How to Carve Stamps Out of Erasers
Rubber stamps allow you to add eye-catching graphics or text to handmade greeting cards, scrapbook layouts, school and home decorating projects with vibrant ink. If you've searched rubber stamping, scrapbook and craft stores and can't find the design you need, simply create your own stamp using a white vinyl eraser as a carving block. With simple tools and techniques, you can make image stamps or versions that feature monograms, words or patterns like stripes, plaids or polka dots.
Things You'll Need
- White vinyl eraser
- White scrap paper
- Pencil
- Craft knife
- Pen
- Eraser carving tools
- Toothpick or safety pin
- Ink pad
Instructions
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1
Remove the paper wrap and covering from a white vinyl eraser, and place the eraser onto a piece of white scrap paper. Use a pencil to trace the outline of the eraser onto the paper.
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2
Draw the design of your handmade rubber stamp onto the rectangle you traced on the scrap paper. Use a pencil to "color in" the areas that you plan to scrape away from the stamp. The remaining white portion inside the rectangle should resemble what you want your stamped image to look like.
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3
Leave the rectangle as part of the larger piece of white scrap paper---do not cut out the rectangle shape. Use a craft knife to carefully cut out the portions that you shaded with a pencil.
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4
Place the white paper face down on the eraser to create the mirror image of the design so it will face the right way when you stamp the image onto paper. Line up the edges of the rectangle with the edges of the eraser.
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5
Trace the areas cut out of the paper onto the eraser with a pencil or pen and shade the areas in lightly. Remove the paper from the eraser.
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6
Carve the shaded areas of the eraser away with eraser carving tools. Scoop out at least 1/8 inch of the eraser to ensure the "negative" spots won't appear on the stamped image. Use a sharp toothpick or the end of a safety pin to carve any detailed areas, such as polka dots in a flower center.
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7
Press the eraser stamp onto an ink pad, and push it onto a piece of scrap paper. Examine the image to determine if there are any areas in the eraser that need additional carving.
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Tips & Warnings
If you don't want to invest in rubber stamp carving tools, create your own tool. Pull the eraser out of the back of a wood pencil so the metal portion at the end of the pencil is "empty." Use the sharp edge of the metal to carve the eraser. Pinch the metal to narrow the opening if you want to carve smaller areas.
You can also use tan-colored "art gum" erasers sold at art supply stores if you can't find white vinyl erasers.
Keep the sharp tip of the craft knife from slicing through to your work surface by protecting the table with a self-healing cutting mat sold at scrapbooking, stamping, sewing or craft stores.
When carving the rubber away with the specialty tools, always direct the tool away from you to avoid accidents in case the tool slips off of the eraser.
