Altered Wooden Stamp Block

     Having bought a stamp press I decided to take some of my rubber stamps off the wooden blocks and remount them on cling foam, now they can be used in the press and take up much less room in storage. What could I do with all the wooden blocks? They looked to useful to be thrown out, Christmas decorations, that's what!
     As we like anything recycled at Altered Eclectics I have used this project as my DT piece, we like mixed media and re-purposed projects but no cards or ATCs.

   After removing my rubber stamps I cleaned up the blocks and sanded them. If you have glue that doesn't want to come off try using Stix2 sticky stuff remover, it works well and doesn't smell as much as white spirit.
    The next step was a couple of coats of white gesso and a coat of white chalk paint.

      Using PVA glue I painted a layer on the block and then added some patterned tissue, smoothed out with a clean brayer to get rid of any air bubbles.
     To add an edge I used the 2in1 glue pen and dabbed it with my finger all around the edge of the block, once it had gone clear I added some silver transfer foil.

      With a hot glue gun and some silicone moulds, kindly supplied by Aldridge Crafts, I made a few crowns, deer and snowflakes.
     Once these were set I popped them out of the moulds and trimmed them with scissors, then painted them with Starlight paints.
     The crown on top is two identical shapes hot glued together, then hot glued to the block. For the deer and snowflakes I used silicone glue so I had a little wiggle room before it set.
     The frosting on the top and sides is Epsom Salts sprinkled over PVA glue, maybe not the best option as it may react in damp conditions but very effective as ice crystals.
     Aldridge Crafts have all of the items used in this project in stock and this sample will be joining them shortly. Jane has used paper clay in some of the moulds which is ideal for light weight crafting and picks out the detail perfectly.
     Please come and join us at Altered Eclectics with your projects, we have lots more inspiration on our blog to help get you started.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas  

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas   

As You Like It - Favourite Non Card Project - It's recycling something, no waste

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
Creative Artists Mixed Media - Anything Mixed Media