block printing + pouch making

Yes, the title pretty much sums it all. It's all about block printing on fabric with me these days. And, since a lot of you expressed interest in knowing what supplies I'm using I thought I'd share some of what I've learned by reading tons of online tutorials and from my own (so far very limited) experience.

As you can see, my collection of hand carved stamps is growing quite nicely. I'm using the very common Speedball no.1 lino cutter with 5 attachments for my carving. 

So far I tried two carving  materials - Speedy-Carve (the pink stamps) and Speedy-Cut (whitish stamps), both by Speedball. Speedy-Cut is a cheaper material, softer, and easier to cut, but I think Speedy-Carve stamps will be more durable. I can't tell that for sure though, only time will tell.

I also bought two kinds of water based block printing inks, one by Speedball, one by Blick. So far I like the Blick one better simply because it does not have that paint odor. I think I'll try to wash them to see how they both hold up.

This laundry drying rack is perfect for keeping my freshly printed panels from getting smudged. And, I can fold it flat and store it out of the way when not in use. 

It's not all about printing though, I'm super happy about turning this printed panel into a small pouch. Pretty fun, isn't it?

I even stamped my name and sewed it into lining. Such fun!!! There will definitely be a lot more simple pouch making in the next few days.

Now, if you'd like to learn more about stamp carving and block printing, you can check out my Pinterest board. I've been pinning like a maniac lately and you can find tons of very useful information and inspiration there.

Also, you can click here for a great video tutorial on how to carve your own stamp.

 Have a lovely day, everyone. Svetlana