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Rubber Stamping Projects
Shaunnel Berglund-Immel

Curious about rubber stamping? Want to add stamping to your paper crafts? Join the club—card-makers have long relied on rubber stamps to create handmade greetings, paper-crafters use stamps for decorating journals and books. And now scrapbookers are using stamps on their pages for an artsy, collage look. We turned to designer Shauna Berglund-Immel for tips, techniques and three great projects that feature rubber stamps.

All About Ink

Dye-based inks: These are fast drying and hold fine detail well. They adhere to most surfaces-from glossy to matte paper. Some are acid-free (check the packaging to make sure). Many are waterbased and work well with blending techniques for watercolor effect.

Pigment-based inks: These are slow drying, opaque and work well with embossing. Most dry only when heat set with a blow dryer or heat gun. Many are archival and permanent. They come in a wide range of colors, including metallics.

Chalk inks: These inks combine the quick drying of dye-based inks with the rich colors of pigment inks. They are permanent only when heat set. They dry to a muted, chalk like finish.

One of my favorites is a line of ink pads called Staz-On. These are perfect for stamping on metal, dominos, and vellum without having to heat set. I prefer the Staz-On and dye-based inks because I prefer the quick drying and the less messy! And to be honest, sometimes I'm just too lazy to get out my heat gun!

Hot Off The Press just released a book titled The Basics of Rubber Stamping. It's a great guide for beginners to advanced and it's where I got the information about the inks.

Distressing Vellum

Wet your vellum before crumpling it and then allow it to dry flat. This will help to avoid cracking and tearing. It will shrink a bit, so trim your background paper evenly on the sides to fit the new size and center it on gold paper for a framed look.

Direct-to-Paper Inking

Direct-to-paper is a stamping technique that allows you to alter the look of your paper. Place your paper on a work surface (be sure a piece of scrap paper is underneath); simply take your inkpad and gently tap or rub the ink directly onto the paper. Use a light touch at first. You can repeat if you want a more intense color. This is how I got the aged look for the word “Traveler”. It's also a great technique for distressing paper. I used gold ink directly on the crumpled vellum to accent the creases and the edges. Remember to heat set the metallic gold, as it will take forever to dry and is easily smeared.

You can also use the inkpad to edge your paper. This is a great look for alphabet tiles, as it gives the illusion of a mat without the hassle of actually matting each letter. Just run the inkpad along the edge of your paper. This works for straight edges or torn ones. On this page, I tore out the alphabet tiles for “World” and edged each one with metallic ink paper ink for a gilded look. (Remember to heat set your ink if you are using pigment inks.) I also edged the straight lines of the word “Traveler” for a worn, traveled look.

Using Chalk

Chalk gives a naturally soft, subtle touch of color to stamped images. I stamped the image with Versa Mark and then heat embossed it with black embossing powder to give it raised, distinct black lines. I did the same with the word stamps. I then colored the dress and the word “be” with pink chalk for a soft look. Simply apply the chalk with your fingers or a sponge applicator. Start with a light touch for a subtle look, applying more color if you wish.

Using 3-D Embellishments

I accented the soft, tone-on-tone pink colors with silver, which adds different textures and dimension and gives a magical, romantic look to the journal. The 3D Silver Collection pack was full of little treasures to embellish the cover with! The beads and star sequins look like they are strewn across the front cover, adding sparkle and shine and giving your eye a trail to follow, working with the focal point. I tied various fibers from the silver pack onto the spine, tying knots in the ends to create different lengths and thickness. I covered the “be” with a clear flat marble to emphasize and magnify the word.

Enjoy and happy stamping!
Shauna, Designer

Best Witches

Shauna Says: Use patterned paper to create a graveyard scene on your card and layer with tan vellum for a spooky backdrop for your stamped sentiments. Use the tag template to cut out a circle tag from patterned paper, place like a moon, attach with foam tape and use as a backdrop for your alphabet stamp. Mix and match your alphabet stamp fonts for a fun look with a lot of personality. Chalk vellum to add to the eeriness. When stamping on vellum, I prefer to emboss my ink to prevent smudging and avoid the time it takes to dry. I also like the shiny brightness of the black color that the embossing creates. Color your gold brads with a black Permapaque pen, or emboss the tops with black powder as well.

