The folks at Chronicle Books have sent over a lovely DIY - perfect for a last minute Mother's Day Card Idea an excerpt Meagan Lewis' book, Put Your Stamp On It!  As Lewis explains in the little video clip (below), people may not realize how easy it is to make your own stamp.  So with that said, she's offering us her instructions to hand-carve an adorable monogram stamp and then alos how to emboss it while you're at it!  And then afterwards, enter (by leaving a comment here) to win a copy of the book!  Good luck!

Embossed Monogram Stationery Set

Personalized stationery makes a thoughtful and useful gift. Use a monogram from the template provided or create your own. This project requires embossing—a fun and relatively easy way to give cards or envelopes an elegant and polished look. Similar in effect to thermographic printing and engraving, embossing is accessible and inexpensive, and requires relatively few materials. The embossing powder is heated and transforms the stamped design into a raised and shiny print.

Materials
• Basic carving materials (artist carving rubber, linoleum cutting tool, scissors, craft knife, cutting mat, metal ruler, graphite pencil (6B), bone folder, paper)
• Double-stick tape
• Clear embossing (a.k.a. “watermark”) ink pad or pigment ink pad
• Cards and envelopes, a solid color other than white
• Scrap paper
• Embossing powder, white
• Fine-point tweezers
• Embossing heat gun
• Monogram Template - click here to download

Step 1
Choose the size and number of letters for your monogram. For a monogram 11⁄3 in/35 mm tall, set your copier to enlarge the template by approximately 150 percent. For a two- or three-letter monogram, make an enlarged copy of the template and cut out the letters. With double-stick tape, mount the cut-out letters onto a new piece of paper. Make sure the letters are straight and spaced evenly apart. Create a new copy so that you have a single sheet from which to trace and transfer the design to the rubber.

Step 2
Apply ink to your stamp with the clear embossing ink pad and print onto the card. Because timing is critical when embossing, stamp only one card at a time, and complete the following steps before repeating the process.

Step 3
Place a piece of scrap paper underneath the stamped card, then pour the embossing powder onto the wet print. Cover the print completely and generously. You can shake it ever so lightly to ensure the powder sticks to the print.

Step 4
Gently tap the card over the scrap paper to get the excess powder off. You will see that the powder has stuck to your printed monogram. Any remaining powder can be carefully wiped away with your finger (or, for pieces stuck in isolated areas, removed with fine-point tweezers). Any powder on the card will melt and stick to your card, so you want to make sure you get all the unwanted powder off! Excess powder can be poured back into the jar of embossing powder.

Step 5
Hold the embossing heat gun at an angle to the card, away from you and the hand that is holding the card in place. Turn the heat gun on and move the nozzle around to distribute the heat around the print. You want to have the heat gun about a finger’s length from the print. The powder will take 20 to 30 seconds to melt and seal. Once you see one area of powder melt, move the heat gun to any other areas that have not yet melted. Turn off the heat gun and leave to cool once the entire print has melted. Your print is now permanently sealed to the card. Set the card aside and allow it to dry. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each card.

Extra hints: embossing colors
In this project we used a white embossing powder. It turns opaque when embossed so the color of ink underneath will not show through. If you would like the ink color to show, you can purchase clear embossing powder and print with a colored pigment ink pad. When embossed, the clear powder will melt and the color of the ink will show through and appear shiny and raised.


Please enter to win a copy of Put Your Stamp On It, by Meagan Lewis by commenting below.  We will announce a winner Tuesday, May 14th!  Deadline to enter - 6pm Monday, May 13/13. Good Luck!

Put Your Stamp On It
20 Adorable Projects Plus Instructions for Hand-Carving Beautiful Stamps
By Meagan Lewis
ISBN 9781452115719

Update:  We have a winner! Congrats to Julia Marchionna! Please contact us for details!  Jan