ME & YOU rubber stamp | DIY + free printable

Just in time for Valentine's Day I made this really cool 'ME & YOU' stamp (okay, maybe a bit too obvious that I'm very proud of myself). It's really quick and easy to make but makes a statement with the white words on black, or whatever color you choose. Also, carving the words out instead of working around them is the much easier way! I wish I had bought more carving rubber to make more stamps that say things like 'Hello', 'Thank you', 'You're awesome!' and other fun things. But without further ado, here's how I made the 'ME & YOU' stamp!

Supplies:

- carving rubber
- carving tool with different blades
- free printable (or your own design) printed out
- a glass or any round item that matches the printed design in diameter
- pen or pencil - ink pad

Step 1: First, you need to transfer the design onto the carving rubber. It has to be mirrored as well, so the easiest way to do this is to simply take the printout, place it onto the carving rubber (colored side down) and rub with a blunt item over the paper. I used the other end of the carving tool and it worked great. The ink will transfer onto the rubber and will automatically be mirrored. Easy peasy.

Step 2: I traced the letters with a black pen for better visibility. Next, I placed the glass on top of the design. You can now either trace the circumference of the glass with a pen or directly cut along it with the carving tool and a flat blade. I did both. Cutting along the glass instead of free-handed along the pencil line will give you a very clean circle.
The blade won't cut through the whole rubber block but i just broke the rest off, which was much faster than carving around and around...

Step 3: Now comes the best part: the letters! Take a very thin carving tool and caaarefully trace the letters. It doesn't have to be deep, but pay attention that you keep about the same depth while cutting in order to achieve about the same line widths everywhere.
When your finished, stamp it and maybe fix some flaws here and there.

Congratulations, you made a stamp! Now go and stamp away. Stamp on cards, envelopes, wrapping paper, t-shirts and surprise your loved ones on Valentine's Day!