How To Begin Making Greeting Cards Step By Step # 4: Stamping

I like the way my heart balloons stand up from the paper a bit. It has a really homemade feel. I have some ideas on how I could make the next card of this type better.too. But for now,  the outside of this card is done.  It's time to decide what to do with the inside. It is sort of the same process used to add a saying on the outside! The easiest thing to do is to leave the inside blank for a signature.

If you are the kind of person who likes to plan ahead (I am not), you could invent both an inside saying and an outside saying at the same time. Sometimes, I think of a phrase, and divide it. I put half on the outside, and finish the saying on the inside.

As your card making adventure continues, you will discover ways to put sayings on your cards besides writing them in yourself. The most popular way by far is to use stamps. There is an enormous amount of stamps, inks, and other stamping gadgets out there!  It can quickly become a dangerous addiction!

Stamps can come in sets, with images and phrases that coordinate in theme. I prefer individual stamps, but I do buy themed sets, too. There are two basic types of stamps, mounted and unmounted. All stamps are made of a sort of rubbery substance with a raised image on them. The older type are permanently mounted on a small block of wood. You can find these very easily on line, and in bulk! Used stamps are a good way to collect this type at a very low cost. Often, used stamps have not been cleaned well, and may be stained or a bit worn. If you have some storage room, wood block stamps can be an inexpensive way to quickly start a collection.

Unmounted stamps are usually clear  and are uses with a separate clear acrylic block. I like these kinds of stamps, because the acrylic block makes it so easy to make sure to stamp correctly.

 
I store my clear stamps in empty cd cases, and include a piece of paper on which I've stamped each image for reference. Some stampers have entire binders full of stamps!

For a very clear video of how to stamp correctly, and even more, check out Lindsay Weirich's channel on YouTube! She calls herself  The Frugal Crafter. She's a lot of fun!

The Frugal Crafter