Hello all!

Katie Gehring here today to share a simple idea for stretching your stamps.  I like to call it- two step stamping with one step stamps, and it’s a technique I used on my card this week.

See the large medallion flower and the butterfly?  I did not create those by stamping on colored cardstock. It’s all ink, and I am going to show you how I did it.

First, attach the your stamp to an acrylic block so that the back side is facing up.  The back side of the stamp will be a little sticky, but that can be a bonus in helping ink stick to your stamp. Stamp the back side of the image onto cardstock.

If you are working with a particularly large stamp, having a stamp pad or even a mouse pad under your paper will help you get a solid image. (I did not do this when I stamped the image above and wished I would have- wink)

Next, use a baby wipe or stamp cleaner to wipe the extra ink off the back of the stamp and reattach the stamp to the block- this time right side up.  Apply a darker shade of ink and stamp again.

I then trimmed out the flower and adhered it to my card. I also used this technique on the little butterfly.
I bet there are tons of stamps in your stash that will lend itself well to this technique.  I find that symmetrical images work best, and don’t forget to use a lighter ink color when stamping the back side of the stamp and a darker ink on the detailed side of the stamp.   Don’t worry about your stamps losing their stickiness either- a little bath in warm soapy water will restore them to near perfect condition.
I also two-step stamped a couple more one step images- to show you how this works with some other sets.
The butterfly is from Victorian Garden and could simply be cut out and used on your project.  The Bra is from this month’s release- Bras 3 and looks quite cute in pink + black.
Hope this technique sparks you to look at all sides of your stamps a little differently!
Creatively yours,
Katie