Fairy and flora stamp sheet, stamping, and a lost credit card

Finished this up just in time last week, sent it off to be pressed into rubber, got it back, and then made a few stamped pieces for a magazine submission deadline for stamped fairy/elf art. Phew!

I have posted larger images on Flickr and have also posted the sheet for sale on the Etsy shop. I am also offering small sets of images from the sheet.

I had bookplates on the brain while putting the designs together - hence the little phrases and the stamped images I created. The sheet also includes smaller versions of some of the designs from our last stamp sheet - the Mucha-inspired berries as well as the leaf design based on the hand-carved stamp I recently retired.

Although these stamps are deep etch, they were not specifically designed for use with velvet embossing, as our other stamps were. These stamps are smaller, more detailed and not "reverse value", although they may suit some people's velvet embossing purposes and are certainly safe and deep enough to use.

I've actually never done much paper stamping. When I received the raw rubber sheets, I was in Boston on business and visiting my family. I went searching around Arlington, Cambridge and Boston on Friday with my friend Susan to find cling mount sheets, ink, and other items for stamping.

I didn't find ANY cling mount foam. That was a bit of a surprise. I thought that it was more readily available in brick and mortar stores. It served as a lesson to me that I should get some to offer on my shop so that people who purchase the uncut unmounted sheets can throw cling mount in the cart as well.

I went to Art Beat and Playtime in Arlington - love these places. No luck with cling mount. Then on to Paper Source by Porter Square in Cambridge - my friend Susan has been telling me about this place for years and how easy it is to drop loads of money there. Exactly why I never set foot in the place before last week. Gorgeous papers, a nice stamp collection, inks, cards, journals, etc. I tried very hard to hold myself back. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I picked up a copy of the May/June issue of RubberStampMadness, some embossing powder and a lovely flower stamp (used in the card art below) and olive branch stamp (used in the green card art at top).

Then we tried Spark, also near Porter Square. The women working there were a little too busy with lunch to pay us much mind, but it was just as well, as they didn't have anything I needed, stamp-wise. They did have lovely beads and fiber art materials, though.

Then we went in search of Michaels crafts to see if they had cling mount. We ended up at an AC Moore instead. Still no cling mount, but I did get an embossing tool and some adhesive-backed felt, at least, which would act as a cushion for the stamps. I should have picked up an acrylic stamp block, as mine were sitting at home in upstate NY...

I dropped Susan off and headed to a gas station in my rental car. While I was waiting for the tank to be filled I absent-mindedly played with my credit card and it slipped down alongside the window, into the door. Gone. I couldn't stop laughing at myself. The gas station attendant seemed to think I was a bit insane and gave me a lollipop when I told him what had happened. I called the company to let them know that I had lost the card and they asked if I wanted them to check to see if there had been any suspicious activity - um, no... no one is going to get their hands on that card again until or unless that rental car is completely demolished and the door ripped open.

I stamped on Saturday... I was reminded again and again that I should have gotten an acrylic block. And it was very clear that I don't have much experience stamping on paper. Heat embossing was fun and very satisfying. I colored in some of the pieces with markers and/or colored pencils as I watched a "Top Chef" marathon.

Now I am home again and thinking of future designs...

Cheers!

Our New Stamp Set

Our newest stamp sheet has arrived back from the engravers. I came right home from the Post Office and cut out a few of the stamps to test them on velvet. I'm very happy with them!

See our Flickr page for more images. We also have the stamp sheet posted on our Etsy shop (the pre-order discount is no longer available).

New Stamp Set - Pre-Order Discount

Update, April 4, 2008: I am leaving this post up, but the Pre-Order Discount for this particular stamp set is no longer available.


I've been away for the last week or so, but managed to do some final "tweaking" to the designs for our third stamp sheet and send the file off to the manufacturer.

Hopefully, we will have our first batch of sheets within a week or so. I'm posting a limited number of sets at a discount before we get the sets in our inventory. 25% off the usual price for a sheet. See our Etsy shop for any listings.

Berry and Leaf Rubber Stamp Set... Almost There

I think I am almost ready to send in the file for the next stamp sheet set, which is based on the images I've been working on (and posting about).

On my Flickr account I've posted other images that I have been working on that will probably feed into the 4th rubber stamp sheet that will be appropriate for use with velvet and clay. Probably more of the nature/leaf theme.

I may have a sheet ready before that, though, which will be smaller, more delicate images of fairies and elves. I am trying to get things ready for a submission deadline and that has made me rethink my priorities. Initially, I was assuming that I would focus on stamps that can be used for more than paper, but this project came up and I decided I would give it a try.

I will post about that next.

Art Geekery

(Originally posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008)

I COULD be faster/more efficient at producing art, but like pretty much all people who enjoy arts & crafts, I get caught up in the tactile experience. (My Mom says that I would seem mesmerized when we'd go to fabric stores when I was a kid.)

I am still not a total convert to doing art digitally - I "need" to hold an actual ink-producing pen or marker in my hand for a lot of things - but one thing that does sometimes give me a kick is how the different versions of an image look in thumbnail view in my computer files. Especially when the images are boldly black and white.

Maybe it is just me...

Berries and Lace

(Originally posted Feb 8, 2008)

Been a busy week - not as much progress on art images as I had hoped.

Posting the latest drafts of some of the other images I have been working on for the next stamp set. Still not sure if I will start working on the bird as well, or if I will work on some more Celtic/knotwork/flourish-y type of designs.

I'm posting 2 of each image - once with reverse value, which gives a better idea of how the image will look when embossed on velvet. These images are based on Mucha designs, but I have reworked them to be more suitable for stamps.