Make DIY Foam Stamps with a take-out container and acrylic paint!
Tips:
1
As I was experimenting with different materials for this project, I first tried foam plates. These didn’t work; the foam was thin and brittle and seemed to have some thin veneer of a plastic-like coating.
2
I noticed you can buy foam take-out containers in bulk at stores like Sam’s Club. But since I didn’t want 200 take-out containers, I asked to purchase some from the deli at a grocery store. They charged me .20 each, and I got 4 “stamping squares” from each flat lid. (These happened to be black, but the color doesn’t matter.)
3
I bought this bordered paper at a local paper store. However, you can use any paper.
4
I did this as part of a third-grade art class on the history of printing and etching. Many artists, including Rembrandt and Picasso, experimented with etching techniques. While traditional etching was done with metal plates, wax, and acid, this project embraces the overall process of etching, inking, and pressing.
How to:
made with
1
Cut the foam take-out container into flat squares (mine were about 3.5 inches).
2
Use a pencil to scratch your design into the foam. You need it to be fairly deep, but not so deep you tear through to the back of the foam.
3
Brush a light layer of acrylic paint on the foam. Kids will want to glop on the paint… let them know that if they can’t see their etched lines at all, then they won’t show up on paper. (However, if your kid does this anyway, have them re-stamp on another piece of paper without re-inking. The second stamping should look pretty good since most of the paint was removed the first time.)
4
Press the foam stamp face-down on the paper. Be careful not to slide it (if there’s a whole lot of paint, it will be very slippery and smear). Push down on all areas of the stamp. Lift the stamp straight up off the paper.
For further experimentation, have kids stamp in one color, let it dry, then stamp over it again in another color. Have kids swap stamps, or create a collage of stamps.
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