A while ago, I think there was some discussion about good carving material for kids, so I thought I'd share something that just happened at our house...

My daughter just tried carving her first "stamp". She had a couple slices of cheddar cheese that she was going to eat, and I told her it looked kind of like orange PZ Kut. So, she decided she wanted to carve her cheese. I got out a small paring knife, gave her a couple pointers, and let her try. She just came and told me that she messed up, so she tried the other side, but when she messed that up too, she just ate it! :)

OK, so this type of "stamp" won't last very long, but it could be good practice for the kids before they try the "real thing". (My daughter is now asking for the PZ Kut.) :)

Capperpillar

A cute idea on the cheeze, Capperpiller...
How old is that child? Mine are a bit beyond that at 11 & 13, but it might have worked earlier.

Nice tip!

We started by carving gum erasers with pencil ends with our Brownie troop. But now that my daughter is a junior (9 years old) and working on a hobby badge, we decided it was time she try a real carving. She used PZ-Cut and my speedball set to make a passable stamp that goes with our new boxing buddy. No blood was involved!

Kit Kat

I have some Mastercarve left over from my experimenting days, and vigilantly watched as my 5 & 6 year old kids used my old Speedball gauges to make stamps. Being so soft and easy to carve, the Mastercarve worked well for them (didn't have to put any extra effort into it, which could cause slippage). They are really cute stamps, too! (Of course most of the stuff they make is cute.)

~zess~

Master Carve is also good if you have arthritis. (spelling?) Its softness doen't cause a lot of pressure on joints.