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Carving Rubber Stamps with 5th and 6th Graders

Pattern of multiple blue geometric lace designs on a light blue background with one gold design in the upper right corner.

Before I left for my maternity/medical leave, my 5th and 6th graders were carving rubber stamps.  They were turning out so well and I can’t wait to see all of the finished projects.

Here are some of our stamps from previous years.  We looked at African Adinkra symbol stamps and the students created their own personal symbols.

Carved hearts in rows, alternating colors of pink, orange, and gold, with scattered dots around them on a white background.

We print our stamps by applying acrylic paints with a foam brush.  A light touch is best.

A leaf stamp and an orange marker lie on a wooden surface.

Students can also test their stamps with a regular ink pad or use washable markers.  Color the stamp with your markers, breathe on the stamp to “reactivate” the ink and then carefully stamp your image on the paper.

Blue geometric patterns stamped on light blue paper, with the carving rubber stamp used lying nearby on a wooden surface.

I checked out a great book called Carve Stamp Play by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer about carving stamps from the library.  I’m going to order this one for next year.  It has a lot of good ideas and inspirations for carving your own stamps.  For art teachers with experience, the ideas might be ones you’ve already seen before, but it looks like a good reference book to have in the classroom.  A student who finishes carving one stamp can look through this book to get more ideas.

A pattern of blue and teal airplane-shaped stamps against a white background, ideal for 5th graders exploring carving rubber stamps.

Abstract artwork featuring numerous red and yellowish teardrop shapes with smiling faces on a white background.


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About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

4 Responses to Carving Rubber Stamps with 5th and 6th Graders

  1. Rina says:

    I love your student’s stamp designs, especially the blue with gold for emphasis. What cutters do you use? How often do you replace the blades? Hope you are feeling ok.

    • Thanks, Rina! I’m hanging in there… only about 2 1/2 weeks! We had a box of lino-cutters in our art room that are probably 15 years old. I know the Speedball ones are good. We also have a bunch of boxes of replacement nibs and I teach the kids how to change them out if they are not smoothly cutting. I will also just change them if I notice that a cutter is cutting roughly.

  2. Grace says:

    Love this! What is the material that the stamps are cut out of? It is a special type of block that can be ordered from one of the art teacher magazines?

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  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.