Welcome back to Part 3 in my series sharing techniques and inspiration for using small stamps! If you missed Part 1, you might want to start here!
For Part 3, I wanted to work through some ways to just reduce the amount of space one is trying to fill. While some of these might be obvious, I find it's generally inspiring just to even have a reminder. And I certainly feel like some of these are unique.
The first project I wanted to make were mini cards.
There is a lot I love about mini cards. First, they are a great way to use up generous scraps of cardstock. The base of these cards started as a 2.5" x 5" piece folded in half at 2.5". Then it was simply a matter of trimming down a square for the front (say 2" x 2"), stamping, and gluing down. They are also a great way to try different techniques. Never inked an edge before? Practice getting your inkpad drag juuuuust right on one of these little guys. Doesn't work out? No harm, no foul! And just because they are little doesn't mean you can't use techniques you bust out on bigger cards. Matting the front, adding bling, masking: everything is fair game.
Another reason I love these mini cards are the potential uses. I am particularly enamored with the idea of keeping versions of these in your desk drawer at work. You can leave them as a small note of encouragement for a coworker or an appreciation for a team member doing a great job. They would make adorable lunch box notes, too!
Of course the next small space that could use some scaled decoration are tags. These are super quick to whip up and tie to treat bags, popcorn balls, or tiny gifts! These are Halloween theme, but of course they can be made to suit any occasion. Small stamps come in all themes! All three tags were cut with a Sizzix die set. The smaller two are about 1.5" x 1". One incorporates just basic stamping. The witch stamp started as a white tag. I drew a portion of a circle on and colored it orange for the moon. I then stamped her on top and added some blue night sky with white gel pen stars. The larger tag (3.5" x 1.5") was stamped randomly again, just as I did with the backgrounds I made in Part 1 of the series. Add some string and they're ready to go!
Finally, we have these fun-size tags, each coming in at about 1". The black cat was stamped onto a key tag. You can buy big packs of them from office supply stores. They come wrapped in silver and have their own key ring. You can use these in a lot of ways: a fun little keychain, a tag on a gift, or even attached to a larger card. The candy was stamped onto a circle I punched out of white cardstock. In my companion video, I use it to decorate a dinner party favor box, but really it also has other uses I didn't even touch on in the video: a tag, on a card, or glued to a toothpick as a cupcake topper! And don't feel obligated to use a circle. Any smaller shape will accomplish the same look!
As always, I recommend watching the companion video to see these created in (mostly) real time!
Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to show you even more ways to use small stamps!