Stamping Can Be Fun~~~

Most of us have at least one stamp in our collection of supplies...but are they being used to their potential? For me, my answer is no. I have every set of Making Memories foam alpha stamps and haven't used them in at least 3 years. I have numerous sets of CTMH stamps...and while they look pretty sitting in my wicker basket in my scrap room ...they aren't making their way onto my pages.

Today I'm going to talk about two different stamping techniques that will work for both scrapbookers and card makers.

The first technique is 'Two Step Stamping'. This is a very simple method but produces a great looking image. As it's name implies..you stamp the image once..let it dry then stamp right over top of it with another image. For example..you could stamp a flower with a solid colour then stamp over top of it with lines or words...then cut around the image and add it to your page. The possibilities are endless!

The second technique is 'Stamping with Bleach' Yep, you saw right...bleach.
1. You fold a few sheets of paper towels to serve as the stamp pad and place in the bottom of a flat container.
2. Pour enough bleach into the container to make the paper towels moist but not saturated.
3. Gently tap tap the stamp into the bleach stamp pad.
4. Stamp the image onto the coloured cardstock
5. It can take a few moments for the full bleaching effect to appear.

You can also paint with bleach. Stamp and image onto cardstock. Then using a paint brush, paint the petals with bleachwhich will turn them white while leaving the rest of the stamp just the way it is. With painting with bleach, then number of coats you apply will vary the effect.

You can also mist with bleach. Fill a misting bottle with bleach. Spray the bleach over your paper either before you begin the project or after you have stamped an image..depending on the effect you are going for.

REMEMBER--> You must clean your stamps thoroughly after using them with bleach. Bleach can damage your stamps if left exposed for long periods of time. You can ink the stamp first with VersaMark or embossing ink to protect the rubber from the bleach, but it is still recommended that you clean the stamps after each use for the best protection.

Happy Stamping!!