Having Fun with Fun Foam Stamps

The other day I was poking around in my paper stash and noticed a paper I had created several months ago using one of my own stamp designs. There was a stack of ACEO-sized watercolor papers on my work table...hmmmm....inspiration struck. I used an ACEO-sized viewfinder (a piece of scrap matboard with an opening 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches cut into the center) to select a couple of sections that would make good designs for ACEOs. (An ACEO being the sellable version of an Artist Trading Card.)

Then I cut out those sections, trimmed them to the size of the cards, and glued them down with acrylic matte medium. Here's one example:

©2015 Lynn Edwards

You may be wondering how I managed to get a two-color design using just one stamp, which was nothing more than fun foam cut into shapes and glued to scrap matboard. The secret technique? I just painted in the negative spaces. On the ACEO above, the dark blue part was the stamp, and the orange areas I hand painted using a small round brush.

If you haven't tried making your own stamps with fun foam, you're missing out. Sheets of the adhesive backed type, which is what I use, are less than a dollar each at arts and crafts stores. One sheet makes a lot of stamps! For the bases, you can use scraps of matboard, heavy cardboard, or foam board. (For longevity, seal these on all sides, including edges, with acrylic gloss medium or soft gel.)

I've got a few dozen fun foam stamps I've been using for years and they're still going strong. Literally costing just pennies apiece, my stamps are studio tools I just can't live without. Whoever named fun foam really hit the nail on the head. Making your own stamps with it is just as much fun as making art!

Text and image ©2015 Lynn Edwards