Signs of Spring

Bouquet in vase hand carved stamp

This new stamp of a bouquet in a vase was inspired by this hand built, raku fired vase I made in art school. I've always been a far superior 2 dimensional artist, and most of my efforts in 3 dimensional art ended in disaster (you don't even want to know the ridiculousness I produced in my sculpture class). But this vase, out of all of my pottery work, was and still is my pride and joy. I love it most when it is filled with forsythia which happens to be in full bloom!

Lady slipper hand carved stamp

The lady slipper is one of my favorite flowers because it is so elusive. Spotting one in the woods feels like discovering a rare prize. This lady is a true independent spirit - try and transplant her out of the woods and into the garden and she'll put up a fight (or downright refuse).

Along with the forsythia and the lady slippers (who are quietly emerging in woodlands unseen by human eyes), the daffodils and hyacinth are up, the crocuses are singing, the robins have returned and the peepers peep at night. Spring has really sprung - it's official!

Visit the shop for more hand carved rubber stamps at http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenGardenStamps

Nate Luke's 2011 Seed Promo

I am in love with this amazing seed promotional package put together by the fabulous photographer, Nate Luke. You'll see he used my string beans stamp and, in the video, you'll see my carrot stamp was used on a muslin bag. I always love seeing how people use my stamps and this was a wonderful discovery! He was also featured on No Plastic Sleeves.

Seed Promo 2011 from Nate Luke on Vimeo.

Spring Fever!

Flower garden border set

Robin

"Hand Made"

Any designs you'd like to see? Leave a comment and let me know!

New stamp designs

Lots of things growing in the garden for spring! Click on any of the images to be directed to purchasing information in my Etsy shop.

Violet

Sage

Stem with leaves

Butterfly flower

Tulip blossom

Folk art flower

Folk art flower

Star flower

Tulips

Strawberries on the vine

Sweet peas on the vine

Calla lilies

Cherry tomatoes on the vine

Small rose

Rose

Flower Garden stamp set

This new set of five flower stamps is all you need to get you garden growing! Sets of 3 are also available for purchase. Buy them today for yourself or as a great gift at Green Garden Stamps.

Click on the links below to see purchasing details:
SET OF FIVE FLOWER STAMPS
SET OF THREE FLOWER STAMPS

Green Garden Stamps - 1 Year Anniversary and Lessons Learned

Large folk art flower

2010 was a wonderful start for Green Garden Stamps. I opened shop in February with a vision in mind, changed course several times, learned tons of lessons, and by the holiday season I felt like GGS advanced from it's shifting sea legs to an established and growing business.

Hungarian folk art collection

If you've read previous posts, you know that I really wanted to make one of a kind stamps. It was part of my original vision and intention for the shop. Sometimes, though, what you think you want isn't what will actually work best, and this was one of those times. Now that I have switched over to made to order stamps, I am thrilled! It's made things easier for me as a seller because I only have to photograph stamps once and I can just re-list sold items. In turn, that frees up time to focus on carving new designs. The artist in me wanted OOAK, but in reality, that only works with higher end items. For a low-mid price range the sage advice of seasoned Etsy sellers is to make/list items you can make over and over again. I'm so glad I took this advice as it has taken my business from a place of working harder than necessary for inconsistent results, to simplifying my process and gaining in sales and exposure.

Large iris stamp

I must admit, there was a bit of stubbornness involved in why it took me so long to recognize the obvious and follow suit. "I want to be different!". Well, yes, different is good. But I already am different just in the way I carve and the sorts of images I design. I wonder if my stubbornness would have lasted longer if I hadn't made this stamp.

Made with Love stamp

I made this stamp before I opened up the GGS shop. Since I was at the time focused on OOAK stamps, this one was too "used" to sell so I made some gift tags with it. In my mind, the tags would become the repeatable product. After the second, third, forth custom order came in for the stamp itself, I finally succumbed to creating my first made to order listing. Now it's my most popular stamp to date!

