Something About Nothing

I really like the idea of creating stamps that work well on their own . . . . . . as well as in a repeat pattern.   The trick to getting repeat stamps to work is to remember to mark your stamp with a grid or evenly spaced marks to line up to so the image will match up when you flip it around.  However sometimes you just get lucky and it turns out close enough without any thought! Day 11 of #carvedecember

Denise Spillane left a comment saying she thought my trees/hills would make great roofs for houses. She is brilliant, because, as you can see below,  they make lovely houses! Thanks for the idea Denise! I love getting comments on my blog! Day 10 of #carvedecember

As I was reaching into my box of stamps I almost put my hand on this. . . GAH! That could have been an easy trip to the ER. Whew.  I am glad I avoided that disaster!  Not sure how my Xacto knife ended up like this as I usually cap it and place it in my pencil box along with my other portable drawing supplies.  I love these tins.  I have three of them.  One is currently in hiding. They come with gum or candy in them and when emptied they are the perfect size for pens and pencils.  I've only seen them on the shelves during the holidays so it's a great time to keep a look out for them.

Day 8 - I really like drawing these swirls and leaves for some reason.  I thought they were a good match for these giant 'Oops' erasers I have.  They carve like butter.  I feel like this stamp looks more like corn stalks than leaves and swirls though. Day 9 - Another variation of the swirl and leaf that I can stack or line up in a row! And again, I am seeing corn on the cob!   These erasers are 5/8" thick and so they create a LOT of excess.  I probably should just slice them in half before I carve them but I don't know that I have a way of doing it evenly.  Oh well.

Just a little Cat love today on the blog.  Mister likes to supervise in the studio, and also makes a great fabric weight. He also lets me know when I have been on the computer too long. Keiko likes to be held a LOT. She is a good model for showing off my art. And when she isn't trying to get to the computer screen to watch birdies. . . . . .she loves to spend time in this box of fabric I must have set out just for her! Do you have studio helpers at your house?

Another set of stamps from left over bits for Day 7 of Carve December. These leftovers are from the Celtic knot stamp.  I thought they could be little evergreen Christmas trees. My daughter thought they looked like mountains.   I decided to try her idea out first: Yup, cute little mountains! But they also make cute trees when you add a few more little bits to them. I carved a star, and lots of little presents and added more details with a micron pen. The little bits are pretty wonky but they do a nice job!

Lyric Kinard made a video recently showing how to draw Celtic Knots.  They are beautiful and I have become a little obsessed with trying to create my own. After much erasing I creating my first knot. And because it is Carve December I decided I wanted to carve this knot into a stamp, but when I drew the knot onto the printing block I decided that part of what I like about my drawing was the partially erased bits in the background.  After much thought I figured out what background I would add and went to carving - very slowly and carefully! The stamp looked nice but how would it print? Oh my gosh!   I am in love. Did I really make that?!