USING LAYER MASKS IN STAMPING

LAYER MASKED STAMPING

This shows the traditional way to "layer" stamping.  It was one of those things that people probably don't do so much today, but in past times it was one of those basic techniques.

On the off chance you haven't come across it yet........

Decide which stamp you want to appear in the front,(in this case top hat man) stamp it on a piece of paper (you could use a post it note - the removable adhesive will help hold it in place in the next step).

Cut out the image.  You might like to cut around the edge leaving a little border as I have done (this certainly make the cutting easier around highly detailed edges), or you might prefer to cut more precisely around the outline.  Experiment to see what suits you best.  Repeat with all the images except for the very back one.  In this case I've only used three pictures so I only need to stamp and cut around the compass image.

Stamp the front image where you want it to appear, then mask (cover) it with the cut out image.  Stamp the next image in place, and over the edge of the mask.  Remove the mask and repeat with the next and any other layers.  Keep the masks with your stamps so you don't have to cut another every time you need one.

These stamps were foam mounted cling rubber so I could position them accurately enough for this project.  Clear stamps are a lot easier.  You might need to use a stamp positioner for block mounted stamps if you are doing a more involved project

I've just used a single colour and three basic stamps but you can get really impressive effects, especially with landscapes by adding more colours and layers.