love

Happy Saturday, my friends.  I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  I made another card for another challenge for my OWSE yahoo group.  This challenge was anything goes.  That's a fun type of challenge, because you can do just that - anything. 

I've been thinking about signing up for Julie Balzer's online stamp carving class.  I think that would be a fun thing to learn, but I'm saving my money for another purchase right, so I'll have to wait.  Anyway, I was talking to another girl in my group and she had heard that it might be possible to carve on thick fun foam.  Since I have some of that, I decided to give it a try. 

First off, the fun foam is much much softer than stamp rubber, and it's foam with air pockets - not solid rubber.  If you draw a design on it to carve, your pencil makes an indent.  Not good if that is an area that you want as part of your image.   I tried carving with my stamp carving tools.  I have to say, I really did not have success.  Rather than 'cut' the foam, the blade 'tore' it, leaving jagged edges instead of a smooth, clean cut.  I did make an image, but it was either torn or I pressed down with my tool and made an indent as part of the design.  Here is a closeup of my stamp and a stamped image.  The stamp is 1-3/8" across.  It is not what I would consider a good stamp image. 

I decided to go ahead and use what I had made to make a card.  Using riding hood red ink, I stamped three times and then cut around the images with deckle scissors.  I sponged the edges with the same ink.  Then I punched three hearts, two from red patterned paper and one white one, on which I had stamped the word 'love'.  I sponged the edges on those, too, as well as on the edges of the card.  Then I glued them all to the card and added faux stitching. 

I think I'll use stamp carving rubber next time.  What do you think?  Thanks for stopping by.