DIY Stamps for Creative Play | Easy Patterns for Holiday Cards & Art Journals

While reorganizing my studio, I came across my old carving tools and a few forgotten erasers. These are little treasures from the days when I first taught myself how to make stamps. I used to carve simple shapes, then playful sets for my daughter with castles and princesses, and now I couldn’t resist turning them into pattern stamps.

In this video, I’ll show you how you can make your own DIY stamps using just an eraser and an X-Acto knife (no fancy materials required!). I’ll also demonstrate a quick version using carving tools so you can see how positive and negative stamps differ, but both made from the same design.

These handmade stamps are perfect for building your own patterns, decorating holiday cards, gift wrap, or art journal pages. It’s all about experimenting, enjoying the process, and rediscovering that spark of creative play with the materials you already have at home.

Materials You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to jump in:

• One or more old erasers (or a similar soft carving block if you have it)

• A pencil to sketch the pattern and the stamp

• An X-Acto knife or similar craft knife

• A carving set (optional) if you’d like to take it a step further, but it's not needed for this tutorial. It's just for additional fun.

• Ink pad or block printing ink (choose a color you like)

• Paper or cardstock to test and print your stamps (and to use your finished stamps on)

• A simple design or pattern idea (for example: a little Christmas tree, geometric tile, or repeating shape)

• A safe cutting surface and good lighting, since you’ll be experimenting and playing, you want to feel comfortable

Instructions:

Safety first: always cut away from your fingers, work on a stable cutting mat, and go slowly. If you have a carving gouge (linocut tools), those work great for internal cuts, but if you don’t, choose designs that can be cut safely with a knife.

1. Sketch an idea.
   Start with a simple motif that you like, for example a triangle, tree, dot cluster, etc. Keep shapes fairly bold and simple if you’re cutting with a knife.

2. Decide the stamp size.
   Measure how big you want the finished stamp to be. If you plan to combine multiple stamps into a pattern, make sure they share compatible sizes so they line up nicely.

3. Trim the eraser to size.
   Cut your eraser down to the dimensions you decided on. Use an X-Acto knife and a ruler or straight edge for neat edges. A consistent block size makes patterning much easier.

4. Draw the motif on the eraser.
   Sketch the shape with a pencil on the eraser surface. If you need precise alignment later, measure and mark registration points (tiny pencil dots on the edges) so you can line up multiple stamps.

5. Outline with the knife.
   Gently score the pencil outline by inserting the knife vertically and tracing the shape. This makes a clear cutting guide and helps prevent slips.

6. Cut away the background to create the stamp.
   Remove the eraser around your motif so the motif remains raised. Cut shallow layers at a time. Don’t try to cut out big chunks in one go. For clean edges, angle the knife slightly and take multiple passes if necessary.

7. Optional — make a negative/positive pair.
   If you want both a positive (raised motif) and a negative (recessed motif) stamp from the same design, carve one eraser as the raised motif and carve another by removing the motif itself (this is trickier with a knife; a gouge is safer for internal carving). To line them up, stamp with the first stamp on the next eraser block to get the same exact outline.

8. Check for snagging bits.
   Test the stamp on scrap paper and look for little nibs or thin pieces that might catch. Trim those away carefully so your prints stay clean.

9. Test and iterate.
   Ink the stamp and print test impressions. Check alignment, spacing, and whether the motif reads well. Adjust by shaving small bits or trimming edges to improve the print. Play with pressure, because sometimes a lighter press gives a softer, more interesting texture.

10. Build your pattern.
    You can make registration marks to line up repeat prints. Try rotating stamps, offsetting rows, or combining motifs (e.g., triangle + dot) to make tiles, grids, or more organic patterns.

11. Choose the right ink for your surface.
    For paper, cards, and journals: standard ink pads or block printing ink are fine.
    For fabric or gifts that will be washed: use a fabric-specific or waterproof ink and follow the ink manufacturer’s curing instructions (heat-set if required).
    If you plan to color inside the stamped shapes later with watercolor, use waterproof ink so the lines don’t run.

12. Use scrap eraser pieces for extras.
    Don’t throw away the leftover eraser bits, but trim them into small shapes and add them to your pattern as filler elements.

13. Embrace imperfection & play.
    Rotate stamps, overlap prints, vary pressures, and ink amounts. The charm of handmade patterns often comes from uneven prints and little quirks, because that’s part of the appeal.

14. Care and storage.
    Clean stamps after use. Wipe with a baby wipe for example. Store flat so they don’t warp (I should do that too, but I'm just too messy). Label blocks if you make multiple motifs.

Ready to play and make your own stamps?

Grab an eraser, your cutting tool, and some ink and let’s go!

Once you’ve tried it, I’d love to see what you made: snap a photo, share it on Instagram (tag me), or drop a comment below with your favorite pattern.

If you enjoyed this video and blog combo, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and join my newsletter for more creative-play ideas, easy exercises, and upcoming courses. Let’s keep the inspiration flowing!