Ghost Stamping Tutorial
Master the art of Ghost stamping with this tutorial, this classic technique is perfect for creating stunning floral cards for all occasions
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What is Ghost stamping? When you think of a ghost, you think of something transparent or a faint white object. The basic concept of the Ghost stamping technique is to create a see-through effect using white ink. To create this effect you simply stamp an image with white ink first and repeat-stamp with a dye or chalk ink on the top, slightly offsetting the designs. This technique gives an illusion of a lighter shadow behind the colour and is very effective on kraft cardstock.
Silhouette stamps are ideal for Ghost stamping as you need a solid image to achieve this effect and clear stamps are the easiest to use as you can see where to place the image when stamping the colour over the white. I have used Frost White ColorBox pigment ink as this appears quite bright on kraft cardstock. Make sure you have a really good coverage of white ink on the stamp and press firmly when stamping. It is very important to make sure the white pigment ink is dry before adding the coloured ink. If the pigment ink isn’t dry the dye or chalk ink will not soak into the kraft cardstock and you won’t get the full ghosting effect. I would advise drying the white ink with a heat tool to be sure. Once the white ink is dry, stamp the same design over the first with coloured ink – ensuring you offset the stamp slightly to create the shadow. By offsetting the coloured stamping you will create a dark line on some edges and a white line on others which looks like a ghost image. Creating a shadow also adds an illusion of dimension to the design. You’ll notice that on some of the flowers I have added details to the centres with either a black or white pen to add detail.
I recommend matting and layering the stamped panels onto co-ordinating coloured cardstock to create a coherent design, this also prevents the cards looking too brown with large areas of kraft cardstock. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Ghost stamping, this technique is easy-to-do with super-effective results. So what are you waiting for? Get stuck in!
Cut kraft cardstock to the desired size, ink the stamps well with white pigment ink and stamp onto the kraft cardstock with firm pressure
Heat set the white ink to ensure it is completely dry
Ink the stamps with coloured dye or chalk inks. Stamp over the white image, slightly offsetting the designs to create a shadow effect
You will need
- White 13x18cm card blank
- White, pink, black & kraft cardstock
- Honey Doo Crafts Mini Shadows stamp set
- Inkylicious Felt within the Heart stamp
- Frost White ColorBox Pigment inkpad
- Pink Petunia, Pink Grapefruit, Perfect Plumeria & Tea Leaves VersaMagic inkpads
- VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad
- Black pen
- White gel pen
- Gems
- Heat tool
You will need
- White 10.5x21cm card blank
- White, purple, black & kraft cardstock
- Honey Doo Crafts Mini Shadows stamp set
- Woodware Just to Say stamp set
- Frost White ColorBox Pigment inkpad
- Perfect Plumeria, Turquoise Gem & Tea Leaves VersaMagic inkpads
- VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad
- Black pen
- White gel pen
- 3D foam pads
- Heat tool
You will need
- White 13x18cm card blank
- White, green & kraft cardstock
- Stampendous! Agapanthus Thank You stamp set
- Woodware Just to Say stamp set
- Frost White ColorBox Pigment inkpad
- Perfect Plumeria, Pink Petunia, Pink Grapefruit, Turquoise Gem & Tea Leaves VersaMagic inkpads
- VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad
- 3D foam pads
- Gems
- Heat tool
You will need
- White 18cm-square card blank
- White, green & kraft cardstock
- Stampendous! Agapanthus Thank You stamp set
- Woodware Just to Say stamp set
- Frost White ColorBox Pigment inkpad
- Perfect Plumeria, Pink Petunia, Pink Grapefruit, Turquoise Gem & Tea Leaves VersaMagic inkpads
- VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad
- 3D foam pads
- Heat tool
You will need
- White 14.5cm-square card blank
- White, green & kraft cardstock
- Honey Doo Crafts Mini Shadows stamp set
- Woodware Just to Say & Plant a Meadow stamp sets
- Frost White ColorBox Pigment inkpad
- Perfect Plumeria, Pink Petunia, Pink Grapefruit, Turquoise Gem & Tea Leaves VersaMagic inkpads
- VersaFine Onyx Black inkpad
- 3D foam pads
- Heat tool
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