{"id":789,"date":"2014-12-19T01:06:24","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T17:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bauzon.ph\/cynthia\/?p=789"},"modified":"2014-12-19T14:54:38","modified_gmt":"2014-12-19T06:54:38","slug":"stamp-carving-with-a-craft-knife-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bauzon.ph\/cynthia\/stamp-carving-with-a-craft-knife-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Carve Rubber Stamps With Just an X-Acto Knife (A Tutorial)"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I posted\u00a0some of my eraser stamps\u00a0on Instagram<\/a>, some\u00a0crafty friends were surprised to learn that the\u00a0X-Acto Knife<\/a>\"\"\u00a0is all I’ve been using\u00a0for carving (( Our discussiions\u00a0are here<\/a> and here<\/a> )).\u00a0It seems that most rubber stamp crafters\u00a0— and I’ve noticed this on a lot of\u00a0web tutorials I’ve read<\/a> and watched<\/a>\u00a0 — prefer to use lino cutters, more specifically, the Speedball Linoleum Cutter set<\/a>\"\"\u00a0which\u00a0I want myself. That set contains\u00a0a thin, V-shaped blade that looks\u00a0especially\u00a0useful for\u00a0gouging out narrow “canals” between outlines — a pain to attempt with the straight-edged X-acto blade.<\/p>\n

\"\"

X-Acto Knife vs. a V-Gouge<\/p><\/div>\n

See what I mean? (via Lime Green News<\/a>)<\/p>\n

As mentioned previously, I’ve already ordered the\u00a0set but while waiting I had to train\u00a0myself to carve using\u00a0the humble, easily available,\u00a0and familiar (( oh X-Acto, how many frisket films did I cut with\u00a0you\u00a0back in college? )) pointy blade. Drama aside,\u00a0if you want to start carving\u00a0and like me, a craft knife is all you have, I will now share the process with you. I’ll even start from the very beginning\u00a0—\u00a0a very good place to start.\u00a0*cue Julie Andrews*<\/p>\n

** I’m by no means an expert at this. I just want to share what works for me so far. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Materials:
\n– a 2B lead pencil
\n– tracing paper
\n– a rubber eraser
\n– an\u00a0X-Acto knife
\n–\u00a0an ink pad
\n– blu tack (optional)<\/p>\n

\"rubber<\/p>\n

1. Plan out the image you want to carve. Shade-in the areas\u00a0to keep solid to guide you when you carve later.\u00a0These doodles are\u00a0“parols” or Filipino Christmas lanterns and I plan to use these\u00a0on homemade gift tags.
\n2. Trace your “master” illustration onto tracing paper with a 2B lead pencil.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

3. Place the tracing paper on top of your eraser or carving block, penciled side down. Rub on it with something firm like a pen’s bottom or\u00a0a bone folder to transfer a mirror image of your sketch.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

4. Totally optional but\u00a0if I’m not using a two-tone carving block, I like tinting my surface lightly with some color. This is so I can easily see which areas have\u00a0already been carved. Just dab a piece of tissue paper into your ink pad then pat it onto your eraser \/ carving block, just gently enough to tint it with color.<\/p>\n

\"carve<\/p>\n

5. Start outlining your image with the X-Acto blade at a\u00a030-45 degree angle\u00a0<< —\u00a0<\/strong>very important.\u00a0Remember to slice\u00a0lightly because if you insert the knife too deep, it will be difficult to maneuver the blade which will result in tugging and therefore risking\u00a0(a) ruining your stamp, and (b) piercing\u00a0the finger you’re holding the stamp with. (Unfortunately for me I encountered\u00a0all of the above on a couple of my initial carving attempts).<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

6. After you’ve outlined an area, lift the blade and turn the eraser around. Again with the blade inserted on a\u00a030-45 degree angle, carve a curved line a short distance away from the outline\u00a0you made towards the opposite direction from where\u00a0you made the cut earlier. Try to “meet” the\u00a0already-sliced areas\u00a0with your blade’s tip, you’ll see that areas will begin peeling off. This is my favorite part.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42\u00a0(Gosh I hope that made sense. Please see photo above for reference.)<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

7. Soon your stamp will look like this. See how all my cuts are angled?<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

8. Completely optional again but if you have some Blu Tack<\/a>\u00a0(mine’s about 15-years old\u00a0and it still works and lol it’s not blue)\u00a0lying around, you can use that to remove pencil marks as well as stubborn little bits of eraser stuck inside crevices.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

9. Trim your stamp using a box cutter. Trimming it to size will help in stamp positioning\u00a0later on.<\/p>\n

\"rubber<\/p>\n

10. Make a test print. This will allow you to see which areas still need fixing. It doesn’t really need to be perfect though — part of a rubber stamp’s charm is its rough handmade quality. (Such a good excuse, ‘no? \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n

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A photo posted by Cynthia Bauzon-Arre (@arncyn)<\/a> on