Supply List

Instructions

  1. Cover card front with black paper, trim to size.
  2. Tear a 2 3/4” x 5 3/4” piece of tan vellum. Emboss various letters from multiple alphabet sets onto tan vellum using Versa Mark™ pad. Sprinkle with black embossing powder and heat set. Chalk edges of torn vellum with black and around letters with orange and black. Attach vellum to tombstone paper using gold brads colored black.
  3. Trace circle tag onto orange portion of tombstone paper, cut out, emboss edges and letter “B” using the Versa Mark™ pad. Sprinkle with black embossing powder and heat set. Color mini gold brad with black Permapaque™ pen. Place foam tape on back of tag and adhere to left side of the tan vellum.
  4. Cut tombstone paper to 4 3/4” x 6 1/4”, mat on muted orange and trim to 1/16”. Center tombstone paper onto black card front and adhere.

World Traveler Scrapbook Page

Shauna Says: When you don't have room for journaling, use an image from the background paper, and create a small book that opens up.

Supply List

Instructions

  1. Tear top and bottom off of ivory vellum, wet, crumple and lay flat to dry. Once dry, direct to paper ink with gold and heat set.
  2. Trim 1/4” off of top and one side of travel west collage paper. Center on gold paper. Adhere torn crumpled ivory vellum to top and bottom of travel west collage paper, using small gold brads in each corner.
  3. Tear brown square with compass out of travel east collage paper. Direct to paper ink the edges with gold and heat set. Add small brad to center of compass. Cut ivory card to 2 1/2” square, with fold along left side. Cover inside with leftover travel east collage paper. Glue brown square with compass to top of small card. Computer journal on ivory vellum, tear edges and ink torn edges with gold. Heat set. Glue to center of inside of small card. Cut out “fly” charm, punch hole in top and hang from gold thread tied around small brad. Secure to card with foam tape. Adhere card to travel west collage paper, covering the similar image in the left corner of the paper.
  4. Tear out brown tiles, direct to paper with gold ink, heat set. Adhere to layout as shown.
  5. Cut out “adventure” and airplane charms. Punch two small holes in word tag, string with gold thread and adhere thread behind airplane. Attach images with foam tape.
  6. Cut out wooden tiles, alternating large and small. Direct to paper ink with brown. Adhere to layout using foam tape. If you have trouble with the foam tape sticking to the crumpled vellum, use Glue Dots™ as well. Top with compass charm with brad in center and hang “journey” charm from top right corner. Mat photo on gold, trim to 1/16” and slip under top vellum.

Aspire to Be Journal

Shauna Says: Use a large stamped image as the focal point of a journal cover, accenting it with metallic 3-D embellishments.

Supply List

Instructions

  1. Remove cover from journal: locate the area of the spiral binding where the spiral meets, then pull apart. Remove the inside pages and the cover. Cover the journal cover with pink sponged paper, trim to size. Cut pink salt paper to 8 1/2” x 10 1/2”, mat on silver and trim to 1/16”.
  2. Run silver mesh down left side of pink salt and secure on back. Punch 1/16” holes in either side of “beauty” charm and 1/8” hole in top of “pretty” paper charm, string on silver cord, run horizontally across top of pink salt paper and secure behind.
  3. Stamp “believe” in bottom corner of the pink salt paper, using Versa Mark™ ink (or embossing ink), sprinkle with black ink and heat set.
  4. Punch 1/6” holes in either side of “romance” paper charm, string with silver cord and run diagonally across the bottom of the pink salt paper. Run another strand of silver cord diagonally across the bottom of the page, intersecting in the middle, and secure behind.
  5. Center pink salt paper on pink sponged paper on front cover. Turn over the cover and using a 1/4” hole punch, punch out each hole. Line up the holes with wire spine of the journal and replace the cover and pages.
  6. Cut a 6” pastel pink vellum square, outline with silver pen and adhere at an angle to the center of the journal.
  7. Stamp dress onto white vellum using Versa Mark™, sprinkle with black embossing powder and heat set. Stamp “aspire to be” under the dress with the Versa Mark™, sprinkle with black embossing powder and heat set. Tear around the dress. Adhere over pink vellum square using silver brads in three corners. Using a Q-Tip and pink chalk, color in the dress and over the word “be.” Place a small piece of Scrappy Tape on the back of the clear flat marble and trim to size. Adhere over the pink chalked “be.”
  8. Adhere two white feathers and two silver skeleton leaves over the lower right corner of the white vellum. Place 1/8” silver brad in top of “dream” embossed charm and attach over skeleton leaves using foam tape.
  9. Adhere star sequins and beads diagonally across cover using Ultimate Glue®.
  10. Tie fibers on top of spine; knot into each end, creating different lengths.