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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Carving a Stamp from a Photo


Stamp Carving 101

This is my last homework for my stamp carving class. For this assignment we were taught how to take a photo and make a stamp from it. So cool!

I chose this photo of my former kitteh:

To get started, I used a pink pen to identify which lines I'd use to define her:

You can also use a Photo Shop option to accomplish this, but pffth, a pen is free.

Then I transferred it to the rubbah:

Then a miracle occurred and I ended up with this:

I will say there was much muttering and WHAT WAS I THINKING exclamations, but no blood was drawn and I'm not totally disliking the end result.

You see, I started out thinking I'd carve it so I'd leave behind just the outline, and thus be able to stamp a white cat. I'd intended to cut out all the interior of the image, like I did around her lower lip. Wouldn't that have been cool? Yeah, not happening. I got stuck when I got to the whiskers, and changed course mid-carving, which was not my best option. I could start over (not) or live with a fat outline, which is obviously what I decided to do here.

I haven't made a card with this yet, because I may still go back and tweak it a little. Either way, I declare it mostly done, as is the class.

I have to say this is one of the best online classes I've ever taken. The videos are clear and she does a great job of telling you about options and the pros & cons of each one. I now have a new skill, that if practiced enough (hahaha, ahem) I can see me actually using some day.

So if you're looking for something to learn that won't break the bank (you really only have to buy the rubber and the carving tool) and is reasonably priced (you get 10 classes over 5 weeks), take this one! 

Stamp Carving 101

No, I was not paid to say this; I just really enjoyed the class!

Alrighty, then, time to get stampy!

Thanks for stopping by!

3 comments:

  1. Your cat stamp looks fab! All of your craved stamps looked good. And you still have all ten fingers intact after all of the cutting with sharp tools!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you did an excellent job with this stamp!

    ReplyDelete

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