I thought I'd recap another fun and productive Carve December that was hosted by Julie at Balzer Designs at the end of last year, 2023. By the end of December, I had 36 new, hand-carved stamps to add to my collection.
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| New stamps carved during Carve December Challenge 2023. |
2023 was the second year I participated in the Challenge. Here are a few of the stamped compositions I created.
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| Compositions from various days of Carve December 2023. |
Seasonal botanicals were used as inspiration for new carves—paperwhites, poinsettias, holly leaves, mistletoe, and the Christmas cactus.
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| Several botanical images were carved for this year’s Christmas card. |
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| Christmas cactus stamp and its inspiration. |
I like stamping repeats and think they make wonderful compositions and patterns.
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| I always enjoy the patterns created from repeated images. |
The last prompt of the Challenge was “sparkly.” For this prompt, I created several compositions using a combination of several of the new stamps. Just in time for the entrance of the New Year!
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| Combining several stamps in a composition. |
This is a glimpse of the area on the kitchen table—with stamp pads, stamps, stamp mounts, and sketchbooks—where I create sometimes.
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| Stamping tools at the kitchen table. |
Junk Journal January 2024
I'm using some of the stamps from Carve December in my junk journal for Junk Journal January Challenge, hosted by @megjournals and @getmessyart.
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| Junk Journal January 2024: Day 5 |
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| Junk Journal January 2024: Day 20 |
Here's my 2024 junk journal that I'm filling with collages, paper scraps, paint, slow drawings, hand lettering, and of course, my new hand-carved stamps.
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| Junk journal for 2024. |
