Hand Stamped Note Cards - A Brief Tutorial

Often, when I'm testing out a new rubber stamp design, I'll stamp the image repeatedly over a sheet of cardstock, then splash a bit of watercolor on it.  (If you follow my adventures on Instagram you've probably seen the timelapse videos showing the process.)  It's simple and so much FUN!  Then I have a handmade, hand stamped sheet that I can cut down to make note cards.  You can make your cards in any dimension that you'd like, with any medium and supplies you have on hand, but I'll include notes below for how I made mine.  

Supplies needed:

printed paper (hand stamped, hand painted is what I used)

paper cutter

scoring mat and bone folder (optional)

pigment ink (permanent, optional)

glue 

For every one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of printed cardstock, I will need two sheets of blank cardstock for the card bases.  I cut the printed paper down to 4" wide by 2 1/4" high (giving me 8 cards,) then I cut the other two blank sheets down to 4 1/4" wide by 5" high (giving me 8 card bases.)

I use a scoring mat and bone folder to score the card base at 2 1/2" so that my finished card measures 4 1/4" wide by 2 1/2" high.

Since I like to use my note cards as Thank You cards, and because I just LOVE this chunky "Thank You" stamp by Inkadinkado, this is my go-to for these types of cards.  Any sentiment stamp will work.  Or, you don't have to use any type of sentiment stamp at all.  It's up to you!  I happened to have this Ranger archival ink pad out, and because it has permanent, waterproof ink, this is what I used on my cards.

Be sure to have a scrap piece of paper behind your work for this step, otherwise you may have an inky mess on your work surface!

Now that my stamping is finished, it's time to attach the cards to the card bases.  Tombow Mono Liquid Glue is one of my very favorite adhesives to use.  (My kid's too.  I know because he's ALWAYS stealing mine to use on his art projects.  I've since learned to buy them two at a time.)  That's just me.  Use your favorite adhesive or tape runner to attach your cards to their bases.

Really, that's it!  You can modify this technique to create any size card that you need.  For example: quarter the sheet (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and you've got four A2 size cards.  That may be useful when mass-producing holiday cards!

For unique hand carved rubber stamps, I invite you to visit my Etsy shop.

Happy Crafting!  And as always, THANK YOU for following along on my handmade journey.

FREE Coloring Page - Multnomah Falls, Oregon

I feel fortunate to live in such a beautiful region.  When I first moved to Oregon, I often found my way out to the Columbia River Gorge and traveled the twisty, winding, Historic Columbia River Highway 30.  I've sat with coffee watching many sunrises at Crown Point.  In recent years, we've spent several weekend days hiking the trails and visiting the many waterfalls that dot that stretch of our gorgeous landscape.  The Columbia River Gorge, to me, truly is a magical place.  

So begins my journey with coloring pages.  I can't think of a better place to start than with the magnificent Multnomah Falls.  It's a beauty to observe from the ground level as a stop along the highway, but it's a whole different thing to hike a mile up the switchbacks to view the Columbia River and north into the state of Washington from the top of the falls.  (Don't stop there.  Your hike on the mountain has only begun.)

This coloring page is FREE for you to print and color at home or in the classroom.  (Illustration is property of R.Goodwin/hoffeeandanuffin and may NOT be used for sale or reproduction.) For educational purposes, have students research and discuss:

Columbia River Gorge
Oregon History
Lewis and Clark
Logging
Benson Footbridge
Salmonberries (and other edible wild fruit)
Hiking and Trails
Hiking Safety

To print this coloring page, click on the image to view the full page, then right-click on the image and "Save Image As" to your computer.  I hope you enjoy coloring Multnomah Falls, Oregon.  I would love to see your colored pages!  Follow me on Facebook and tag #hoffeeandanuffincoloring @hoffeeandanuffin on Instagram.

How To Tuesday - Rainbow Tree

As you know I've recently discovered Tim Holtz Distress Inks and have been experimenting with them and learning how they work.  One of my favorite things to make lately is the Rainbow Tree.  I love layering and blending colors, and this is a fun (beginner/great-for-kids, too!) project to use techniques that allow colors to play with each other.  I also wanted to compare creating trees with distress inks to creating trees with watercolor paints.

What you'll need:
Tree (With Endless Possibilities) Hand Carved Rubber Stamp

Three Tiny Hearts Hand Carved Rubber Stamp

(okay, those stamps are completely optional, but I do recommend them!)

Watercolor Paper
Distress Ink
Water
Watercolor Paintbrush

Paper Towels

A Sense Of Adventure

When I was shopping for distress inks, I deliberately purchased only three colors to see if I would even like using them.  I knew that as long as I had "red", "blue", and "yellow", I could create a "rainbow" of colors to use.  This is how the Rainbow Tree came to be.  Take yourself back to elementary school, to a time when you were learning about the rainbow, primary colors, and secondary colors.  This diagram shows the placement of color to create the "rainbow" effect on my tree.  A little bit of water and a few brush strokes between those primary colors blends to create secondary colors, and ultimately the "rainbow".  (I should note that this diagram was actually created with watercolors, NOT distress inks... but you get the point.)

 Here's another example using distress inks.  This time I added a few layers of color to really build up the pigment.  I do love the look of layers of distress ink, especially when water is added to the distress ink after it has dried.  Notice the trees in the center, and center left.  When droplets of water are added to the ink, it "lifts" the ink, and can be blotted away with a dry paper towel, creating a sort of bleached effect.  It almost reminds me of lens flare.  It's really pretty! 

Another option is to add color with another rubber stamp.  In this example, I used my Three Tiny Hearts rubber stamp, but any little stamp can be used.   I first discovered this technique for my tree when I used a pencil eraser to add R, Y, B ink to my tree, then sprayed water on it to activate the ink and get it moving around on the paper.  Later I discovered blowing on the wet ink with a straw to push it out toward the edges of the paper, as if the tree were stretching outward.  That was kind of fun, too.  (Kids will LOVE that!)

Next is a tree I made with watercolor paints.  I have been using the distress inks as watercolor so much that it sort of became a "default" technique for adding wet color to my projects.  (How do you use distress ink at a "wet" color?  See last week's How To Tuesday for that demonstration.)  In my opinion, both techniques work really well and I don't think I prefer one over the other.  They're just different.  I do feel like I had more control and richer pigment with my watercolors.  I love the layering I can achieve with the distress ink, PLUS the advantage of "bleaching" the color with the addition of water.  (That's so much fun!)  They're both great.

Top Row:
  Left - Tree (With Endless Possibilities, small) rubber stamp with Timber Brown StazOn ink.
  Center - distress ink applied as a watercolor
  Right - distress ink applied as a watercolor, "bleached" by adding water and blotting with dry towel

Bottom Row:
  Left - watercolor paint
  Center - diagram of "rainbow" effect
  Right - tree with color stamped with Three Tiny Hearts rubber stamp.

I hope this demonstration offers some inspiration and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.  I'd love to see any trees you (or your kiddos!) make.  Please share them with me on Facebook or Instagram: #hoffeeandanuffin  

As always, thank you for following along on my handmade journey.  Happy crafting!