Incorporating Rubberstamping Into Your Scrapbooks

I started out as a stamper. I remember being amazed at how a
line art drawing could produce such beautiful results. I
started out simply stamping and coloring in and progressed to
more advanced techniques.  And then I was introduced to
Scrapbooking via a home party. But I was a stamper! How could I
combine the two?
 
I began incorporating my rubberstamps into my scrapbooks and
you can too. You can use rubberstamps as backgrounds, titles,
decorative accents, decorative borders and any way you can
think of. For me using rubberstamps in my scrapbooks provided
an additional creative expression to pass down to my children.
Of course, rubberstamp styles and techniques have changed over
the years and even some stamps are available specifically for
Scrapbooking. Here are a few ideas for incorporating
rubberstamps into your scrapbooks:
 
* Stamps as backgrounds-Randomly stamp all over a sheet of
12×12 cardstock to create your own custom background combining
color combinations to coordinate with your photos. Idea: stamp
various leaves in beautiful fall colors randomly on a sheet of
12×12 cardstock. A perfect background for photos of your kids
playing in the leaves!
 
* Stamps as titles-Many stamps would make great titles all by
themselves. A stamp that says “Happy Easter” would make a
perfect title for an Easter layout.
 
* Alpha stamps as titles-There are plenty of alphabet stamp
sets in various fonts. Pick your favorite or two and stamp a
title. Or simply stamp the first letter in a journaling block.
Stamp the letters a little staggered for a fun look and then
you don’t have to worry about stamping a straight line. Another
idea is to stamp out the letters to compose the word or phrase
you want and then punch out with decorative punches. Circles,
squares, tags, flowers and other decorative punches for a
whimsical touch to your pages.
 
* Stamps as decorative accents-stamps of children in Halloween
costumes make a cute accent to your Halloween pages. Or how
about a stamped snowman for the “playing in the snow” pages?
 
* Stamps as decorative borders-stamp around the page, along one
side, as a border on a photo matt or journaling box. For
example, on a baby page stamp baby theme images like a bottle,
pacifier, teddy bear, etc. as your border.
 
If you have rubberstamps and have been wanting to incorporate
them into your scrapbooks, I hope the above ideas will help get
the creative juices flowing! You can even use the same ink
brushed, sponged or stippled to add a distressed or shabby chic
look. So what are you waiting for? Try stamping in your
scrapbooks today!

About The Author: Dawn Stegall is the owner of
http://www.FaithfullyYours.net a Christian scrapbook resource
site. She is also a regular contributor at
http://www.ThatScrapbookSite.com where you can find more ideas
and sample layouts for
http://www.thatscrapbooksite.com/Scrapbooking-rubberstamps.html