stamps & stamping

Hey!
I'm back again.

This time, I am posting about my stamping experience.

No, I don't mean store bought stamps.

I mean handmade stamps, of course.

I was inspired.

This lady makes reeaalllly nice stamps. 

So cute, intricate, and pretty.

*sigh*

She uses an artist carving block for her stamps.

And a linoleum cutter.

I have neither.

Of course, by now you should know that probably won't discourage me much.

I improvised.

As usaul.

;P

Craft foam does an admirable job masquerading as carving block, and an ordinary craft knife seems to fit the job of cutting foam pretty nicely!

I like birds. And flowers.

So those are the stamps I made.

I layered my foam and glued it together, as it was so thin.

Then I cut out the shape I wanted for a stamp.

 I carved some details into the stamps. 

I made sure to carve deeply enough that you can see the marks, but not all the way through the foam.

That wouldn't have been good.

 :)

Lastly, I glued the foam shapes onto a piece of cardboard.

Then I tried stamping.

They worked!

I was very happy.

:D

I stamped on scrap paper...

ripped brown paper bags...

and pretty patterned card stock.

Then I made bookmarks.

:) :) :)

It was very fun.

And I like the final products, too! :P

(I also stamped on cloth...I haven't made any thing with that yet. We'll see if any thing comes of it...)

And that's all for now! 

My stamping fiesta is recorded.

:)

I will try to post again somewhere in the nearish future! 

;P

watercolor birds

:)
I'm posting again!

Yes.

Here are the watercolor birds I mentioned in the other post.
Neither of them are quite as good as the sparrow, (in my opinion) but I still like them.

Firstly,

a cardinal

Well, the poor bird appears to be a bit tail heavy.

And the legs. *sigh* 'fraid these aren't right again.

On a brighter note, I was pleased with the beak!

:P

 And a blue bird.

I like this one better than the cardinal, though my sparrow is still my favorite. This one is softer looking, and a little ruffled...

more realistic.

AND:

THE CLAWS WORKED! 

:D :D :D :D 

I actually painted a titmouse too, but it had serious stomach problems.

Looked as if he might have swallowed a golf ball or something...

So I won't post that.
:)

I keep thinking I'm caught up on posting, and then I start some new project. 

I wonder why it is that when I'm on summer break I lie around and read all day, but when I should be working out Algebra 2 equations during school, I have half a dozen projects that urgently need my attention first?

Hm.
:P

My latest project was carving stamps, so I'll try to post about that soon! :)

bas-relief scupture

Ok, no excuses this time.

I have just been lazy.

;P

School has started!

That means I have started my art course. 

Fuuuun.

I get to do art projects during school.

:)

Well.

This week I was supposed to write a 200-500 word report on ancient art. 

Hehehe.

Oh, the benefits of homeschooling.

I suggested attempting a bas-relief sculpture instead.

Much more interesting.

My suggestion was approved, so long as I blogged about it afterward. 

:D

So, here I am.

 

In case you didn't look at the definition, bas-relief is a sculpture done on a chunk of stone, or wood, or wax.  

My sculpture couldn't be stone,

(Don't have the right tools...)

Or wood,

(Don't have the right tools...)

Or wax,

(Don't have wax...)

So I tried clay.

Bas-relief is often known as "low relief", meaning that the carving is fairly shallow.

It is carved out of the material, instead of molded onto it.

Enough of definitions. 

 On to the process!

;P

I took a whole lump of clay,
(extravagant, I know... :p)
grabbed my knife with removable tips, (so handy!)
stole the rolling pin from it's drawer,
and began to...

flatten the clay.
(bit of an anti climax there?)
:D

That took quite a while.

Then, when I had a flat piece of clay to work with, I started carving.

I decided to make a dolphin,
don't ask me why.

A sort of random choice, I guess.

I wasn't at the peak of inspiration...

And the final piece.

Nope, not many photos.
Mine is not the blog of photos.
:p

And there you have it.

Documented.

And it will go down into generations, handed down to hundreds of thousands of eager readers, longing to know of this amazing, historical event, that changed the course of...
[/sarcasm]

Ok.
I'll stop.
;P

P.S. I painted some more birds! I'll try to post them soon.Yeah. We'll see if that actually happens or not... :P