This stuff is pretty amazing. It allows you to mold and remold the block into an endless variety of textures and objects. (Well, the manufacturer says it is endless - presumably the stuff does eventually wear out. I don't know.)
To work this magic, we used a hot iron and a sheet of baking teflon (thanks Aldi!). You heat the block with the iron for about 30 seconds,using the teflon sheet to protect the iron, and then 'press' the hot block into your mold to get the image. I used printing blocks I had previously made using the craft foam (so that I got the negative image) but you can use all sorts of materials (dried lentils, pens, hessian, the list goes on and on)
These blocks are great as you can mold and remold them - the molded image will remain until you reheat the block.
Here is the first stamp I made with the original block cut from foam sheets next to it. (The leaves are black because I had used it to over print the stamped image - see the next photograph.)
I was just playing around, so this looks a bit messy, but I stamped with green first (4 times as the stamp block is quite small) and then over printed with the black ink
using the foam printing block.
This shows the stamp better ( the reverse of the original printing block). I did try to over print using pink ink. It did not work, but you can see the stamped pattern.
And then I tried the other side of the stamping block with another foam print block.
Here are the results with the stamp and the template below.
Neat stuff!
The block is a bit small (like a washing up sponge in size) but I can see real uses for it. And apparently you can get it in larger sheets which can be cut to size or used to make a larger print block.
What a great way to be able to get both positive and negative images! I've never done any block printing, but following your progress is fascinating - and I love your leaf design!
ReplyDeleteKim
Kim - I have used the foam sheets many times before and I love them. They are cheap, easy to find (Hobbycraft, The Works etc.) and easy to cut with scissors or a craft knife. But the magic stamp is an amazing idea.
DeleteMy other favourite material are polystyrene pizza bases - crude but effective.
However, I have just bought some soft lino alternative for more detailed work. So I will shortly report back on that as well.
The blocks look brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe magic stamps really are. You can get them at Rainbow Silks, though they are out of stock at the moment.
DeleteThis all looks very interesting. I'm sure I have some of that foam stashed away somewhere, so hi sis inspiration to look for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment on my blog.. The shapes were very therapeutic to cut, and it was enjoyable making each of them ' the same but different'.