Stamping in your scrapbooks

Stamps can be used in your scrapbooks to add variety. Stamps can be an economical way to add decoration in your albums. The same stamp can be used in a variety of ways over the years and this same stamp can be used for cards, invitations and other decorative items as well.

Coloring the images in the next step. There are a variety of options. Pens, chalks, pencils can be used to create different effects in your artwork.

Chalks- chalks give a soft look to your art work. Chalks are made by CrafT Products and retails about $15.00 from scrapbooking stores and rubber stamp demonstrators. I highly recommend buying the chalk eraser when you purchase the chalks.

Pencils such as ZIG Memory Pencils- have soft color but can damage the embossing as you are coloring in your design.

Scrapbooking Pens such as ZIG pens- I recommend brush tip for coloring in the embossed outlines as the brush flows easily over the raised surface of the embossing giving an even color. The ZIG pens are waterproof, fade resistant and come in 48 colors, a selection that should make any design come to life

Embossing- Embossing is done with pigment inks that are slower drying than dye inks. There are also special embossing inks that can be used. For a beginner I recommend using a colored pigment ink (such as Color Box) and a clear embossing powder. Stamp your image and then sprinkle embossing powder over the image. gently rock the powder over the design to get maximum coverage. Then tap the excess powder onto a clean sheet of paper (I suggest printer paper not cardstock) and use the paper to funnel the excess powder back into your jar. If embossing powder ticks to your paper in areas that were not part of the design use a Q-tip, paint brush or toothpick to remove the excess powder. This is especially important when using colored embossing powders. After you are happy with the powder then take an embossing tool and heat the image from the bottom of the paper so that you do not blow off your embossing powder. You can also use an electric stove and hold the paper over a burner or use a toaster however I recommend the heat gun for best results and ease of use.

Click on any image to see a larger image.

The same stamp can be used to stamp a background paper, a border or enhance your titles. These four pages show 4 different ways to use the spider web stamp. Stamps can also be used to decorate cards, letters, envelopes, party decorations and place cards.