Monday, March 10, 2008

Cut It Out!

I took a stab at GPP Street Team's Crusade No. 18, entitled, "Cut It Out" (create your own stamp or stencil). I wanted to get started on my stamps without having to stop at the store. One thing that I have a lot of is fun foam sheets, so I used some to cut my own original foam stamps. Here are a few of the foam stamps I made, a flower and two leaves. They are on another layer of foam, for backing. I made some other stamps,but I can't show them off, since I haven't had a chance to play with them yet! ;)

Although I mainly made the foam stamps to use with acrylic paints, I wondered how they would work with dye ink stamp on gesso. Here I have a gessoed page in my journal, with little bits of text added to it. Because of the smooth gesso, it was like doing potato prints! Also, the foam soaked up a lot of ink, so I could stamp forever without reinking!

If you are reading this you're probably interested in arts/crafts. If so, I'd like you to consider participating in a craft poll here. You don't need to register, the poll is free, and added your opinions/comments is optional. Your participation may help to revitalize the craft industry! Thanks for listening! :)

17 comments:

michelle ward said...

hey artkat - happy to have you back playing along with us! terrific problem solving - making these stamps from foam is a great idea! even better that you made them sturdier with a backing. love the impressions they made on your page! thanks for sharing with the team - so many ways to make our own tools, and this is a good one!

Pocket Size said...

Good idea! I like the way your foam stamps turned out :) The images are very crisp and vibrant. Lovely!

Anonymous said...

Hi Artkat,
those foamstamps look wonderfull! I used it too, but never thought of backing it, so i only made solid sta,ps with them. What a splendid idea!! And your page looks like SPRING! (here it's raining all day, grr)
ThanX for sharing, Hedwig

Ro Bruhn said...

What a great idea using the foam, so much quicker than carving. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for visiting.

Dieverdog said...

you can make stamps out of a lot of different things... great to get creative like that! So many options if you think about it or are lazy enough... LOL... necessity is the mother of invention as they say and it's true! We probably go out and buy a lot things we could just make ourselves if we took some time. Great job!
Pam

Unknown said...

They look fantastic. Using foam is great too ! Thanks for your message on my blog !

Lisa H said...

ArtK...

YOur carving is SO clean that it took me a minute to "get" that you carved those babies yourself.
Totally Bright Job....!

Lisa H.

Anonymous said...

Love the leaf in particular - not sure why, just really appeals :-) Thanks for the link to the poll, will do that next!

Casey said...

You did a beautiful job with cutting those stamps! I like to make foam ones, too. I use the self adhesive foam and mount them on CD cases. Good idea to use the foam backing!

Loudlife said...

Kat- Super cute! I love what you did with the foam. I also love that they hold so much ink that you didn't have to re-ink them. I may never use a rubber stamp again...

Laurie

emilia in Taiwan said...

these foamstamps are amazing! and you cut them beautifully! great job!

Anonymous said...

What a great set of stamps!! They look so awesome on your page!! (I really like your color combo too!)

Ursula Clamer said...

I like your thinking, using something you already have. Great stamps and a very vibrant page.

Kim Tedrow said...

Great alternative to rubber, and they look great. -Kim

Anonymous said...

Your stamps are great. love the leaves. I like taking polls so I went over and did the craft polls you linked too :)

girlgonethreadwild said...

hey artkat, go girl! how fun is this to take complete control over your creations by making Ur own stamps. Hope I get to this crusade, if not I'll catch up to ya'll with part 2 (stencils). Art on & Happy Easter, Monica :)

Anonymous said...

Hey ArtKat, Thanks for stopping by our neck of the woods. Great idea using the foam, even better that you don't have to re-ink as often!
See you around the crusades