As a scrapbooker, I love stamping and printing — but I also try to stay mindful about my craft budget. I don’t want to end up with a room full of tools I don’t even remember owning. At the same time, I adore stamping different images, especially for greeting cards and junk-journal pages.
So here’s the trick I use all the time: the Kneadable Eraser Stamping Technique.
What is a kneadable eraser?
A kneadable eraser is a soft, dough-like eraser used by artists to lift graphite, soften shading, or erase delicate pencil areas. Where I grew up, we literally called it a “bread eraser.” And that’s exactly how people used to make it — by softening white bread and kneading it into a little rubbery lump to remove pencil lines. (You can read more about it in my Paper Crafting Dictionary I-N)
When I was a child and my shop-bought erasers got too dirty, I used to make new ones exactly this way, and they worked surprisingly well.
The Kneadable Eraser Stamping Technique — what you need
You’ll need a kneadable eraser from any art shop.
(I don’t recommend making one from bread yet — I haven’t tested how bread reacts with ink, but honestly… it might be a fun future experiment!)
For tools, just gather:
- Ink pads in the colours you want
- A pencil
- A wooden coffee stirrer (you can wash and reuse an old one)
- Anything with a sharp or flat edge: forks, pen caps, marker caps…
My personal favourite stamping tool?
A blackhead remover. Yes, really. I bought one especially for stamping — it makes the most perfect little petals and stamens.
You’ll also need a paper serviette for cleaning excess ink from your stamps, plus some scrap paper. I used an old calligraphy practice sheet.
Before you stamp onto the serviette to clean the ink, stamp once onto the scrap paper. The print will be lighter, but still beautiful — perfect for junk-journal ephemera. Add a bit of marker on top and you’ll love the effect.
How to start your project
This technique feels like a children’s game — incredibly easy and full of possibilities. Kids will absolutely love it because it combines stamping with molding shapes.
Just keep one basic rule in mind:
The parts you press deeply into the eraser will stay white.
The raised parts will be the inked, coloured areas.
To demonstrate, I decided to make a small pomegranate print.
First, I flattened the eraser.
Then, using the back of my pencil, the stirrer and the pencil tip, I created the pomegranate shape.
And printed it.
Next, I cleaned and kneaded the eraser again and sculpted the pomegranate crown.
And printed that, too.
You can see how easy it is to add as many details as you like — using only one eraser and the simplest tools you already have at home.
Leaf Stamps — my favourites!
Press a round piece of kneadable eraser onto paper to flatten it. Shape it into a leaf with your fingers, then press the stirrer into it to make the veins.
Leaves are perfect for adding movement, volume, or a natural frame around your artwork.
It’s honestly addictive — I can spend a whole day shaping eraser stamps and filling page after page.
A little junk-journal tip
Keep the paper serviette pieces you used to clean your stamps. Those smudgy, abstract ink marks make fantastic background elements for decoupage and collaging.
Most important of all…
Enjoy your craft time!
If you have any questions about the process or the materials I used, feel free to leave a comment — I’ll happily help.
Can you use this technique onto fabric?
What got you inspired with this technique.
When I was a child, my sister and I used to make molds from our grandmother’s crystal glasses — you know those beautiful flower- and star-like shapes cut into the crystal. We used plasticine, but we never took the next step and tried stamping with them.
Recently, I saw a video on Instagram of a girl making stamp molds from different details she found on buildings and streets, as a way of keeping memories from her travels. I tried doing the same in Mons, Belgium, although mine didn’t turn out quite as well as hers!
So, back at the hotel, I simply started experimenting with anything I could find that could leave an interesting shape molded into an eraser. I’ve always been fascinated by stamping and printing, so this felt like a wonderful idea to adopt and experiment with.
I believe you could use the same technique on fabric. Instead of regular ink, you would need to use textile paint or printing paste and then heat-set it with an iron. Acrylic paint might work too, although I’m not 100% sure how well it would hold up on washable fabric.
But that’s exactly where experimenting becomes interesting! Trying different paints and mediums might give you the answer — and perhaps even lead to a completely new technique.
If you try it and it works, please share your results with me/us. I would love to see what you create! ♥