stamped and stenciled hearts

Tis the season to start thinking about hearts and all things LOVE! So today I'm sharing an easy and fun way to pair up two of my favorite things- stamps and stencils- to create some really pretty hearts that would make beautiful valentine cards or even wall art.

This technique will work with just about any stencils and stamps but I wanted to keep it easy with a simple hand cut heart. I used heavy watercolor paper and cut out a heart.

Next, using masking tape I lightly taped the heart stencil to my paper.

I grabbed a big bunch of my flower rubber stamps made from my drawings and started stamping. 

A lot of the stamps that I have designed are made to be layered over the top of each other to create pattern. So if there are mistakes...it's ok you can stamp right over the top!

I layered and layered different flowers in different colors over the top of each other until I filled the entire heart with pattern.

Then I removed the stencil.

Leaving a really pretty floral heart.

You can take it a step further and actually layer color and stamps. I simply used my stamp pads to rub a few different layers of color but you could use any of your favorite painting or mixed media techniques to add color.

Then I layered stamps over the top.

You can also grab those leftover heart cut-outs and use them as a mask. I tacked my heart down with a little masking tape and then began rubbing my stamp pad all over the surface.

And then I stamped those flowers all over the outside of the heart.

After peeling away the mask, I was left with white space in the shape of a heart!

There are all kinds of different ways to put this simple concept to use (colorful paper, unique stamps, etc) and perfect to use for creating valentine cards!

I get asked all the time how I mount my rubber stamps. Since I use stamps for a variety of different projects I like to keep the mounting process simple and economic! In my opinion, you can pretty much mount a stamp to just about anything but I prefer acrylic blocks (you can see what you are doing better) and craft foam. These are the two materials that I use in my own stamping.

I simply spray the back of the rubber stamp with spray mount. It gets the back side of the stamp nice and tacky and you are able to stick it to anything! Its also easy to peel off and switch out different designs. 

If I am working with clay I keep my stamps unmounted.

P.S. I've got all my rubber stamp sets marked down this week! Head on over to the shop HERE to see all of my stamps!