Sweet & Simple Stamping with House-Mouse Rare Bloom

Hi crafty friends! I'm Paula Fontenelle from Crafting with Paula, and I’m so excited to be here on the Spellbinders’ blog for the very first time! I hope you enjoy this tutorial I’ve put together, especially if you’re just getting started with stamping and coloring. Today, we’re diving into some stamping basics using the adorable House-Mouse Rare Bloom Collection. These stamps are the cutest, and guess what? The entire scene is in one stamp, which makes it so easy to create a complete card in one go. Win!

LET’S TALK STAMPING!

I colored all the cards with Copic markers, which are alcohol-based. So here's your first must-know tip: Use a dye or hybrid ink pad for stamping. Otherwise, the ink will bleed and that’s no fun. Also, make sure you're stamping on Copic-friendly white cardstock—not all papers are created equal when it comes to blending! You can use an acrylic block or a stamp positioner like The Misti to stamp your image, which is my go-to because it lets me re-stamp if I don’t get it perfect the first time and helps me get a nice crisp image every time.

NOW FOR THE FUN PART: COLORING!

Here’s a little trick I use all the time: Search online for a real-life version of whatever you’re coloring! For example, I wasn’t sure what colors to use for the hummingbird, so I looked up a few pictures and used those as inspiration. Instant reference guide! Another easy way to level up your coloring is to use at least two shades of the same color to add depth. For the mouse, I actually used three tones—and you can totally see the difference it makes. Just a little extra shading really brings the image to life!   To create an A2-sized card, I trimmed my white panel to be 1/4 inch smaller than the card base. That way, you get a pretty border around the edge that makes everything pop. I finished things off with some enamel dots - because a little bling never hurt anyone, right? And that’s it! I had so much fun playing with this collection, and I hope these tips help you feel a little more confident with stamping and coloring. Here are all the cards I created using the House-Mouse Rare Bloom stamps—aren’t these mice just the sweetest? Happy crafting, Paula

Other supplies

Copic Markers, colored card bases, Copic-friendly black ink, Versamark, white embossing powder.