Crafts/DIY: Erasers and Stampers

My sister and I decided to attend a craft session on making your own rubber stamps using erasers. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. The traffic was horrendous going to Katipunan because of the Ateneo entrance exam happening that day. What were we thinking?! But then, it was super fun, so even though a usual 10-minute drive from my sister's house to the events place became 40 minutes, it was okay.

We were the first ones to arrive. Early birds! Haha. Well that was because we knew the traffic was going to horrible, so we left an hour before the start of the craft session.

The rubbercut crafternoon slash garden party was hosted by Alessa (of Life After Breakfast) and Mansy (of Hey Kessy). Their setup was pretty simple. There was a long table with wooden chairs around. There were cut greens on tiny pails and jars as centerpieces and some tea lights to rid off insects. Mansy also placed a pail filled with a sample of the washi tapes she sells (I drool!). Black rattan boxes filled with rubber-cutting tools and materials were put on each place.

The boxes were topped with a DIYed library card that lists the box contents. It was stuck on the lid using a strip of washi tape. How cute, right?

First we made our own name tags with an assortment of letter stamps and decorative elements they made with erasers.

Then, they gave a brief overview of how to make your own rubber stamps. I know you can learn about this on your own, but there's something different with going to a session where you get to meet a lot of other folks who share the same interests. Anyway, here are the steps:

[1] Draw a mirror-image of your design on the rubber eraser. This tip makes sense especially if you are planning to create a text in your stamp. You can also draw on paper first, then trace over the outlines again, with carbon paper in between the paper and the eraser. The erasers they gave us were ginormous!

[2] Using a paper cutter (or an Xacto knife), cut the edges of the design halfway through the eraser.

[3] Then, using carving/cutting tools, gradually carve out portions of the eraser (with the design) that you don't want printed.

[4] Test your stamp, and touch it up to make it perfect.

Yes, I did an Orla Kiely pattern. I am such a fan, can't you tell yet? I think I'll diy some wrapping papers with it next time, like what Mansy did here.

We had some merienda, courtesy of Pipino. It is a small vegetarian restaurant near my mom's house, and being a carnivore, I didn't expect it to be really good. But it was. They served lasagna, walnut salad and mushroom salpicao. The salad was my favorite.

The plate looks china huh? But it's really plastic. The wooden fork was adorned with stamps as well. This reminds me, I have a supply of wooden utensils in my craft room waiting to be decorated.

We were serenaded by the soothing voice of Johnoy Danao while we ate and chatted.

The session was topped off with a display of some of our works.