Feb 03 2008
Background Stamping from Scratch
Today’s card is a little something I made for the pure joy of stamping. I set out to make my own background the old-fashioned way — no designer paper — just to see if I still remembered how. Well…of course, I remembered how. I just needed to apply myself.
In the process of creating designer papers there are techniques used to create pattern overlays that can’t always be duplicated with stamping. Sometimes, however, a sheet of designer paper will appear to have been hand painted and these are the looks that we, the stampers, can hope to achieve using the images created by the brilliant artists who design our stamps.
Now…there has been a lot of discussion as to whether stampers can be considered artists. After all, we don’t draw the images; we simply arrange them on our “canvas”. But then I have to wonder about the person who gathers cast off items and welds them into objets d’art to be displayed in parks and in front of office buildings. Surely I’ve heard that person referred to as an artist. Does the jewelry designer create the diamond or the gold? No, but they do apply their artistry in selecting and shaping those pieces into an exquisite whole. I don’t necessarily mean to equate stamping with these other artistic endeavors, simply to draw the comparison. Many of us may not have the vision or the hand to create the original stamp design, but we have our eyes and our hearts which we can use to strive toward the desired end.
I hoped, in this piece, to create a rather vintage-looking background, similar to something I might be drawn to while shopping for designer paper but would hesitate to buy because it wouldn’t leave room for my own stamping. I love to stamp and I’m thinking you do, too, so I thought I’d share how I made this — for the folks who are still trying to learn some of the tricks.
1. Determined to start with a blank canvas I used the TP technique to cover Very Vanilla cardstock with CTMH Vanilla Cream ink. TP is toilet paper. I wadded it up, smooshed it into my ink pad and then onto my paper, repeating until the paper was covered with a mottled look. For a complete tutorial on the TP technique, click here.
2. Next, I used a brayer to ink up my Stampin’ Up! En Francais (script) background. I laid the background stamp face up on my table and placed my TP’d paper face down on the stamp. I pressed my fingertips to the cardstock in a few random places, then carefully lifted the paper.
3. I stamped some images from Carte Postale in Creamy Caramel, attempting an arrangement that has a little bit of a flow to it and leaving an open area for the floral image.
4. The lilacs are Stampin’ Up!’s Blossoms Abound, one of their two-step stampin’ sets which aren’t very prevalent in the catalog these days — much to my dismay, but I’m a floral person and these sets are perfect for floral images. I stamped them in Versamark and did the Poppin’ Pastels technique. The chalk gave a little better coverage with a softer look than ink could afford. Poppin’ Pastels are wonderful for two step stamping. Chalk the first image, then overstamp the second step image and chalk it in a darker color. I’ll plan to share more about that process in a later post. I used Pale Plum and Perfect Plum on the blooms, and Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke on the leaves. I shaded around the floral images with Creamy Caramel chalk.
5. The final step on the background was to spray it with matte sealer. This is only necessary because of the chalks, but it sure gives a nice finish to the paper, too.
The next time I do something like this I’ll plan my layout first. Once I had this background made I didn’t want to cut off a single smidgen of it so it wound up as the whole card front with just a couple of brads and some ribbon and cord.
One more thing: I don’t know if this type of thing is too involved to be presented as a challenge but it’s something I’ve been thinking about. There are all kinds of challenges out there and I’ve been trying to think of something different that you might enjoy. There has to be a reason for me to have this blog, other than just posting cards I’ve made. I’ve always tried to share designs and tutorials but I’m wondering if you’d like to interact a little bit? If you’d like to make your own interpretation of this background and share it with the rest of us as a group of challenge lovers, please let me know if you’re interested. We can talk about it more, but I’ll wait to hear from you first.
Thank you for visiting! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
74 responses so far
I want to play. You can challenge me anytime Leslie. This is a beautiful card.
Leslie this is so beautiful. Your challenge is a great idea. I sometimes have the same thought about my blog – that it needs to be something more than just posting cards. I like your idea of it being interactive. I will play with your challenge during the week. Thanks for such a wonderful “conversation”.
This card is beautiful! Very nice! I have never done anything with a brayer, so I will have to skip this challenge, but I will check back for future challenges! TFS!
Gosh Leslie, this truly IS art! I have been a lurker on your blog for some time now, but this was inspiration enough to make me show my face, so to speak
I don’ know that I own enough stamps (no backgrounders, for example) to participate in such a challenge, but I absolutely love seeing your work. Thank you!
Exquisite card! Great instructions! Everything is perfect – the layered edges,
the ribbon technique! Thank you for sharing!
Amazing and beautiful! The background and card are wonderful! thank you for giving such detailed instructions. I think that creating your own background paper would be a wonderful challenge.
This is truly a beautiful work of art!
