Howdy! I told you this tutorial was going to be about making stamps out of pencil erasers…right?
Well, let’s cut to the chase. I saw this tutorial on Creature Comforts a while ago, and thought it was a fantastic idea. It’s an easy and cost effective way to spruce up cards and packaging. I tried it over the weekend and had a lot of fun using the stamps to make little cards.
Did I mention that this is a great way to use old no.2 pencils you have lying around? Yup, even if the eraser is dried out and leaves streaks on your paper when you try to erase. The only caveat is that the erasers need to be new (never used), so that you can have a flat stamping surface.
To make your stamps, you will need:
-no.2 pencils with new/unused erasers
-X-acto knife
-ballpoint pen
-stamp pads
-paper, or something else to stamp on
-a damp paper towel
steps
one
Take your ballpoint pen, and draw out the desired stamp shape on your eraser.
I made a triangle and a heart.
*I also tried doing this on the big white eraser you see in the images above, but it didn’t work out for me. The erasers were too porous for the stamp pads I had, and the shapes that I stamped out looked more like blobs than hearts. Perhaps I should try with a larger design or a different kind of eraser next time.
two
Using your x-acto knife, carefully cut the excess eraser away, leaving just your shape.
You’ll want to cut down to the base of the eraser, where the metal piece is. I made the heart by cutting right angles to get the general shape, then shaving down little pieces of eraser to give it a more rounded shape.
three
Admire your fancy work. Then bust out the stamp pads.
It’s time to go stamp happy! Make sure your damp paper towel close by, so you can wipe off the stamps when you switch colors.
I ended up making a bunch of different patterns using my stamps, then went back with a Micron pen to add accents. I thought this one (below) would make a cute name card for a dinner party. (Or in my case, a tea party that has pb&j.)
So there you have it – stamps from a no.2 pencil! The more you use them, the more ideas you come up with. I promise!
I’ll post trip pictures soon, but for now I wanted to let y’all know about an awesome giveaway going on today only. estieMade is teaming up with Umba Box to give away this sweet geode necklace. I’d love for one of you to win it! Hop over to the Umba Box blog to enter the giveaway. And while you’re there, you can read my interview and find out about my fave Valentine’s Day of all time!
