Guest Post: From Stencil to Stamp with Christy
January 14, 2015
Hi everyone! It’s Christy from Nassau, Bahamas. I am so excited to be sharing a project with you on Julie’s Blog. She has been inspiring me with her stamp carving for a long time. I must admit that I am now a stamp carving addict. However, every once in a while I encounter a creative block and just don’t know what I should carve. When this happens, I reach for a stencil to give me a bit of help.
Today, I will be working with a few of Julie’s stencils to create embellishments for a Scrapbook layout.
Stencils offer a realm of open possibilities for crafting, but secretly, I sometimes want a stamp to match my stencils. Start by choosing the stencil you would like to work with. You are choosing part of the stencil to become the outline of your stamp. Trace the basic shape onto your carving block and carve your stamp. I chose to work with one of the flowers.
Notice that I left the stamp as a large block-like image. This will allow me to use the stencil in conjunction with the stamp.
Once the ink is dry, use texture paste or modeling cream with the stencil to add detail to your stamped image. Once everything is dry, you can cut out the stamped images to use as embellishments.
There are multiple ways to use the stencils with stamp carving. Think of the stencil as a short cut or template for drawing the outline of carved image. You can customize this image in any way you wish. Simple doodles and lines are an easy way to start. Word phrases are also another possibility.
Using the stencil as a template also allows you the options of carving two images. Trace the stencil twice, then choose which parts will be the positive image and which the negative. When you carve the second image, reverse the positive and negative sections. I like to carve my stamps on both sides of the block. This allows me to keep my matching positive and negative images together.
Caught on Camera by Christy Strickler | Layout: Supplies Patterned Paper, Die Cuts: October Afternoon; Stickers: October Afternoon, Freckled Fawn; Acrylic: Freckled Fawn; Stencils: Crafter’s Workshop; Medium: Modeling Cream by Viva Décor; Ink: Ranger, Prima; Other: Doily, Sequins, Thread
I hope you now see your stencils in a whole new light. They are a wonderful tool and can really help you move past a creative block when it comes to carving your stamps. You also gain the added bonus of having a series of stamps that coordinate with your stencils.
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Christy is originally from Florida, but has called Nassau, Bahamas home for the past eight years. She shares her home with her husband, son and three striped island cats. She began her obsession with papercrafting in 2001. Christy loves to keep busy. Currently, she serves on the Get it Scrapped, Simple Scrapper, Deflecto Craft Solutions and Traci Reed Designs creative teams. She sharing tutorials and projects on her website and also teaches classes for Creative Passions. She also loves talking about papercrafting with her co-hosts on the DigiScrap Geek Podcast. You can learn more about her creative endeavors at MyScrapbookEvolution.com.