Background stamping

One of the things I've been doing lately is stamping backgrounds onto cards, and then not putting sentiments on them until it's time to use them.  That way, I can use the cards for whatever occasion comes up to use them for.

The first one of these I made using the "Big Star" wood stamp by Hero Arts.  I stamped all over a piece of white cardstock using Distress Ink- I used Broken China and Chipped Sapphire.  Then I cut it down to fit on a piece of navy cardstock.  There's plenty of room on the bottom right corner for me to stamp a sentiment in blue when the time comes.  I'm planning to enter this card at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes challenge this week.

The second card I made using the "Bokeh Builder" clear stamp set from Studio L2e.  I used a combination of all of my various yellow, orange, and reddish colored ink pads- mostly they were stamped with Hero Arts "Butter Bar," "Orange Soda," and "Pale Tomato."  I also added in a few stamps here and there with Memento inks, too, though.  Then I cut it down, matted it with a piece of orange cardstock, and put them onto a white cardstock base.  I figure that I can stamp a sentiment in black or another dark color pretty much anywhere on this page.

So there you go- a way to add a few cards to my stash that are more likely to get used and not just sit in there!