editing stamps...

Hello my fabulous friends!

Have you ever tried to take a  group photo (especially with kiddos), and no matter how many photos you take, inevitably someone is blinking, or frowning, or looking in the wrong direction... And eventually you get to the point where you just say.. can we just photoshop Joey's face from photo 1 onto photo 3 and call it good?!?!? 

Sometimes I feel that way with stamps... 

Not that there is anything wrong with any of the stamps... just that I envision something different...

The good news, is that just like with photos, there is a way to "edit" your stamps and create your own unique blend of 2 or more stamps... 



Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Stamps: LDRS Creative Hanging Out, Cloud No. 9, Love in Bloom
Ink: LDRS Creative Raven; Copic Fine Liner
Coloring: Copic
Elephant- T0, T2, T4, T6, R00, E04, E40
Cloud- B41, B45, C0, 0
Hearts- R81, R83, R85, R89
Dies: LDRS Creative Eyelet Lace Rectangle
Other: LDRS Creative Stamping Mask Paper; Ranger Perfect Pearls, Glossy Accents; rhinestones


The good news, is that just like with photos, there is a way to "edit" your stamps and create your own unique blend of 2 or more stamps... Let's take a look at this LDRS Creative elephant sitting on a cloud... because he sure didn't start out that way!


Step 1- Mask your stamp to isolate the elephant... If you've been around here much, you've seen me do this a fair amount.. Just use clear tape to cover any lines on the stamp that you don't want stamped, then ink up your stamp using Raven ink, and carefully remove all the tape. You should be left with ink just on the elephant.  Go ahead and stamp him on your cardstock.


Step 2- Touch ups. You may notice some lines missing... like where the fox's ear covered part of our elephant's leg... No worries! Simple grab a fine liner and draw in the missing lines!

NOTE: Test your fine liner on a scrap paper, then color over it with the coloring medium you intend to use on your project... Some pens will bleed with water, others will bleed with alcohol.. Some are safe for both... make sure you use a pen that is safe for whichever you are going to be coloring with!


Step 3- Create a mask.  We need to protect our elephant in order to add in the cloud, so stamp him onto the matte side of the Stamping Mask Paper and cut him out.. You can see mine isn't perfect (I was trying to get him to fit on a scrap that was a bit too small, because I don't waste this stuff!) but the places where it's not a perfect fit won't be affected by the cloud, so it's all good! 


Step 4- Don the mask... Well.. let your elephant don the mask anyway!  Peel off the backer paper and stick him right on top of your stamped elephant. Take your time to line it up well.... It makes a big difference!


Step 5- Do it again... Yep, now we have to isolate our cloud, so pull out that clear tape again and tape off any lines you don't want (For me it's the girl and the sign), ink it up, remove the tape, and stamp.

Bonus Tip: If you are having trouble lining up your rubber stamps perfectly in this step, check out THIS  tutorial to see an easy way to get the perfect alignment using a MISTI.


Step 6- Add Color... your choice of mediums.. The LDRS Creative hybrid inks work well with pretty much anything! Just make sure you are stamping on the right kind of paper for whatever medium you want to use. 


Step 7- Building the frame...  This step is simple... Just die cut the Eyelet Lace Rectangle using whatever cardstock you want... I went with white, but later added a pearl spray over top to make it shimmery.


Step 8- make a window... The Eyelet Lace Rectangle die has some built in decorative de-bossed rectangles. That makes this a little easier... simply take a craft knife and cut along the outer rectangle!

NOTE: "But Kassi", you may say, "why don't we just use the rectangle die included in this die set to create our window?" It's true, you can, and that is the easier way to make the window... however it is too small for our cloud.. So I'm creating a window that fits our image better. If you want to create a shadowbox frame for a smaller stamped image, by all means use the rectangle die. I like options!


Step 9- Add the love... now that you have your shadow box frame cut out, you can lay it on top of your stamped panel to see where your sentiment needs to go, and you can stamp that. 


Bonus tip: For my back panel, I wanted pink cardstock... Rather than pull out every single pink paper I own, and still not find the perfect match, I made my own... I chose one of the pink markers I used to color my hearts, and used my airbrush to add soft color to the paper. Because it is my bottom layer, and most of it will be covered, I wasn't too worried about flawless edge to edge coverage... Creating backgrounds like this that don't require perfection is a great way to practice your airbrushing skills without wasting anything!


Step 10- Making the shadowbox... add small pieces of foam tape to the back of your frame... this is what will give it dimension and the shadowbox look...


Bonus tip: Motion Crafts sells double sided 1/8" foam tape strips specifically made for adding dimension in small areas.... If you don't want to cut your own strips, here's a great solution!


 Step 11- It's all in the details... some rhinestones and Glossy Accents add just the right finishing touch to our card!

So there you have it... Frankensteining your stamps to create something new (without destroying anything!)

See you soon!
~Kassi

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