I recently received a wedding invitation from a couple who had designed their own monogrammed stamp. It was a great idea and added an extra personalized touch to their invitations. Monograms are a wedding trend that is starting to become more common.

This stamp inspired me to make my own monogrammed stamp and give those DIY brides out there an easy way to create their own awesome personalized stamp with things they probably have sitting around the house.

Step 1: Supplies

Here is what you will need to create your own monogrammed stamp

An Eraser - check out office supplies or back to school specials. You should be able to find one for cheap

A soldering iron

An exacto knife

Step 2: Cut Out Eraser

1. Cut out the desired stamp size from the eraser - I wanted a nice circular design for for my monogram so I traced a quarter onto the eraser. A quarter size is great for a small monogram since it is big enough to see but small enough to not draw attention.

I used an exacto knife to cut out around the eraser and get my circular shape.

Step 3: Create and Transfer Design

1. Start by sketching out your design - most monogrammed stamp designs are about the size of a quarter so use that as a reference to how big you make your design.

3. Transfer you design onto the eraser - great trick if you printed out your design. If you print out your design. place the design ink side down onto the eraser. Then dampen the paper. The ink from the paper will transfer to the eraser (this will only work with inkjet printers). I was able to do this a little bit with my pen design. I was able to get a light transfer and used the pen to darken the outilne

NOTE: Once applied the letters on your eraser should be backwards so when you stamp it the letters will be in the right direction.

Step 4: Solder Out Your Design

Now for the fun part.

1. Plug in your soldering iron and wait for it to warm up - DO NOT touch the soldering iron to test if it is warm. Take one of your scrap erasers and test the heat by placing the soldering iron on the scrap. If the eraser melts easily then the iron is hot enough.

2. Trace the monogram inked/sketched lines on your eraser with the soldering iron - The soldering iron will melt away the eraser very quickly so be careful.

NOTE: It might be helpful to have a rag on hand to wipe off any eraser that gets stuck to the soldering iron.

DISCLAIMER: This is not the intended use for a soldering iron, however I have found that this is the best way to cut into soft material like erasers.

Step 5: Stamp

When you are happy with the design its time for a test.

1. Start by stamping it on scrap paper to make sure you are happy with how the stamp comes out - If needed use the Exacto knife to clean out anything you didn't catch before.

2. Use on invitations, save the dates, place cards, or anything else you desire!

Have fun with your monogrammed new stamp!