I remember making styrofoam stamps when I was in high school. Living in a small town made it difficult to get art supplies like linoleum blocks, cutters and printing ink. I came up with a lot of interesting projects; beads made from bread, sculptures out of mud, and styrofoam stamps.
I use meat trays, they actually aren’t that common anymore, now most meat comes in plastic trays (yay, they’re recyclable and great for craft projects!) This is a great project for kids, just leave out the exacto knife and it’s pretty safe, just cutting with scissors and a dull pencil.
This came with the delicious Italian sausage that became a spaghetti pie. You can also use to go boxes. Make sure to wash the styrofoam before you get started. Cut the edges off, so you have a nice flat piece to work with. I used and exacto knife, but regular scissors also work.
I cut mine into smaller pieces, yours can be any size you want. The great thing about this project is that almost any tool can be used to make marks on the styrofoam. I used a dull pencil, but you could use a pen, a popsicle stick, a ball stylus, your fingernail, anything!!!
I used an ink pad to make the stamps (note to self, get another color of ink). The great thing about these stamps is you can also make a rubbing of them using printer paper and a crayon, the kids love this, it’s magic!
The texture of the styrofoam can be seen in the print. I like the effect, it looks like stippling or even a mono print. My favorite part about this project is that it is free, I would have bought the sausage regardless and now the tray won’t go to the landfill. BTW if you like this project you should try eraser stamps next.
6 comments:
WOW! This is so, so, SO cool, I love it! Super creative and I love the result! Thanks so much for sharing this, I'm so excited to try this. I'll be linking as well.
Thanks again Rachel :-), it's so quick and easy and almost instant gratification too!
This is a great, simple way of doing something that can become so expensive if you listen to the "experts" and buy all the silly products you don't need. Thank you for sharing such a thrifty, recycled idea with us!
I absolutely love this. I can remember doing this in the distant past, but I forgot all about it. I will definitely do this with the grandbabies. We are working on mothers day gifts. Think I'll have them design their own stamps for gift wrap! Thanks a heap!
Miss Pepperberry - I know what you mean and this is a great way to give stamp making a try without a big investment in supplies.
Kimara - Wrapping paper, that is a great idea!
This is so awesome! I can not wait to try it out! Love it!
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