Book Review: Print and Stamp Lab by Traci Bunkers

I was already a fan of Traci Bunkers, you’ll remember how I raved about the moldable stamp tutorial she shared and I love watching her journaling videos on Youtube. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to buy Print and Stamp Lab thinking that I already knew pretty much all I needed to know about making stamps. I was on twitter and heard/saw/read(uh, it’s twitter) SamanthaKira(Journal Girl, also awesome journaling inspiration) mention making stamps with craft foam and a wood burning tool and was super curious. Traci Bunkers joined our conversation mentioning that there was a tutorial using pipe insulation and a wood burning tool to make a roller stamp in her book and THAT is when I knew I needed to get it.
I was really excited to see all of the projects in this book and I was not disappointed, there is a wonderful, creative, exciting selection of projects to choose from and they are very frugal too.
My favorite part is how each stamp that is made is shown stamped with a stamp pad and with paint alone and then an example is shown with other stamps/finished project is shown. A few of the stamps that weren’t that exciting to me became a lot more interesting when I saw them used/layered with other stamps.
I was also really excited to see several different ways to make rolling stamps.The ponytail holder block was the first thing that I wanted to try, it reminds me of the suckers on octopus tentacles. Super easy and great results. I used a peanut butter jar lid for my stamp base and it makes the ones on the edges print darker (what a happy accident).
I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to try a few more projects. Don’t forget to stop by Traci’s blog to see some of her other great projects (the 30 days of carving is my personal favorite)