Magic Stamp: Hiding in Plain Sight By Judi Kauffman for The Queen's Ink

This tutorial combines two of my favorite things: Magic Stamp blocks and finding unexpected images! Before you say you can't do this, take a deep breath and replace that mind-set with a new one: Pretend you're eight and go for it!

1. Find something low-relief that has a strange shape, like the plastic piece that held a pair of beach shoes shown in the photo above. Then heat the Magic Stamp block per Clearsnap's instructions and press the block against the found object to create a stamp.

2. Using dye inks and a multi-color ink pad, stamp lots of times onto white or any color cardstock. 

3. Turn the stamped pieces around until something pops out at you. When you see an animal or a person, a vase or a plant or a robot, or something totally imaginary, start doodling with pens of varying nib widths (black and white and gold as shown, or as you choose!)

4. Keep doodling. (Notice that I call it doodling, not drawing, so you wont even realize that's what you're doing...) When satisfied, trim the rectangle or fussy-cut around your creation.

5. Adhere fussy cut shapes to a solid color rectangle and then to a folded card base. Adhere rectangles onto a folded card base.

6. Add stickers with a single word or a longer saying.

7. Keep going. Add more gold around the rectangle, do more doodling, accent with embellishments or collage elements.

Options: Work directly into an art journal.  Stamp and doodle onto ATCs or Artist Trading Coins. Get the kids in on the act! Their free spirit will be contagious.

SUPPLIES:

• Magic Stamp blocks
• Heat tool
• Inks
• Pens (Sakura Pigma Micron, Gelly Roll White, Pen-touch Gold)
• Cardstock
• Tim Holtz stickers
• Glue/adhesive
• Patterned cardstock for card bases