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Jan 30, 2013

Bon Vivant Cork Stamps



This week I was focused on learning how to carve my own stamps. I’ve been very excited about this idea, perhaps because now I am old enough to play with knives, yay! I started with the wine corks. They have so much character and, of course, an irresistible bon vivant concept to them. Unfortunately, my favorite wine is not sealed with a cork, so I didn’t have any lying around at the house. Not to worry - I stopped by the BYOB place in my neighborhood to ask for some corks and left with a handful. I had two kinds of corks: natural cork and some kind of spongy fake cork. Both worked great for the stamps, though they cut differently. The natural cork will make a more “rustic” stamp, which I love.


I also purchased some pieces of cork board to make bigger shapes. Of course, the problem is that you have to attach it to some kind of handle afterwards.


Lastly, I also cut shapes on EVA foam and glued it to another surface to make the stamp. The foam stamps result in a more evenly inked image.


In addition to these options, there are always the veggie stamps (potato, okra, etc.), which are fun, but perishable; and the carving blocks, which require special tools, but the results are excellent and I will definitely give it a try soon.

Stamps have a little something for everyone. Whether you want to personalize cards, make your own fabric patterns or save some money on your scrap booking projects, you should give this a try. There is something primitively rewarding about learning to make your own tools. ; )


Week 4

Project: Carving Wine Cork Stamps
Source: Loosely from Say Yes to Hoboken and 52 Weeks Project
Skills: Cork Carving and Stamping
Time: 10 minutes, depending on the complexity of your stamp
Cost: $9 for the x-acto knife and ink pad, or more if you count the wine bottle ; )
Material:
  • Used wine cork
  • X-acto knife
  • Ink pad
  • EVA foam (if you feel like trying that too)
My idea was to make a video of my very first attempt to show how easy it is. Well, I did, but my head is the main event and the cork carving is behind it. So I'll try to explain it here with words, but you may like to refer to this video I found online as well.

I started with an easy but always lovely design, a heart. I used a marker to draw the image and immediately proceeded to cut it with the x-acto knife. I found it helpful to lightly contour the image with the knife, which creates a little indent to follow when you finally cut the shape for real. Cut the shape with the knife vertically placed. Then, make a circular cut going all around the side of the cork - this will create the depth of the stamp. 

And really, that is all there is to it! Tap the wine cork on the table a few times to get rid of the powder and you are ready to stamp! Ink it thoroughly before stamping. The first time will most likely not look great, because the cork will absorb most of your ink. So, give it a few tries and enjoy the uniqueness of your very own stamp! Now go make something with it, because you just made yourself a tool!


Esta semana resolvi aprender como criar meus próprios carimbos. Há tempo estava anciosa para testar essa idéia, afinal, essa criança aqui adora brincar com "facas". ; ) Eu comecei esculpindo rolhas de vinho, fascinada pelos seus traços cheios de personalidade e um irresistível conceito bon vivant. Infelizmente, o meu vinho preferido não é selado com rolha de cortiça, então eu não tinha nenhuma perdida pela casa. Sem problemas - eu parei em um restaurante aqui no bairro para pedir algumas e sai com as mãos cheias. Eu consegui dois tipos de rolhas de cortiça: a natural e outra que parece feita de esponja. Ambas funcionaram muito bem como carimbos, apesar do corte ser um pouco diferente. A cortiça natural resulta em um carimbo mais "rústico", que eu adoro.
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