How to carve stamps using supplies from the dollar store - the Dollar Tree edition

So people seem to like one of my videos from last year which had to do with carving stamp carving using materials from the dollar store.  That one, which you can find here, deserved a revisit but with a US-based dollar store.

Presenting: Dollar Store Stamp Carving - the Dollar Tree edition...

I'd love to know what you think - leave comments below :)

Happy carving!

Stamp carving travel kit

Sometimes I can't believe how much stamp carving tools, materials, etc. I've collected over the years.  It seriously fills like half a room in my little home.  I get judgemental looks from my cat every time I bring something new home (seriously).

But because I find carving soothing and therefore like to do it when on vacation, I have to be quite particular in what things I take with me when I travel (not to mention possible airport security issues, which is a whole other matter).

I created a quick video recently about the kit of supplies I do take with me at the bottom of this post.  The important thing is that when I travel south, there's usually going to be a whole lot more light (hello sun!) than when I'm home (yikes winter!) so my massive magnifier (like this one) can stay home. Anything else though is pretty much fair game, but I like to travel light so I try to keep it pared down in any event.

You can check out the video here:

Have you ever carved while traveling?  I'd love to hear about it!

Travellin' and carvin'

So, I'm really lucky in life because I can usually figure out how to get away from snow and find my way for a short break somewhere sunny in the winter.

But does that stop me from carving?  Nope.  I have a small carving kit that I put together every time I travel and I think I'll be making either a post or video about it next.

In the meantime, it is time for this month's Carve Along!  The video is below and you can check it out on YouTube.  You can also get access to the free Carve Along sheet by signing up here.

The material I used to carve in this video is a solid-coloured square type carving material.  On the one hand, the rubber comes in pieces that are smaller than I'd like for carving (I like making big stamps) but the smaller size is perfect for travelling with...

Hope you enjoy the video - happy carving!

Quick Cut: How to remove StazON from your hand-carved stamps

I'm trying out new ways of making videos, and in this short new video I show how to use StazOn remover to actually get the StazOn off of your stamps.

So I guess the maker of StazOn knows that its permanent ink can be difficult to remove, because of all of the brands of ink that they make, it's the only one that has its own specific remover.  While normally, I'm happy to stamp off my stamps to clean them ("stamp off" meaning to repeatedly stamp on scrap paper until the ink stops transferring), for StazOn ink, reinking the stamp causes the ink to revive and discolour the print.  In the case of the Opaque StazOn (as shown on the stamp in the video), it causes the next colour to bead up and not print properly.

Well, it's a pretty easy fix: the StazOn all purpose cleaner gets the reside off quite nicely and really does do a great job of cleaning up a hand-carved stamp.

I'm looking forward to making another Carve Along (CAL) video soon - so stay tuned!