The first big one for me was a swap about hand-carved stamps; you make one, you get one. I’ve made my own rubber stamps before, though usually of images from Japanese rubber stamp books, but, for some reason, it was a challenge to do it this time around. It’s just been so long since I’ve made one, so I felt a bit rusty, but I was also concerned that my partner might not like what I sent.

After reading Good Mail Day and looking through the related Flickr group, I’d found some lovely postcard collages I really liked, and wanted to make some of my own. (See Postcards from December.) Well, my partner for this swap turned out to be one of those collage artists I’d admired, so I wanted to make sure I sent something nice.

I took so much time debating on what the “right” image for her stamp would be, paging through every rubber stamp book I own (trust me, that’s a lot). I knew it was all self-inflicted pressure, so at some point, I just picked one and went for it. I got it to a point I liked and sent it off, forgetting to take a picture first. Here’s a scan of my test sheet though, with the final image at the bottom right:

When I sent the stamp, I also included a postcard collage I made, as well as a little note explaining that I admire her work and such. Hopefully she won’t think I’m a stalker or anything.

After this, I’m not sure what creative swap I’ll try next. I was thinking of a handmade postcard swap, but I’ve gotten a bit sidetracked. I had a few sad swap packages, but then I came across some lovely art forms that I’d like to try my hand at.

A few days ago, I was browsing someone’s Flickr favorites, and came across elise.blaha’s paper projects set. What really stood out to me were the books made from binder rings, combining all sorts of collected papers with photos, notes, and other items, in a sort of informal but beautiful variation on scrapbooking. Most of the individual pages are pretty simple, which I like, but then the books have different themes or time periods, which is nice and also very personal.

To me, the format is really great, since it’s so simple and flexible; you only really need something you can find at an office supply store for cheap, and the rest of the materials can be pretty much anything. I’ve been wanting to reduce what I have in craft supplies (some of which may be done through a giveaway here soon), so this might be a nice way to use them up. I just need to come up with a theme and a size, and then start making things.

However, I just came across another art form that really stood out to me, though I’m not sure if I can manage it. It’s called etegami and is a Japanese art form focusing on simple drawings done in ink as postcards. The intent is to draw something simple you see, like a vegetable, flower, animal, or whatever, add a message, and then send it to a friend. The subject can be something from your day or a seasonal thing, and the message can be a poem, a quote, or just a greeting. They’re not meant to be perfect though, and the rougher they are, the more interesting they can be.

I found out about etegami from Dosanko Debbie’s etegami blog, which is dedicated to her original pieces, and which was mentioned on the Good Mail Day Flickr group (she sent the book’s authors one of her postcards). She explains a lot about the art form on her blog, with plenty of examples, and I like that it’s not about perfection or even the end result. The experience of drawing what you see, and doing it for someone else (you must send them!), are most important.

I tried searching for more information about etegami, but, so far, I’ve only found a few things. Besides Debbie’s blog, the best is Etegami 24 Seasons, which is a series of videos showing a woman painting her own etegami through the various seasons. And there are a few examples on Flickr, so that’s something as well.

I did look into the supplies for making these, and they don’t seem too complicated. It mainly involves ink, paint, brushes, and paper, though the most authentic kinds are not necessarily easy or cheap to track down. I’ve seen inexpensive sumi ink and calligraphy supplies (brushes, ink well, practice paper) at Daiso, but the paint and washi postcards are harder to find. Kinokuniya has sets of the gansai paints Debbie and others in Japan use, but they’re rather expensive. I think standard watercolor paints could be used instead, though I’m not sure if they are quite the same. And I haven’t seen washi paper postcards before, but perhaps the calligraphy paper from Daiso could be used and cut to the right size.

My main concern though is the drawings themselves. I took a few drawing classes in school, but it’s not something I feel I’m good at. I know the idea is to keep it simple and even rough, and I like that the process is sort of a meditation on the object you’re drawing. I just fear I’ll end up with a blob of black ink on paper, and then I’ll just toss it all and quit. I guess you have to start somewhere though, so maybe I can start with some cheap calligraphy supplies from Daiso, and then see if I can track down some cheap watercolor paints, since all I have on hand are acrylic and gouache paints. We’ll see though…

To push myself into making things, I signed up for a Paper Source class with a co-worker, at a newer location they opened up in Palo Alto, which isn’t far from here. They have these “girls night out” events, and this one was themed “Indian Summer,” to coincide with their new India collection of papers and rubber stamps.

