Some people like to leave a little of this excess on their stamp to get that handmade woodcut look and some people like their edges nice and clean. One single 46 sheet of the Speedball Speedy Carve is almost 9 bucks. Then I make a V-cut in the opposite direction to cut out a slice of the rubber material. The Speedball sheets have this gentle curve to one of the edges. But I have on occasion forgotten to check and I end up with a stamp that I have to remember to rock a little as I ink and stamp so that I get a clear impression. First, its quite a bit cheaper. A simple way to trace a design is to scribble graphite pencil on the backside of the image to create a simple carbon paper effect and then just trace over your design using a pen or pencil. Its reminiscent of a giant pink eraser. The simplest is to just draw it directly on the material. It is very easy to cut into and is also very durable and doesnt crack or crumble. Continue this process of using the razor blade, or other fine-tipped tool, to cut around the edges of the details, and then use a broader, scoop-shaped tool for the large negative areas. By the way, if you use this technique the stamped image will appear in the same orientation as your original design. If you have a very complex image to transfer this might the preferable way. The second thing is pretty minor, but it bugs me. As the paper dampens and heats up youll start to see the image through the back. Speedball is a company that makes lots of different printing supplies and they make this pink rubbery stuff that they call Speedy Carve. Its annoying. I buy these in a box of a hundred from Home Depot. Maybe this is where the machinery that makes these sheets grips them. Press the iron down onto the paper with a medium pressure, over and over again. Another technique is to use a steam iron to transfer the image. Then I can go back and easily cut away the rest of the excess material with one of the scoop-shaped or v-shaped tools. As you are ironing you can peel back one edge of the paper to see if the image is transferring adequately. I fall into both camps, depending on the image Im carving and what I intend to use it for. At some point in the carving process youll have to ink up the stamp to see what youve got so far. With a few easy-to-get supplies its simple to carve your own rubber stamps. You need some material to carve, something to carve with and a design to carve. Im basically trying to make a clean gutter or moat around all of the details of my design that is very precise. If you like your stamps to have nice square corners you can certainly leave them that way. You could actually do all of this with just a razor blade, if you had no other tools to use, but the dedicated tools make cleaning up the excess rubber a little faster and easier. Dont let the iron sit for a long time without moving it or, again, you risk melting the material a little. If it isnt, just lay it back down and keep ironing. The material you need to carve a stamp is cheap and easy to find. The gutters around small spaces dont have to be very deep. You can use pencil, Sharpie, ball point pen almost anything that makes a mark will work on this material. You can buy a wide variety of carving tools any tools that are advertised as woodcutting tools, or tools used for cutting linotypes, will work quite well for this. First print your image on your desktop printer. When it comes to transferring an image to the rubber base before you start carving, there are a lot of different ways to do that. Set your iron on a medium heat and make sure the steam is on. If you make your iron too hot you may melt the rubber and the image will stick to it. I try to cut at least a sixteenth of an inch of material away when I do this. If the image seems clear enough to be able to carve then you can pull the paper all the way off. Be aware that if you use this technique the stamped image will be the reverse of the original design. Speedball makes a cheap set for cutting linoleum blocks that has a variety of cutting blades that are stored in the handle. Here are the links to both of the materials I mention, so you can be your own judge. This runs about 10 bucks. I do all of the initial detail carving with this razor blade. I get tired of cutting away all of the excess rubber and also dealing with ink on the edges when Im using the stamp, so I always trim my stamps down by cutting away a lot of the excess rubber around the image. I start by cutting along the edges of the design, slanting the cut away from the outline. However, Ive discovered some generic pink stuff that I like a little better than the Speedball brand, for two reasons. Its not a huge issue I just avoid using that edge when Im cutting my stamps. Click to Watch the Make Your Own Rubber Stamps Video Tutorial. Cut it out roughly around the image area and place it upside-down on the rubber material. So, once you have the image transferred to the rubber material, regardless of how you decide to do that, it is time to start carving. One of my primary go-to cutting tools for rubber stamps is a simple, cheap single-edge razor blade. But, if youd still like it to be darker before you start carving, you can clarify it with a sharpie, adding weight to lines and details that you might want to emphasize. Thats quite a difference. When you are cutting more delicate interior edges and spaces that are close together youll want to use a much lighter touch with your cutting tool than when you are carving the outer edges. Often, though, you already have a drawing or design that you want to transfer. Its also possible to carve pretty fine detail with this material. And of course youll need some paint or ink to stamp with once your creation is finished. I feel like I have the best control over tiny areas with this simple tool and then I use the other more dedicated tools with broader blades for cleaning up the larger areas. This site rocks the Classic Responsive Skin for Thesis. I got eight of these 46 sheets for 17 bucks. Otherwise you risk cutting through adjacent fine lines and losing them. This ironing technique is often adequate for transferring an image that you can see well enough to carve. The generic material doesnt have that issue. The only advantage I can think of for using the Speedball material is that it is a very common brand and youll probably find Speedy Carve at most major craft stores, like Michaels or Joanns. The carving may be rough at this point, but this will let you see what is left to be done. Buy unique handmade books and journals or learn how to make a book, Caterpillar Bookbinding Stitch Written Instructions, Coptic Binding Part 1 Creating the Cover, Coptic Binding Part 2 Sewing It All Together. So, there you have it. One simple technique for creating your own rubber stamps.