Cannibalizing Stamps

Hello again!  No apologies for the length of time between posts - I warned you, lol!  I am trying to make your (very infrequent) visits worthwhile, though, so here's what's on tap for today:

I have been working on a project that requires some "fiddling", and I'm a VERY impatient fiddler, so I needed to streamline the process a bit.  I'm stamping in sketchbooks/journals and wanted the page opposite the main image to be decorated in a coordinating image to give the whole project a more finished, cohesive look. 

I tried the whole masking and selectively inking thing, but I'm making more than 20 of these babies, and that's waaaaaaaay too time-consuming and "fiddly", as I said.  My answer was to CUT OUT the part of the image that I was masking and use it as a stand-alone stamp.

Before you get all crazy and lob rotten tomatoes (or worse) at me, consider that I DO NOT sell my stamps when I'm tired of them - I give them away.  Resale value - for the most part - is not there, and I can't be bothered with photographing, listing, checking back, packaging, shipping, blah blah blah blah blah (more fiddling again - yuck!).  Meanwhile - they are MINE and I will do with them whatever I choose and not suffer any guilt at all!

SO - I will show you two of the stamps that I cut apart and how the results of that were used.  Both are from Unity Stamp Co (my current obsession, thank you very much).  First up is Be Amazing:

Gorgeous, right?  I wanted that fabulous tattoo on the opposing page, but masking it was a total nightmare.  Here's how I cut it apart:

 
                        BEFORE                                                                                            AFTER

 You'll notice that I started at an edge and went in from there to make the cuts (I spread the edges apart for the photo so you could see it, but it's really just a slit).  It was a tight squeeze in a couple of spots, but a video I had seen recently from Club Scrap had an excellent tip for that.  Tricia suggested bending the rubber back on itself slightly to show more of the "space" between.  Clear as mud, I know, so watch the video and you'll see what that means.  Here's the end result:

 

The next one is from the Angie Girls lineup of beauty.  I used Willow Girl:

This cut was MUCH simpler:

   
                                    BEFORE                                                                                                AFTER

And the end result:

If you look back at the photos, you'll notice that I did NOT do my usual trim-as-close-as-humanly-possible-to-the-image thing on these cut-aparts.  I wanted to be able to put the stamps back together in their original state, so I left everything exactly as it was so they'd fit back together exactly as they were.  Fun side note: ALL of the Angie Girls are on sale over at Unity right now.  Go get some - they're awesome!

I've been cannibalizing stamps for years - cutting off offending bits or separating sentiments attached to images, for example.  The Be Amazing cuts are probably the most dramatic, though.  If you're afraid of this, don't worry - you can still be all fiddly and mask off the parts that you want/don't want.  Or if - unlike myself - you are really good at inking up a stamp with markers to get just the part you want, then you're golden.  My marker/stamp skillz sucketh, and my patience is non-existent for multiple maskings, so I needed a solution that would work for me. Cutting stamps apart is that solution!

That's it for me today!  Who knows when I'll be back?  In the meantime - enjoy yourself, do something stampy/crafty/creative and maybe even BRAVE!  Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[Erin G]

LOVE IT! I do this, too... Hope all is well with you!

Love,

Thegirlwhohasprettymuchgivenupblogging

:)

[Bev Polen - Guneaux Designs]

What a fantastic idea, Sue!! I need to try this wonderful tip! BTW, thank you for your comment on my Gladiolus card on SCS!! I need to visit your blog more often!