MOUNTING EXCITEMENT
I do most of my carving on 6"X12"X1/4" blocks (sheets) of EZCut I got from Chaselle (1-800-242-7355) School Supply in bulk a year ago. It's somewhat rubbery and I find that when I use a grooving tool for very small detail, it just takes a bite instead of leaving a smooth line or cut. I have to keep a very sharp Xacto handy for around eyes, etc. But...I don't feel bad if I have to throw away a carving and start over because it is very cheap.

EZCut is thin and needs mounting, so I glue it to a piece of balsa wood (most hobby stores sell it for model making) with E-6000 brand adhesive when I'm finished carving. The balsa wood comes in 3"X36"X3/16" pieces and cuts with an X-acto, so while it ain't fancy - it works. Most of my images are 3" wide or less by up to 5" long so that they fit on the wood and into most of my standard dye-type ink pads. It's also a nice size for stamping a central image on postcards.

I index the stamps by stamping the image on the balsa wood before I glue the carving down . (On large pieces I groove some deep lines in the back of the carving material so a little air can get in and allow the glue to dry.) Recently I started embossing the index and it works great. Perfect for using up those icky colors or cheapo quality embossing powders that I bought and don't like. I just use Colorbox or embossing ink, apply powder, shake off the excess, heat (I use a Milwaukee Heat Gun) and voila! Just like SHAKE & BAKE.


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