Technique Tuesday - Masking

There is a Stamp of the Month in March called "Choose Happy".   It has cute frames. Often you have an idea but the frame which turns out to be either not large enough or too large.  Masking will help you put images together or allow a larger image to fit in a smaller space.   The card on the left is stamped from the set called "Lovely Birthday".  There is a big flower, a little flower and a leaf but they are all separate. The biggest flower gets lost in the frame and needs more - like the little flowers and leaf.   If you want them to look like a group, you need to mask. I stamped the frame and cut it out.  I stamped the largest flower in one corner.   I stamped the largest flower on a piece of scrap paper and cut it out.  I put that cut out flower, which is now my "mask", on the paper and I stamped the little flowers and the leaves over it. (The image was small enough that I could hold it and stamp at the same time.  See the note on the bottom if holding doesn't work. )  They now look like they have always been together.   I then used markers to color them.

Likes wise, the cute cupcakes from the December Stamp of the Month - "Cutie Pie" were just a little big for the frames that I wanted to use.  I stamped the frames and cut them out.  I stamped another frame on a piece of scrap paper, and used a craft knife to cut out the middle.  I placed the cut out frame over the stamped frame and stamped the cupcakes slightly off the frame on the bottom so they looked cute in the frame.

You can see the masks I used.  Also I used these masking images to try the ShinHan Touch Twin Markers from Close to My Heart to see what would look best on the images.  Although the example for masking is with cards, you can use this technique to stamp images for scrapbooks or other projects.  Masking allows you to group objects together or to use objects that wouldn't fit exactly in so many different ways.

For example, if you have a fence stamp and want things it to look like they are "behind the fence", you will stamp the fence twice - once for your project and once to cut out. When you mask you need a good craft knife and self healing cutting mat.  You need to cut out as much detail as you can so that the stamp you stamp over the mask can show through.  The more detail, the thinner the mask paper needs to be.  You take your cut out mask and put it directly over the same stamped image.

When you mask, you need your image not to move when you are stamping on it.  You can use CTMH's Bonding Memories Glue.  When you use this glue directly it has a permanent hold.  If you put it on something and let it dry, it has a temporary hold - like a 3-M sticky note.  Once the image is place over the other image and is secure, then you stamp the other things over the mask and they appear as if they are behind the fence.  There are sometimes that 3-M sticky notes are great for masking as well.  If you need great detail behind the mask, you need to stamp using thin paper - either copy paper or something like a sticky notes. Post-It makes a full adhesive note so that you have adhesive all over the back.  You need to have something to stamp on and cut out that covers the image you are using.  I often use the Bonding Memories glue for large images for ease of use.

Don't forget that in being creative, you can use stamps from different sets to make something new all together.