Tutorial: Large Background Stamps

Hey! Good to see you all today! I have something super fun to share with you today! But first, I have a disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST, YOU MAY FEEL A STRONG URGE TO RUN TO THE MARKET STREET STAMPS WEBSITE AND PUT ANY AND ALL BACKGROUND STAMPS AVAILABLE INTO YOUR SHOPPING CART.

Now that the disclaimer has been posted, let's move on to the tutorial. Haha!

So.... there are many beautiful, LARGE background stamps made by Market Street Stamps. If you are anything like me, you think, "Oh my goodness! These are wonderful! But I don't have a block big enough... how much is a block that big gonna cost me.... hmmmm...." and then you move on to something else. Well, no more worries. I'm going to show you how to use these awesome stamps WITHOUT an acrylic block. Perfect results every time (and I've tried it many, many times ;) ) and it will be the fastest card you ever made.

Now, I'm a very visual learner -- I'm sure a lot of you are, too. So, I've walked you through this step by step with pictures! Enjoy!

Ok- here's the cast of characters: Market Street Stamps Here Comes the Sun background stamp, Versamark ink, Distress Ink (I'm using Walnut Stain), a piece of cardstock (I'm using PTI's rustic white), and a piece of scratch paper.

This background stamp is by far one of my favorites, but I have to admit I was a little bit intimidated by it. It's a very solid, very large stamp. But don't worry! I have tricks!

 

First things first, peel the stamp off of the acetate sheet it comes on.

Then, simply stick your stamp down on your work space. I use this self-healing craft mat from creative memories. You could very well just stick your stamp down right on your desk. Use whatever ya got!

Ink up your stamp with Versamark ink. I do this with almost all stamps that are solid. I find that it helps get better ink transfer and, therefore, a more solid, crisp image. Trust me people! It's worth it!

Then, I ink over the Versamark ink with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I am loving playing with my Tim Holtz Distress Ink. Feel free to use whatever ink you love at the moment!

After inking, very carefully lay down your cardstock on top of the inked stamp. Try your hardest not to smush it around. You don't wanna smear the ink.

Lay a sheet of scratch paper on top of your cardstock. This is just a precaution -- you don't want ink all over your fingers!

And this is the fun part! While holding down the papers with one hand, rub with the other hand, making sure you rub over the entire piece of cardstock. Be careful, people. Don't let your paper slip - ya gotta hold it in place. After you rub a little bit, the cardstock will naturally stick to the stamp, but be careful.

Finally, remove the scratch paper, and gently lift up the cardstock.

Drumroll, please........

Wahlah!

A beautifully stamped background. And my card is basically finished and I worked on it for less than five minutes! SO EASY!

And here's my card:

Oh good gracious... I could make like a dozen of these in a half an hour. It's SO SIMPLE! Here I took the background I stamped with Market Street Stamps Here Comes the Sun and adhered it with foam tape to a PTI Aqua Mist card base. The sentiment frame is PTI Fillable Frames #11 and the sentiment is from Fillable Frames #5. EASY PEASY!

Here's where you leave me to run to Market Street Stamps to check out the background stamps. Enjoy.

Steph