ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Craft of Rubber Stamping

Updated on November 13, 2015

Lacey stamped valentine

Instructions: http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projects/ht/DoilyCone.htm
Instructions: http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projects/ht/DoilyCone.htm

So What is Rubber Stamping?

It is a manner of taking a soft vinyl eraser-like substance (vulcanized rubber) which has been carved with letters or designs to deliberately mark paper or other material.

Today it is one of the biggest crafter's hobbies and rakes in millions every year for small business owners. How did it start? Let's see if I can find a little history about rubber stamps.

Charles Goodyear

The word "stamp" refers to a marking device. Prior to rubber, stamps or seals were made of metal or wood. In 1844, Charles Goodyear was experimenting in his kitchen. He mixed rubber and sulphur and discovered that it was still pliable the next day. He dubbed it vulcanized rubber (referring to the Roman God of fire)

James Woodruff

About twenty years later, dentists used vulcanized rubber set in plaster moulds to make inexpensive bases for false teeth. James Woodruff, whose uncle was a dentist, experimented making letter moulds with the vulcanized rubber.

L.F. Witherell

About the same time, Witherell claims he accidentally discovered the rubber stamp when he was trying to resolve a problem with paint running under the stencils and creating blotches on the pumps that he manufactured. He then cut the letters out of rubber and attached them to a piece of wood to stamp the pumps.

Anyone can be a stamper, using rubber stamps to do scrapbooking, making your own greeting cards, or even decorating your walls. Some artists use rubber stamps to make contemporary art. Universities even offer classes to learn how to make your own stamps by using lino tools. Others take their old shoes, and make rubber stamps out of the soles.

Stamps usually use an ink pad to transfer the design. They come in many colors, sizes and shapes. They use different types of ink including pigment or dye based, and chalk. You can even use a magic marker to transfer color to the stamp and a variety of other methods including using watercolor.

Through the years, several techniques have been refined by those who are addicted to rubber stamping. Techniques include:

  • overlapping stamps
  • merging images
  • applying lighter colors first and then finishing with the darker ones
  • combining colors by stamping multiple times on same place
  • or using embossing ink

More techniques here.

Rubber stamps made from used shoe soles and linoleum

Crafters are some of the nicest people on the planet. They usually will share their ideas with others. Here are a few rubber stamping sites that offer free instructions and downloads:

http://www.craftcrave.com/

http://lorisfreebielist.blogspot.com/

http://www.vostamps.blogspot.com/

Free templates and ideas for stamped cards.

http://www.stampington.com/html/tempting_template_index.html

Keep on learning and creating!!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)