Wednesday, June 5, 2013

On The Threshold


One of my favorite "art exercises" is to think of non-traditional ways to use art supplies and products. To me, that is part of what being a mixed media artist is all about. So in this piece, On The Threshold, I decided to use Spellbinders M-Bossibilities folders in a new way.

I dug into my stash to get my package of Magic Stamp, which is a moldable foam material that when heated up, allows you to embed any textured object into the surface thereby creating a foam stamp.


I cut one foam sheet into smaller squares. I heated the surface of the foam square with a heat gun for about 30 seconds. As per the instructions, I kept the heat gun about one inch from the surface and moved the heat gun back and forth to avoid overheating. I then immediately pressed the heated foam into the textured M-Bossibilities folder for about 20 seconds. In doing so, I created a foam stamp.




One of the great things about this product is that after I use the stamp, I can always reheat the surface of the foam with my heat gun and the impression disappears. This allows me to use the foam over and over again. 

If you like to also use your dies to create your own custom stamps, head over here to a video tutorial, where Linda Peterson leads you though the process step-by-step. 

My mixed media piece began with a piece of watercolor paper upon which I glued a vintage dictionary page. I painted the surface with gesso, acrylic paint and acrylic medium. As you can see, I added two eyelets, initially thinking that I might want to thread through some wire. But as the piece progressed I decided against this and the eyelets because just one more design element.


To this basic background I stamped using my newly created foam stamps, creating some additional, subtle background design. I then added many mixed media elements, including paper, alphabet letters, stickers, ink, rub-ons, marker, wax pastels, pen, pencil, and more.


You can see part of the "brick" stamp that I used in this detail...

On the left side is evidence of the "Flower Fun" stamp I used...

Right in the center, you can see the background created with my "Letters" stamp...








Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop


Supply List

Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:

EL-027 SpellbindersTM M-Bossibilities®  Numbers and Letters Embossing Folder
EL-015 SpellbindersTM M-Bossibilities®  Bricks and Bark Embossing Folder
EL-008 SpellbindersTM M-Bossibilities®  Flower Fun Embossing Folder

Preferred Promotional Partners: Tsukineko StazOn ink pad

Cross Promotional Partners: 7 Gypsies Postale alphabet stickers

Other: watercolor paper, vintage dictionary page, gesso, acrylic paint, acrylic medium, ink, pencil, pen, marker, wax pastel crayon, rubber and acrylic stamps, magic stamp, heat gun, card stock, adhesive, paper towel, paint brush, rub-ons, stickers, eyelets, eyelet setter

7 comments:

Jo Murray said...

I've never seen Magic Stamp...but must see if I can get some. Thanks for the demo Seth. I also got your textured stencilling info from CPS...it's all more stuff I can play with. Yay!!!

elle said...

Seth, I am so glad that you are taking the time to share all this inspiring work/play(?)with us. I am very appreciative. Thanks!

john said...

Looks wonderful and it is obvious that you had a load of fun!

Create Beauty with Laurajo said...

Im having One of those, " Why didn't I think of that! Moments!! Lol. I have so many texture folders and now I can make a lot of background stamps. Thank for sharing!, Seth! Love the canvas :)

Unknown said...

Super,thanks for taking the time on your blog to show us!

Marjie Kemper said...

This is so gorgeous. Love all the depth you've built up with your layers and textures.

Anonymous said...

New to your site and love your creations! Never heard of Magic Stamp but it looks outrageously fun!