Tutorial: Using the Hello Stamp Set with Lisa Spangler

Hello hello and hello! :)

Today I've got a little tutorial for you using the Hello stamp set by Jasmine Jones, watercolors, and ombre ink. Just gotta say that I love everything Jasmine does so much -- who's with me?

To get started, I trimmed some watercolor paper into 4-bar size cards (3 1/2" x 4 7/8" folded). I wanted to use watercolor paper so that I didn't have to worry about the paper getting all warped and wonky. The only trick to this step is making sure that you fold the paper with the grain.

To find the grain, just hold your paper by the left and right sides and slightly bend it towards the middle, then rotate the paper 90 degrees and bend it again. Whichever way has the least resistance is the way you want your fold to go. Once you have this figured out you can go ahead and trim away!

The next step is to watercolor some backgrounds. This is my fave part! I shared three different options here but the sky's the limit. This is a great time to try out new techniques, too. For example, in the card at the bottom I pressed an old towel into the wet watercolor to create texture.

Once your backgrounds have dried it's time to stamp! I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks for stamping large images such as this one.

I used gray to black ombre ink, putting the black ink at the bottom and the gray at the top. When using ombre ink pads, it's best to lightly tap them back and forth so that you don't get lines when you stamp it.

I also used my trusty MISTI tool to help with getting a complete image. You don't have to use this tool of course -- but I've found that it's great for stamping on textured paper such as watercolor paper and with bigger stamps like the hello. It seems like I always miss a spot or two! Well, no worries with the MISTI -- it holds the paper in place so you can just stamp it again. I stamped two of these cards twice and one of them three times until I got it all to come out well.

If you don't have a MISTI, try stamping on a magazine or a piece of craft foam that you can get at a craft store. It really helps for larger stamps like this one!

To finish off the cards just add sequins or enamel dots -- or you can even leave them plain. This is a great way to use up leftover dots in your stash. Best of all, they'll go through the mail with no additional postage. Don't forget to add some washi to your envelope. Yeah!

I love love love having happy hellos on hand to pop in the mail!

Thanks so much for joining me and have a great day! I'd love to see any cards you make using the tutorial! xo