I use a Speedball Lino Cutter to make all my stamps. It’s sort of like an exacto knife with a thicker handle. I have a 3 different sizes of V-shaped tips, a U-shaped tip, and a Knife. I made the DFTBA stamp out of Lino, which comes in several varieties. The type I like is very similar to an eraser, just a little firmer. I actually also use erasers to make small stamps quite often.

As for the making of the stamp, I cut a piece of Lino that was approximately the size I wanted, and used a pencil to draw on the lettering (remembering to do the lettering backwards, so the stamp would be forwards.) Then I used the smallest V tip to trace around the letters and the larger sizes to cut as deep as I could around the letters. I actually intended them to be a bit thicker originally, but I accidentally cut into them a bit, so I just made them narrower. I switch between sizes quite a bit. I also test the stamp with an ink pad throughout making it, so I know what bits are making contact with the page that shouldn’t be, so I can carve deeper in those areas. That’s pretty much the gist. 🙂