When your Strategy Fails, make Custom Designed Stamps!

I have just completed my Implementing Strategy class and entered my very last class for my MBA degree! Come January, I’ll be holding that Masters degree in my hand, baby! I’m extremely proud of this announcement and plus it’s a good excuse as to why I only write in this blog once a week. I have papers to hand in every single week which totally blows but considering it’ll make me a Master at something, it’s a fair trade.

My last class is Taxes in Small Business. Unfortunately, I could care less about taxes and the only reason I’m excited for this class is because it’s my last one. I don’t know what it is about the subject of finance that bores me to death. What I learned from finance class is that I’m going to hire a financial manager. What I learned from my accounting class is that I’m going to hire an accountant. But still I’ll accept the fact it’s a smart move to know exactly how your financial department is handling your money and when dhd actually becomes a business entity, I know I’ll be reading my financial chapters again and trying not to let my mind wander to something more cool…like blogging about how taxes totally blows.

Aside from school work, I’ve also been thinking constantly about design.  I really wanted to follow-up on my Thanksgiving ideas but I’m in disbelief that Thanksgiving is less than two days away and by the time I actually post a cool Thanksgiving tutorial, it will already be Christmas. Geez, I’m banging my head against my desk as to what is taking me so long. People have been planning their Thanksgiving décor since, like July. I’m thinking that I better start implementing some sort of strategy here. So you know what this means? I’m going to start planning for Easter. Joking…but wouldn’t that be a good strategy?

So I was about to scrap all my Thanksgiving projects and just start them next year when I thought, what the heck…let me show my dear reader one of my ideas in the works…

A friend of mine showed me a cool way to make some stamps so I decided to see what I can make with the stamp idea on fabric. I took some sketches that I played around with…from my Inspired by Nature photos and thought about how they would look on textile…

 

My Nature Inspiration

A few sketches inspired from the above photo

Pinecones can inspire too!

I then turned these sketches into my very own handmade stamps.  (Tutorial is at the end of this blog). I only had 1 ½” X 1 ½” acrylic blocks on hand, so this limited me to only use some small design sketches. Since this was just a test, I didn’t mind.  (Plus, I don’t want to give away my really awesome designs just yet!) With the stamps, I had an opportunity to brand anything; stationary, walls, cloth, and my first trial run of formal dinner napkins which can also be used as handkerchiefs. 

 

Featured here are designs inspired by pinecones I picked up while hiking…

The plan view

The elevation view

 …and since a turkey would be so cliché for Thanksgiving, thought instead I’d bring some good luck with a wishbone.

They are each 100% cotton cloth, stamped with acrylic fabric ink, and bordered with its own unique décor stitch.  Best of all, they can be thrown in the washer for cleaning! The stamps are not perfect and concise as a stencil, but that’s what I find loveable and quirky about them. I do plan on testing them this Thanksgiving to see how they hold up. And if they pass inspection, I’m moving onto luxury linen for Christmas!

So if you want to get that “stamped” look here’s how you can make a custom-made stamp. There are several ways to make stamps so keep in mind this is just one way of doing it. (And please ignore the fact I need a manicure…I have been very “hands-on” lately!)

How to Make Custom Designed Stamps

You will need:

·         Sketch of your design

·         Clear Acrylic block (should be large enough to fit your design. I bought my blocks at Michael's; they had 1 ½” x 1 ½” blocks for $1 each.)

·         A soft lead pencil (such as a #2 pencil)

·         Scissors (small sharp scissors work best)

·         9” x 12” sheet of adhesive fun foam. (Make sure the sheet is at least 1/16” thick. I also bought this from Michael's.)

·         A bone folder

·         Acrylic ink, fabric ink or a stamp pad (this depends on what you are using the stamp for)

Your tools

1)      Take your sketch and photocopy it on a piece of white paper.

2)     Take the photocopy and turn it over so the photocopied drawing is face down.

3)     Make sure you can see the drawing through the back of the paper. With your pencil trace the drawing onto the back of the paper. If you can’t see the drawing, it helps to place a piece of white paper underneath the photocopy or head to a window and trace the drawing against the glass. Just make sure it’s daylight outside…doesn’t work at night folks!

Trace the design from the back of the photocopy

 

4)     Take the traced drawing and place it face down (meaning traced side down) onto the foam sheet. Take the bone folder and rub the back of the drawing. Make sure to rub hard enough to transfer the lead traced drawing onto the foam sheet.

Rub the drawing with a bone folder to transfer design onto foam.

Check to make sure design transferred onto foam.

5)     Place the acrylic block on top of your photocopy so that you can see the drawing right through the block. You will use it as a template as to where your cut foam pieces will go. This is why you need to use a clear block! Cut the drawing out of the foam sheet, remove the paper backing to expose the adhesive and stick onto the acrylic block in its designated area. Make sure to mark a starting point by coloring in a piece or darkening an outline on your foam drawing so you don't get confused on placement of the pieces.

Cut pieces and adhere pieces onto block.

6)     And there you have it! Your own custom-made and custom-designed stamp. You can use it for ink pads or buy acrylic ink and roll the ink onto the stamp with a brayer. Make sure to use fabric ink if you want to stamp fabric (and you plan to throw it in the washing machine).

And if you do not want to go through the trouble of buying supplies and making a mess, don't you fret my dear reader...yours truly really has been working up a strategy here and my custom designed napkins and handkerchiefs (when perfected) will be up for sale on my website and Etsy shop…coming soon!