Skip to main content

Love Bug ~ A beginner's tutorial to stamping

Hello Crafty Friends,

Today I am focusing on this stamp set from Aunty Vera's February Kit.



It's the Love Bug clear stamp set by Jillibean Soup and Hampton Art.

I wanted to use this stamp to create a beginner's guide to stamping. I wanted to show you how I 'see' stamp sets when I make cards.

I hope by sharing with you my stamping experience, that you will be able to grab any stamp set and start creating cards easily.

This stamp set can be broken into 3 groups:

- Sentiments
- Main elements
- Filler elements

There are 4 sentiments in this stamp set:
- Don't worry, bye happy
- Love Bug
- Happy Bug Day
- Bugs and kisses

There are 5 main elements:
- The lady bug
- The butterfly
- The worm
- The bee
- The dragon fly

And there are 4 hearts of different sizes ( one of them is an outline only).

So lets make 5 cards, one for each of the main elements and I'll show you some techniques for making really simple but effective cards.

Card #1- Love Bug



 I started by stamping out 3 lady bugs.

In my mind, I wanted it to seem like the bug was travelling along the front of the card, so I used a black pen to draw a dotted line with a few whimsical swirls.

Next, I used one of the smaller stamps and with my red Moment Ink pad, I stamped little hearts following the bug trail.


Next, I used the same ink pad to color in the lady bugs.


Next I stamped the sentiment in the open space to the left of the card.



I then found some lady bug charms.
One I attached to the front of the card, the other to the inside fo the card to create a bookmark which  the receiver of this card can detach and use for their own purpose.

And that is card one - simple use of elements and just one ink color.

Card #2- Happy Bug Day



This card uses the second insect which is the butterfly.
I repeated the imagery by stamping it out 3 times followed by the dotted lines.

I wanted to take this to the next level so I used a little heart to create a pattern around each butterfly using different colors for each one.




I then coloured in the butterfly with Twinkling H2Os from my stash.

The sentiment was stamped on card stock and backed up with a glitter foam piece to add some more sparkle.



I also found butterfly charms that fit really well on the front of the card.

Card #3- Bugs & Kisses




For this card, I stamped the worm 3 times, then added a heart at the front and end of the procession.

Next, I coloured them in very simply.

I stamped out the sentiment in black and then added 3 more little hearts in pink.

It then occurred to me that this trio of worms were going somewhere in particular and I glanced up at my washi rack and saw this washi that says 'life is a journey' and it seemed SO RIGHT for this worm trio.

I added the washi at the top.

And because the washi had some green in it, I went back and created a thin line of green to simulate grass under the worms and it seemed to complete the card perfectly.



Card #4- Don't worry, bee happy


Although this card looks complicated, it's really very simple.

I started off by stamping the bee over to one side of the card in black ink.

Next, I used the sentiment 'don't worry, bee happy' and I inked it up with a yellow ink pad and stamped it in a zig zag formation around the bee.



Next, I used my hexagon / honeycomb stamp to fill in the areas as you see above.
I then stamped the sentiment again on a separate piece of card using black ink and propped it up on the card panel with 3D foam tape.



I cut some of this floral yellow paper (from my stash) to fit the exact dimensions of the card front 4.25" X 5.5" ).

This card panel is a little shorter than my usual 4.0"x5.25. 
You will find out why in the process video (yes, another oops).

So to make up for the gap, I added some black polka dot washi which actually made my panel pop even more against the floral background.


This is one of my favs!

Card 5- Dragonfly


This last card is another way to make a simple card!!

Here, I stamped the dragon fly and coloured her in very simply (notice how some insects are coloured in and some are left black and white- these are subtle techniques that you can experiment with to draw your viewer's eye to certain elements on your card).

Next, I stamped the sentiment and under that, I attached a cluster of washi in various colors, designs and widths.

This is a great way to use that washi you have been hoarding, extra scraps of paper or branding strips!!


It's as simple as that!

I chose to put a white panel on a white card front but you can see how adding pattern paper or different color card can make a huge difference.

Play and experiment!!

Watch my process video HERE


Now that you know how to 'look' at a stamp set, go and pull out one of yours and have a play!

Thank you so much for visiting, reading and commenting.

xxAmira

~~~~~~~~~~~

As a Valentine special to all my subscribers and followers, I will be doing a random draw from the comments below and I will be sending out one of these cards. 
Good luck and thank you for commenting.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments