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How to Make a Stamp - Custom Cheer/Dance Stamp Project
Melissa from Darnell Spirit Productions shares dirctions for making your own stamps. Her ideas feature a dance-cheer design, but these directions can be used for any theme!

Materials Needed:

  • Plastic soda or water bottle lid
  • Craft foam, any color
  • Scissors
  • Craft glue
  • Cheer or dance shape resized to the size of your lid (or any design)
Instructions:
1. Make a paper/traced copy of desired stamp shape and shrink it to the size of stamp you want (it's recommended that the stamp size be the same size or smaller than the bottle lid you will be using). To make a cheer or dance themed stamp, you can choose one of the outline shapes provided in the book below to make a stamp from.

2. Cut out your paper template and trace around it onto the craft foam.

3. Cut out the craft foam design and glue it to the top of the bottle lid on its flat surface. Weigh down with a heavy book until the glue dries.

4. Your custom stamp is now ready for stamping on any type of surface you can think of!

With these stamps you can:

  • Home-made stamps make a nice addition to stationary sets. For an extra decorative look, try spray painting the plastic lid using spray paint specially formulated for plastic. Let dry,then attach the foam design to the lid. The custom stamp can then be used as a fun way to create a "seal" on envelope flaps, below the writer's signature on letters,etc. Be sure to include a stamp pad for convenience.
  • You can use your custom stamps to create gift wrap paper.
  • By using fabric paint instead of craft paint, you can use your completed stamps to decorate any fabric item, including the t-shirts, bags, hats, and more.
  • Your completed stamps can be used to decorate a plain store bought bulletin board home-made bulletin boards.
  • Try using a large stamp to create custom cards from thicker cardstock paper. You can stamp the front cover of the card just once with a larger stamp, let the paint dry, then use paint pens to outline the stamped image, add details to it, etc.

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