There Be Treasure!

Yaaargh! So ye be lookin' fer me treasure ye be? Well ye be needin' a map. A treasure map!

I love maps. I love looking at them, exploring with them, I even like folding them! So when the Mad Scientists of Etsy selected Cartography to the be challenge theme for November, I was excited. I decided to create a hand carved rubber stamp set that would allow a young (or old) pirate to make his/her own treasure map.

Treasure Island and Lord of the Rings are two of my favorite books. Probably because they both have maps. I guess I'm a visual person. So the idea of carving nine rubber stamps that would make up key parts of the map sounded educational and fun. I used to teach an orienteering course to kids, and part of the lesson was learning the different parts of the map: title, key/legend, scale, compass rose, etc. So I knew I had to have those. Then I decided to add some good pirate map symbols, like a rock, palm tree, waves, a dash for making a trail, and of course, an "X Mark the Spot."

So, if you be wantin' to make yer own treasure map, check out this stamp kit at my Etsy store.

Little Brown Packages

One of the things I pride myself on is using padded mailers that are made from recycled materials. I also take delight in decorating each one with my "Jackbear" stamps, which are bear tracks. I package each stamp I sell carefully in a small ziplock bag, with a business card stapled to the top. I also include an index card with the stamp's image on one side, and a personal note to the buyer on the other side.

I have not been including invoices because I believe if my buyers on Etsy need a hard copy, they can print that off of the Etsy site. I don't want to waste another piece of paper if the person doesn't need it. This fits with my efforts to reduce the amount of waste in the mailing process. I hope that my buyers understand and appreciate these efforts, as we all try to do our part.

Electric Mayhem

I worked on a couple custom bookplates this weekend, and managed to squeak in some time to do this little set of seven stamps of transistors, capacitors, diodes, and chips. I think they would look great on a card for an electrical engineer, or computer geek.

You can purchase these stamps on Etsy.

Coming soon, a set of cartography stamps...think "Make your Own Map."

Read all about it....

...in the new Holiday Gift Guide at KidsOutandAbout.Com a Western New York website for families. Jackbear Stamps gets mentioned in the scroll down, and a stamp of ours appears right at the top of the page too! This is a wonderful website will lots of great information on things to do in the Western New York area. Thanks to Jackie Perrin and Debra Ross!

Got an Idea for a Rubber Stamp?

You need a stamp? Well do you....punk? Make my day.

Seriously though, I hand carve custom stamps, but I'm always looking for input for rubber stamp ideas. I got started in carving rubber stamps because I needed a stamp of a bear track, and couldn't find one for sale. So I'm hoping there is an idea for a stamp that you have had, but can't find at the craft or stamp store.

So here is my CHALLENGE to you!
1) Post in the comments of this post an idea you have that would make a good rubber stamp and why.
2) Please make sure the idea is a generic one, like "spaceships", not "an X-Wing Fighter" (since that would be a violation of copyright.)

[Please note, the Clint Eastwood stamp pictured was never a stamp for sale, it was only used for my personal use! I don't sell copyrighted work!]

If I like your idea, I'll probably carve it!

Let's hear you idea!