Have you ever seen a stamped image like the one above and thought, how the heck did they do that? It's a simple stamping technique that comes in super-handy: masking. See below for easy instructions!
You will need:
1. Stamps! I used Yellow Owl Workshop's Owl & Tree set, $13.
2. Crafting or precision scissors. Mine are from Martha Stewart's crafting line.
3. Ink pads! I used a few Colorbox pigments--Peony, Moss Green and Sky Grey (available at most craft stores).
4. A surface to stamp on, some scratch paper and some thin paper such as a post-it. I used some bright white Mohawk paper for all of the above.
To begin, ink your owl stamp and press it a few times on your scrap paper to get it good and ready. I've found that stamp impressions always look the best after a few impressions and ink saturations. Once you've done this a few times, ink the stamp and press it onto your post-it or thin paper. The post-it works well if you don't have the steadiest hand, because you can utilize the glue on the back of the post-it.
Get a really good impression and wait for it to dry. Then cut around the impression, staying just inside the lines.
When you have a good cut-out or "die-cut," stamp another impression of your owl onto whatever you would like to use as your finished piece (a card, a piece of stationery, etc.) Get a good impression and then lay your cut-out (the mask in masking!) you just made over the impression. This is where the post-it glue comes in handy, as the glue keeps it in place. Get it completely lined up with the final impression.
Repeat the inking and impressing process to get your tree stamp ready for the finished product. When it is inked evenly, gently place it over your masked owl and press down firmly. Try not to move the stamp, but make sure you press evenly, especially around where the owl is. Then, lift the tree off of the page.
Perfect! Your owl is now sitting in the tree. Use Windex and a paper towel or a baby wipe to clean your stamp (or if you're fancy-pants, use real stamp cleaner!) and repeat.
I love this technique, you use do it for many types of projects and can create whole scenes with different colors by using the masking technique. Good luck!
