When the time came to test out my new stamps, I decided to use a roll of brown paper I’d salvaged from something. I also wanted to try using paint rather than the printing ink. Unfortunately, I don’t recall some of the paints I used with the different stamps, which is annoying because keeping records of such things is partly what this blog is for. But I’m fairly sure that gouache didn’t work as well as acrylic.

The first ‘stamp’ I used was the woodgrain making tool. Usually you paint the surface one colour, then when it’s dry apply a second colour and scrape it back using the tool in a rocking motion – which creates waves and whorls. But I didn’t think the paper was robust enough for that so I used a monoprinting method. I covered a ceramic tile in acrylic paint, scraped it back, then used the tile as the stamp. On the second sheet I used a comb-like scraper on the paint.

Then I tried the rollers. I’m fairly sure I used acrylic paints for these, as the colours are ones I’ve been trying to use up:

After that I tried the clear perspex backed stamps:

Lastly, I laid out a piece of plastic lace tablecloth and rolled gold paint over it (gouache, I think) then placed a sheet of coloured paper over that. The result was lovely. The paper is too thick to use as wrapping paper, however.

It is thick enough to cut up into greeting cards, though.

There are a few more printing ideas I’d like to try, and they involve printing on fabric. But at the moment I’m concentrating on the usual cards and presents projects of this time of year.