You can take your stamped art to a new level by learning to create scenery with your stamp designs. Scenery design will soon become one of your favorite ways to stamp, once you learn a few basics that we will be covering in this article.

Are you interested in creating an indoor or outdoor scene, combining images into pleasing designs or patterns, or simply placing two or more images so that they look like they are inside or behind each other? If so, we can help you get started. Our scenery element stamps are designed to coordinate with each other in size, weight of lines, content, and style.

For example, shown to the right is our catalog #13 cover. The cover was designed using the techniques we will discuss in this article. It was stamped on 11” x 17" paper; and none of the images' sizes were altered. This shows how well our images fit with one another, allowing perspective and depth with the larger images in the foreground and the smaller images in the background.

Stamping indoor or outdoor scenes is a very creative way to combine many of your stamp images, including some that you never thought could be used together. A scenery design can communicate a mood or tell a story. Let your creativity and imagination go wild!

Some basic steps toward better scenery stamping:

PLAN YOUR SCENE

• Choose an image that will be used as the focal point or theme of your scene.
  Add other stamps as fillers or accents that will develop and enhance your theme.
• Divide your scene into three major parts.

1. FOREGROUND:
Larger images (masked when needed - we'll discuss that further into this article) should be in the front, which is depicted by using the lower portion of the paper. The trick to creating realism in your stamp art is to blend the images of your scene so that they don't stand alone. Sometimes you will need to fill in some of the space between your stamped images to join them together. A key to good scenery stamping is to "ground" or connect images to the rest of the scene by laying in background elements such as grass, flowers or water. Without this grounding, an image will look as though it is floating in the air. The elements in the foreground should appear larger and also be "anchored" at the bottom of the page. Framing the scene with large trees, rocks, etc. placed at the bottom corners will give the illusion of viewing the scene through a break in the trees.

2. MIDSECTION:
Working from front to back, add interest with medium sized trees, people, animals, windows, furniture, etc.

3. BACKGROUND:
Continuing to work your way backward, add mountains, skyline, clouds, windows, wallpaper, etc. When showing a horizon, place it either above or below the center to avoid "chopping your scene in half."

• Viewpoint: Stress certain elements of your design by cropping, or by choosing either a horizontal or vertical view to bring out the best in your theme. Something in the sky, such as a flock of geese, can be made the focal point by lowering the horizon line. Something on the land, such as a bridge, cabin, boat, etc. can be made the focal point by raising the horizon line, showing more land than sky. For example, in the lake scene on our catalog cover, the cabin and foreground animals are the focal point. The horizon is very high, de-emphasizing the skyline and guiding the eye to the foreground elements.

• On scrap paper, begin to play with your stamps. Stamp out your idea without coloring or masking, just to plan placement of each element. You will be able to see which images will require masking on your final scene. For complicated, multi-image scenes, it helps to number your "practice run" according to which images must be stamped first and masked. Keep in mind that the construction of a stamped scene is done exactly the opposite of a painted scene. In a painting, the first thing to be completed is the background. Other elements are added over it, working from back to front. When stamping, you begin at the forefront and build your way backward, adding background last, and masking as you go.

STAMP YOUR SCENE

• Working from front to back, stamp your images in place, using your "practice run" as a guide if necessary. The use of an image positioner may be of help to you as you stamp all of your elements in place. Drying the newly stamped images before moving the positioner onto them will help prevent smearing. Just aim your heat tool or a hair dryer at the stamped image for a few seconds.

USING AN IMAGE POSITIONER

• Using the L-square of the image positioner and the clear acrylic plate, place the plate precisely in the joint of the tool. Line your stamp up exactly in the joint, and stamp it on the plate. Then move the plate around on your card until you like the location. Again place the joint of the positioner precisely against the corner of the plate. Remove the plate, and apply your stamp in the joint, just as you did to make the first image on the plate - but this time you will be stamping directly onto your card. Using a positioner eliminates guesswork when creating a scene. Practice using your image positioner on scrap paper a few times until you get the feel of it. Once you have mastered the use of this tool, you will wonder how you ever stamped without it!
• If needed, use a fine tipped marker to connect lines from one image to another. Use masking where necessary.
• Some of your stamps can be colored with markers directly on the rubber die to add color as you stamp. For example, solid pine trees look more natural when they are stamped in pine green rather than black.

ADD COLOR TO YOUR SCENE

• Allow the stamped scene to dry completely before coloring it.

• Use color to reflect the season to be portrayed in your scene. For wintry looking cards, cool shades of pale blue, green, pine green, black and white, or intense cool colors like red or purple are best. Spring requires light and pale shades of warm colors, such as mint green, yellow, peach, or aqua, with vividly colored florals. Summer is portrayed best with soft to medium shades of cool colors, such as rose, lemon yellow, sky blue or grass green, blended with browns and greens. Autumn needs intense shades of warm colors such as gold, orange and brown.

• Remember that nature has no solid colors. Blend and shade two or more colors for the most realism.

