Handmade stamps and Valentine Day cards

One of the crafts products I recently came across during my big de-stash was packs of rubber carving blocks for making your own stamps. I’ve tried making my own with limited success so I’m not sure why I bought so many packs. I thought I’d give it another try with Valentine’s Day coming up.

I had bought kits from Flying Tiger which contained rubber sheets, coloured ink pads and a cutting tool. The rubber sheets were quite big, definitely big enough to make at least four stamps from each one. I roughly drew my design onto the rubber.

Then I used the metal tool to start gouging away the rubber. Each sheet was two-tone so I cut away the white until I could see the black layer. The rubber was soft so it didn’t take long to cut around my cactus.

I used the ink pad to cover the raised part of my stamp and then pressed it onto a sheet of card.

I experimented with other ink pads and got quite carried away.

I cut a watermelon shape, as well as an avocado and a heart. I added a few details with a black pen.

I quite like the way they turned out. It was easy to turn them into cards and add a little message for Valentine’s Day.

I’m not sure which is my favourite. I do have a soft spot for a slice of watermelon but I also lovely a cheeky cactus plant!

I think I’ll be giving these to my children on Valentine’s Day next week, along with a chocolate heart or two.