I think thats a great idea push uys to try something scary, to create backgrounds is a scary step, but I’m trying to let my fear go
I absolutely love this card! What a beautiful DP, and yes, it would be a fun challenge! I agree with Janaina…a scary thing to try…but with your help!!! You are terrifice, and I so appreciate your creativity and willingness to share.
Wow that’s beautiful. I love that you used the whole piece as the card front.
This is stunning. Love the colors and how you put the whole background together.
This is STUNNING! I love how you broke down all the steps…very informative! I’d love to participate in any challenges you think up. Your work is inspiring and amazing! {SMILES}
OMW! This is just stunning! I would definitely call you an ARTIST! Sounds like a great challenge. I’ve done this on a very simple basis, nothing near as gorgeous as yours. I will try to play.
This is simply stunning! Definitely a work of art in every way! I have no reservations calling you an artist. You ability to design, layout and combine patterns, paper, image and colour are amazing! BTW…love your TP technique and use it often!
Leslie…YOU are an ARTIST……As for the discussion on artist..I agree with you on the parts and the whole are new creation…and in that ability to put the parts together as a whole is definitely an art. This work of art today is a stunning composition of art.
Really beautiful & timeless — I think this is a great challenge, will try to tackle it soon.
Beautiful card, Les….Rhonda needs that one for her mom”s birthday coming up. She loves Lilacs….Trudy
What a beautiful background (???) – I don’t think so. It’s a gorgeous piece of art!!!! I don’t blame you for not wanting to cover it up – it’s stunning!!!! Thanks for the instructions, too – always appreciated
It’s gorgeous! I love the mottled look you achieved and all the shading looks amazing. Although I love patterned paper, it’s nice to see a stamping-only card, especially one as beautiful as this!
WOW!!! This is *GORGEOUS*!! I love the vintage, feminine feel that it has.
Perfectly beautiful, just perfectly beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful creation!
I love this piece — it’s absolutely beautiful!
This is just gorgeous– I love it!!! Marvelous vintage feel, with a natural, yet elegant feel…
A challenge would be fun– I would love to do some, more than likely wouldn’t be able to do them every week– nevertheless, would try!!!
Oh Please, Please make this Wonderfully Gorgeous Technique as a Challenge. I may even start today as I have 2 cards I need to make. OMG Leslie…….you have me TOTALLY INSPIRED AGAIN!!!!!!!! TFS my friend, Nancy
Leslie, what a beautiful background and card! This is just the sort of thing I gravitate to when shopping for gift bags or gift wrap (and cards — just don’t tell my husband that I ever buy a card anymore!). I dread the look on faces when I say I stamp for just the reason you mention, and I really like your comparison to other artistic endeavors. It’s not as easy as it looks, and these are not the rubber stamps or embellishments of our childhood. I love challenges, but have not found the time to participate recently.
This card is just spectacular!!!! It is the inspiration I need to try making my own BG papers. TFS, Melissa
Thank you, Leslie, for sharing how you did this. I have tried your TP technique before and am always impressed with the results. This collage look handmade designer paper is Fabulous! I would love a challenge of this technique.
What a beauty!!!!
This has got to be one of the most stunning cards I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing. I used to do a lot of background papers with stamping but haven’t done any for a long time. Thank you for inspiring me to try it again.
WOW! This is beautiful! You did an awsome job on this.
This card is absolutely stunning!
So beautiful Leslie!! I would love to play along eventually.
Leslie, I love the idea of a challenge, but I would be happy with you just posting your cards too, because they are wonderful. I always enjoy seeing all of your creations! This card is lovely, as all of yours are.
This is so beautimous! I love a new way to use a background stamp. Thanks for the ideas.
QP
Fabulous card! I can’t wait to try this technique. Enjoyed what you said about artists: I always considered myself to be creative, but not an “artist” in the classical sense since I can’t even draw a decent stick figure! Thanks for the encouragement!
WOW old school stamping at it’s absolute BEST! Leslie this is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!!
One more note, I would love to take part in challenges like this. I’ve become so dependent on designer paper, and this style of stamping is what I truly love!
My goodness…this is stunning, Leslie!!! Artwork by a true artist!
Stunning beauty! Yes, you are an artist my dear! Thanks for sharing! Deb
Absolutely stunning Leslie! I’m going to try this at home, can’t join a challenge as I don’t have the equipment to upload. I’ve done some background papers but nothing as intricate as yours. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Sharon
My goodness it’s a complete work of art! I have only recently started using printed background papers, and now you’ve inspired me to go back and create my own!
I love this piece of artwork! I’ll be here to cheer all the challengers on.
Have you ever thought of framing or stamping on canvas or acrylic pieces?
