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How to Stamp a Soft Two-Colour Moon Jellyfish Gradient
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Hello, I'm omochi, a hand-carved stamp artist in Japan.
This airy moon jellyfish card is made with just one stamp and two colours of ink. Pale blue across the whole design, followed by a touch of wisteria purple around the edge, creates a cool gradient that feels almost translucent.
Materials
What you will need
- A moon jellyfish eraser stamp
- Shachihata Iromoyou ink pads in Mizuiro (pale blue) and Fujiiro (wisteria purple)
- A small white card, around business-card size
My original stamp was carved from SEED Horunavi in Japan. If that block is difficult to find where you live, a locally available carving block such as Speedball Speedy-Carve can be used with the same inking technique.
How to
Three gentle steps
Cover the stamp with pale blue
Tap the pale blue ink pad gently over the entire carved surface. Avoid rubbing the pad back and forth; a light tapping motion places colour more evenly and keeps ink out of the carved recesses.
Add wisteria purple around the edge
Use a corner of the wisteria-purple pad to touch only the outer edge of the jellyfish. Leave the centre pale blue. The small overlap between the two colours will blend naturally when the stamp meets the paper.
Let the jellyfish drift beyond the card
Stamp some motifs partly beyond the card edge to create a sense of depth and movement. Apply even pressure for two or three seconds. Re-ink with both colours before every impression so each jellyfish keeps the same soft gradient.
A different pair of colours changes the whole atmosphere: pink and purple for a sunset sea, or young bamboo green and indigo for deeper water. The same simple technique leaves plenty of room to make the design your own.
Shopping
Tools used in this project
Only purchase links that offer international shipping are listed here. Availability can vary by colour and destination, so please check the shop page before ordering.
- Iromoyou Warabe ink pads (25 × 25 mm)29 colours; a small, easy size for trying one colour at a time.Amazon Japan →
- Iromoyou ink pads (63 × 40 mm)34 traditional Japanese colours; international availability differs by colour.Amazon Japan →
More notes on inks, carving blocks and international availability are in the Tools & Care guide.
Like the stamps used in this project? You can find the set below, with international checkout available through an official proxy service.
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Follow the everyday carving and stamping process on Instagram.