handprinted monday::block printing

just like last time, i thought i'd mark down the last five days of swap sign ups by focusing on a different element of handprinting each day, a little bit of inspiration and encouragement. today is all about block printing, that is carving your design out of lino, wood or eraser-like carving material and then using it as a stamp.

{hand carved wooden block print by Maria Joao}

{woodcuts on linen by Jeanne McGee}

{hand carved lino cut on fabric by Thought & Found}

{hand carved wood blocks on paper by Alex Michardi}

{hand carved stamps on paper by hier houd ik van}

::more carved stamp inspiration::
carve your stamp group on flickr
stamp your art out group on flickr
hand carved stamps board on pinterest

::resources::
hand carved stamp tutorial on gennine's art blog
diy hand carved stamp tutorial by teal & tea

i found plenty of information on how to carve the stamps and have included the best two above but i wasn't able to find any really good tutorials on using the stamps to print on fabric so i will write up something myself next week - perfect excuse to carve some new stamps, i say!

{updated}
jesse of jezze prints has alerted me to the WEALTH of information in her tutorials section. i'll be adding a few of her other tutorials to future posts but here are links to her excellent fabric printing tutorial series:
Jezze Prints: fabric printing I
Jezze Prints: fabric printing II
Jezze Prints: fabric printing III

this is pretty much the same way i do block printing, except that i use a foam brush to dab the paint onto my blocks rather than a roller. i just found i could get the paint a bit more "tacky" this way and end up with slightly more consistent prints (something that jesse doesn't seem to have a problem with, all of her printing always looks amazing!)