Hi Everyone! I thought I would share a bit of non-business today! Some of you know that I take an art class once a week. I do it just for me, not for a grade or anything (thankfully) and last week we made something a bit stampy! My instructor wanted us to try printmaking as a bit of a break from the usual and she thought it would be fun for upcoming Christmas cards. Little does she know that I am drowning in Christmas cards! But I thought, why not? Some of you may remember that Stampin' Up! used to sell a stamp carving kit complete with rubber and blocks and carving tools. Well of course I bought it, but never used it!! For class we were not using rubber or linoleum, but rather a Styrofoam type piece.
We started by drawing what we wanted to print. I decided to make birch trees.
Next we placed our drawing over a piece of Styrofoam and traced over the lines with a wooden stylus to get the impression into the Styrofoam.
Next we used some paint and a brayer to add color to our image and then pressed it onto our colored cardstock. I made a few in blue and a few in black. We left them to dry until the next class.
I brought a few of my stampy goodies with me to class the next week so that I could turn them into my cards. We were given white card bases to mount them on but you know I had to use my Stampin' Up! things to make them more me.
Do you recognize the snowflakes? I thought the wooden snowflakes were the perfect touch for the birch trees and they compliment the Crumb Cake card bases as well. They were a fun embellishment from last Christmas. I embossed the 'peace' in gold from my Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set. It's always a good idea to check out the Clearance rack for fun retired embellishments from Stampin' Up! If I remember correctly, Stampin' Up! updates the clearance rack just before Christmas, so check it mid December. Who knows what fun you will find. Great Washi tape, fun Ribbon, or cute wooden snowflakes?
I hope that you liked today's post even thought it is not something you can get from Stampin' Up! But maybe you will be inspired to carve your own image sometime? or at lease appreciate some crafty fun and get a smile!
This is so cool, Beth. Never thought you could use styrofoam to make the print block. Love the look this technique gives. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendie,
DeleteI was surprised at how well the Styrofoam worked. We just used a little wooden stick. I will definitely do this again.