Large tulip stamp

I guess the great lesson learned, the same one learned in all of life, is to roll with it. You've got a great idea, you put it into action, and only then will you be able to know what works for it and what works against it.

I PROMISE dear readers that I will be more consistent in my posting from now on announcing new designs and other fun things. Cheers to spring right around the corner and green things growing again!

Large sunflower stamp

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My true inspiration

Click on the images above to be directed to their Etsy listings.

This is the real inspiration for my stamp shop and something I wish to remind myself of whenever I'm at a loss for what I'm doing or why...

This shop is truly an ode to my grandmother Irma. She came from a family of Hungarian immigrants and married my grandfather who was part of a long lineage of a New England farming family. On this farm, a magical place that was the playground of my youth, she raised three daughters, canned and froze their harvest, tended to bountiful flower gardens, and in the meantime painted in her later years. She was a phenomenal painter. Not just in her still lives and landscapes, but also in her folk art applications to plates and pitchers, let alone her embroidered designs on linens. As a child, I was so enamored by her books about Hungarian folk art - they were bold, beautiful, floral designs that sang to me in a vivid color palette. This influence - the folk art of my heritage, the appreciation of gardening and art all contributed to making this shop what it is. I hope that her legacy of pure grace and simple beauty will live on through my creations in her honor.

Clear acrylic mounts for unmounted rubber stamps

Clear acrylic mounts are a great tool to compliment my unmounted floral rubber stamps. With a little double sided tape, you can adhere stamps temporarily to the mount in a set pattern to be repeated as a border or intricate pattern. The best part is that you can use and re-use the mount as much as you want. It allows for more storage space for new stamps rather than bulky mounts. Another asset of acrylic mounts is the ability to see where you are stamping.

How do you like to use rubber stamps?

Interview with Nuok

Check out my new interview with the Italian website nuok about my stamps here!

Working with unmounted stamps

Grow Your Own Flower Garden stamp set of 8

The more I learn about rubber stamping, the more I get into the usage end of things as well as the design and production. As you may know from previous posts, I've been wrestling with mounts, trying to find the perfect one and the best way to print/varnish/etc. them. I am now discovering on message boards and stamp sites how many people prefer stamps to be unmounted for easier storage, less cost and usability. One woman used unmounted face stamps to wrap around her fabric doll faces (the effect was quite beautiful!). Another stamper talked about how she liked unmounted stamps because she was very particular about her mounts - in her case, they had to all be the same exact brand of wood mount. Many others liked to use them with acrylic mounts and EZMount. Looking into this technique, I see this would be a marvelous way to use my flower garden stamp sets like the one above. You can attach several stamps on one block creating a pattern.

This makes me want to take mounts out of the equation all together. Kristin Lee's stamps were unmounted and I have sold several of the unmounted flower garden sets. (I need to make more!). Now I want to buy some acrylic blocks and play! My stamps are thicker rubber than the ones in the video and that extra thickness gives you the cushioning you need so you won't need that layer of foam. I could check out the EZMount, but I think that double sided tape will work just fine. In fact, I've got an ATG gun and that will work even better because it sticks great then rubs off like rubber cement.

Yay! So that's that. I've got some new one of a kind stamps to share and I'm going to be listing them unmounted. Some sweet stamps are coming soon - stay tuned!

Large ornate hand carved herb and vegetable stamps

What's better than fresh tomatoes and basil fresh from the garden? Not a whole lot! My vegetable and herb stamps combine a botanical reference with a folk art/wood cut looking style. Check the rest out here and feel free to suggest more that you'd like to see!

Search more vegetable stamps for sale at Etsy.com.

Large ornate hand carved flower stamps

This poppy stamp is an example of my more ornate work on a larger scale, carving botanical studies of flowers with a wood cut/folk art look. To see more in this collection, visit my shop
Green Garden Stamps.