• Water, sky and grass: Combine stamped images with sponging techniques. For example, stamp a grass image using green ink from a pad or marker. Stamp two or three random images before re-inking to achieve light and dark areas; and then sponge more ink or blend in some green and yellow chalk or watercolor pencil to fill in the grassy area. Remember that the nearest grass, sky or water will be the most distinct; so stamp from the bottom of the page and work upwards with each re-inking.

• Watercolor pencil or chalk techniques are ideal for blending colors in scenery because they produce softer effects that will not overwhelm the stamped outlines of the design.

MASKING: THE STAMPER'S SECRET

Masking is one of the most impressive rubber stamping techniques around. It is used to get the effect of stamped images behind, coming out of, or going into each other. The technique of masking is simple, but it will give you a "professional" edge and add life to your scenes. You will soon be busy stamping armies of frogs, making animals peer around corners, filling baskets, jars and other containers with flowers, candy, or critters -- or concocting zany combinations of all of the above!

"What is masking?" you ask.
Masking is the technique of covering a stamped image so that another image can be placed partly over it without the overlapped area being visible. It is a simple procedure, but it requires patience and careful cutting.

BASIC MASKING TECHNIQUE

• Stamp the foreground (front) image on your card. Allow the ink to dry completely. (see Figure 1)

• Stamp the image again onto a piece of thin (text weight) paper. Post-it notes are ideal for masks if you stamp close to the top so that the sticky part can be used to adhere the mask temporarily to your card.

• Carefully cut out the image from the masking paper, staying just inside the stamped outline (to avoid creating a "halo" effect around the masked image where the ink doesn't print.)

• Attach the mask to the original stamped image, lining it up just inside the outer edge. Use temporary glue if you have not used a post-it note.

• Now you are ready to stamp the image in place that you wish to place "behind" the first image. The mask will keep it from overlapping the original stamped image. (see Figure 2)

When you peel off the mask, the new image will "disappear" behind the original one.

• If desired, another mask can be applied to add further perspective to your scene. Always start from the front. (see Figure 3-4)

STRAIGHT OR TORN LINE MASKING

• When just a small area will overlap, or the point of overlapping is straight, a piece of plain paper can be used without cutting out a shape. (Fig. 5)

• Trees, people (or anything else you can dream up) can be made to appear behind a sloping hill. Cut or tear a hilly shape from thin scrap paper. Stamp over this mask with the top of the image above the mask. When you peel off the mask, the image(s) will disappear behind the edge of the slope.

• Sky and clouds are fun to sponge using a torn or cut cloud shape mask. Lightly apply ink with a sponge along the edge of the mask, repeatedly moving the mask and re-applying ink of the same or a different color. (see Figure 6)

Fig. 6: Cut a mask for the hillside. Apply to card. Stamp trees and bear. Mask.
Tear a mask for clouds. Apply ink with a sponge, moving torn mask as you go.
Left is finished card, right are the masks used for this example.

PARTIAL IMAGE STAMPING

• Stamp the design on lightweight scrap paper. Cut out the part of the image you wish to eliminate.

• Ink the stamp again. Turn over the mask portion you cut out, and stick it to the wet ink on the appropriate portion of the rubber stamp die.

• Stamp the image. The wet ink will hold your mask in place.

TRACING PAPER AS A MASK

• When you are masking a complex scene to add background, such as sky and mountains behind a detailed nature scene, it is easier to lay a piece of tracing paper over the scene. Trace and cut the upper edge of the scenery, and attach as one mask for the whole area…much easier than cutting out masks for each little element you stamped!

MORTISE MASKING


This technique is used to stamp an image into the open, inside area of a shape, such as adding jelly beans to the inside of a jar, etc.

• Stamp the jar or other image onto your card.
• Stamp the same image onto a mask paper (see Basic Masking instructions).
• Carefully cut away the inner shape of the image on the mask, cutting just
  outside the outline, leaving a wide margin of extra paper.
• Attach the mask to the image on your card.
• Now you are ready to stamp the desired image(s) into the
  exposed center area. If necessary, use basic masks to
  create dimension in these images also. When you peel away
  the mortise mask, your new image(s) will appear to be inside
  the first one.
• Let your imagination be your guide in creating unusual
  compositions. Do something fun with the sun. (see Figure 8)

FRAMING YOUR SCENE

After spending so much time on a special scenery creation, it is important that you give attention to how it is mounted on your card. Layering contrasting or coordinating shades of cardstock and mounting your scene with a margin or mat will add even more depth. Use of window cards, open die cut cards or simple ruled lines around the edges will also set off your work in a striking way. Of course, scenery stamping is not limited to greeting cards! Stamp a large scene (such as our catalog cover lake scene) and frame it with a mat.

GET STARTED!

Don't be intimidated by how complicated scenery stamping appears to be! It is not difficult, but it does take more time and planning. Start with simple combinations of elements and work your way up to the more detailed pieces. The important thing is to have fun! And just as almost anything in life, the more practice you have, the better your finished results will be!

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