Get Out of the Box!

Hello and welcome to July's stamp of the month blog hop!  This month we have over 60 consultants sharing their ideas with us, and I hope you'll visit as many as possible.   If you're coming here from Shirley's Mom N Me Scrap blog, you're in the right place.  When you're done here, you'll head over to Vicki's Wizard's Hangout for what I'm sure will be a spectacular project.

This month's stamp set contains 12 images that are perfect for Independence Day, but also for so much more.  I want to get you out of your box with this stamp set!  Some of these images would be great for birthdays as well, but I chose to use the set for a soccer layout.  Even using the Fanfare paper pack, with its stars and patriotic color scheme, these pages are decidedly sporty.

Quick Note: I used Make The Cut software with my cutting machine to cut my title, but you can easily substitute the stamp font of your choice.

Here's the entire layout (click on the pic to see it larger!):

Not what you would expect from this stamp set, is it?  That's the nice thing about stamps; we can use them in unexpected ways with great results.  Let me show you a few detail shots for some out of the box thinking and some other little tips.

 

Here I used a stamped image to reinforce and highlight part of my title.  I also pulled in multiple colors by inking up my stamp with a lighter color (Sky), then inked the edges in a darker color (Pacifica), using just the edge of the ink pad.  After stamping, I hand cut the general star shape then swiped a third color (Sunny Yellow) along the edges.

Add dimension to your stamped images with foam tape.  Here, I stamped a second image, punched it out, and popped it up in the center of the first.  Also, see how I let my star go right off the edge?  Always works when your space is just not quite large enough to get the whole thing in; just snip off the extra from the back side.  Oh!  Like my borders?  Those are the Kraft Color-Ready Borders - I actually colored them for a change, using an Archival Black stamp pad for the blackest black.

Lastly, use embellishments to replace tiny portions of stamped images.  I stamped this image in Sunny Yellow on White Daisy CS, and just cut out the larger stars.  Following the design of the entire image, I replaced the smaller stars with Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems, and the dots with Bitty Sparkles.  And a final tip: notice how I focused on the lesser used colors in the paper pack to make it feel less like a patriotic product?  By adding just enough black and yellow, it changes the entire feel.  Try it with any paper pack!

I hope you enjoyed getting out of the box today!  I'd love to hear your comments, or even have you become a follower or email subscriber.  Now it's time to hop along to the Wizard's Hangout and see the fabulous project Vicki has for us this month.  Hope to see you back here soon!