Rubber Stamp Ketubah
Filed under: Easy, Project
Want more room for artwork, and less text? Today I’m going to show you how to cut down one of the texts from the kit and make your own background pattern for an English language wedding certificate.
Materials
Acid-free paper (here’s what to look for)
Archival pigment pen (I like size 01) or regular ballpoint pen
Xacto knife
Steel ruler (good to cut against, but any straight edge will work)
Self-healing mat (to cut on – you can also use cardboard)
Archival ink stamp pad
Archival tape
Rubber stamp(s)
Thin black frame or thick black frame or silver frame (for standard sizes)
Cutting things down to size
You’ve printed your favorite text from the kit onto some nice paper. Now we’re going to cut it down and use only the English side to make a slimmer sheet.
Take your ruler, align it just at the edge of the Hebrew text, and make a straight cut with your Xacto knife. You should be taking off about 3.5 inches.
Once you’ve cut off this left piece, you’ll notice you have more negative space to the right of the English text than you have on the left. So trim about 1 inch off the right of the sheet to even things out. You’ll want to eyeball it, rather than measure. Just make sure you’re cutting at a right angle, to keep the sheet square.
You can personalize the top of your ketubah text any way you’d like. We’ve covered this before, and the same rules apply here; you just have less horizontal space this time. I decided to draw in some extra signature lines, as well–see the picture at the end of the post to see what that looks like. Customize this sheet and make it your own!
Drawing lines
When you have your ketubah text ready, lay out the larger sheet of paper you want to use for the overall piece. This can be a standard size, like 11×14 or 16×20 (which will make framing less expensive), or it can be a totally custom size to fit in the perfect spot in your home. I used a 14×17 sheet.
Align the text sheet within the larger sheet to figure out where you want it to live. Draw 2 vertical lines on either side, and then add a few more lines–they can be spaced symmetrically or asymmetrically. I chose to position the text off-center and draw some asymmetrical lines at random intervals, for a more modern look.
You can experiment with how dark to make the lines you draw in. I made one version with faint lines that I achieved with a light touch, and another with darker lines that I drew in with more pressure. You can also go back and forth with your pen, creating some texture. Try experimenting with different pens and inks to see what appeals to you.
Rubber stamping
Now that you have the lines drawn, take your rubber stamp or stamps (I used a 3/4″ circle stamp and a pencil eraser for a smaller circle stamp) and stamp along the lines you drew. I used a black ink pad, but you can use any color you like. Most craft / art / scrapbook supply stores have archival ink stamp pads and lots of stamps to choose from.
You can experiment with the pressure you apply to the stamp. Some stamps, like the circles I’m using for this example, look nice when you have areas that don’t fully print. Less pressure and inking will result in that kind of look. The more ink and pressure you apply, the more coverage you get. It’s good to test the inking and pressure on a scrap sheet of paper to get the hang of what you like. Stamp with confidence! The more indecisive you are, the more shifty you tend to be, and then you’ll get smears.
If you want some more stamping tips, check out Lena Corwin’s excellent book, Printing by Hand or Lotta Jansdotter’s Lotta Prints. Both are great primers that go into much more detail than I can here.
Adhering the text sheet to the pattern
Now that you have both sheets ready to go, it’s time to adhere the ketubah text to the pattern you made. You can use an archival double-sided tape (as pictured), or a tape gun for this. I like these dry methods better than using a glue stick or liquid glue because they’re less messy. Also, since we’re gluing quite a large area, the wet adhesives can make the paper crinkly if you’re not an expert with glue.
If you do want to use a wet adhesive, just make sure it’s archival, like PVA, and spread it thin! If you’re using a really thin sheet of paper for the ketubah text, you may also find an acid-free glue stick successful. But thicker papers will need either glue or one of the dry adhesives.
Be careful when you place your sticky ketubah text onto the background, because repositioning can be tricky and you don’t want to ruin the pieces you just worked so hard to prepare! Make sure your hands are clean and smooth out from the center of the paper when you have it where you want it.
You’re done!
You just made your own pattern, and your very own rubber stamp ketubah from scratch.
Enjoy!
