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Fun foam stamps made with Cricut Expression
Maybe you’ve see the infomercials for the Cricut electronic cutters. They work sort of like a print plotter, except they cut out with a tiny knife instead of drawing with ink. They’re promoted as a tool for scrapbookers and card makers…definately pushing the cutesy, adorable image. (Winnie the Pooh designs, anyone?) However, an electronic cutter is actually an amazing tool for the mixed media fine artist.
Electronic cutters have been around for ages in industrial applications like vinyl sign making and package prototyping. What’s new (in the past few years) is that relatively inexpensive home models have become available. These cutters are sold under a number of brand names. In some cases, the same manufacturer makes several versions under different nameplates. The web is full of articles comparing the capabilities and costs of these machines (this one for example), so I won’t repeat that discussion here. Suffice it to say that after several years of consideration, I now have a Cricut Expression Cutting Machine that I chose because I can hook it to my Mac to use my own vector artwork (with the addition of third-party software called Sure Cuts a Lot), it cuts in large dimensions compared to many other machines (up to 12″ x 24″), consumables such as blades and carrier sheets are reasonably priced and readily available, and the machine itself is priced economically (around $300) compared to other machines that cut material this large. (Most machines at this price point cut 8″ wide at the most.)
So, what do I do with this machine?
I use the Cricut in my artwork in a variety of ways, but today, I’m going to talk about making foam stamps and using them to create background papers for collage/mixed media artwork. I use “fun foam” type foam sheets to make the stamps. I can get a package of foam sheets at Big Lots for $2.00. I use the cutter to cut shapes out of the foam and then adhere the foam shapes to pieces of plexiglass, wood, or cardboard. The picture below shows several stamps with a concentric circle theme.
Stamps cut on Cricut Expression
To use the stamps, I paint them with acrylic paint or gesso and stamp them onto tissue paper. Because the foam is not super-thick, and because painting the stamps is not as even an application as using stamp pad ink, the stamped result can be somewhat blotchy and uneven. Sounds bad maybe, but that’s what I want. I don’t want a perfect image. See below for sewing pattern and regular art tissue stamped with the round and square stamps.
Sewing tissue stamped using foam stamps and gesso
Tissue printed with stamps made on Cricut Expression
Stamp made from fun foam
You can also see how I used the round stamps with colored tissue and acrylic paint in my Sketchbook Volume 3 Project for Art House Co-op (below). In several cases, I painted over the circles with other colors after the stamped tissue was adhered to the collage.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you are keeping your blog posts up. They’re informative and friendly and I love all the images. This is such a fun side of you. The site is looking great, just thought I would comment and leave some love.
Dear Susan,
I don’t know what it is in the cosmic order, but I have been driving myself crazy trying to cut stamps for some “wearable art” and for some collage work in the last three weeks. Your post on the collagegroups came just as I was ready to tear my hair out! And it is so weird, isn’t it, that artists are sometimes thinking and planning similar things at the same time. I don’t get it, I just go with it. I was trying to cut stamps of faces and having the most irksome time with them especially around the eyes. I just have a hard time thinking backwards or positive space to negative and wind up cutting parts away that I had wanted. Must be a learning disability- like algebra- ha ha. I realized that somewhere, in my studio, I have the foam that you mention. I also have rubber. If not, I can revert to meat packages, or string glued to cardboard, or even cardboard glued to cardboard, as I used to do with my art students in elementary school! Thanks for jogging my brain!! Much appreciated!! Your artwork is awesome! I love your technique and your figures. Just wonderful! I will go back now and look at them some more.
Kathryn
P.S. I went to a Lee Hammond workshop in Las Vegas a few years back. She’s great! I have a few of her books as well.
What a great idea! I’ve been eying the cricut machines and looking for something similar that could be hooked up to my computer. I hope you continue to write about how you use your cricut in creating your artwork.