With summer vacation looming on the horizon, parents are inspired not only to keep their children busy but also keeping in touch. How does art come into play with this?
Rubber stamped stationery is a project suitable for children ages four and up. Because scissors are being used, please use safety precautions.
Here's what you'll need:
- saftey scissors
- two pieces of white paper for each artist (this can be multi-purpose paper, craft paper, construction paper or any other unruled paper you choose)
- a ruler
- rubber stamps (you may choose one stamp or you may choose to use several different ones)
- black ink
- crayons
- markers
- colored pencils
- pencil with an eraser (you may opt to use a gum eraser)
- newspaper (to cover your work surface
- you may wish to have smocks or old t-shirts on hand to protect clothing during this project
The steps for completing this project are as follows:
- Spread newspaper over your work surface and lay out all of your materials (your children will be both excited and inspired when they see everything they'll be working with)
- Find the center of one of your white sheets of paper by drawing an "X" lightly from corner to corner
- Place your ruler in the center of your paper and make a mark two inches away from each edge of the page and then lightly draw a rectangle
- Using the other sheet of white paper, cut it down to the size of the rectangle you've just drawn in the middle of the other paper (this will act as a template to keep the center of the paper clean during stamping)
- Place the cut-out in the center of the paper and, using the black ink, stamp in the frame that's showing (this will create the border for the rubber stamped stationery) NOTE: don't be afraid to stamp off the edges of the frame to create a unique look
- Set the paper aside to dry completely, wash off each rubber stamp used
- Once the paper has dried. erase all the light pencil marks you made when creating the rectangle
- Use the crayons, markers and colored pencils to color everything in. Be sure to use each medium to add interest.
Once the colors have all been applied, you now have a sheet of rubber stamped stationery. This project can be repeated as often as you like. Use these sheets for:
- letter writing
- journal pages
- memory book pages
- scrapbook pages
- storybook pages
- handmade book covers
As you create more and more of these pages, you'll find the inspiration to incorporate other mediums. You may want to add glitter (glitter gel pens), paint, stickers or oher embellishments. Another twist to this project would be using black paper, bleach and rubber stamps and then writing with white ink.
The copyright of the article Rubber Stamp Stationery in Mixed Media Arts is owned by Jennifer Hollowell. Permission to republish Rubber Stamp Stationery in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
