WOYWW4 208

YAY!!! WOYWW 4th Anniversary is here at last!

WOYWW stands for 'What's On Your Work desk Wednesday'  If you too would like to join in the fun then, take a pic of your work desk and share it with lots of other like minded (nosey) people. This week is WOYWW 4th anniversary and Julia has organised  an ATC swap for those that  would like to participate, if you would like to join in the fun hop on over to Julia's blog  Stamping-Ground  for more info. Hope to see you there.

Hello peeps,
Happy  WOYWW 4th birthday to all.
Last week I had several comments about making  blending blocks from my wood mounted stamps and Bridget Larsen asked for some close ups, so I have taken some photos to show how I,  and with a bit of cutting and sanding from hubby ( don't think he thought cutting and sanding 36 blocks was a "bit") made them.
I daren't tell him I will need another twelve blocks if  (when) I finally get the full set of DI.
So  here are the pics for WOYWW4
Sorry Julia this is a long post, if you have popped in to visit me, you can just look at the first pic then leave lol

Jaspers says he thinks there is a stowaway in among the blending blocks box (easy for you to say) lol

Yes there is definitely something hiding in here!

 Better get down to business
I chose the largest stamps to use, thinking they would be easier to cut and I would get more blocks out of them.

First of all, if possible remove the picture film from the top of the stamp and save it, in some cases I couldn't get it off so hubby sanded it off for me.

Sometimes the rubber stamp comes away easily, but if it doesn't, pop the whole stamp in the microwave. I did this stamp which is 4.1/2 x 3.1/2 for about 30 seconds in a 700 watt oven, so adjust the time for the size of stamp. Be careful if you leave it in too long the wood will start to burn!  You should now be able to peel the rubber stamp with its foam backing from the block and  if you want you can stick the picture film that you saved, onto  the wrong side of the rubber stamp.You would need to spray a temporary adhesive to this to use the stamp with an acrylic block.

 I then used a sticky remover spray to clean the wooden block of the sticky residue.

Hubby then cut up the block and got six smaller blocks which were sanded to get rid of any rough edges. I wanted them to be the same size as my Tim Holtz blender tool but you could make them whatever size you like.

Next I experimented with attaching  the Velcro. The block on the left has the double sided foam tape stuck to the block then the Velcro stuck on top in two pieces as it is narrower than the block. I really liked this and it worked great until I pulled the blending pad off, and the Velcro came with it. The double sided foam tape is super sticky and I cannot get it off the block but it doesn't stick to the Velcro too well which will be a nuisance when I need to change the pad.
The block on the right has the Velcro stuck on in one strip just as it is with Pinflair glue gel. Brilliant! great hold, the blending pad sticks well and it doesn't seem to make a difference that there is no padding or that  the Velcro is slightly narrower., and it stays put when pulling the pad off.

In this pic I have cut a couple of pieces from a sheet of the Ranger blending foam and used the glue gel to stick some Velcro on the back, these work on the blocks too, though I do prefer the Tim Holtz pads.as shown on the finished blocks on the right. As I mentioned before I am not bothered about a handle as I prefer to hold just the block anyway.
Up to now I own only one Timmy blending tool and it is so frustrating having to keep swapping the pads, so I am pleased with the results and that I now have a blending tool for each of my DI and it's only cost me  £3 for the Velcro, also they all fit into one A4 size plastic storage box.

I hope you have managed to make sense of my ramblings and that this may have been some help.
I would love to swap ATC's so if you are interested please let me know and we can exchange details.
Have a great day desk hopping
Happy art making
Hugs
Lottie x

Don't panic mum it's only Brad !