Make Stamps from Corks

Someone recently gave me a rather large bag of wine corks with the thought that I would use them in art projects. They have turned out to be rather handy to use for making stamps. I had a scrap piece of craft foam with the sticky peel-off backing. I cut some simple designs out and stuck them to the end of the cork. I added acrylic paint to damp sponges to use as my "ink pads".

Make Your Own Letter Stamps

I wanted a set of letter stamps for a project that I'm working on, but I couldn't find any that were large enough. Plus they were all a bit pricey. I was going up and down the aisles of Michaels when I spotted a set of cork letters for five dollars. My husband cut up some blocks of wood and I attached the letters with wood glue. The cork has a pitted surface, so naturally that texture can be seen on the printed letter.

Stenciled Valentines

To make cards for Valentine's Day I started with a stencil that I cut out of wax paper.

Sheets of foam imprinted with patterns acted as stamps. I used a range of pinks, reds and orange ink pads.

I overlapped patterns to make the designs denser.

Very simple and fun printmaking project!

Make Animal Print Stamps

To create a pattern that evokes the look of an animal print, try making your own stamps. These shapes were cut from craft foam and glued to scraps of wood to resemble the hide of a giraffe and that of a zebra. A sepia ink pad was used for the giraffe and a black ink pad for the zebra. Stamps can be used on cloth as well as paper and work well if you're making animal masks.

 

Make a Drum

I retrieved empty tomato cans from our favorite local Italian restaurant (Hampton Junction. They make a great Margarita pizza) to make my drum. The sides of the can are painted with acrylic paints that have been applied with a sponge roller. I made my own printing stamps by cutting out shapes from some leftover packaging foam and then gluing the foam to blocks of wood. The stamps were used to decorate the sids of the drum and the top that I cut from very heavy paper. Poster board would surely work. I attached the top with bongo ties that my husband had on hand. They're similar to rubber bands, but they have that little embellishment that is pictured. I was pleasantly surprised that the acrylic paint adheres so well to the tin.

Making your own Printing Stamps

To make these little stamps I took some of the textures that I used in my post about rubbings and glued them to scraps of wood. They're a nice comfortable size for a child's hand.

 

1. Rippled paper from a gift box

 

2. The material that onion bags are made from

 

3. Rolls of liners for drawers

 

4. cloth doily

 

5. plastic doily

 

6. strip of plastic from packaging

 

7. I honestly don't know what this is. I picked it up in the sewing section of a craft store. Maybe someone can tell me. Anyway, it's plastic.

 

Printing ink was rolled onto the surfaces with a brayer. This would probably be another good way to make wrapping paper.

Check out my giveaway here.

Birthday Crowns

Making crowns is a fun activity at a birthday party.

I used poster board for the base. Once you make the first one you can trace it and have them all pre-cut for your guests. Mine is 20 inches long. I found a great selection of satin and grosgrain ribbon at the dollar store and bought rick rack in different colors. The pattern on the crown was done with the stamp that is pictured and the little medallion in the center is made from kitchen foil that was imprinted with the cast iron trivet ( a paper doily works too). The jewels are sheets of glitter paper that were cut into squares and attached with white glue.

Have fun!

how to make your own stamp

Sheets of foam can be purchased at most art supply stores and they are very easy to cut. I drew this paisley onto the foam and used a pen to make the little dot designs. Using a glue stick I adhered the paisley to a block of wood. You can use acrylic paint or block printing ink applied with a brayer or a brush. Another alternative with small children is to use commercial ink pads. The stamps are a fun way to make your own wrapping paper.