Creating You Own Background Paper

Hello! Today I'm on the C.C. Designs blog with a tutorial (really, tips - just some things you may not have considered before) on creating your own design paper using stamps.

For this project, I've used the new Bee Swissie clear stamps. Our little Swissie comes with some accompaniment stamps, which is what brings the magic to this design.

I've also used the new Rectangles dies and Scalloped Rectangles dies (great for layering).

In my project, there is only 1 piece of actual design paper (the blue dotty paper). But it looks like there are several, yes? Here's what I did.

First, I die cut the dotty paper with my Rectangles die. I also die cut a circle out of white cardstock for the center.

Then, I colored up and cut out about 5 beehives. Using the little bees from the Bee Swissie stamps, I arranged them on my clear stamp block and stamped out a random pattern on the white circle.

Next, I colored the white bee background using Copics. If you want your paper to look like design paper, it's a good idea to add some color to the white background.

I also arranged my hives on the dotty paper randomly and glued down. It's a good idea to make sure some of the hives come off the paper. Trim those pieces.

Then, here's the magic (in my opinion). Using a stencil-as-an-embossing folder, or an actual embossing folder, emboss both papers. This helps them look like they were originally just one paper.

Now, you're ready to finish your project. This is a great way to use coordinating stamps from a stamp set in a different way!

Hope you try this and have fun!

Thanks for popping by today!