Using Background Stamps: Part 5

Today, we're going to take a look at how background stamps can be placed differently on a card for different effect.

First up, a centered placement gives an even border and very stable, peaceful design. Please ignore the bow...it's an embellishment too far.

Next, an off-the-edge placement gives a sense of movement to the design. It's almost like a breeze is fluttering here.

I prefer the second card, but perhaps that's just because of the bow. Those hydrangea punches with light purple bling make me really happy, and it's wonderful how the white punched shapes show up on the darker purple woven background stamp. Love that!

Don't be afraid to experiment with placement of background stamps. They don't have to be front and center. Off-set or asymmetrical designs can be extremely successful.

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts (discontinued background), SU Botanical Silhouettes, Papertrey Ink (sentiments)
paper: Papertrey white
ink: Memento
accessories: Martha Stewart hydrangea punches, rhinestones, craft thread, glue pen

Using Background Stamps: Part 4

One of my favorite uses of background stamps of any size is to create scraps for punches. Decorating a scrap of card stock with a pattern--particularly small patterns--makes it ideal for clean-and-simple punching!

Consider this card:

The script stamp is a small background stamp (discontinued) from Hero Arts, and the small size is perfect for punching small butterflies.

It may be hard to tell in the photo, but the sentiment and bling are brown. When gluing down the butterflies, I put dabs of glue only in the center, where the butterflies' bodies are. Then, I used a butter knife to bend the butterflies' wings up. It's simple, adds a touch of interesting dimension that will survive hand delivery, though perhaps not mail delivery.

To make this work, the pattern must be at a scale that works for the punch's size and shape. If the scale of the background is too big, the punched shape will look weird. For instance, yesterday's cloudy sky background wouldn't work at all for these little butterflies.

Also, it helps to punch holding the punch upside down so you can see exactly where in the pattern you're punching. I punched without looking the first time, and one of my little butterflies only had script over a quarter of one wing, which looked decidedly odd.

And that's all I've got for background stamps until I can get back to work in my craft room. While we've thoroughly enjoyed our week at the lake in Minnesota, I'm eager to get back to normal life (*snort* there's nothing normal about my life). Also, I've checked out the new Hero Arts holiday catalog online and ohmygoshi'minserioustrouble!!! Plus the latest Papertrey stuff is calling its siren song, too.

Oh, life is very good, don't you think?

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: Martha Stewart butterfly punches, rhinestones, glue pen

Using Background Stamps: Part 3

Note: I am still away on vacation and will only have one more post before taking a break for a few days to get settled at home again and do some more stamping. Also, don't forget that this week's OLW challenge is on Heather's blog...link in my sidebar!


For part three of my background series, we're going to look at using only part of a large background stamp as a main element of a clean-and-simple card. Take a look.

As you can see, the a large-ish portion of an even larger background stamp is cropped and popped up on a white card base, preserving the CAS feel of the card. The sky is not really "background" so much as the central setting of the card, a main player. You can use this layout to create simple scenes, or you can use geometric backgrounds to make abstract cards.

And yes, I'm not happy with how the sky background stamped. I used soft pool ink from Hero Arts, and it turned out blotchy twice. The sky stamp probably needs to be rubbed with an eraser for better inking, but the ink pad may be to blame as well.

Tips for Using Large Wood-Mounted Background Stamps
Getting a good image with huge, wood-mounted background stamps can be a challenge. Here are a few ideas I've tried and like.

1. Ink the stamp by setting it rubber-side-up on your desk. Turn the ink pad upside down and ink the whole stamp that way. Some people swear by using a brayer to ink the stamp, but you'll likely waste a lot of ink that way, plus it adds another step and extra clean-up that I'm just too lazy to do.

2. Place the paper you're stamping on the floor on a smooth surface. Because my floors are carpeted, I use a one-foot-square piece of plywood that's smooth on one side. I carefully place the stamp on the paper, place the ball of my foot on the stamp, and put all my weight onto the stamp for a few seconds. This gives a great image almost every time.

3. Sometimes, I will ink the background stamp and place the paper on top of the inked rubber on my desk. Then, using the long edge of a bone folder, I rub the backside of the paper all over the stamp. This often works great, but not as often as the stand-on-the-stamp method. Also, on a stamp like the one above, with large open areas, it's easy to push through the paper accidentally. Ask me how I know....

I hope these tips help. Sometimes it just takes a little experimenting to decide what works best for you!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Hero Arts, Memento
paper: Papertrey
accessories: dimensionals, rhinestones

Using Background Stamps: Part 2

Big background stamps provide a unique challenge to the clean-and-simple stamper. If the whole card has a background pattern stamped on it, where's the white space?

Um.

Well.

Err.

There isn't any.

And we CAS stampers love our white space, right? So what can we do with these monstrous stamps that still looks clean and simple? Lots, actually, and today's card shows one possibility.

