• A Foam Tray
• Paper for drawing on
• Paper for printing on (can be the same)
• Pencil
• Ball Point Pen
• Permanent Marker
• Acrylic Paint or Block Print Ink
• Paint Brush
• Cup of Water
• Tape
• Square of Cardboard or Poster Board

1.First make sure you have a nice clean tray that doesn't have any gouges or scratches on the flat surface. We strongly recommend using trays from vegetables so that you don't have to worry about contamination from meats. Be careful when cleaning the tray they are easy to scratch.

2.Cut off the edges of the tray, leaving just a flat piece of foam.

3..Now trace the outline of the foam on to thin drawing paper (like newsprint or copy paper) and draw the image you want to print within that border. Use a pencil so you can make changes. I asked Ryan to draw me and some of my crafting tools! Don't draw small details they will get lost in printing.

4.It's okay if your pencil sketch is messy because next you go over your pencil lines with the permanent marker. You should be using a paper that the marker will bleed through so put a piece of thick paper underneath so you don't accidentially draw on your table! When you are done you should see the image in reverse on the back of your paper.

5.Tape the foam tray onto the image. Make sure the smooth side is facing the image and it is lined up perfectly. When it is secure flip the paper over and you should be looking at the reverse image with the foam tray underneath.

6.With the ballpoint pen trace all the the outlines of your drawing. Press hard enough to make an impression in the tray (which isn't very hard). Do this very carefully because any slip of the pen could show up on your final print. Just do the outlines.

7.Lift half the paper from the tray and look to make sure you made impressions of your outlines in tray. If you did, remove the paper. If you didn't, carefully lay the paper back down and try it again a little harder.

NOTE: It is backwards on purpose. You want it that way because when you print an image it reverses and will look normal. 

8.Now make sure you have a good idea in your mind of exactly how you want your final print because everything you do now will show up. Take your ballpoint pen and color in (pressing down the foam) everywhere you want your final image to be BLANK. So, basically you are doing the opposite. You are drawing where you don't want ink on the final print. Be sure to press the foam down really well as you fill in the areas. Basically, when you're done, everything you want to show up on the final print should be raised and everything you dont want to show up should be pressed down. If you are having trouble getting it all with the pen you can use any not sharp tool to press the foam down (even the back of the pen).

9.You are ready to start printing! Just tape your foam print block down to a piece of cardboard or thick paper so it stays still and also doesn't make a mess of your table. Then put some of your paint or printing ink on a palette. I just use old CD cases for palettes (more recycling of materials!) they are a perfect size.

10.Use your brush to spread a thin layer of ink everywhere there is a raised surface. Be careful not to get it in the large non-raised areas because it could get on your final print.

11.Before the ink dries carefully lay a sheet of paper down on it and lightly smooth it with your hand. The first prints you make will be test prints, so don't use nice paper. 

12.The real pressing of the paper against the print block should be done with something very flat and smooth. Printmakers use what is called a "baren." I make my own baren with one the sides leftover from the tray, but you can use anything that is smooth flat and has a largish surface area (like the bottom of a glass). Use your baren to rub the back of the paper to really make sure it is making contact with every inked part of the surface. 

13.Now it's time to carefully lift one side of your print to see if it's working. If it is looking okay lift the paper completely off. If the ink hasn't transferred in spots, gently lay it back down and rub those areas some more. When you take your first print off it is the best feeling, you'll love seeing it!

Now congratulate yourself, you've made a print! 

More Tips and Tricks!

Your first couple prints will show you where you need to fix your block. If ink is showing where it's not supposed to, press the foam in that area down more. If you are losing some detail, make that detail bigger. If you are not getting a full image in an area, make sure you add more ink there and rub it with your baren more.

Printing on dry paper is fine, but sometimes you can get a more solid image when you print on wet paper.  If you want to try a wet paper print use a heavy paper so it doesn't tear. Brush water on your paper with a clean brush and let it dry until is is just damp. Then follow all the normal printing steps. When you are rubbing it against the print block you will see the ink through the paper more which is nice for seeing what is happening. Wet prints will be crinkly, so you can press them under books when they are dry. 

