions for creating them. The earlier links to Imogen’s Garden and Michaels lead to great instructions for creating ribboned bookmarks of your own.

Now the cards. Creating the cards and the goody bags was the most time consuming part of the project. I scoured (again) the Web for reading-related Valentine’s text but not finding any I attempted to create my own. The final product was corny and not worthy of the beautiful bookmarks. After another I attempt, I found the PERFECT text. It was written by a librarian, her site gave permission for it’s re-use, and I want to credit her, but I can’t find the site now. (So Dear Librarian, or Friend-of-Dear-Librarian, if you should stumble across this blog, please send me a link to your site and I’ll add the info!)

If I’d known the cards would take me ALL day Saturday to create, I might not have done as much Xacto cutting and punching as I did.

Here’s the work table:
(Do you see the penguin waving at you? And the Lightning Thief Guide Book? --- Why, yes, we DID brave the crushing crowds last Saturday to meet some of the movie cast members!)

Here’s the incomplete supply list:
The supply list picture is missing: heart punch, hole punch, beading tools, Kit Kat bar, taffy, paper bag …umm, I’m sure there’s other stuff. But it’ll give a general idea as to what I used.

And the final product:

The inside of the card has a small tulle bag holding a bookmark with “Happy Valentine’s Day” stamped beneath it. On the back of the card is a small picture of smiling cherubs that were also individually punched out and then glued on. (I'm kind of glad I forgot pictures of the inside and back of the card because this blog entry would be unforgiveably long. Well. It's in that category already, I suppose.)

If I were making the card for grown-ups rather than four year olds, I would have used better quality paper for the text (I just used plain old typing paper). And, yes, I know the clamp on that ribbon on the left is too large. I doubt the four-year olds will notice. And, actually, there are a LOT of non-crafty grown-ups who wouldn’t notice as well. (But, of course, if I’d noticed the size discrepancy before production time arrived, I would have chosen another ribbon. Because I’m a perfectionist. Even when it nearly kills me.)

The delivery method:
I love lunch bags. I truly do. They are my preferred method of gift packaging. There’s so much that can be done with them AND they’re bio-degradable!

And that’s that for the goody bags. The party is this Friday. I also volunteered to supply decorations for the class so I’m making a felt heart banner. (Of the style that is sweeping the blogosphere this season. I’ll post pictures of it this weekend. I hope. Good intentions and all that…)

Doodles by a 16 year old

Okay. So I'm a little late. (I'm SO nowhere near 16 years old!) And maybe they're more like something a 13 year old might doodle...

For the past year or so I've been admiring various simple illustrations of girls. I've purchased a few original works from Etsy artists that I admire (like TheBlackApple, MarmeeCraft, and CraftyFolk), but I also want to create one myself. The problem is that I canNOT draw. So I'm practicing. I mean. "Simple" is my criteria. Eventually, and with some practice, I should be able to create "simple." Yes?

p.s. The girl on the far right is inspired by a sketch drawn by the talented owner of  http://aprintaday.blogspot.com/. I'd link to the original image, but I couldn't find it.