"Back to Basics" is a relatively new regular feature here in the CLASSroom ... twice a month, each of the teachers will be highlighting and going back to the basics of stamping. We hope this will help out any newcomers to stamping and also help others revisit some basics you may like to be reminded of and try out once again. You can find all of these archived Basics courses by clicking on "Back to Basics" over in the top left sidebar of this page.
Today I'm going to highlight one of my favorite things, background stamping. Since there are many options of beautiful patterned papers on the market today, a lot of us may have steered along that path (myself included!), so I wanted to revisit how pretty, functional, quick & easy background stamping can be.
My first sample uses a whole clear stamp set of sentiments for its background, Hero Arts All Occasion Messages clear stamp set:
I just left all the sentiments on the clear acrylic sheet they come on, put some removeable adhesive on the back of it, stuck it to a 5x7 Clear Acrylic Block, and stamped it with Hero Arts Hero Hues-Latte Chalk Ink onto a Hero Arts Earth Folded Card. I rounded the corners of the notecard with We Are Memory Keepers' Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper and placed a strip of Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Garden Gala/Seaside paper along the left folded edge.
Next, I covered this sweet chipboard bird from Maya Road's Birdcage Chipboard Book with more of the Webster's paper and adhered him to the card front. Some twine tied around the branch and a Hero Arts Neutral Felt Flower finishes off this card ... quick and easy for ANY occasion!
My next card uses Hero Arts Outline Flowers wood-mounted stamp (please excuse the harsh orange color above -- it's not really that glaring, but I can't seem to get it adjusted!):
It measures 4.50" x 5.75". I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto a Hero Arts Sunshine Folded Card. If you haven't checked out these wonderful notecards yet, you definitely should: They come in a pack of 12 notecards, 4 each of 3 colors for just $2.99. At just .25 cents each, these are a fabulous bargain!
Next, I colored the flowers with these Copic markers: Y38, YR31, W1, W0 and Spica Glitter Pen in Melon. I love the way this background turned out ... just as pretty as any patterned paper, I think, AND in the colors of MY choosing!
I love the look on this adorable owl's face! He's from Hero Art's Owl Trio of wood mounted stamps. I stamped him on Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock with Tuxedo Black and colored him with the same Copic markers. The "Thank You" sentiment is from the All Occasion Messages set I used above as a background. I rounded the corners of his focal piece and then machine stitched around the edges, tied the piece with ribbon and mounted it with foam tape to the background. A Hero Arts Art Flower-Summer finishes the focal piece and a few tied Hero Arts Card Buttons-Summer complete the background. I like that I can make this same card over and over again, varying the colors of the flowers and notecard, and achieve a totally different look every time!
My third sample is an example of using a large single stamp, not necessarily a huge overall background stamp, as a smaller notecard background.
This Hero Arts cling stamp, Friend, measures approximately 3" x 3.75" and was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto a Hero Arts Blush Folded Card. I trimmed the horizontal top-folded card down to a 3.50" x 4.25" notecard and colored the image with these Copic markers: R81, R85, YG06, YG07, W1.
A beautiful Prima Innoscence Snow Angel flower was added to the largest stem and Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls and Ranger White Opaque Pen accent the smaller flowers. So how many large stamps to you have in your collection that may seem too large for a standar A2-sized card? Use them to fill up a smaller notecard!
My last sample uses this beautiful Hero Arts Antique Writing cling background:
It measures 4.50" x 5.50". I started with Glossy White Cardstock and dropped Copic Various Ink Refills in B45 & V15 onto it, starting with V15:
And then adding B45:
I kept adding drops of color until I achieved the depth I was looking for:
After allowing the Copic alcohol ink to dry, I buffed it with a tissue (this removes any possible residue from the surface of the paper and buffs it back to a glossy finish). Then I stamped the butterfly background with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. Once dry, I matted the background with Memory Box Ocean cardstock and then adhered the background to a Memory Box Licorice notecard.
I stamped the largest butterfly in the background again with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock, colored it with Copic markers V12, V15, B32, B45 & E25 and cut it out. The butterfly's wings were bent and the whole thing glittered with Star Dust Stickles. It was attached with Glue Dots to the background. A piece of Prima Jaqueline Lace was Copic Airbrushed with Black-100 marker and attached with Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher, to finish the card.
This same technique could easily be applied to any number of background stamps -- just choose one that has an element that can easily be cut out and attention brought to it, such as the Outline Flowers background stamp I used on the owl card above.
I hope these ideas help bring you back to the basics of background stamping!
{Bird Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts All Occasion Messages clear stamp set
Paper: Hero Arts Earth Folded Card Set, Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Garden Gala/Seaside
Ink: Hero Arts Hero Hues-Latte Chalk Ink
Accessories: Maya Road Birdcage Chipboard Book, Hero Arts Neutral Felt Flowers, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, Sanding Block, 5x7 Clear Acrylic Block, twine
{Owl Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Outline Flowers & Owl Trio wood mounted stamps
Paper: Hero Arts Sunshine Folded Card Set, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers Y38, YR31, W1, W0 & Atyou Spica Glitter Pen-Melon
Accessories: Hero Arts Card Buttons-Summer & Art Flowers-Summer; WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, sewing machine, ribbon
{Friend Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Cling-Friend
Paper: Hero Arts Blush Folded Card Set
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Copic markers R81, R85, YG06, YG07, W1
Accessories: Prima Flower-Innoscence Snow Angel, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls, Ranger White Opaque Pen
{Butterfly Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Antique Writing Cling
Paper: Ranger Glossy White Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock; Memory Box Licorice notecard & Ocean cardstock
Ink: Ranger Jet Black Archival ink pad, Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Various Ink Refills: B45 & V15 and Copic markers V12, V15, B32, B45, E25 & 100
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System-1, Prima Jaqueline Lace, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Ranger Star Dust Stickles, Glue Dots