If you don't feel like doing all these steps, try just drawing directly on the foam tray and make a print from that. You'll cut out a bunch of steps and you might get something unique out of it!

One last tip. When printmakers have multiple colors, each one is its own block! That's pretty hard, so when I want color I just use watercolors (see the image at the top). You can use whatever you like to color your print. Also you can try all kinds of different paints and inks to make the prints. Play with it and have fun! As usual, I would really like to see any prints you make!

Recently Keby was making her own tea, from herbs she grew in her garden, and she asked me what she should use for the tags on the tea bag strings. I thought since she was making her own special tea, she should have her own special tags!

Lately I've really wanted to start making more stamps and prints. So I decided that's how I would do it! With a stamp you can make lots of copies of something easily but they look a lot nicer and more handmade than printing something from a computer. I thought about making a clay stamp like when I made a chinese chop, and I thought that maybe I'd try a foam tray print because it's easier, but then I saw one of Ryan's white rubber erasers he uses while drawing and I knew it would be perfect! 

For this craft you'll need a white plastic eraser (they're called plastic but they feel like rubber), a pencil or permanent marker, a carving tool or craft knife, a stamp pad, and some paper.

I started by cutting the eraser in half lengthwise. This will give you more eraser to make stamps with. Or to actually erase with!

1. I drew out some ideas for tea label on a piece of paper. When I came up with one that I liked I drew it on to the surface of the eraser with permanent marker. You can use pencil if you want to be able to erase the eraser. Everywhere that is black will be carved out. Those big areas with lots of black lines will be carved out to leave room on the tags for Keby to write what kind of tea she made. REMEMBER: What you carve into the stamp will print backwards, so keep that in mind when you draw your design!

With this next step you have to have an adult's help.The eraser is very small and when carving is is VERY easy to slip and cut your fingers.

 

2. After your image is drawn on the eraser get an adult to carve out the black areas for you. If you have a carving tool this is a little easier, but it can also be done with a craft knife as long as your stamp is not too detailed. You don't have to carve very deep into the eraser to make your stamp work. The good thing about thes erases is they are very easy to cut.

4. For the tea tags you just cut them out and fold them in half. You can see how the final tea bags turned out over at Keby's Blog. 

Have fun making stamps of whatever you want! And as usual send me pictures when you do!

Seeds of Love - Valentine's Craft

Valentine's day is a time to show appreciation for those you love. I love all my friends, and of course I love gardening. I've decided that I'm going to combine my two loves and give away seeds this February 14th! Of course, I won't just hand people a pile of seeds. Instead, I'm going to make everyone a special card to put the seeds in. Because the only thing better than getting a packet of seeds, is getting a packet of seeds and a really nice handmade card!

This craft creates a really pretty card that looks like two flowers growing out of a flowerpot and it can be given with or without seeds inside.

1. Cut a piece of dark colored paper into rectangle that is as wide as you want your flowerpot, but twice as tall. I'm using handmade paper that is created from plants, but regular construction paper will work fine.

2. Fold the rectangle in half and draw a flowerpot shape on the front.

3. Cut out your flowerpot so when you unfold your paper you have two flowerpot shapes attached by their bottoms.

4. Now take other colors of paper and for each flower you want in your pot cut out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Put a bead of glue along the side edges of your top flowerpot half. Fold the bottom half up to meet it and seal them together. Do NOT glue the top of the flowerpot closed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Either put some seeds from a larger pack into a small baggie, or get a store bought packet of seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Write a message on the front of the flower pot and slip the seed pack inside. I also like to put a second message on the seed pack as well. Depending on how big you've made your flower pot you may have to fold the pack to fit it in.

 

You are now ready to spread seeds of love amongst your friends and family. Remember, Valentine's day is not the only time of year people like to get cards letting them know that someone out there loves them. You can make this any time of year, because people can always use a smile and some seeds to plant. Happy Valentine's day!

 

Love,

Keby

We're back from China, but it was such a great trip I can't stop thinking about it! One of the things that I really liked there were Chinese seals, also known as chops. Chops are blocks that have a name or symbol carved into them and can be used to stamp documents. Chops have been used in China for thousands of years as official signatures. Originally, chops were used just by the Emperor to sign official documents, but over time other officials started using it, and now anyone can have their own chop!

