Put your stamp on the season!

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below the tutorial, including a link to the stencils I used from A Colorful Life Designs. Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

I’ve been admiring cards on social media recently that replicate postage stamps. Luckily, I have a set of stencils that made the process really very easy.

Let’s Get Started:

Card Base: 505 x 805, scored and folded at 4.25

Card Face: 5.5 x 4.25

Card Face:

• I secured the Nordic Christmas stencil to my card face using Mint Tape.

• I selected one of the Postage Stamp stencils with its matching mask and secured it directly over top of that, centering on the card face. ***

• I applied a light slate blue ink over the entire surface.

• I removed both stencils and then put the mask for the Postage Stamp stencil in place, matching it up with the ink I had just applied.

• I applied a dark teal ink around this mask which emphasized the wavy stamp border.

• I put the card face into my stamp positioner and stamped the tree in the lower right of the image, using the same teal ink.

• I added the star on the tree and those in the sky with yellow ink, stamping repeatedly until they were easily visible.

• I added a couple of “postal marks” and also used a couple of stamps to create a bit of distressing, using soft taupe ink for all.

• I stamped Happy Holidays with black ink in the upper left corner.

*** For a more complete explanation of this process see Layered Stencilling under Techniques in the header.

Other:

• I die-cut 2023 twice out of white card stock and glued each of the numbers together to give a bit of dimension.

• I didn’t like the look of a large teal border around the stamp so I trimmed it down quite a bit: this looked much better.

Assembly:

• I glued the numbers to the card face directly below Happy Holidays, stacking them as shown.

• I centered the card face on the card base, securing it with liquid glue.

Final thoughts:

I love the look of the Nordic Christmas stencil used as a background for this card - it works so well here.

I considered adding another layer of colour between card base and card face but decided against it - and I’m so glad I did. I really like the final look of this card and don’t think it needed anything more.

Supplies: (and links where possible)

I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It's a huge marketplace and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

Stencils:

Nordic Christmas, A Colorful Life Designs

Marvellous Masks, Postage Stamp, A Colorful Life Designs

Stamps: assorted Stampin’ Up! (all retired)

Die: Playful Alphabet, Stampin’ Up! (retired)

Mint Tape:Scrapbook.com

Stamp Positioner: Misti, Spellbinders

Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

Discover Fresh Design Styles for Cardmaking