How to Make Stamps with Latex Caulk

It seems that I never stop looking for new ways to create my own stamps for printing on fabric.  What follows is how I created stamps using latex caulking.  Here are a few that I made yesterday.

And here is how I made them.

I started with wood blocks that I cut from stock lumber.

 Then I pulled out a caulking gun and some caulking that was in the garage.

 I squeezed caulking material onto the blocks and spread it smoothly over the blocks with one of those mock-up credit cards that litter our mail almost weekly.  Once I had a smooth surface of caulking, I used a letter opener to scribe a pattern into the caulking material.

Once again, here is what the blocks looked like after I had scribed designs into them.  The edges of the scribed lines tended to pull up but I set the blocks aside to dry anyway.

Although the directions on the caulking material indicate that the product is paintable within 30 minutes, I let the blocks dry for a couple of hour just to make sure they were good and dry. 

I knew that the surface needed to be flat in order to achieve good prints from the blocks, so I laid parchment paper over them and rolled the surfaces flat with a brayer.

I had a swath of canvas lying around and decided to try out the stamps using Setacolor fabric paint.  Here are a couple of closeups of the result.

I like the somewhat uneven nature of each print that resulted from the slightly uneven surface of each stamp.  Unlike store bought stamps that always produce the same printed image, these stamps take on a character all their own with each and every printing.

Here is the entire long, narrow swath of canvas printed.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2017.  All rights reserved

 

 

DaVinci's Vetruvian Man at IQF Long Beach, CA

 

DaVinci's Spirit Visits IQF Long Beach- Picture compliments of Mary Beth Kile

I don't know why the bottom corner of the quilt nearest my elbow appeared wonky in this picture.  I swear, it was squared up and perfectly rectangular :-)

 

Here's a closer picture of the quilt...and me (tee hee) - Picture compliments of Mary Beth Kile

Picture compliments of So Cal SAQA News

Here I am demonstrating the method I developed for making polymer clay stamps for use on fabric.  It was heart-lifting to see how many quilt festival attendees were interested and it was wonderful to see an old friend, Susan Edwards--the pretty gal wearing a red and white striped blouse.

All the exhibits were absolutely astounding.  It was inspirational to be among the works of such talented artists.