Start a Hobby Week Day 2 - Beginner Rubber Stamping Projects

Welcome to the second Start a Hobby week feature (Day One is available here)! Today we're looking at good projects for beginner rubber stampers.

Beginners Projects - Handmade Cards

There are many different types of rubber stamping projects that are perfect for beginners. Most stampers start out by making handmade cards. These are great beginner projects as there is plenty of scope to practice different techniques while also making cards that will be much appreciated by the recipient. Handmade cards are quick to make, which is ideal for people starting out as you don't need to make a big time commitment and you can find out quickly whether this is the hobby for you.

Simple handmade cards can be made from a sheet of cardstock and a couple of rubber stamps and some pens or pencils. Once you have grasped the basics then it is a small step from making a handmade card to creating a scrapbook, making a piece of wall art, stamping on fabric or creating mixed media or altered art projects.

To learn more about making handmade cards see - Card Making.

Gift Packaging

Handmade gift packaging is also a great way to start stamping. Making your own gift wrap, for instance, allows you to make your own unique wrapping paper while also giving you a good opportunity to practice stamping techniques. Mistakes can often be hidden when the finished paper is used to wrap the gift. Gift bags and boxes are also fun to make. These are small projects and can be created with the minimum of special equipment or supplies. For more reading see:

• How to Make Gift Wrap
• How to Make a Simple Gift Box
• How to Make a Gift Bag

Beginners Rubber Stamping Projects Tips

Here are some tips to help you with your first rubber stamping projects:

• Keep it simple! - it may be tempting to embark on a large rubber stamping work of art, however it is better to start with simple projects. This will help you explore and perfect techniques before moving on to more complex projects.
• Basic supplies - when you are starting out look for projects that use just a few basic supplies. Learn the basics of rubber stamping first before investing in expensive supplies or equipment which may go to waste if you decide that this is not the hobby for you.
• Don't get demoralized - don't get demoralized if your projects don't look like the finished projects in books, magazines or websites. These have been created by professionals often with many years experience. The same goes for the coloring of rubber stamped images. Often the image on the stamp or on the stamp packaging will show the image colored as an example. These have been colored by professional artists and therefore beginners shouldn't be disappointed if they cannot achieve similar results to start with.

New Hobbies Round-Up

For a round-up of each day's Start a New Hobby reading from around the Hobbies channel here at About.com check out the following blogs:

• Start a New Hobby: Day 1
• Start a New Hobby: Day 2