GCD Chip Art Tool & Foam Tutorial

I have been playing around with the Chip Art tool since receiving it, trying to find items other than chipboard that it would work on.  Felt was a no go...which I kind-of figured before trying it.  But, I did find that the tool made an impression on foam very well!  So, my tutorial today is about using the Chip Art tool on foam!  (You can buy foam in many colors at your local craft store.)

So first, I cut a scallop border from the light blue foam.

I used my Cuttlebug and a steel die in order to cut through the foam.  Please note that you have to have a die like this one in order for this to work.  The dies that you lay over top of the paper with the foam on the bottom will not cut through the foam.  Arrange the items in the Cuttlebug like this:  A plate, C plate, die, foam, & B plate.  Then just crank it through the Cuttlebug.

Then I gathered the Chip Art Tool materials that I needed.

For this project, I used the tiny butterfly.  Then I went to work making an impression into the foam.

You don't actually need the mallet when imprinting the foam.  Just using the power of your hand works really well.  I did tap it a couple times very lightly with the mallet just to get a little deeper impression.  Be careful though...if you tap to hard, you will also get the impression of the square block that the butterfly sits on.

This is what the foam looks like when you are done.  I think it gives a nice little added accent to the scalloped strip on the card.  Once you have done this part, just design your card!  Here is what I came up with for the light blue foam:

Isn't this paper line just fun!  All of the items except the cardstock and ribbon are from the GCD Melody Ross "Artsy Urban" collection.  The bluebird and the butterflies just make me long for warm spring weather!!  I know it has to be coming soon!

I have one more fun card to share with you using this same technique:

This card uses product from GCD Melody Ross "Homespun Chic" collection (excluding the cardstock, ribbon and jewels).  The white foam is a little hard to see in the full photograph, so here is a close-up.

Such a fun and subtle touch to the card!  And a way to use the Chip Art Tool that doesn't have to do with chipboard!


You could also add some ink to the impressions to make them stand out more if you wanted!  I have more of a clean style, so I prefer them just the way they are.  But for those of you with a more shabby chic style, that would be a fabulous option!

Until later,
~Lea