Quiet

Many of my blog posts about our little Glanworth library show kids participating in crafty activities. I love being surrounded by their creativity! I also love catching patrons in quiet activities.

Happy Reading,

Judy Ann

Printmaking

The first craft book for kids that I wrote, well over twenty years ago, was called Prints.

It was filled with lots of neat methods of printmaking including using vegetables, sponges, pipe cleaners and more. One of the methods I liked best was to cut designs into erasers. It's a method of printmaking that I still enjoy, but I haven't made any new stamps in ages. A while ago I spent a day in Toronto with Emily and she introduced me to one of her favourite shops, Kid Icarus. They have awesome printmaking supplies, so I was re-inspired to cut a few new stamps. 

This first one is a replica of a tiny drawing of a dog that Emily gave me when she was just eight or nine years old. I've had it on my desk ever since!

I photocopied the drawing to make it a wee bit bigger. Then I traced over it with pencil, and turned it upside down onto the white eraser. 

I rubbed it so that the image was applied to the eraser.

Then I used my X-acto knife and wood-carving tool to carve the stamp.

I pressed it onto a blank ink pad, stamped it onto paper, and this is how it turned out.

Emily loved it!

 This next stamp that I carved isn't very complicated.

This is what it looks like when pressed onto a black ink pad

 and  stamped onto paper. It looks fine, 

but I knew I needed something more to go with it...

...so I cut this one. It's quite rough looking, 

and doesn't look like much of anything...

...even when it's stamped on paper.

But, when one is stamped on top of the other, I think it looks kind of cool.

Then I used different colours and shades of ink to make what I hope is an interesting-looking card.

I'm really glad to be back at doing some printmaking!

All the best,

Judy Ann

Monkeys in the Library!

Little monkeys...

...a baby monkey...

...a bunch of monkeys...

...all monkeying around!

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann