Block Printing

If you ever grew up with a crafty person in your home, you probable are aware of the pencil eraser trick, or carving a potato into a creative shape, dipping it into some vibrant color and decorating a piece of construction paper for mom to hang on her refrigerator.

These are still great ways to transfer unique shapes to materials. However maybe we can add a few ideas to this standard way we have grown up with.

You are going to need a canvas to work with. A big sheet of strong watercolor paper or canvas will do, or maybe even transfer to fabric!

What makes art so great is the ability to create with no limitations. So here is your time to really think outside of the box, don’t stick to the norm when it comes to your art. Your art makes you! You make your art!

For this project were going to use a canvas as our display material. Once you have the method down the possibilities are endless as to what you can use this method on.

After you have picked the canvas, start hunting for objects. This is why this project is so fun. It is really inexpensive and still puts out beautiful results. No need to buy any more materials to get this project going. You’re hunting around your home for objects you can use the press and transfer method on so pick items that will not soak up your ink or paint easily, but serve as a stamp of an odd or unique shape.

Items to consider using could include:

Potato masher: This gives such a fun look, and can be overlapped to make great images.

Shells

Unique shaped light bulbs

Buttons: There are some fun buttons out there! Possibly laying around your home.

Foliage

Wooden blocks: Wrap them in rubber bands to create different lines and shapes to press.

Check out your child’s toy box. A four legged animal can serve as a great stamp for some polka dotted designs faster than one stamp at a time. Then you can easily wash the toy off and it’s good as new.

Maybe the toy box has some broken toys in it that when taken apart has gears or little pieces that are oddly shaped and will make nice shapes. This is all about being creative with what you can find.

Once you have played hunter for a bit, the method is really simple.

Pour ink or paint onto a paint pan, dip your items surface you plan to transfer the shape from into the color, stamp your material. A good tip is to brush lightly with a brush or scrape away any dripping ink or paint to prevent dripping and messing up your design when stamping. You want enough to stamp your object, but not so much that it seeps and causes a mess.

Practice on a piece of scrap paper before initiating color to canvas. Some objects may look like they will transfer an entirely different way than they actually end up.

Once you are without a doubt what objects you plan to use, what color palette you will use, and what design you’re going for, stamp away.

To make things extra fun, try getting your children involved. Have them hunt down their own pieces from the house or yard and decorate their very own art piece. Each child will bring in something the other would never thought to use, and create their very own unique pieces. This will also keep them busy and inspired to create, and will surely be a lasting memory for each of you.