Stamping Around

Sometime last year, we both ordered a kit from Joone Creative because they were featuring one of our favorite artists, Jen Hewett. We are big fans of Jen’s work – go check out her shop; you will not be sorry. We love trying out different making projects to see if we can pick up some new skills.

The kit comes with the bag, stamps, pigments and excellent instructions.

Anyway, these stamp kits spoke to us, and this was the week to finally get to stamping! The kit included everything you would need along with excellent instructions. I set up the tote bag and started with the green leaves. It takes practice to be good at anything – and this is no exception. You’ll absolutely see stamps with too much paint and some with not enough. There are also some that turned out just right. Either way, the overall look is fantastic.

One of the leaf stamps has these beautiful details to add more interest.

The other leaf stamp is a simple outline which helps to add some bold blocks of color.

I didn’t make a plan before starting to stamp – no measuring or marking. An example from the instruction booklet showed a wreath and I thought it would also make a nice frame for some stitching once it is done. It didn’t need to be perfect for me to love it, so I just eyeballed it. It adds to the organic nature of the leaves to have things not so perfectly laid out as well.

Eyeballing the layout means that my wreath shape isn’t a perfect circle, but it helps it to feel more natural.

This leaf turned out pretty well. I love how there is so much variation in how the stamp lays down the color.

The paint included in the kit is translucent, which makes layering the stamps possible. After applying the ochre leaves, I went around the circle one last time adding some leaves over top of the others. I love how the colors peek through to add more depth. When the stamping is done and the paint is dry, a warm iron on the reverse side helps to set the paint.

I love the combination of colors and how the translucent paint allows the bottom color to still peek through.

Here’s a leaf that could have used a little more paint, but I still love the look of it. It shows that it’s handmade.

Another mistake I made is forgetting to put something inside the bag to keep the paint from going through to the other side (I was going to use wax paper and then completely forgot to actually do it!). This is not a mistake that is going to stop my enjoyment of this tote, however. I’m going to add a pocket on the side opposite of the stamping – and of course some stitching for the center of the wreath. Step one is done. Time to head to the fabric stash for options to make that pocket.

The stamped bag is now ready for some embroidery and an additional pocket.