MAKE YOUR OWN STAMPS

Are you ready to add another use to your diecut repertoire? For my foray into this new world, I used the Thinlit by Sizzix shown in the photo below.

One more thing that you will need to try this technique is a piece of Fun Foam. You know, that squishy stuff that little kids like to make things like magnets and door hangers out of? Well, grab yourself a sheet, one that has a sticky backing.

First of all, the photo below shows what the lovely diecut butterfly looks like. Really pretty cut from a thick paper, right? 

But wait! Forget the paper! We are going to make a STAMP.

Ready??

OK. Now, cut a piece of that Fun Foam sheet to approximately the same size as the die. NOTE: The Fun Foam I used was 2mm thick. And -- don't ask me why -- the sheet I chose was white in color.

Pretend that this little piece of foam is cardstock and run it through your Big Shot using the same sandwich as you would when using a piece of cardstock with the pretty butterfly die. Place the cutting portion of the die over the back of the foam, against the paper that protects the sticky. Since this die is so fussy, rather than just a frame-style die, I used my Precision Base Plate. 

Being my first attempt at this, and using such a detailed die besides, I was not at all sure what to expect. I truthfully did not think it would work. 

But IT DID!

However, even though the foam sheet was only 2mm thick (there was also one that was 3mm), it was squished down even further by the compression of the Big Shot.

A.N.D. It came out of the die super easy! 

I peeled the protective paper from the sticky surface and carefully mounted it to a spare wood block I had on hand. (See??!!? That's why I save everything! You never know when you will need it!)

Because there was very little depth to my new stamp, I was concerned about inking it up. I used Dapper Denim since it is a foam pad, as all the new Stampin' Up! ink pads now are. I chose that because those foam pads are super juicy and I thought it would be easier to ink up such a fragile low profile stamp. 

I was very careful in the inking process. Even so, you can see by the ink on the wood block how difficult it is.

I was so anxious to stamp it onto Whisper White cardstock. Gulp. Carefully stamp. And voila! Look at the beautiful image my new stamp made!

I seriously thought I was only experimenting by stamping this first impression. And, as I previously said, I really did not think it would work. 

But the stamped image turned out so beautifully, I decided to create a card from this very first attempt. Woo hoo!

I am in love with the look of this stamp!

To add a bit more to my final creation, I placed a few Basic Rhinestones in important spots, a white gel polka dot edge on every other scallop and a little tag with my sentiment. The base of the card is also created from Dapper Denim to match the ink color.

So, what do you think?? Are you going to be making your own stamps now? I haven't had a chance to play with any other dies. But I surely am going to! I can't wait to make myself a whole new set of stamps! 

I would love to see what you do with this fun and easy technique! Please send me any images of this -- or ANYTHING at all -- to my email address, which is lidna52@gmail.com. Perhaps I will use your share(s) in an upcoming post -- or two or three! 

Foamy

Smiles.