The workshop itself was nice, though they tried to cram in quite a lot of activities, including making envelopes, heat embossing, and making lanterns. We ran out of time for some of this — though I was ok with skipping on things I already knew how to do — but I walked away with a neat lantern and a few cards, among other things.

I’ve also been joining in on a few swaps on Swap-bot, including one that was color-themed. You could include a handmade item, plus store-bought items, so I made one of my standard square collage postcards. The color was orange, which is a bit outside of my usual colors, but it was fun to play with a bit.

And last, but not least, I’ve been dabbling a bit with making envelopes and other things this weekend, partly to test out a new envelope template I found at a local Japanese shop. I got a little bored with the envelopes, but I finished it all off with a simple postcard, made from scrapbook paper and some stickers I had.

My favorite paper store Hanko Designs will be there — as always — and there’s usually plenty to browse and shop for otherwise.

Update (02/16/2009): It looks like there was a last minute venue change. Fortunately, Rosewater Hall isn’t far from Napredak Hall.

I have to admit that I was feeling a bit bored with cross-stitch that night, most likely brought on from looking through so many bland patterns in preparation for the class. We used some free starter kits that I got from DMC, all with simple, but somewhat boring flower designs to them. Their site offers a few others, but there isn’t much variety. I think if I give this demonstration again sometime, I’ll make sure to use more interesting designs, like these abstract art patterns.

I guess I’m feeling a bit stuck in the crafting area overall lately, partly due to my recently begun job search. I think it’s about time to get back into the workforce, so I’ve been busy fixing up my resume and putting together a web portfolio, as well as talking to a few headhunters and HR people. All of this takes quite a bit of energy, and I don’t feel like doing much creative afterwards. I’m sure it’ll only be more of a struggle once I’m working again, so this is quite frustrating.

I will say that I’ve still been looking for new project ideas though. Last week I was searching online for hours to find Japanese sites about carving stamps, and found so many good resources, none of which I can read. I started with some new Japanese books on the subject, and eventually figured out the phrase for carving stamps (it refers to using rubber erasers as the carving base). I ended up with lots of good bookmarks, but never carved any of my own stamps after that.

And then last night, I started browsing Etsy for things I might like to buy, but it turned into gathering ideas for my own projects. I went from wanting to learn how to make mosaics to thinking about creating my own jewelry (which I don’t really even wear), and then ended up feeling like painting. And yet I didn’t make very much when I was through, and everything I’ve tried today just didn’t seem to be quite right. Maybe I just need to do something else for a little bit, and a new project will come to me. Sometimes the things you look for the most come out of nowhere when you stop actively looking for them.

The first two are some more of the “wrapped postcards” I started making a bit ago, and I especially like how the first one turned out. The second wasn’t as great, due to the embossing powder having a lot of white in it and heating darker than expected. And the third was thicker than I thought, mainly because the powder I bought was pretty chunky.

All in all, the meeting went pretty well, though some of us seemed a bit slap-happy as the evening wore on. Side effects of the long weekend, perhaps. I think we had more people in attendance than we’ve had before, even compared to our previous meeting, when we had a lot of people making beaded bracelets. It’s interesting to see who shows up each month, because it seems like it changes every time. There are a few of us who are “core members” and show up pretty regularly, but everyone else varies. Lately, I think we’ve been shifting towards a slightly older crowd than the initial 20-something women who kicked things off. It’s ok to have the variety, though I’m curious as to whether or not it’s temporary and how it’s turned out like this. I wonder if the fact that I’ll be demo-ing cross-stitch next time will shift it even more in that direction?

Speaking of cross-stitch, I want to thank everyone who has commented on my cross-stitch piece of Ganesh, either here, on Craftster, or on Flickr. I was already overwhelmed by the reaction from my friend and her husband, so it’s great to hear additional appreciation for all the work I put into it.

Oh, and before I forget, I’ve created a few paper swaps over on Swap-Bot for anyone who’s interested. One is for origami paper and the other is for paper scraps, and there’s a little over a week left to sign up. I’ve actually been surprised to see how popular the paper scraps one has been; there are nearly 30 people signed up already!

In between all the classwork and back pain though, I’ve started getting into stamping again, little by little. I think going to the South Bay Stampers meeting really got me going, especially since I got to poke around all of the supplies in the studio we met in.

