DIY Wine Cork Stamps - Mustaches for Movember

Thankfully, I am unable to grow a mustache of my own. But I can support Movember in other ways... I just made a donation and now I'm spreading the word! I hope you'll consider making a donation as well. Here's a peek at what Movember is all about:

During Movember, men (called "Mo Bros") grow mustaches for the month of November to raise money and awareness for men's health - very serious but generally un-talked-about issues such as prostate and testicular cancer. Read more about Movember here. You can sponsor a particular Mo Bro and his 'stache, or you can make a general donation to the cause.

Now, let's make some mustache stamps!!

It's super easy to make your own handmade stamps using wine corks! This is a quick, fun project that I think you'll really like, and there are SO many ways you can use your cool new stamps. I have used mine to decorate envelopes, notecards, gift tags, gift boxes, etc. I have made these before, though last time I carved the design in the round ends for smaller letter stamps. They worked great too, see them here if you want to check 'em out!

Please note that stamps made with real cork are going to have missing spots in the ink where there are holes, so if that's not a look you like, try using a wine cork that's made of fake cork for a smoother look.  For certain things, I really like the texture it gives - it makes it seem 'vintage' somehow, but there are certainly times a cleaner stamp would be better...so, you decide. This same technique also works using a pink rubber eraser, by the way!

Oh, and don't forget, if you want to stamp letters or numbers, you'll need to draw the design as a mirror image. (Same goes for any image that you want to have a specific direction when stamped.) 

MATERIALS:

• wine cork (each cork makes 2 stamps)

• sharp serrated kitchen knife

• cutting mat

• craft knife

• marker

• ink pad (or acrylic paint)

• paper to stamp on

INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by cutting the cork in half longways with the serrated kitchen knife. Be careful!! Use a sawing motion to cut slowly, and work on a non-slip cutting mat for safety.

Use your craft knife to shave off any bumpy areas left uneven by the serrated knife. You want to start with as flat a surface as possible. Next, use the marker to draw your design on the flat side of the cork.

Then carefully cut around the design using the craft knife to a depth of about 1/4". Shave away small sections at a time, instead of trying to cut around the entire shape at once. This will especially help around the curved parts.

Now you're ready to stamp! You can ink your new handmade stamps with a traditional ink pad, or you can use acrylic paint in any color - spread it out and dip your stamp into it, or paint it directly on the stamp with a paintbrush.

Do a couple of test stamps first, as you will likely need to shave away some parts of the stamp that may be uneven. It took me a few tries to get it right:

Remember, don't cut away the parts that aren't showing up...shave away the pieces around it that are probably too high. The stamping part of the cork needs to be as even as possible. Also remember that your stamp is backwards when you're looking at it. It's a mirror image, which is easy to forget on a symmetrical design sometimes. Keep trying until you get it right. It's ok to rock the stamp a little bit when you press, to make sure you get all the edges down as much as possible.

I used my cute new mustache stamps to decorate some of my handmade pillow boxes. You can see the tutorial and download a free printable here, and make some of these yourself too!

I also made some fun mustache gift tags with the scrap cardstock leftover from cutting the pillow boxes!

I hope you liked this project! It's pretty simple and fun. And I love that I can make several of them in only a few minutes - that's a nice kind of instant gratification craft!