The Eyes Have It by Judi Kauffman for The Queen’s Ink

One of the nice things about Magic Stamp blocks is how lightweight they are! I can pack a dozen in a tote bag and it doesn’t weigh as much as a corned beef sandwich...

Today’s tutorial shows four different almond shapes cut from a single block. I cut cardstock into quarter-sheets, thinking that I would use the blocks as eyes, but one thing led to another and the project went in other directions.

Instead of sending them as postcards or incorporating my doodled pieces into card fronts I decided to make a book. Because the drawings extend to the edges I didn’t want to use a coil or disk binding system that would have cut off part of the image.

As you can see from the photo above, each pair of pages is glued back-to-back with a hinge extending at the edge. (Those pieces are teal cardstock, 1” x 5.5”, scored lengthwise at .5”.) There is a .5” x 5.5” strip glued as a spacer between pages. I used washi tape to decorate and help keep the pages neatly bound.

Below is a photo gallery for inspiration. Watch the Queen’s Ink calendar - Patti and I are scheduling a class where I’ll be teaching how to cut up Magic Stamp blocks for cards, collage, mono-printmaking and more! (We haven’t figured out a good name for the class yet - Any ideas???)

Supplies:

• Magic Stamp block(s)
• Cardstock
• Craft knife
• Cutting mat
• Cardstock
• Inks of choice
• Pigma Micron pens, black, assorted nib sizes (Sakura)
• Gelly Roll, white (Sakura)
• Colored pencils
• Washi tape