Making A Rubber Stamp

For the fun of it, M. and I signed up for the 1-hour rubber-stamp-making workshop held at The Little Happy Shop. Led by the very talented Joseph of Monster Gallery, he took 4 of us through the basics of making a rubber stamp.

We must be quite crazy to turn up at Holland Village on the day the circle line began operations. (Actually we forgot) Like other new stations, the one right at Holland Village (finally a new station that's not misleading with its name and location) opens to 'fanfare' and a stage with a carnival of sorts marking the occasion. I was like, why? *facepalm The opening of a train station? Seriously? But hey, we had ministers grace the opening of a temporary carpark. Who am I to question what constitutes a celebration?

Anyway. We got down to learning about making a rubber stamp. There was a pack of supplies arranged and a range of designs to choose from. I picked the simplest- an image of a tree and diligently traced it onto the rubber which would be made into a stamp. I was a little wary. I'm no good at craftwork. I can paint and draw, but not wield a tool to create anything else. For the same reason, I'll never touch a knife because the only way I know how to use it, is to stab someone with it. (Though I must qualify that my infrequent Kendo classes haven't inspired me to rip out anyone's guts just yet)

M. came prepared with a design of a cupcake she wanted to make, in addition to the template provided. The cupcake design looked simple enough, but to cut out the wavy lines would be quite a tedious job! With a few tips from Joseph, she got down to work quickly, sketching the outline, tracing and transferring. I managed to dent a blade and had to have Joseph help me fix up a second. Hehehehehe. Then I gingerly tried cutting into the rubber as instructed, going really slowly.

Knowing what a klutz I am and Murphy's inclination to deem it fit to have me as his favorite child for an hour on whichever day, I came prepared with plenty of plasters, and a vial of antiseptic. Forgot about the bottle of gentian violet. Was too busy cleaning up the mess caused by it. I was placing drops of that onto ahemmm....yet another deep scratch on my thigh (parkour love) and it grandly spilled across my hands. I thought I could easily get another bottle from the pharmacy if necessary. Heehehhee. So. Midway through the workshop, I managed to puncture the finger a little. Kekekkekeek. Nothing dramatic. 2 miniscule drops of blood. Okaay. Back to work scraping out rubber.

M. worked hard on her design and the rubber stamp turned out wonderfully. She tested it and it was a pretty print of a cupcake! It's a good legible print that can possibly be put into a journal with all the bookbinding she has been doing, and turn it into a personalized handmade journal.

An hour later, ta-dahhhhh!!! I made the messiest rubber stamp EVER! There were all sorts of random lines all over. Wieeeeee!! I call it 'randomly impressionistic'. Oof. I wasn't very bothered about cutting it neatly or scraping it too thoroughly. It kinda makes a print, and that's fine by me. I certainly won't mind it going into the Christmas cards!