Stamping Foam

 Have you tried Simon Hurley's stamping foam?  You can take any surface and make a stamp out of it.  You just heat up the foam block, press it into a textured surface, ink it up, and then stamp away.  It's a great way to stretch your supplies - dies, embossing folders, ribbon, even household items like sweaters, baskets, upholstery, carpet ... anything with texture.a

I took some dies and laid them out to make a patterned background.  I heated up the foam blocks (I have two taped together), and pressed them firmly into my dies.  I used one of the plates from my Stamparatus to apply even pressure  

And now I have a great background stamp.  The impression will stay in the foam until I heat it put again.

I inked up the blocks with Distress Oxide ink by swiping it across the blocks and then using a blending brush to move it around.  I lined my blocks up in my Stamparatus and pressed down.  I again used one of the Stamparatus plates to help apply even pressure.

Image 1 is the first stamp I took directly to cardstock.  I like the snowy look to the background.

Image 2 is one that I lightly misted the foam with water (without re-inking) and then stamped the cardstock.  The faded background looks like seeing the snow through a pane of glass.

Image 3 I misted the cardstock and stamped again. The subtle look will make a perfect backdrop.

You can get a 4-pack of the stamping for under $10.  It's a great bargain.  Be sure to check out videos by Simon Hurley, Gina K, and Jennifer McGuire showing how they use the foam.  On a Gina & Simon video Simon said you can use all six sides!  

Thanks for stopping by, Susan

Not a crafty post ...

This is not a crafty post but I had this on my mind.  For my FB friends who follow my blog this is a repeat of what I posted there.

I heard this in a song : Who can search the depths of me and love me to the core.

We all have hidden secrets, things we don’t tell anyone.  Thoughts, actions, stuff that happened to us or by us in our past, emotions … things we’ve stuffed down and never told another living soul; things we are afraid to even think about.  Things that sneak up on us and choke us, making us feel like we are drowning.  Some of these things are so dark and ugly that if anyone knew they would surely be disgusted and repulsed by them and by us.

Who can search the depths of me and love me to the core. 

There is one.  His name is Jesus.  Jesus looked into the depth of my heart and your heart and saw the ugly, the repulsive, the shameful, the disgusting.  He looked at the hateful, the pain, the scars, the monsters that we live with in the deep dark recesses of our heart and He loved us anyway.  He loved me and you to our cores – even with all the mess, the crap we have buried deep down, tamped down, tried to destroy, tried to forget.  He loves us to our cores.

He even went a step further than just loving us.  He took all that ugliness – mine, yours, all the sin committed by us and to us – and He opened his arms and paid OUR price so we could stand blameless before God.  He took the beatings, the mutilation of his physical body, the abuse to his spirit, the degradation of death on a cross and He opened his arms and said I LOVE YOU TO THE CORE

When you feel unloved, when you are hurting, when you are abused, when you are alone, when you feel like there is no hope remember that Jesus loves you to the core.  No matter what.  Nothing can change that.

Here’s the rest of this song by Hillsong – No One But You

Who can melt the hardest heart

And speak life into my soul
Who can spin the world around
And hold me ever close

 

Who can search the depths of me
And love me to the core
Who controls the world I see
And walks me through it all

 

No one but You
No one but You

Who has made the righteous bright
Who has paved my way with grace
Loved me through my darkest hours
A thousand different ways

 

No one but You

 

For the one who needed to read this ... I pray your heart is changed because He loves you.  Thanks for stopping by, Susan

SusieLouCreates Etsy store

SusieLouCreates on Etsy is finally open for business.  It took awhile but I finally got 1/4 of my inventory uploaded to Etsy.

I'm was hoping to get some Christmas card sets done and in the store but since November will soon be half over I think I may have missed that window!

In addition to the individual cards available, I plan to offer sets of cards that mixes occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, thinking of you, and hello.  I don't know if I'll use cards I've already made or create ones exclusively for the sets.

No new projects to upload ... I've been sick for the past week.  I'm thinking it has been a cold that hung on because I've not lost my sense of taste or smell.  

If you get a chance to check out my store, Handmade cards for every occasion. by SusieLouCreates on Etsy.  Thanks for stopping by, Susan