This is absolutely gorgeous!!! Love this – it is a real piece of art, I tell ya!! Beautiful! *STAMPIN HUGS* Alex
Beautiful, and I so agree this is a work of art, you can tell that by giving people the same stamps and see how different they all will turn out. thanks for sharing the how to’s, I am sure I could never accomplish what you do but it sure is fun giving it a go!
OH WOW Leslie!!! This is breathtaking! The colors and coloring are just stunning!!! WOW!!!
Backgrounds have always been my favorite part of cardmaking and it has saddened me that in recent years it is all about designer papers. Lovely background.
Absolutely gorgeous!!! I love it! So stunning and thank you so much for explaining how you did it!
Leslie… you certainly achieved your goal of creating a soft and beautiful designer look. I too have wondered recently if background stamps were becoming an endangered species with the trend toward the designer papers. Your card affirms my belief that my 30+ background stamps will be part of my inventory for a very long time. Thanks for adding TP to my list of essential stamping tools!
Leslie this is stunning!! There is so much to love about this card the background is so soft and beautiful! It makes me think of the gift wrapping paper and tissue in really high end stores:) Gorgeous!!
Dee
This is so beautiful! I love the look you’ve created and I know what you mean about designer papers. I have so many around, but they just aren’t as satisfying as papers I’ve made. There’s something so therapeutic about layering colours and images and seeing what you can come up with. I’d be up for challenges like this too!
Oh my! Your card is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for explaining how you created your card
Absolutely beautiful, Leslie! I love the soft BG for the lilac blossoms and bits of script here and there! A lovely designer paper for sure!
Stunning! I am in awe and can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks for the pictorial! darlene
This is absolutley gorgeous and oh so you Leslie! I love it. You work magic with those chalks!
Gorgeous and beautiful explanation. As far as I’m concerned, your blog is fine as is!!!! There doesn’t have to be “more” unless YOU want it to be. Everything you make is eye candy!!
Sigh….this is so heavenly Leslie! I just love the soft romantic feel that this has. I would love to play with any challenge you come up with (although I may not be able to play all tahe time)!
Linda
Not only a fabulous card, but a great tutorial. As much as I LOVE designer paper, I often long for those times, many years ago, before DP was so prevalent that you actually used your stamps to create backgrounds and beautiful paper. To me this is pure stamp fun and you never really know what you end up with. I guess I consider myself more of a “stampy” stamper and like to color and create with stamps and ink. That being said, I absolutly love all the paper that is out there as it makes creating a card so very easy. Oh, isn’t it wonderful to have the best of both worlds?
I love the way the french script is only in some areas, as it it was peeking through a cracked wall.
WOW. Absolutely stunning!!!! I don’t know what else to say…”gorgeous” doesn’t seem enough.
Absolutely stunnign Lesley! As always! You have the most fabulous way with chalks that I have ever seen!
Another gorgeous card Leslie. I LOVE your fun techniques and how you explain everything so well.
Thanks to your wonderful and creative instructions, I will try this technique soon.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Jennifer
OH WOW!!!!You have totally inspired me! I went into a stamp slump last night, could not decide on anything to stamp, but this is amazing!!! I am so going to go downstairs and try this out. Please excuse me if I use some of the same sets. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the inspiration and tutorial !!
Wow! what a fantastic card! Your work is DEFINITELY art – it just leaves me astounded that someone can create such a lovely card
oooooooooooo this just takes my breath away! It is truly stunning! I would love to participate in your challenge……would be fun to ATTEMPT to emulate what you have created here!
[...] zone on this one! Today while I was blog browsing, I came upon this amazingly beautiful card here. It had such a beautiful vintage feel to it, and it looked amazing and I just had to try it [...]
This card is over the top fabulous!!! I love the background you created, your wonderful tutorial on how you did it, and your beautiful end result!!! I would LOVE a Leslie Tutorial/Challenge on a regular basis — would absolutely love it!!!
Gorgeous! Stunning! Beautiful! Wow!! e) all of the above! I’ll buy your b/g paper anytime!
This card is definitely a work of art!
I’ve always considered myself pattern paper challenged, I love making backgrounds and want to play! Backgrounds that we make ourselves match perfectly, that’s important to me.
I definately think we as stampers are artists. We take bits and pieces of other people’s art and make it into our own. We complete what they started?
Sigh. This is such a gorgeous combination of stamps, colors, techniques and subtle artistry. There’s so much inspiration and information packed into this post and creation, which I really appreciate. I hope to be stamping again soon. Linda
this combination is absolutely stunning. where did you buy that ribbon?
I have never done stamping before but am really interested in making my own backing papers and yours are exquisite.Any tips you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…
You my dear are deffinately an artist!! That card is stunning!
Liz