Hand-Carved Stamp & Card/Envie

You will make your own hand-made, hand-carved rubber stamp. You may use a simple pink eraser square, an actual plastic stamp carving block, or other stable, soft, flexible plastic meant for carving. Use real stamp carving tools or exacto-knife tools to carve your own stamp. The size should be no smaller than 1" but can be as large as you like to make if you start with an actual soft rubber carving block (this come in a variety of sizes).

Use your hand-carved stamp to create a greeting card and decorate the envelope in which you will send the stamp to your partner. This will give them at least one idea on how they can use the stamp to make their own mail art for others. If you are generous, you may of course stamp out several ideas and send more cards or sheets of paper showing your creative uses of the stamp.

While you are stamping on the card and envie for your partner, feel free to stamp a few extra things for yourself while you have the stamp in hand. The stamp will soon belong to your partner, but you are free to make as many cards/envies for yourself prior to sending the stamp away. Please clean up the ink from the stamp so it does not make a mess during mailing.

These will be newly carved stamps - incorporating any image or words (remember to make words in reverse -mirror image- for proper stamping) the sender wants to make. You may want to consider making it something you think your partner will like according to their profile, but it is sender's choice of what to carve on the stamp.

To help you with a few ideas, here are some links:

I love Geninne's ideas: http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/search/label/handcarvedstampstutorial

Here's another one of Gennine's posts: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geninne/5561689172/

A carved doily image: http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/2010/04/doily.html

More from Gennine: http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/2009/04/deconstructed.html

Stamp Carving 101: http://www.atlasquest.com/tutorials/carving/

Lime Green Stamp Carving Tutorial: http://www.limegreennews.com/howcarv.html