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National Stamping Month: Using Small Stamps in BIG Places

As part of our National Stamping Month celebration, we have two exclusive stamp sets that are only available through the end of the month, the My Acrylix® A Dash of Joy and My Acrylix® Giving Thanks. Both have over 30 individual stamps each. They are super cute, on trend, and just right for the upcoming fall and Christmas seasons. You may have noticed that most of the individual stamps within each set are also really small.

To get us all thinking outside of a one-inch square that most of these loveable little icons and sentiments were designed to fit into, we have a few simple ideas that showcase just how versatile a small stamp can be by also effectively being used in much bigger spaces.

First, let’s talk about backgrounds. This one seems to be a pretty common idea that we tend to easily forget. Take a look at how we used our small stamps to create the following three pieces of artwork:

On this Christmas page, we created subtle tone-on-tone patterns on the photo mats and all three colors of the background cardstock. (In this example, we paired the Mink stamp pad with French Vanilla cardstock, the Peach stamp pad with Peach cardstock, the Pewter stamp pad with Pewter cardstock, and the Green Apple stamp pad with Green Apple cardstock.)

On this So Thankful page we wanted to create a partial background. You can do this with sentiments, like we did here, or with clusters of small icons down the center, off-center, down one side of the page, or even just in a corner.

This card is an example of how to use small sentiments to create a full background. Turn the sentiment at an angle and stamp it over and over again until your background is completely covered. The trick is to start by stamping partially off your base to achieve the cutoff look.

Another way to use small icons in large spaces is in borders.

Combining three of the leaf stamps from the Giving Thanks set with two green stamp pads we were able to create this beautiful fall scene for the memories on this page.

This last idea, one of our favorites that really gets you thinking outside the norm, is to create your own shapes out of smaller ones.

The gorgeous wreath on this page was created using several of the small stamps from the A Dash of Joy set and nothing else.

We kept it simple by making a circle to illustrate the idea, but the truth is you can create many other shapes and designs using small stamps—a tree, a snowman, a pumpkin, a star, a house—whatever you dare try.

With the right combination of stamps and inks, the possibilities are endless.