We’ve been planning to go on a hunt for The Tools, and so last week we found a day! We were both off from work and had been thoroughly searching the web for a good place to go, planning the day step by step. Ironically, it turned out that a good and cheap starter set was available at our very local art supply store (and I mean local, it’s a 2 minute walk from our street, literary around the corner). Go figure, huh?

We set out kind of early so of course we had to start off with a huge latte. When you have an entire day-off-from-work-and-looking-for-tools-fun-day, is there another way? (No, is my answer). We are very lucky to live on the same street, and to have a small and bakery on it as well. It’s been there since the 40′s! They changed owners last year to a cute young couple, whom decided to install a great espresso machine. Bright idea, very bright idea. Coffee heaven, even early in the morning! Seriously, do you know how early a baker starts in the morning?

Tricks with coffee!

And of course we had to get our strength up so we went swimming. Stretching our backs and softening our muscles for the project later that day (much needed!). We figured we might as well, considering we didn’t at all have to go all around town, as we thought we would  (No way, no swim suit pics dearlord, we are not that kind of blog thankyouverymuch). Feeling good about our selves we of course deserved to buy our tools.

Tricks documenting our trip to the shop

We live just across from Konstfack, a university college of arts, crafts and design. How lucky are we? Because, of course, they have their own art supply store with really nice prices adjusted to a student’s pocket. And they have e-e-everything. Maybe not so much scrapbook supplies (some though), but all the glue, knifes and paint you might ever need. Let’s just say that browsing there gets you curious in other types of arts and crafts.

It looks a bit anonymous, but don't let that fool you

We took a few laps around the store, looking at everything twice (oh look, those beads I want are still there, oh, paint for fabrics, well I need a new X-acto knife, maybe a roller, but where the frell are our tools?). Tricks, being a woman of action as always, got us some helt and at last we found the mother load, hidden under a shelf somewhere, unloved, waiting for us!

So we found some pieces of linoleum and the set with woodcut knifes, yeay!

 It was an excellent starter set and it was like 4$.  I bought some erasers as well as the linoleum, to try to make some smaller rubber stamps. Happy like two monkeys at a banana buffet we skipped off to Tricks mum for a lovely thai lunch. Shopping makes you hungry after all. And then at last, back at Tricks place, tea was made, pencils were sharpened and linoleum was prepped. And whilst all my imagination and all my ideas seemed to have ran off somewhere (probably to the banana buffet) Tricks immediately set to work! She drew this beautiful acorn right then and there and transferred it to the linoleum. And see, the tools worked really well!

Tricks carving away

My mind was totally blank and I whished I had brought my sketches and ideas (a pile of post-its, mainly, that are now lost somewhere, naturally). I tried doing some tiny shapes in the erasers but they were to soft, so they split in the middle. Thinking about it afterwards I wonder if I cut to deep into the rubber (it was like cutting a butter, really easy, so maybe next time…). At last I started drawing a leaf on the linoleum, planning to do something interesting inside it, just to try it out and maybe get a grip of the material and the tools. It took forever to carve out, so Tricks had plenty of time to make a cute mushroom as well!

And here are our end results, the fruit of our labor and planning, our first attempt:

Man, our necks and backs were aching after that time spent hunching over the table! But it was worth it! A splendid day with something to show for it. Our first hand carved stamps.