Making Decorative Background Paper for Scrapbooking and Card making Projects

Decorative background paper is ideal for layering on your own hand stamped cards or scrapbook pages.

MONOTONE background paper – using one color of ink only – or shades of that color.

Take a large piece of plain or solid colored paper and randomly stamp an image. By stamping each image randomly before re-inking the stamp you create depth and dimension in your background. Work over a protected area so that you can stamp near and over the edge of your paper, however when you do this be sure that the second stamped image is also over the edge. If it is not, you will get an image that is half light and half dark. This doesn’t look very good and should be avoided. You can make all the stamped images less randomly and line them up or stamp them all at the same angle to create a "stripe" look. Each project and theme will require its own unique look that can be designed only by you. Experiment on small scraps of paper if you are unsure what look you wish to create.

MULTICOLOR background paper – using 2 or more colors of ink for specific color themes. Refer to the Colorwheel Combinations for more information.

Try using the same stamp only in different colors. Continue to stamp twice before re-inking your stamp or stamp the first image on one sheet of paper and the second on another for a vibrant and pastel version of the same background. Use your custom designed background paper the same as you would use regular pattern paper.

VARIATION: Wrapping Paper

            It can be fun to make and design your own wrapping paper. This allows you to match elements you have used on your occasion cards and match them to your gift wrap. Decorating gift wrap is similar to making background paper, only you are using a much larger piece of paper. Once you are done stamping you may wish to embellish with glitter glue, glitter, or heat embossing. Experiment as desired and enjoy your creative moments