Team LAZY BXRZ

Team Lazy Bxrz: Samsonite, Blarg (!!),
Obimaster, and myself

Well, that was too fun to carve!

This is a whole new learning curve from my Staedtler-PZ Kut duo, but I am finally getting into a groove. This 2" x 2" stamp is on Tan Z using the 0.5 mm Pheil u-gouge, the 1 mm Micro Palm Flex Cut, and my X-Acto, for general hacking (not carving detail). I used Jet Black Ranger Archival Ink to stamp. 

This is why I love carving - you can create any image you want!! And, it is uniquely you! Come to think of it, that is why I love letterboxing - every box I find is a unique effort of the planter, and I appreciate every one! 

in process ... I used the pencil-transfer method

I also played around more with the pseudo-pink-stuff I got on Amazon. While I will use what I have for simple stamps, I don't think highly detailed carving, at least the way I carve, would work very well with this material. It is just way-soft. At one point, I had to hold one side of an edge line with my finger while smoothing the other side - talk about awkward! If I hadn't held it, it would have just shmooshed away from the blade instead of being trimmed. Too soft, for sure. But, I did work with it a bit on this stamp, just to practice:

good enough to plant while
on the road trip!

This is obviously not as clean as stamps I have carved previously with Tan Z, Firm Kut, or even PZ Kut. I used the same tools above, although I did start by trying to use my old Staedtler gouges ... I quickly buried the tip into the material! Lol! Well ... *smirk* guess I have been using the woodworking-style of tools too long now to easily go back to holding the tool like a pencil. 

BTW, if anyone would like a 4" x 6" sheet of the pseudo-pink stuff to try, give a shout and I will send one to you. :)

So, I am thrilled with how that first stamp turned out - it will serve as the team stamp primarily for our upcoming road trip (next Summer, but we are heavily into the planning phase), and also for times when the four of us hit the trail ... which probably won't be for a while due to the loooong stretch of rain forecasted. When we were all younger, a bit of rain (or even a downpour) didn't really deter boxing adventures, but now I am older and a bit of a weenie (I don't like getting my logbook wet!). I well remember one such trip to Manchester SP (or was it Millersylvania?) where we ended up being forced under the eaves of the bathrooms as the drenching rain poured down. Seems to me that we had some definite challenges with some of the trails flooding ... *smile* Good times.

Anyway, no downpour lasts forever, and we are all anxious to get back out on the trail. I was excited to put my Emergency LB Kit to use last we went to town to run errands. I was thrilled to snag the local Box of the Month, hosted by SN Bone - yay! 

Who are those masked boxers?