Here, I stamped only part of the card with the large wood-grain background stamp from Hero Arts. Because so little of the background would show once I layered the Lovely as a Tree panel over it, I went a bit higher than 1/3 up the card...so that 1/3 of the layer goes above the background and into white space. Also, the tree panel is not centered on the card...it's slightly closer to the left edge to make room for the green bling.

This shows how you can adjust proportions depending on the size of images you're working with and still get a balanced feel to the card. Centering up that tree panel would have been fine, but then there wouldn't have been room for bling. And that would be so, so sad.

The trees and wood grain were stamped in gold ink and embossed in silver pearl embossing powder. The combo gives a lovely, golden pearlescent sheen to the card, plus keeping the color scheme so simple, with the pops of color defining the occasion of the card, minimizes the busyness of the design.

Finally, a word about appropriateness. Backgrounds need to make sense in relation to the main image of a card. Putting a bold, geometric pattern behind StampinUp's classic Lovely as a Tree image would have looked wrong, as would a big floral pattern. Big flowers behind a winter scene--unless perhaps the flowers are poinsettias--just doesn't work.

Wood grain behind trees is appropriate. But that doesn't mean the wood-grain stamp has to be limited to woodsy themes. Stamp it in blue, and you get some mighty pretty water, perfect for all sorts of aquatic themes as well!

Supplies
stamps: SU Lovely as a Tree, Hero Arts wood grain background, Papertrey Ink Silent Night sentiment
ink: ColorBox gold metallic, VersaColor evergreen
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: silver pearl embossing powder (Ranger), heat gun, dimensionals, rhinestones, sharpie to color rhinestones

Using Background Stamps: Part 1

Bev F. sent me a very nice email asking for advice on using patterned background stamps. That prompted me to pull out my box of background stamps and get to work, so I'm answering Bev and making headway on my Use-Your-Stamps Challenge.

Here are the stamps in my Background box. Most are from Hero Arts, with one each from A Muse, StampinUp, and unknown (the medium-size script one at top right).

I also have a lot of background sets from Papertrey Ink, but those are border stamps that build backgrounds rather than complete background stamps. Bev specifically asked about background pattern stamps, so here goes.

One particular type of background stamp is the medium-size one that doesn't cover a whole card front but is still big enough to have a real presence on a card. These medium stamps are perfect for providing ground for whatever focal point images you want. Like this:

The background covers roughly two-thirds of the card, with an even white border around three sides. You can see the rule of thirds operating nicely here in the pleasing asymmetry of the design.

With such bold background color, it's important to pop up whatever focal point image you want, and leaving a bit of white border around the heart helps avoid the awkwardness of blue-directly-on-red, which often looks weird. Two really strong colors like that make an awkward design when they touch too much.

Don't know why, but I read it on the interwebs, so it must be true.

Anyway, imagine this stamp done in green, the card oriented portrait-style, and a tall spray of flowers stamped so they stick up into the white area. Presto! Green grass ground!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts (discontinued screen background, Year Round Sentiments)
ink: Memento Danube blue, tuxedo black, SU real red
paper: Papertrey
accessories: Cutterbee scissors, dimensionals

Owls After the Fact

I like owls and didn't even get irritated with the great horned owls who woke me up recently, but I've struggled with using owl images on cards. I decided to try again with Clearly Besotted's You're a Hoot set.

I combined the adorable owl with a flourish from Clearly Besotted's With a Flourish set. Fun!

You'll note that the owl is roosting on the flourish, which anchors the owl in the design, and the flourish directs your attention to the sentiment.

I'm on a lake in northern Minnesota right now, enjoying the smell of rain and the hope of seeing some eagles. I've kayaked around an island, shadowing my insane husband who swam in a wetsuit in water that was ice less than two months ago. He's training for Ironman Wisconsin in September because, in case I haven't mentioned, he's crazy. But we're enjoying time with his family here on Lake Vermilion and getting ready to celebrate the life of his grandmother, who passed away last winter at the age of 101, in a memorial service later this week.

May you all be enjoying a week in July that is full of love and fun...and if you're lucky, a little stamping, too!

Supplies
stamps: Clearly Besotted You're a Hoot, With a Flourish
ink: VersaColor green tea, umber, burgundy
paper: Papertrey
accessories: none

Cheryl's OLW and an Ardyth-Inspired Card

This week's OLW is on Cheryl's blog, and it's a good one playing off of mine last week. Now, you need to make a one-layer Christmas thank-you card!

I probably won't be able to play along, sadly, because we're about to have a really, really busy week of family and fun. Posting will be spotty for a couple of weeks as a result, but here's an Ardyth-inspired card to hold you for a few days, at least!

Happy, bright colors and an adorable polka-dot flower from Clearly Besotted's You're a Hoot set...how fun!!!!

Supplies
stamps: Clearly Besotted (You're a Hoot), Hero Arts (Year Round Sentiments)
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: gridded acrylic block to line everything up nicely!!!