Same Stamp, Same Layout, Three Cards

So in my re-entry into the blogging world I thought I might share with you a little dilemma that I often struggle with. For lack of a better term, let's call it "stamp fatigue". I have a large stamps collection...a very large collection. One might say that I have a slight addiction to stamps (okay, okay...maybe more than slight). Although I've been an idle stamper and blogger over the past month, I've been far from idle in my craft room as I've taken on the task of unmounting my entire collection to make some space. But more about that later...

I think its easy to fall into a rut with stamps and use them the same way over and over again. I thought it might be neat to try and use the same stamp, the same layout but different materials to achieve three different looks. I'm the first to admit that none of these cards is knock down fabulous - they are all very simple and I deliberately stayed away from embellishments for this exercise. The purpose of this experiment was to try and achieve a different and look and feel with the same image. I picked a Whipper Snapper Santa particularly because these stamps are so whimsical and fun and for that very reason I tend to pair them with bright colours.

This first example is typical of what I would do with this type of stamp. I've coloured the image with Copic Markers - nice and bright and sunshiney (is that a word even?). I've paired it with a whimsical Christmas printed paper, a bright yellow ribbon and a red card base. All and all very simple but fun. This would be an easy card to mass produce for the holidays (except for the colouring).

Supplies: Stamp (Whipper Snapper), Paper (Creative Imaginations), Cardstock (Bazzill, PTI), Copic Markers, ribbon, ink (Palette)

For my next attempt I wanted to try something a little more "elegant" which is not what I would normally do with a stamp like this. I started with a gold embossed Christmas paper because I thought it would lend a little "class" to the card. I've used a cream coloured paper for the stamped image and added accents of colour instead of colouring in the whole image. The moustache and eyebrows are filled in with Liquid Applique which was puffed up with the heat gun. The stamp is outlined in gold glitter and I also used the glitter to fill in the word "believe". Instead of a single ribbon I lined up three dark green ribbons in a row for a little more visual interest. I like how this turned out, although I would probably colour in the whole image next time - he looks a little pale... Mind you, I guess there's not that much sun up there in the North Pole.

Supplies: Stamps (Whipper Snapper, Amuse Artstamps), Paper (Sandylion), Cardstock (PTI, Bazzill), ribbon, glitter (Glitter Ritz), Liquid Applique, Nestabilities, Ink (Palette)

For this final card I wanted to try something a little more "shabby chic" so I kept to a black and white theme with a little red as an accent. The stamp is stamped onto a textured black paper and then I used a white detail embossing powder to make it pop. The ribbon behind the card is red with black edges and there are two pieces of black ribbon tied to it on the top and bottom. Again, very simple. You could really use any monochromatic colour scheme for this type of card.

Supplies: Stamps (Whipper Snapper, Amuse Artstamps), Paper (Scrapworks), ribbon, embossing powder, ink (Versa, Stazon)

Thanks for stopping by!