I started saving our foam meat trays to make our own block printed cards, and Emily enjoyed the entire process of this activity!
To make your own block prints, you will need: foam meat trays, water-soluble block printing ink, brayer, cardstock, and a large spoon.
We used the opposite end of a paint brush to press our designs into the foam. You could also use a dull pencil.
Run your brayer through the ink to get a nice even coat on your stamp.
It should look like this. Flip it over to make your print, and use the back of a large spoon to press down firmly on the paper. Lift the foam up carefully to reveal your design.
I found this was a great way to reuse those foam meat trays! I cut them up into small squares so we could make several different stamps with them. These would make great bookmarks or gift tags too!
What a great idea! I love that you stamped cards with them. When I was little, my mom was obsessed with making our own stamps and for many christmas’s we would make stamps for Christmas cards.
Val
PS House buying question… how do you buy appliances? Used, sears outlet? What?
We are so doing this!
This is such a terrific idea! I don’t have kids, but I love frugal projects that re-use and recycle things. And to combine that with ink stamping — well, this post was a winner all around! Thanks so much for sharing this!
I would like to post about this at some point in the future — I would of course link right back to your blog/this entry. Would you be comfortable with that? If you need more info, don’t hesitate to ask.
@ Val in the Rose Garden — Most of our appliances came with the house, but we did purchase a used dryer from a second-hand surplus type store. That was a real bargain at just $40! Check scratch and dent places too.
@ Amy — Sure, that would be great! Thanks so much for stopping by, and for posting/linking. 🙂
wow! how clever is that! thank you so much for the fun activity 🙂
These turned out really great. What a wonderful idea.
Beautiful cards!
Another great idea my kids would love doing (and I would too.)
I hate spending $3 on a card, this would be a very pretty alternative to a Hallmark.
This is such a good idea! Do you do anything special to clean/disinfect the foam meat trays? Or just plain soap and water?
@ Justin and Kate Mills — I just use soap and water. Have fun!
This is so creative, I love it! I’llbe linking.
Thanks so much, Rachel. I am loving One Pretty Thing! You feature some amazing projects on there! 🙂