Well I have to say I am really enjoying having a blog. Ironically enough, I think it’s helping me stay organized. Wait, “stay organized”? Hmmm, that would mean I already AM organized. Ha, a girl can dream, right?
While we’re here in the middle of November I get to keep playing with all my pumpkin stamps. I love pumpkins and they're perfect for decorating, eating, and this time of year, carving pumpkin stamps. Actually, any time of the year it’s a good time to carve pumpkin stamps. I've carved many pumpkin rubber stamps and in this video below, I'm going to show you some colorful ways to create with them. It's super addictive to play with all the warm colors using markers on stamps.
Since they come in all shapes and colors, the creative options are infinite.
Pumpkins have such a super simple design that it does go very quickly when you're carving them....the pumpkin stamps that is, carving real pumpkins....well that's a bit more of a task. One day a few years ago I carved 19 pumpkin stamps in one afternoon…seriously. I had an absolute blast doing it too!
I started by referencing some painted pumpkins in my toned tan sketchbook which I painted with gouache and finished with pen work. Oh that was fun….I did this a long time ago and seeing this now, I’m inspired to do more illustration quickies like this with gouache and pen work and I do love those toned tan sketchbooks. I need pull out my current one and use it more.
Clearly the creative option was to make them different sizes and shapes and some have leaves on the stems and some don’t. Even though this is a basic shape, there are all kinds of variations when drawing them. I sketched them out on tracing paper and transferred them to my carving material.
I used a Soft-Kut printing block that you can clearly see I maximized every available millimeter. It’s so satisfying to get the most yield from my carving material.
Soft-kut is a great product and carves with ease. When I went to stamp them out I used multiple colors of inks for creating some charming DIY ideas that would be perfect for your Thanksgiving table.
I think many would agree that when serving a large group, having menu cards showing what the items are on a buffet table, is much appreciated.
I carved a Vegan stamp that I use just for this occasion. When we serve a buffet I want to make sure my guests know what is Vegan, and what is not. This stamp comes in handy just for that reason. I stamped out Pumpkin Pie with a small store bought alphabet stamp set. If you’re feeling inspired, you could practice your calligraphy or hand lettering and write out the names. And the fail safe way, print it out from your computer on cardstock and stamp your pumpkins on it.
Another great idea with this pumpkin project is DIY place cards for your Thanksgiving table setting.
Even though I don’t have an example to show you right now, I’m sure you can imagine how pretty those could be made to decorate your table and add that personalized touch for your guests.
If you want to see exactly how I use multiple colored inks on these pumpkin stamps. Click here👇
This video will give you all the details. And you just might be inspired to give it a go for your Thanksgiving table this year. Watching this video you would think that my desk always looks somewhat orderly with all the pumpkins displayed so colorfully as I was making them. But the real truth is, this is what my desk really looked like when I was stamping all these pumpkins.
Something tells me that many of you creatives can relate.
And If you’re interested in making a delicious vegan pumpkin pie…..well you’re in luck.
Here’s a recipe from the Vegan Heaven Blog that I found on Pinterest. I have to be fair and say, I am pretty sure this is the recipe that I used last year. And as much as I want to double check on that, by making this recipe again before sharing it with you here….well, I don’t have an oven right now. We are starting a complete kitchen renovation and we’re temporarily without one. Also, I definitely will be sharing some of our kitchen renovation process here on this blog.
Before I leave, here is a piece I made with four of my small pumpkins. It’s so simple and yet I got a lot of positive feedback when I posted it on Instagram.
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