DIY cactus stamp – a hand stamped fabric tutorial

Want to make a DIY cactus stamp? Here is the tutorial. Want to make your own hand stamped fabric?What a co-inky-dink, this is also the tutorial. This cactus pillow is making me thirsty.

 

Arhhh, I'm pretty excited about how my latest crafty persuit turned out. And it was super easy. It could just be that I'm a bit cactus-crazy but I'm pretty sure that cacti are the new black. They are EVERYWHERE right now and I-for-one am chuffed. Never one to let a bandwagon pass me by I decided it was time to make a cactus pillowcase for the really big pillow that is always floating around my house but doesn't quite fit anywere. So yeah, if you ever wanted to hand stamp fabric or DIY a cactus stamp then read on my friend. 

Materials

You need one pillow case – or whatever fabric you want to print on (t-shirt, muslin wrap, leggings, blanket etc) Some acrylic or fabric paint, craft foam, a piece of wood, glue, scissors and an old stamp pad or sponge to make this cactus fabric. You can also use this as a paper stamp – obvs.

 

Stamp Directions

To make the stamp you need to 1) cut your cactus shape out of the craft foam with a scissors** 2) Use a pen or bobby-pin to draw the spikes on it, making sure you push down hard to create indents. 3) Put wood or craft glue on the back of the foam. 4) Stick it to some wood. – Easiest stamp ever! If you want more details check out my DIY Cloud Stamp – using craft foam tutorial. It should answer any questions.

Printing Directions

Next I laid my pillowcase out on the table but if I was at all responsible I would have put paper down underneath. Then I painted a thin layer paint onto an old ink pad* and pressed the stamp onto it. I'm not sure if you noticed but there is one cactus that doesn't have spots on it, that's what happens if you paint it straight onto the stamp. Anyway – next clean around the edges with a cloth before you stamp the fabric to keep the print clean. If you want more ideas on stamping fabric check out my upcycled fox muslin wrap. 

To create a consistent pattern I made sure to keep going to the edge even when it meant having half a cactus hanging off the edge of the pillowcase. This just makes it look more professional. After it had dried I dusted off the old iron and gave it a once over to set the paint – make sure to put a tea towel over the top before you iron it and NO STEAM!

This is more of a decorative fabric. It will fade when washed so I'm not planning to use this as a sleeping-on-pillow, more of a throw-it-on-the-bed-when-I-make-it-sort-of-pillow. It's not that you can't wash it but you won't get the clean black and white contrasty look after a few washes. 

Tips

*Any indent you put in the foam will stay so double check your ink pad doesn't have a lip on the edge that will leave a mark in the foam. If it does, just take the squooshy inky bit out and place it on a piece of paper and use it that way.

**If you want to make this same cactus stamp but aren't confident drawing it, just print this picture and trace the shape. Alternatively just open it on a tablet or phone and trace it straight off the screen. 

Craft foam isn't the toughest of mediums. If you want to use something that will last longer you can always carve the shape out of rubber but this is much harder to do. 

 

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