Celebrate 2012 London Olympics: A Handmade Union Jack Stamp

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London are almost here!  What better way to get in the spirit, than by creating your own stamped accessories?

In this multi-part tutorial, we will show you how to create memorable souvenirs to commemorate these historic games.  This is a great family activity, and a fun way to get everyone talking about their favorite Olympic sports!

First, you will need to create
your own Union Jack Stamp!

Gather these supplies:

Craft Foam in Red and Blue

(any color will work, but red and blue make it easier to keep track of your flag pieces, and provide a guide for painting the correct colors when it is time to stamp)

Foam Core or Stiff Cardboard

(this will be the base of your stamp)

Utility Knife to Cut the Foam Core

Union Jack Pattern

(We used a pattern from ActivityVillage, and copied them at 50% and 70% to get the correct size for our stamps)

Sharpie or Pen for Tracing Pattern onto the Foam

Scissors

Quick Dry Craft Glue

Step One: Label and Cut Pattern

Label the Red and Blue parts of your Flag Pattern (I used "R" and "B")  To keep the pieces in order, I also labeled them according to the position they belonged to ("UR" for Upper Right, "LL" for Lower Left, etc- see next image).  Once you have it labeled, begin to cut apart your pattern.

Step Two: Transfer to Foam and Cut

Using your sharpie or pen, trace the pattern pieces onto the red and blue foam.

Cut the pieces out with scissors and begin arranging your pattern.  We prepped all of this for the kids, so all they had to do was sit down to glue.  It made the craft easy and fun for them!

Step Three: Glue Foam to Create Stamp

Have your foam core or cardboard base cut to the correct size for your finished stamp.  This will be about the size of your original pattern (you can make it slightly larger if you wish).  Begin gluing each foam piece to your foam core to create the stamp.

And viola! You have a handmade stamp! 

See how we use ours to personalize a few fun projects!  

Cheerio!