When I first started Scrapbooking I was given some advice: “Whatever you are able to spend on your hobby, try to spend at least 50% of the total amount on lasting items such as stamps, punches and dies”. At first I didn’t really see the point but after a while it hit me.

That’s when I decided to take notice of that advice and I started investing my money in stamps. And I fell in love! I was sold by the fact I could use them again and again, telling a new story each time! They could become an embellishment, an accent, a texture, a pattern, etc… The sky is the limit! After years of learning, trial and error I am now confident in creating a layout from A to Z using only my stamps ( and a few flowers, cheeky me! lol!).

So we at Merly Impressions decided on a regular project – I will meet you here once a month to share with you a layout created with stamps and share a few tips and techniques. I am sooo excited about this! Ready to start? Well this month I show you how to create a sheet of background paper using your Kaisercraft stamps.

Step 1: Stamp all over a sheet of plain white card stock your “Grid Background” stamp with some “Old Paper” distress ink.

Step 2: Rub your “Old Paper” ink around the edges of your sheet using a blending tool or a sponge.

Step 3: Stamp your “Grunge Background” image on the bottom left corner of your sheet and the top right corner. The top right corner is only a detail so make it small.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 but using your “Bubble Wrap” stamp and making it more prominent.

Step 5: Finish off your paper by using the frame stamps from the Chanteuse Collection.

There you have a bespoke sheet of paper! Of course the best thing about this is that you can create your paper so that the colours match perfectly your photos! Feeling overwhelmed? Follow those tips: Start with the lighter colour for the largest surface finishing with your darker colours for your details. It’s all about trial and error so get your stamps out and try creating your design on cheap plain paper you won’t be sad to throw it away if it doesn’t work! Don’t give up if you don’t like the results, sometimes adding a couple of extra images or details really make it work and last but not least: look at the papers you already have to see how it’s done. Manufacturers are the professionals and know how to put images together to create enviable backgrounds so get your inspiration from there. Find a paper you like, look at it in detail, decide what you like about it and then try to reproduce it with your own images!

So now you have created your background you have to use it and this is how I used mine:

I created my own patterned papers with a variety of Distress inks, paint as well as the stamps I used to create the background. I added a few gorgeous Kaisercraft Paper Blooms as well as some Resin Flowers and pearls. I finished off my layout by creating my title/ journalling with some mini alphas and with my Grunge Font stamps. I hope that this inspired you to try for yourself! I had so much fun and so will you! Don’t hesitate to share with us your creations on our Facebook page or in the comment section bellow!

Emilie