At the Shanghai Museum there were some really nice chops, which got me wanting one for all my important documents. Then I figured that I could make my own. The problem was that most chops are made out of hard material such as jade, stone or wood. But you know me, I’m crafty, so I figured out a way to make your own chop with easy to use stuff you might have right now!

You'll Need:

Clay that hardens when you bake it in the oven, a toothpick, and some wax paper. I combined green and white clay so it would look marbled, like a piece of jade, but you can use any color you want.

Your stamp can be any symbol or letters that represent you. You could try using your initials like I did.

There are two options for getting your initials on the stamp. You can carve it in (and the stamp will look like the one on the left), or you can add it using raised strips of clay (and it will look like the one on the right).

1. The first thing you need to do is to knead the clay and roll it into a cylinder for a chop with a long handle. If you want a chop with a more decorative handle just shape part of the clay into a block a little bigger than you want your stamp.

2. Press your cylinder down on the wax paper until you form a flat base the size of the stamp you want. Or press your block of clay down until the bottom is perfectly smooth. Try to make sure the bottoms of your clay pieces are as flat and even as possible.

3. If you want a chop with "empty" letters and an ink background then you will want to carve your symbol into the clay. Use the toothpick to do this and carve lightly at first before you go back and make your lines deeper and wider. Push the clay back against the wax paper to even it out and then touch up your lines. REMEMBER: Carve your symbol backwards so it prints the right way when you use the stamp.

4. If you want your chop to have inked letters and empty background then you will want to create your symbol with clay. Roll some clay into thins strips and attach these to the bottom of your chop in the shape you would like. You can use the toothpick to help move the clay around to neaten up the shape. REMEMBER: Apply your symbol backwards so it prints the right way when you use the stamp.

5. The last step is to shape the handle of your chop the way you'd like it. Or, you can create a mini sculpture to put on top of one without a handle.

Then, bake the clay according to the directions on the package and get out your stamp pad. You can start stamping your own letters or homework just like the Emperors in China used to do. Hmmm…I'm not sure they did homework, but you know what I mean!

Make an Origami Wombat

Would you like to play momma wombat and have a little wombat to carry around in your pouch (or pocket if you're not a marsupial)? I know it would be much better to have a real wombat but we don't like being pets, so you are going to have to settle for paper.

If you don't have origami paper don't worry. You can take any paper you'd like and cut it into a square for this craft (make sure it's a true square with even sides).

If you want printable instructions just click here.

If you want to follow along online go to the next page.

Remember, don't get discouraged! Origami is hard and it may take you several pieces of paper before you get this right.

Toad House

Are you ready to go into the toad home-building business? Alright, get your hard hat on and let’s start!

Instructions

1. First, get a large can, flower pot, or plastic tub to act as your main structure. If you are using a can, make sure there are no sharp edges around the opening that will hurt the toad.

 

2. Next you're going to decorate or paint it any way you want, but if you are using something with a lot of writing or pictures on it, it might be a good idea to first paint the whole thing with a layer of solid color, just to cover it up.

 

3. Then you can paint your house design on (you can make it blend in with the environment, or paint it to look like a little mini version of your house). You’re going to be laying the can on its side, so keep that in mind when you’re designing it.

 

4. After the paint has dried, and you are happy with your design, spray it a few times with the clear acrylic spray. This will help the paint last through storms and other foul weather.

5. Bring your toad house outside to a nice spot. Toads like water, so the closer to a pond or other water source, the better. Or, if you don’t have a pond, find a moist shady spot in your garden. (Keby told me that she loves toads in her garden because they eat a lot of the pesky bugs.)

6. Then lay the house on its side, and bury half of it. Fill the inside with dirt because that’s what toads like to sit on.

That’s it! Now just sit back and keep an eye out for a toad looking for a new home. If lots of toads are in you area, they probably won’t want to be roommates (unless they’re in toad college), so you might want to build more homes for them. Eventually you could build a whole toad town, with rocks for decoration and a little pond for swimming. Just try not to bother the toads too much or they might move out, after all no one likes an annoying landlord. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a house warming party to go to!

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