I have a frugal tip on making your own blending foams for the Mini Ink Blending Tools from Ranger. Awhile back, I had issues with my foams falling apart. I don't know if I got a bad batch or I am just hard on them or what the deal was, but I found myself in search of a more economical way. I love to find ways to spend more money on craft supplies that bring me more joy instead of just the necessities. I can't credit the person who gave me this idea, as I can no longer find the information, but somewhere in my hunt for blending foam solutions I found a woman who was using lined headliner fabric for her foam pieces and hand cutting it to fit. She had the rectangle tool. I have nerve issues in my hands and arms. I was not about to cut a million little circles by hand. I didn't have a Cricut Maker at the time, so I put the idea off for awhile until I finally got one. Then, went to my JoAnn's and picked up the fabric. Now, I have one for every single ink pad I own, a few hundred extra and still have fabric to cut more. I literally have a lifetime supply of blending foam for less than $15!
So, I know you want to know exactly which foam fabric I am talking about. I bought the end of a bolt, so I ended up with the barcode on the roll. It's found in the upholstery fabric section of JoAnn's. And here are are pictures of the barcode and listing picture from their website. Fabric found HERE
What I like most about it is it doesn't stick to the hook and loop so hard that it rips the fabric from the foam pieces, thus destroying your ink blending foams.
I think they blend about the same, but the ink doesn't seem to absorb into the homemade ones as much as they do into the the pre-made ones. Which, I kinda like. It conserves your ink more, so more ends up on the paper.
Below, is a picture of an ink blending piece I did a few months ago when I first made these foams. The DIY foam in the picture is how much ink that has been built up after several uses.
And another look at a blended background with the DIY blending foams.
Finally, I had a video where I show how I set up my Maker and talk about and show the differences between the pre-made blending foams and my DIY blending foams.
So, I know you want to know exactly which foam fabric I am talking about. I bought the end of a bolt, so I ended up with the barcode on the roll. It's found in the upholstery fabric section of JoAnn's. And here are are pictures of the barcode and listing picture from their website. Fabric found HERE
What I like most about it is it doesn't stick to the hook and loop so hard that it rips the fabric from the foam pieces, thus destroying your ink blending foams.
I think they blend about the same, but the ink doesn't seem to absorb into the homemade ones as much as they do into the the pre-made ones. Which, I kinda like. It conserves your ink more, so more ends up on the paper.
Below, is a picture of an ink blending piece I did a few months ago when I first made these foams. The DIY foam in the picture is how much ink that has been built up after several uses.
And another look at a blended background with the DIY blending foams.
Finally, I had a video where I show how I set up my Maker and talk about and show the differences between the pre-made blending foams and my DIY blending foams.
This video uses these sounds from freesound:
Groove Music by Lemoncreme ( https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/ )
***I buy all of my supplies myself and am not affiliated with any company. The links I provide are not affiliate links. I do not make a commission when you buy using these links. They are merely for your convenience or clarification of which supplies I have used. I do not guarantee they are the cheapest prices. I suggest you do your own research and shop around.***
Groove Music by Lemoncreme ( https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/ )
***I buy all of my supplies myself and am not affiliated with any company. The links I provide are not affiliate links. I do not make a commission when you buy using these links. They are merely for your convenience or clarification of which supplies I have used. I do not guarantee they are the cheapest prices. I suggest you do your own research and shop around.***
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