It is very important to take time out of our busy days and spend it doing an activity that feeds the soul. Paper crafting offers many forms and not all of them are devoted to making cards for others. Cutting, folding, coloring, drawing, and even stamping creatively will nourish the soul and provide healing of the mind. Whether it's the busy holiday season or a just a particularly hectic period of your life, take time out for yourself. Here are some ideas and steps to inspire you today. All of the links below link to stamps on our DeepRedStamps site.
Supplies:
1. A journal (at least one!) either handmade or purchased. From mini composition pads (the dollar store) to mixed media coil bound pads to handmade junk journals, you can work in all of these depending on your mood.
In recent years, I have found journals to be indispensable for when you don't know what to make. And they offer the most freedom to be creative without worrying about the end result.
2. Scissors -. A fine-tipped pair and a heavy-duty pair. The small ones work great for small cuts in tight places like when you are cutting around a stamped design. Another great tool is a fine tipped pair of tweezers, from makeup accessories. These come in handy when arranging small embellishments.
3. Markers (solvent based, like Copic or water based, like Tombow), colored pencils, acrylic paints, ink pads.
4. Rubber Stamps. The more unique ones you have, the more creative you can be with your projects! With a basic black ink pad, you can create a lot. And thanks to Tim Holtz & Ranger, the Distress Oxide ink pads are so useful to not only stamp with, but to burnish paper edges with a hint of color, especially when journaling.
Decorate your journal book cover, not just the inside pages.
An inexpensive mini notebook, like the above mini composition pad from a dollar store can be decorated to make it special and makes for a great creative project in less than 20 minutes.
There are certain rubber stamps that you have to have in your supplies. Butterflies are one of those because when you are stumped for what to create, coloring in a butterfly is always a good idea. Above, our Swallowtail Butterfly Rubber Stamp is a classic, sized at 3 inches x 2 inches, it will go with any theme.
Other butterfly stamps we have are:
The Sunflower is another classic beauty. Our Large Sunflower stamp measures 3 inches x 3 inches. I have colored in this design for so many years and I never get tired of it. The design works in so many projects yet looks beautiful all by itself.
Other sunflower stamps that we have:
If you love working with acrylic paints, stamping can be done on a canvas panel as well. On the 4 inch x 6 inch canvas panel above, I added a thick modeling paste medium to smooth out the surface. Let that dry and then I stamped StazOn ink in dark blue for the Ocean Waves Stamp and Clipper Ship Stamp. Note, I stamped the ship after I painted blue in the sky.
It's okay to have lots of stamps....
Having many stamps to choose from will make you more creative! I promise.
You don't have to spend money on coloring books. When you have stamps, you can create endless coloring pages. The Snowman Rubber Stamp Collection offers 4 different snowmen in one set, providing so many options for a page. The snowflake stamp is from Season of Joy Rubber Stamp Collection and it was stamped 2x.
The above journal freestyle page features so many different stamps, the photo links to our Vintage category. The stamps you see from top to bottom of the pages are:
Heart Flourish Splash, Steampunk Warrior, Amsterdam, Koi Swimming, Classic Telephone, Heart Flourish Splash again, and Vintage Camera.
I drew diagonal lines and masked each section and then stamped designs of whatever I had close by. It summarizes what I am trying to say in this article and that is.....Follow your heart! Be creative. Be free. Nourish your soul! Cre8! Take time for yourself, especially when times are hectic.