Recycled Cork Stamps

I have a hard time throwing away corks. It's such a good, natural material and I always want to come up with a way to reuse them. One option I've discovered is carving stamps.

Recycled corks

Marker (I used a Sharpie)

Utility knife (I personally prefer the NT-L500P Cutter as it has a lockable blade that can't slip, which is important for safety)

Cutting mat

Stamp pad, ink and paper for printing. See this instructable for my DIY ink and pad: https://www.instructables.com/Stamp-Pad-Ink-With-...

Set your utility knife to a length where you can easily saw the whole end of the cork away.

Cut off one end of the cork so that you have a smooth, flat surface.

Draw the outline of your shape on the surface with a marker, then colour in the areas that you want to cut away.

Use your utility knife to shave away the open ended areas of the design.

Hold your blade at a slight downwards angle and cut away from yourself and the edge of the design a little at a time. It's best to do this gradually as you're less likely to make mistakes. After you've made a few passes with your blade, you should reach the edge of your line.

If your design has any areas that aren't open ended, you can cut these away by carefully making a small incision in the side of the cork, then using the blade to cut down at the edges of your design. Pull at the cork with your fingers and it should come away at the incisions you made. If it doesn't come away easily, reinforce your cuts and try again. I had to do this at the top of my heart shape.

Test your stamp with some stamp pad ink and paper. Because cork is a textured surface, you'll probably get some interesting ink effects in your design.

If there are any areas of your design that need refining, you can clean the ink off your cork and carve further.

When you're happy that the stamp is finished, use your marker to draw the shape you carved on the other end for easy identification.

Enjoy your stamps!