Handmade Stamp and Bookmark out of Scraps

I made my own shop stamp! It was a total whim I had one night. I wanted a shop stamp and I wanted it right then. I wasn't sure it was possible. I wasn't sure if I could carve something small like letters, wasn't sure if it would be possible with the medium, and wasn't sure if my stamp carving skills were up to par.

I also wasn't sure if I could put the whole name on a stamp the way I wanted, so it would fit the way I hoped. I did a lot of sketching to try and figure out a composition, but it all kept getting too fussy, so in the end, I just went with a simple, flat ribbon shape. 

In then end, I kind of like how it turned out. I like the handmade quality of it. It looks like my hand writing, which it actually is. I wrote it out on the stamp block and then I carved it. There are a few little blips in the carving, but I like it. I make things by hand and you can see the touch of my hand. That's what I do. I draw them. I paint them. I carve them. I sew them. I model them. I guess I should be keeping up with technology, but I like being able to figure out how to finagle stuff with my own two hands. It gives me pleasure.

When I tried out the shop stamp on some scrap paper from another project, I realized it was awful cute.

 This is the back of the scrap. It was so cute, I decided to cut it out of the scrap and turn it into a little bookmark. I always need bookmarks because I'm always putting them down and misplacing them, or sticking them in a book and picking up a new book. I used some left over greeny gold ribbon, cut some mirroring points in the end, and threaded it through the hole.

I like when a whim turns into something fun and practical.  Just like my candied orange peels.

I guess the lesson here is to take chances. Try new things, even if you aren't sure that they will work out. Look around for good things wherever they can be found. Learn to embrace the imperfections. Look for the lovely possibilities in the bits you might otherwise discard.

Hey! Not only does that go for creativity, but it also goes for living.