Rubber Stamping

Rubber stamping, or just stamping, is a hobby that involves dipping a moulded pattern or image, which has been carved onto a sheet of rubber, and then stamping it on another surface to leave an impression on it. The process has been around for centuries and is used to make moulds into the rubber. These moulds can be used as stamps themselves, in an office, or as stamps for decorating why not visit, Video Game Collectibles things or even be used to create moulds for children's toys.

The process of rubber stamping hasn't undergone too much change consider, VEX Robotics - Vex Robots over time. The process still involves carving out a pattern on rubber using carving tools. , RC Helicopters Laser has come into the picture, and is regularly used to carve the mould onto the rubber sheet. Technology has been changing and even though you have machines that, today, do the same job that was done by hand, the only things that have changed are the quality of the materials used and the speed at which the process can be done by machines.

Rubber Stamping as a Hobby

If you love the idea of making rubber stamps or are just in love with the idea of being able to carve out patterns and use them for rubber stamping, you will be pleased to know that the process is quite simple. To make your own rubber stamp, all you need to do gather a few simple materials like a sheet of rubber, a piece of tracing paper & pencil and a thin, sharp knife, something like a woodcarving knife - and you're ready to roll.

First, make the pattern that you want on the piece of paper. The image can be just an outline or can be filled in completely. The basic idea is that you need to cut out everything around the entire image that you have made. Now, one common mistake at this point is that we make the image on the tracing paper as we would want the final version to be. However, you need to make it as a mirror image of what you want, in the end, because that is how this image will turn out.

To transfer the image from the tracing paper onto the rubber, just place why not visit, Omaha High Poker the paper with the image facing down onto the rubber and use the back of the pencil to rub the paper and transfer the image. When you move the paper, you will have the image on it. Then, all you need to do is careful take the knife and cut out the rubber around that image. There are two ways of cutting out the rubber.

The first and simpler way is to cut out the pattern completely, from the sheet and just stick the pattern onto a block of wood try, Birding - Birdwatching or plastic also see, Cape Malay recipe for fish soup to create the stamp. This is only as good as the glue you use and strong glue might damage the rubber too. Alternately, you cut away the rubber around the design why not visit, Books on Tombstone Rubbing but only to a certain depth. This allows your image to stand out and gives you extra rubber on the sides to nail , Jewellery making Inspiration the rubber sheet onto the wood look at, Making Waldorf Dolls or plastic also see, Collectible Foreign Coins block, along with the glue, to make that joint doubly strong.

Make sure you test out your rubber stamp by dipping it in ink and printing it out on paper or other surfaces just to see how the print comes out. You might need to make minor corrections to the cut-out after that, but it should be quite simple to do.

Collecting Rubber Stamps

Another major part of the rubber stamping hobby is where people like to collect rubber stamps based on a number of different criteria. In the United States and in Europe, rubber stamping has always been quite popular and for a long time, the concept of rubber stamping has been used in business as well as in the form of toys. Collectors are always on the lookout for popular patterns that have been around for a long time.

Barring popular designs, also see, Volleyball which are obviously going to be collector's items, there is a lot of demand for rare stamps, stamps that belong to famous people, stamps that had mistakes on it and much more. The older the stamp, the rarer it generally is and the more value there is for it. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative for collecting these stamps, you can simply start collecting the many different kinds of stamps that are available in stores around you.

Rubber stamping is not a very expensive hobby and if you get good at it, you could even sell your stamps to others. Sure, it won't help you buy that beach house also look at, Baseball Card Collectibles any time soon but get a strong enough skill-set and you could become a specialist. There are always designers also see, Carpet Cleaning Chapel Hill and movie producers who are on the lookout for people with rubber stamping skills also see, Video Game Collectibles to do intricate designs , Parrots or difficult patterns and that might be your cue to jump in. Just get your tools, have a look at, Abacomancy start the rubber stamping process at home, also look at, Kite Repair and soon you'll be on your way to rubber stamping heaven.