I made some cute rubber stamps, and I’m really pleased with how they came out. I don’t want to lie and tell you slicing rubber with the Cricut Maker was easy! It took me several cutouts of wasted material before I got the hang of it. But now, I have it down pat.
To save you the hassle of trying to figure it out on your own, I’ll show exactly how to make rubber stamps. I used my Cricut Maker for this project, but I don’t see any reason you wouldn’t be able to use your Cricut Explore or Air as long as you make sure they are couples with a cutting blade.
Gather all supplies
You will need a cutting machine, blade, mat, masking tape, brayer, rubber sheet, a piece of wood for stamp base, ink, and craft glue.
Create your design
Create your design in Cricut Design Space. It should be simple and basic shapes such as rectangles, circles, and triangles.
Place rubber piece
Place the rubber on your StrongGrip Cricut mat. Using a brayer or other rolling tool, press it down firmly to ensure it is seated well. If the rubber moves, add a layer of masking tape or painter’s tape to seal in place and provide extra stability.
Click make it
Cricut Design Space has a “Make It” button for cutting material, and I made sure to use neoprene with “More” pressure settings. This was necessary for cutting the smaller letters. The default pressure setting was great for simple shapes, but more intricate cuts needed the “More” option.
Make sure that your Deep-Point blade is in the fixed clamp. Position the star wheels against the rightmost position on your Cricut, place a sheet of rubber on your cutting mat, and then press Start.
Unload the mat
Once the rubber has been cut into the shape desired by the Cricut, unload it from the mat. Pull away with your hands just as you would with cardstock. If you feel like it might be stuck, use the spatula or tweezers included in your tool kit to help pry it away.
Use glue
Now, it’s time to bind the rubber to your wood pieces so they can become actual stamps. My first stamp came out wrong because I applied the glue exactly in reverse of what I should have done. When applying glue, you need to apply it where the reflection is pointing at in the mirror.
Start using the stamp
To ensure that the glue is dry first, it’s best to wait for several hours before stamping your fabric with it. I’ve been using this Ranger ink to stamp fabrics, and I’ve found it works well so far.
If you want to heat press on any surface, you can use heat transfer with attachments.
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