Tutorial - Masking

A great way to build a scene with traditional stamps is to use masking, a technique that involves covering a part of the image to prevent ink or other mediums from being laid down in particular areas. In the example below, I stamped the first sheep and then placed a mask over the top of the image so that I could add the two sheep in the background. Let me show you how...

Firstly, stamp the image that's going to be at the front or foreground of your scene. In my case, it's the little sheep who is laying down. Stamp the same image on a post it note or piece of adhesive masking paper and then fussy cut.

Unlike traditional fussy cutting where you want to retain the outline, when creating a mask you actually want to cut away the outer most line. This will allow you to stamp right up against the image without leaving a little white gap. As you can see in the photo below, I have trimmed away the stamped outline on my yellow mask.

Place the mask over the stamped image and then add the additional stamps in the background.

Remove the mask and you will have all three images layered perfectly and ready to colour. You can keep the mask and use it again for another project. It should last through quite a few uses providing it doesn't become too wet or damaged, and if you find the adhesive no longer sticks, you can simply refresh it with some repositionable glue.

Stamps: