Hand-carved rubberstamp

I discovered my love for rubber stamps in college. I had a hard time finding stores that carried them and this was before the ease of the internet and on-line shopping. Several years ago I learned of letterboxing, which is a combination of clue deciphering, hiking, and rubber stamps. [To learn more about letterboxing check out AtlasQuest, Letterboxing North America and Wikipedia] That's when I started carving my own rubber stamps. I am self-taught but wish to learn other methods or ways to do more intricate designs.

Last year I hand-carved a rubber stamp for a swap I did on Swap-bot. It was sender's choice. My partner likes leaves so I decided to carve a Buckeye leaf. After looking at images online, I hand drew a leaf with pencil. I then rubbed the pencil drawing on the block of rubber and carved.The end result with my initial pencil drawing and the inked stamped image.

I sent the stamp to my partner the Netherlands. I liked the carving so much that I did another one for myself!