Making a Stamp from a Cork: Tutorial

I love the idea of stamps.  I collect paper money and am fascinated by engravings (I even have some engraving tools and copper plates around here that I wanted to mess with.) so it seems like a natural transition that I would be interested in stamps.  The banner at the top of the page is one that I made on an eraser, but, I liked the idea of using a cork because of the natural corky (?) properties which give the stamp great texture.  So here is a little tutorial on how I do it.

First, have an idea of what you want to make.  I have only tried to make them where the design is dug down inside of the cork, so it shows up white, with the ink in a circle around it.  I think it would be tough to do the opposite, but you can try.

Keep in mind two things: first, cork, given that it has holes and gaps in it, the design will not be very precise.  So, no small lines or delicate designs.  Second, which is kind of an offshoot to that is if there are multiple elements to the design, be sure they are separated a bit or you run the risk of the cork breaking when you are working and ruining it.

Now that you have a design in mind, time to get your materials together.

-An exacto or other craft knife
-A piece of sandpaper (optional)
-Ink and paper, to test the stamp
-A cork (I prefer to use champagne corks because after they are out of the bottle they flair out and give you a larger work space.  I am sure you can also get corks at a craft store which are larger if you want bigger designs, but the principle will be the same.)

Let's get started:

The first thing to do is shave down any extra bulge or roundness on the end of the cork. Sometimes they are already pretty flat and other times they are pretty round from the moisture.  Either way, I still take some time to make sure I have a flat surface.   Take the knife, and cut as much off as you can, until it starts to look flat.  You can then use the sandpaper to flatten it a little more and smooth out the cuts.  If you don't have sandpaper, just keep using the knife to trim it until it is flat.  The advantage of not using sandpaper s that more of the cork texture will come through, but it makes it a little tougher to see more complex designs and takes more work to make it so that there is a relatively flat surface for the stamp.  *CAUTION* Be careful when using the knife, because you can hit a gap in the cork which will dig out a big hole in it.  Then it either needs to flattened down again or that can be part of your design.

The next step is of course drawing on your design so that you know where to make your cuts.  In this case I am doing a cat paw.

We are now gong to remove the cork inside the lines.  I start by making a line going around the outside of the design.  It doesn't matter how deep you cut, but it should be fairly deep (1/3 to 1/2 of the blade length.)  After you have gone around one of the elements it is time to start digging out the cork.  The important thing here is that you don't leverage the blade against the sides of the design.  If you do, it will push down the cork and your design will have that imprint now included.  Instead, make cuts from the inside of the design towards the outside cut, so that you can pop it out.  This is tougher for smaller bits (like the paws in this case) but, if you don't it will potentially ruin the design.

After the main part is cut out, go around the edges to smooth the original cuts.  This can be tough though, so you may want to follow the next step first.  The inside of the design (the holes) doesn't have to be smooth, just try to get any loose pieces off so that they don't fall off on your ink pad.  At this point you can give it another rub on the sandpaper to make sure it is flat, but be careful not to go too hard, especially if the design has any finer lines that might break or if the sandpaper is coarser, which could break off the edge of the design.  Then it is time to test it.  Be sure to get a lot of ink on it at first, or the design won't show up.  Make a stamp and look at the design.  Look for any really rough edges, or a place where a little bit of cork is still hanging on.  Go back with the knife and clean any of these up.  Your stamp is now finished.

The amount of ink on the the stamp and how hard you press will make your stamp appear very different.  It can appear almost like a regular stamp, or if you use less ink and less pressure, the texture of the cork will start to come out which give it a very nice look.

Let me know if this helps anybody out or you would like to see more stuff like this in the future!