Foam stamps and catfish!

 

Here's a round-up of what I got up to yesterday in regard to all things crafty.  I made a few more stamps for use when gell printing.  They're simple shapes, inspired by watching Elizabeth StHilaire on YouTube and her Botanicals foam stamps that represent stylized versions of poppy seed heads, leaves and flowers.  

I used Hobbycraft adhesive backed craft foam and leftover pieces of plastic to stick them to.  Plus a hole punch to add the dots.  The resulting prints aren't sophisticated, but I'm happy with them.  They add a natural look to a background, and you could paint or draw more finely detailed images over and around them.  

I also decided to make a - well, what do I call it?  It's a single sheet of cardstock folded into three.  In a Megan Quinlan video she refered to such a folded card as a book, so maybe it is a mini-book?  I'd previously made a little collage in a journal, with the wording 'Keep Our Oceans Plastic Free'.

I particularly liked the dark blue gell print that formed a couple of the waves, so yesterday dug out the gell plate and tried recreating that.  But of course I couldn't!  One of the joys of gell printing is that you never get exactly the same results twice.  However, that's also one of the frustrations.  Maybe the best way around that in future is to scan favourite prints and keep them digitally so future copies can be made.  Anyway, I made a stack of blue themed gell prints and set about cutting and pasting them.  

Below is the outer side laid flat.  

The cardstock is folded so the waves overlap at the front.  

Inside I stenciled and stamped, then - added a catfish!  Because ... just because.  Sometimes you need a little whimsy in your life to brighten up your day.  

I rather like the idea of making a stuffed toy in the shape of my catfish.  Time to burrow around for suitable green material.  I'm seeing shimmery metallics and sequins, what do you think?