Lately I’ve had fun experimenting with cork stamps. I carve them myself from corks leftover from wine and champagne bottles.
Here’s what one looks like:
Here’s how to make your own:
1. Sand your cork so that the face of it is as flat as possible.
2. Choose a simple shape. If you don’t trust your art ability, find a small clip art image. Either glue it to your cork or draw it on the flat edge of the cork with a felt tip marker.
3. Carve out the image. I find that I do best if I use my craft knife and slice straight down into the cork, then I chip away the excess. Your goal is to leave a slightly raised image.
To stamp your image, use a thick piece of styrofoam under your paper. This compensates for the fact that your cork probably won’t be as flat as you’d like.
Now, press the raised image against your ink pad and then onto your paper. Don’t worry if the entire image does NOT transfer. That’s part of the beauty of this art form.
Finally, add dimension to your image with watercolor paint.
CONTEST
If you would like for me to send you a bookmark featuring some of my cork stamping, just comment on this blog. On Tuesday, I’ll choose one lucky commenter to win a custom-made bookmark.