I decided to give heat embossing a try first, since we’re going to have a demo at our next craft group meeting. I had actually bought a heat gun and embossing powder several years ago, but I never had the time to actually try it out for myself. I eventually sold off these items, so I had to buy all new ones this time around. Here’s my first go at it:

Not perfect, but a good first try. I’m not sure what caused the little pocks (air bubbles?) in the surface, but it might have been a problem with ink coverage. It was a lot easier than I thought to do it, but it looks like it’ll take more work to improve how I do it.

I’ve been stopping by the few stamp stores in the area (Stamp On Over and Only the Best mainly) on and off to look at what stamps and supplies are out there these days. The basic supplies are fine, but I haven’t found very many stamp images that I like enough to buy. I even stopped by a used stamp sale at one of the “crafter’s malls” nearby, but only left with a vintage stitching kit I found inside the rest of the store. I think I need to try making more of my own instead, and here are a couple I carved the other day, after finding a neat popsicle pattern on some scrapbook paper:

Otherwise, I’ve only been making a few envelopes here and there, and just trying not to overdo it with my back. Hopefully it won’t be hurting me too much longer, because I really need to get going on a bunch of swaps I signed up for. I sent off my end of an envelope swaps I organized on Craftster, but now I have three color-themed swaps and a handmade postcard swap (via Swap-Bot and Flickr) to get going by the first week of July. I’ve done a bit of shopping for the color theme ones, but they all require handmade items, and all I’ve put together so far are these envelope sets:

I need to get some sewing done and pack everything up, as soon as I finish one last class assignment. The heat is on though, since I already received my things from my partner in the Turquoise Swap. Jen, the organizer, sent me some really lovely things, including cards she designed herself and some actual turquoise earrings:

I only hope I can whip up something that my partners will like just as much as I’ve liked what I received so far.

The South Bay Stampers meeting was held at a very cool paper arts studio called A Work of Heart, which I had intended to visit before but never had. The space was a bit messy, but it was full of all sorts of rubber stamp and paper supplies, including stamps, inks, diecut machines, adhesives, and a lot more. They apparently teach classes and rent the space out for parties and paper crafters.

Although there were only three of us in attendance, it made for a nice evening, with each of us working on various projects and chatting. I poked around the supplies a bit and then made envelopes for the rest of the time, spending most of my time talking to Khris, the organizer, about various crafty things. Khris teaches classes at the studio and has various crafty business ventures as well, and it was really great to hear about what it’s like. It definitely made me think about trying it out for myself (someday). We also talked about various craft blogs and organizing craft fairs, and I invited her to check out the South Bay Craft Group.

I ended up spending nearly 3 hours there and I had a pretty good time, so I’ll definitely be going to the next meeting. Hopefully we can get more people interested in joining the group and attending as well. Khris and I talked about this being a major issue in this area, that there are plenty of crafters out there, but not many get involved in groups, even if it’s totally casual and social. I’m not sure what the reason is (too tired? don’t know about groups? don’t care? too lazy?), but I’d love to figure it out. It’s frustrating because it seems like I always hear about cool crafty things happening up in San Francisco or thereabouts, but not often down here. I don’t mind driving up there sometimes, but it’s nearly 2 hours round trip, so I don’t want to do it all the time. My current thinking, though, is that if people actually organized and attended events down here in the South Bay, that interest would group and end up perpetuating itself. It’ll just take a bit of work to try and get to that point.

I found the image in a Japanese craft book, and it looked like it would be easier than the ones that were only outlines. I remembered reading that slicing through a Mastercarve block is like cutting through butter, and that was definitely true! The only tricky part was all the center flower bits, but I think it turned out ok.

I’m curious to know what types of blades other crafters use on their stamps, especially for some of the tiny parts. I only used a regular X-Acto blade this time, having recalled some bad experiences with other ones (gouging your hand with a C-shaped blade while carving wood is not fun). I think I’ll read up a bit more and try something else for the next one I try.

So, yeah, that wasn’t so bad, and I wish I’d played around with these sooner!

Oh, and here are some related links that are pretty cool to look at:

• Carve your Stamps Flickr group
• Another Japanese stamp book
• Carve Your Own Rubber Stamps tutorial
• Mollychicken’s stamps
• moki’s stamps