Stamping the morn away ~

It's been so cold these past several days, I've gotten a lot of reading done and needed something new to do this morning.  When I started looking around my studio, my eyes kept wandering back to the Speedball.....the new and improved lino cutter (so the box says)!  It wasn't a Christmas gift this year, but one from years past.  And I've never used it.  It's not that I didn't want the cutter for Christmas that year - I'm sure it was on my list....otherwise, how would he have known!   It's just that I sometimes get so comfortable with " the way I always do it" that I just didn't see the need, until this morning, to learn something new.  But it's a new year, so why not have this old dog learn a new trick.  Those are my words.  You had better not, I repeat, do not call me an old dog!!!

So, from start to finish:   Here's my first stamp using the Speedball lino cutter. 

First, I sketched a hedgehog (or semblance thereof) on paper to use as my reference.

Then, I sketched the hedgehog on my moo carve and began shaving away excess moo so the object of the stamp will be raised higher than the stamp base. 

I trimmed and added paint and stamped until I got what I thought might be my best effort.  Yes, I did get a little rambunctious in my trimming and sliced off his hind leg.  But, then, who's counting, especially since my original sketch only gave him three legs to begin with.  Perfect is not always ideal (so says the artist). 

Added different paints to my newest stamp and I now have a hedgehog fabric column to use in some future project. 

 

No, this is not a lizard, nor is it a porcupine...it's a hedgehog and he is so cute.  Perhaps I should have started off with a more simple design.  Perhaps an elephant next time.