The images I decided to use for this project are somehow universal so you can create a basic set of DIY Vintage Foam Stamps to have around. As always, feel free to further experiment and create other more specific stamps to perfectly fit your needs, The Graphics Fairy could be your hidden treasure when it comes to making the stamps that you like! And here are the vintage key stamps in action, I first tried them on some vintage paper with a mini gold ink pad I had around. I was over the moon! 🙂 Place your tracing paper on top of the foam, then carefully (try not to touch too much the images) measure and cut both the foam and the tracing paper on top in smaller pieces. It will be easier to work with smaller pieces on the next step – I divided the whole printable in three segments.

Martin 8mm Thick Foam Stamping Mat | Sizes listed Phil Martin 8mm Thick Foam Stamping Mat | Sizes listed

I used an embossing stylus to draw all the other smaller details on the foam images. The embossing stylus will leave indents on the foam that will be visible when using the stamps afterwards.I cut the negative space around the image itself in other smaller parts, so I can easily remove them after cutting.

Foam Cutting - Custom Made Foam Inserts | MSA Foam Cutting - Custom Made Foam Inserts | MSA

Each image has a different size, so it’s important to always know it’s corresponding piece of wood. To make things easier, use a pencil and write on the wood the corresponding numbers that you find on the printed images. I asked Mr Dreamy to help me with this part and he used a top handle jig saw to cut the pieces to size. On the second row – I drew the eyes, the beak and all the other details of the cute owl; I enhanced the design on the lovely butterfly, following the original image design; I added really fine lines in the middle of my flower and really fine dots at the end of the lines.By creating a craft foam stamp, you can stamp with both sides. This means you can have a reverse image! There are many fun techniques you can do with mirror or reverse stamping, but I went for a subtle, layered look. Don’t expect to be able to cut everything perfect, because you won’t – except if you have X-acto super skills or own a Silhouette! 🙂 But you will see that you will get more and more confident after cutting a few images. Like these sweet little birds on the branch that I didn’t initially planned to cut and only wanted to trace, remember? I decided to try the cut after all and I was so happy with how they turned out! I absolutely love my new DIY Vintage Foam Stamps and the gold ink pad is definitely my favorite when it comes to how subtle and elegant the final images look. The foam stamps can be easily washed after using and can be used over and over again. And even if it was a time consuming process cutting all those small details, I would say the final results definitely make everything worthwhile. So I would do it again in a heart beat!