We can often strive for perfection when it comes to our stamping, but how about trying for that loose sketchy look instead? Stamping imperfectly is a great way to create a sketchy look. You easily achieve that sketchy look even with simple stamps and today I’m showing you how with the lovely Charming Doodles stamp set from Altenew.
PRODUCED AS PART OF MY DESIGN-TEAM WORK FOR Bumblberry Papercrafts - SEE END OF POST FOR MORE DETAILS
Building your background
When creating a background like this, it can often be useful to stamp the sentiment first to allow you to build images up around the sentiment. Place a piece of Neenah classic crest solar white 80lb cardstock in a MISTI and position the sentiments in the centre of the panel. Next, stamp the sentiment in Altenew Crisp Permeant Black ink.
To make a background look more natural, it is best to allow the design to continue off the page, so to stamp off the card you will need to use MISTI corners in your platform. Take the solid layers of the floral images in the stamp set and position them in one corner on the panel.
Next ink up the stamps with Altenew Baby Pink and Fuschia mini ink cubes and stamp the florals onto the card. After this, rotate the panel and stamp the same images in the other corner. This makes it a quicker process to build up the background by rotating the panel.
Adding depth to your stamping
For a little more interest to the stamp images, take a slightly darker colour of ink to the edges of each stamp. So where you’ve used Fuchsia ink use Baby Pink ink and use Magenta ink where you’ve used Fuchsia ink. Before stamping, just take a wet wipe to dab over the ink to soften the edges.
Remember dye ink smooths out over a few minutes, so allow it to dry for a smooth look. For an even smooth look, you can stamp the image again back in the original colour.
Next go in with a selection of leaves from the stamp set, using Altenew Limeade, Lime, and Fresh Leaf greens from the Spring Bouquet mini ink cube set. Again, do the same by adding darker colours on the edge of the stamp, softening the harsh lines with a wet wipe and then stamping. For a quicker, card you can easily miss put the step of adding darker inks to the stamps.
Creating the sketch look
To get the sketchy look to the card, used acrylic blocks to stamp the outline images in Crisp Permanent black ink. When stamping each image, make sure that the images don’t truly align with the solid layer underneath. This will give a more loose and artsy look to the background design.
A few of the leaves do not have a coordinating outline stamp, so just take a black fine liner pen and drawing loose lines around the leaves. For some added interest to the background, use the same pen and add lots and lots of dots all around the stamped images within the white space. When you’ve finished it looks like you’ve created your own patterned paper.
Next to finish the sentiment, stamp the sentiment onto black cardstock and covered it in white embossing powder. This card didn’t need any embellishments as that background is what the card is all about. This technique of misaligning your outline stamps is a fast and great away of achieving the artsy and sketchy look to your cards even if you can’t sketch yourself. And adding small dots with a black pen is a fantastic way to add more detail quickly to a design.
(click to enlarge images)
Stamping Imperfectly: creating a sketchy look
Supplies
Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you at these shops: Altenew (ALT), Scrapbook.com (SB), and Craft Stash UK/US (CS UK/US).
All other shops are not affiliated links: Bumbleberry Papercrafts (BP) and WOW! UK/US (WOW UK/US)
 Sketchy Floral – Altenew Shop at: ALT | BP | SB |  Charming Doodles Stamp – Altenew Shop at: ALT | BP | SB | CS | CS (US) |  Spring Bouquet 6 mini cube set – Altenew Shop at: ALT | BP | CS | CS (US) |
 Original MISTI – My Sweet Petunia Shop at: ALT | BP | SB |  Opaque Bright White -WOW! Embossing Powder Shop at: CS | WOW UK | WOW US |  WOW! Dual Speed Heat Gun (US version) Shop at: WOW US |
 Gina K Designs – Connect Glue Shop at: BP |  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb Cardstock Shop at: BP | SB | Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80lb Cardstock Shop at: BP |
 Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam sqaures 1/4″ white Shop at: BP | SB | WOW! Dual Speed Heat Gun (UK version) Shop at: CS | WOW UK |  WOW! Clear ultra slow drying embossing pad Shop at: CS | WOW UK | WOW US |
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DISCLOSURE
This post was produced as part of my design team work for Bumbleberry Papercrafts have not been paid to make this post, but I am given supplies from Bumbleberry Papercrafts to use. However, I create projects with creative control and produce projects I am proud of and with products that I love. The information provided is based on my own personal experience – I am not an expert.
