The quirky, whimsical design of the Concentric Doodle Background Stamp from Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember release inspired me to get experimental with how I use my Distress Spray Stains.
I made two easy fun cards using the same technique of directly inking the stamp with the Spray Stain to form messy puddles of color that merge and blend within the pattern of the stamp.
I paired the resulting backgrounds with some of my favorite diecuts from the STAMPtember release and sentiment strips to finish the cards. I've linked all supplies the gallery at the end of this post. Also, given that these cards are so straightforward, I'll just share a couple of highlights to guide you if you are thinking of making them.
Use watercolor cardstock for the card backgrounds; it will readily accept the Distress Spray Stain and "help" the colors settle as they blend together within the fibers that make up the paper.
About 12 inches away from the stamp, spray Abandoned Coral, Mustard Seed and Mowed Lawn Spray Stains directly onto the stamp, trying to angle your hand to focus the Spray Stain onto adjacent segments of the stamp to achieve the color gradient.
Set the background aside to dry naturally or use your heat tool if you are pressed for time. I used my heat tool! LOL
If the stamp is too saturated, use a piece of paper towel to soak up the excess before stamping. The is a messy technique, and it is unlikely that you will get a perfect impression of the stamp but that is part of the fun. Excess ink will create splotches and new patterns on the paper as well as splatter into unexpected places.
The sentiment is diecut twice out of black cardstock and layered to create dimension before adhering to the dry background. The sentiment strip is also popped up with some foam tape.
This rainbow spray technique will likely work best on your larger stamps with patterns that have thicker lines that the Spray can settle on before you apply it to the card.
For the second card, Salty Ocean, Lucky Clover and Wilted Violet Spray Stain were used to make a new pattern on the paper by stamping it twice on opposite edges with the featured stamp.
After spraying and stamping the Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet on one end, the stamp was cleaned so as not to contaminate the colors for the second stamping on the opposite side of the paper. As you can see, I also tucked some paper towel around my craft mat as I wasn't using a Splat Box when spraying the stamp.
I was actually surprised how easy it was to focus spraying two colors onto a relatively small quadrant of the stamp! This definitely falls into the category of, if I can do it...you can too!!!
The mirrored "Hello" diecut was chosen to echo the stamped images at either end of the card background, with a simple, eye-catching sentiment. To keep my letters aligned I did not pop them out of the cardstock before I placed them, but instead used the "cardstock frame" guide placement of the letters:
I also diecut this twice and stacked the layers for dimension!
How can you resist a little spray fun that allows you to make such easy cards pretty quickly???
So get your favorite colors and choose background stamps with bold lines or a lot of raised surface area for stamping and try this yourself. I have included a couple other stamps in the supply list that should work nicely for this technique!
Welcome, if this is your 1st time here and thank you so much for coming back if you visited me before! Would you give this a try or is it too messy for you? Tell me all about it in the comments.
Thanks for stopping by Lovelies! See you soon!
SUPPLIES:
I listed the products that I have used below. Please note that these are compensated affiliate links used at no cost to you. I really appreciate your support. Simon Says Stamps STAMPtember Release products were provided as part of my Design Team package. Click on the icons below each product picture to shop with SimonSaysStamp.com.