DIY foam stamps and ink pad

Shh don't tell the hubby but I was at it again, yes I went dollar shop shopping! I love going there for play supplies. Every time I go I end up with so many new ideas and the best part at the end of the day is that I have a bag full of goodies for about  5 Euros. Well I guess we could say hubby is lucky too, oh and my daughter since she gets to play with it all.

Today's awesome find were these animal foam shapes with a sticky side! I can't remember where exactly but a while ago I came across a photo of some stamps a mother had made using old wooden blocks and bits of foam, sticks and other bits and pieces. Looking at the bag of foam pieces I bought made me think that I too could make some stamps using the foam bits and wooden blocks. Once the stamps were finished with I could always take the sticky foam off and return the blocks to their original use.  It's  truly a 1 minute DIY toy you can make almost with your eyes shut!

 In order to make it simply get some of these sticky foam shapes, round up a hand full of wooden blocks and stick the foam pieces on them. And to think I was seriously thinking of dishing out around 30 Euros for a stamp set. More like 99 cents now! 

I decided I wasn't going to spend the money on ink pads so I made an 'ink pad' from an old kitchen cloth. To make one it is important to wet the cloth, wring it out so it's still a bit wet but not dripping and then put some paint on it, spreading the paint around with a brush so it is absorbed by the cloth. If you dip the stamps into paint without doing this you just end up with sloppy blobby prints.As you can see we've mixed things up by using some other kids' stamps we already had.

Here's a preview of one of the artworks made.

 

My little monkey decided to add some details with textas once the prints were dry. Here she is putting eyes on all the froggies and ducks.You can't see it in this photo but later she also drew in a pond for the animals to swim in.

 

One of the things I like about using stamps to make artworks is that it means children of all ages and abilities can make art that is successful and effective. When I was working at a special developmental school with students who had poor fine motor skills and could not use pencils or paint brushes I would always bring out some stamps so they could feel like they were able to achieve something other than a canvas of smeered paint. You might have to first demonstrate how it's done by using a hand over hand technique but even young children get the hand of it quickly. 

Anyway have a wonderful day and let me know if you give this idea a go. 

Happy playing!