Stamping Off Technique

Another basic technique that all card makers should know is the stamping off technique.  In "normal" stamping, the crafter inks up the stamp, stamps the image, inks the stamp again, and stamps once more.  (Think to yourself:  Ink it up, stamp.  Ink it up, stamp.) Each stamped image appears as "full strength."

However, in stamping off, the stamp is inked, the image is stamped full strength, and another image is stamped without new ink.  This image is lighter than the first.  (Think to yourself:  Ink it up, stamp, stamp, stamp)

Here is an example:

I inked the bee stamp only the first time.  Each successive bee is a little lighter than the previous.  This gives the appearance of movement as if the bee is flying across the page.

Another use of stamping off is to get several shades of ink from one ink pad.
I inked the pansy stamp only one time. Again each successive stamp is lighter than the previous. Essentially, I have tripled the amount of ink shades I have with this simple technique!

Two step stamping has become very popular and the stamping off technique is used to get varying shades that add dimension and texture to the image.  Here are two stamps used to create one flower:  

                                                                              

The stamp on the left is the detail stamp.  The one on the right is the background stamp.  Use dark ink for the detail and lighter ink for the background.

Here is a card I made using this stamping off technique.  I used one yellow ink pad and one pink ink pad and got all these colors.  I also used the masking technique, making the yellow flower appear slightly behind the dark pink one.  I also used the sponging technique--the topic for my next blog.  

Once again, thanks for stopping by my blog.  Feel free to comment.  Happy Stamping!