Stamping Over Designer Series Paper

For the past seven years I’ve been a volunteer writer for the Stampin’ Up! Canadian Demonstrator e-magazine called Inspiration Canada. This monthly magazine is sent to every Canadian Demonstrator and contains a mixture of inspiration and information. This month we celebrate our 100th edition and I worked out I’ve contributed over 80 articles since I joined the team. Recently I’ve been focusing on #simplestamping with ideas that encourage new stampers and cardmakers to have a go. Using just stamps, ink and paper (and the occasional basic punch) it really is simple to get started.

For today’s project I wanted to bring you a card I designed for a recent article. It features the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set stamped over Designer Series Paper (DSP). This is a simple technique that I don’t use nearly often enough.

"Thinking of you" card created using the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set and Hydrangea Hill Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! #simplestamping #papercraftwithme

SIMPLE BACKGROUND PAPER

This project all began with the Hydrangea Hill 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. There’s lots of flower patterns in this pack, but also some more subtle background designs too. I settled on the Highland Heather striped paper and cut a piece 1-1/2″ x 4″. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed it to the bottom of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Whisper White Card.

Next I chose the large hydrangea outline image from the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set and a Tuxedo Black ink pad.

First I stamped the image across the bottom right-hand corner of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Then I did the same thing on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Whisper White Card. Finally I stamped the image in the centre of the white layer with the striped paper.

With the outlines done I turned to the two solid images designed to add instant colour to the flower head and leaves of this image. I decided to only colour the flower stamped onto the piece with the DSP and leave the partial images plain. So then on the complete flower image I coloured the flower head using the solid stamp image and Highland Heather ink. The I coloured the leaves using the corresponding solid image and Old Olive ink.

One of the problems of stamping over uneven layers like this is that no matter how hard you press there will always be a part of the image that won’t stamp. Plus if you press too hard you risk distorting the image or adding a messy ‘halo’. To get around this I could have used a Stamparatus to stamp the image onto the white layer, then fixed the paper on top before stamping it again. But for a brand new stamper that might be too complicated and they’d need to have access to the Stamparatus. So that’s why I wanted to bring you an alternative solution.

HAPPY THOUGHTS

With the stamping done I was ready to start putting the project together, but first I needed a card base. So using my Stampin’ Trimmer I cut and scored a piece of Highland Heather Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Finally, on the inside using liquid glue I fixed the Whisper White layer with the hydrangea stamped across the corner.

Inside of card decorated using an image from the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! #simplestamping #papercraftwithme

That just left the front of the card to complete. To start I cut a 1/4″ x 4″ strip of Highland Heather Card and glued it along the top edge of the DSP. For some extra bling I then added a line of three Highland Heather pearls from the Pastel Pearls pack in the top left corner of the layer. Then using Stampin’ Dimensionals I fixed the completed piece onto the front of the card base.

Finally for my sentiment I chose “Thinking of you” from the Happy Thoughts Stamp Set. First, using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped it onto a scrap of Thick Whisper White Card. Then I punched out the sentiment with the Label Me Fancy Punch. Then I attached it to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals and my #simplestamping project was complete. With this last piece of the project in place the tell-tale ‘missing’ part of the hydrangea image was hidden and no complicated techniques were needed.

I love how this card turned out. Stamping the flower across the two different layers adds interest and could be used with lots of different subtle background patterns. What do you think?

For more projects using other patterns from the Hydrangea Hill Designer Series Paper see these earlier blog posts:

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Hydrangea Dies (not used today). As my project today shows you don’t need the dies to create pretty projects, but they are available for those who want them. Buying the two coordinating items using the single ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the stamp set and dies separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore this option.

UPDATE ON ROCOCO ROSE CARD – Stampin’ Up! have received their final delivery of the retiring Rococo Rose Card. It is currently available as a pack of 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheets of Rococo Rose Card (24 sheets of one colour), or in the mixed pack of 2019-2021 InColor 8-1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock (4 sheets each of 5 colours). Please be aware that stocks are very limited and once sold out they will be gone for good.