VITAL COMMUNITIES
How to Make a Stamp
There are many different ways to make your own stamp. You can use a number of materials—foam board, heavy weight card, potatoes, woodblock, and rubber, just to name a few. If you want to have a permanent stamp, a potato is not something you want to carry around forever…but it’s fun to experiment using different mediums to explore what you can achieve with each. Below you’ll find instructions to make a stamp with rubber, our medium of choice.
Things You Will Need
- A piece of rubber (this can be an eraser—Magic Rub works well—or a block of rubber, found in good art shops)
- A linoleum block carving tool
- A stamp pad
- A pencil
- A few pieces of paper
- A ballpoint pen
- A bit of an imagination or good source book
Things to Remember
- Remember, tools are sharp! Please exercise care and supervise children.
- If you are working with younger children, you may wish to use a WASHABLE ink pad. These can be easily found at hobby stores.
- When considering your design, remember that you will be working with a MIRROR IMAGE if you are drawing directly onto the rubber. Lettering has to be carefully drawn out in reverse.
- Firm rubber is easier to work with than soft rubber. Softer rubber can tear, leaving a jagged edge.
- A sharp knife gives a cleaner edge than a dull blade.
Getting Started
Sit down somewhere comfortable with a pencil or pen and piece of paper and come up with a few ideas. Play around with a theme—and if this is your first attempt, try to keep it simple. If you start with something very complicated you might get frustrated when it does not come out perfectly.
Once you are happy with your drawing, trace the image onto the piece of rubber. An alternative is to moisten your rubber and transfer the pencil drawing by pressing the rubber onto the drawing. This also reverses the image for you! Make sure the letters are in reverse and when the stamp is held in front of a mirror, the letters are read correctly. If the image comes out very lightly on the stamp, use a ballpoint pen to darken the tracing.
Carving the Stamp
Cut the small, detailed pieces out first and then work on the big pieces. The big pieces support the rubber while you cut it, so save those until last!
When cutting a curve or circle, it’s easier and makes a nicer shape if you keep the blade in one place and move the rubber. When cutting out the big pieces, you might want to leave some rubber in place. This gives the look of a woodcut and breaks up any large white area, usually making it look more interesting. Remember, once the rubber is cut, it cannot be put back.
You now have a piece of rubber onto which you have cut a nice pattern, scene, or shape. It is time to test the stamp. Brush the loose bits of rubber off the stamp and blow on it to remove all unwanted pieces. Take your piece of rubber and put it on the stamp pad, making sure the stamp gets a full and even coat of ink. As this is the first impression you’ll be making, you will notice any areas that are left void of ink. If necessary, put the stamp back on the pad for another coating.
Now carefully place the stamp on a clean piece of paper and push on it evenly and firmly. Remove the stamp carefully. If you push down too hard, the rubber stamp may get pushed out like dough and leave smudgy edges. If you aren’t careful when lifting the stamp, you might smudge. Be careful to get the cleanest image possible.
Take a look at the picture you have made. Look at all the edges to see if they are as even as you want them and the curves are smooth enough for you. Make a circle around the bits you want to change and CAREFULLY figure out where on the stamp those changes need to be made.
Remember: When looking at the stamp, it is a MIRROR IMAGE of the picture you are now working from. Make the changes and make another impression of your stamp. Are you happy with it? If not, what would you need to change to make it better? Make those changes on the stamp you have created, or start over if necessary.
If you like your stamp, great. You have a stamp that you can either use as your “signature” when you go out questing or for a box you plan to put out. Or for anything else you want to stamp for that matter! You might want to write TOP on the back of the stamp so you know when making an impression that the stamp is the right way up.
Vital Communities Program News
Eat. Meet. Buy. Flavors of the Valley 2019 Vendors are here!
Check out the hottest new vendors and returning favorites! Samples are listed if the vendor has provided sampling information. Vendors will also have many delicious items for sale! April 7, 11 am - 3 pm at Hartford ...more
April Meet-Up Series for Beginning Farmers
We have an exciting project for new farmers in the White River valley portion of our region! The High Meadows Fund is supporting a series of free peer-to-peer gatherings for beginning farmers to build community and learn. ...more
Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style
We love pairing style with nighttime visibility, so we've ordered REFLECTIVE SLAP BRACELETS to reward people who bike or walk to Flavors of the Valley on Sunday, April 7! If you bike and walk to the ...more
Have You Seen Our New Logo?
Have You Seen Our New Logo? What do you think?! Vital Communities brings people together to cultivate civic, environmental, and economic vitality in the Upper Valley—and after 25 years, it felt like time to refresh our look ...more
Flavors of the Valley Vendor List
Check out the hottest new vendors and returning favorites! Samples are listed if the vendor has provided sampling information. Vendors will also have many delicious items for sale! All the details on Flavors of the Valley ...more
The Benefit of B Corps
Certified Benefit Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. Society’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone. The B Corp community works toward reduced inequality, lower levels of ...more
Join our team as a Communications Intern this summer!
Are you looking for a summer internship in the Upper Valley? Do you know someone who is? Vital Communities is looking for an intern to assist our Communications team from May through September. The position ...more
Apply for a Farm to School Mini-Grant!
We are excited to announce the 2019 mini-grant program from Vital Communities' Upper Valley Farm to School Network! Funding is available to both Vermont and New Hampshire schools. Start dreaming up your farm-to-school projects—we want ...more
Thinking Local First
Shop or Buy Local First is a common call to action. The threat to local businesses with competition from online commerce is real and growing, so it is important to patronize local businesses if we ...more
Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!
Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...more
Local First Members Give Back!
Locally owned businesses are rooted in the Upper Valley and donate time and money to the community every month of the year as they support nonprofits, schools, and communities. Keep your dollars where your heart and support ...more
Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30
Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more
Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study
One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more
Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27
So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more
A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley
On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more
Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018
Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more
Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018
Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more
Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!
Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more
Staff
Lauren Griswold
Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant
Valley Quest, Food & Farm
Valley Quest, Food & Farm
— Lauren Griswold, Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant
Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.