Fake “postage stamps” are a lot of fun to make and are good decorations for greeting cards or mail art!
Make the Template
Tools and Materials
Square Faux Postage Template PDF or Rectangular Faux Postage PDF
Acetate
Tape
X-acto knife or Mat knife
Self-healing cutting mat
Metal Ruler
1. Download and print out one of the faux postage templates.
2. Tape a piece of acetate over the printed template.
3. Using a metal ruler as a guide and with the self-healing cutting mat underneath, use your mat knife or X-acto knife to cut out the squares on the template. You will cut through both the acetate and paper layers as you do so.
4. Remove the paper from the acetate. Now your template is ready to use.
Make the stamps
Tools and materials
Dye-based rubber stamping ink
Light colored cardstock
Colored pencils
Faux postage stencils
Sponges
Water container
Palette
Rubber stamps in a spring theme such as flowers and butterflies
Word rubber stamps for backgrounds
Tiny faux postage rubber stamps or other tiny word and number stamps
Decorative edging scissors
Heat tool
1. Tape a piece of light colored cardstock down on your work surface. Tape your acetate faux postage stencil in place over it, hinging it at the top with tape so you can lift the acetate between steps.
2. Squirt a few light analagous colors of rubber stamping ink on a palette. For example, light yellow, ochre yellow and light orange, or light pink and light peach. Sponge these colors inside the openings in the stencil while blending. Try to get the colors lighter toward the middle and darker toward the edge.
3. Lift the acetate (this is so that you don’t melt the stencil) and dry well with a heat tool. Stamp a word stamp as a background in a light taupe or light tan color. Dry the ink again.
4. Outline the inside edges of each opening with an analgous color of colored pencil – for example orange with the yellow inks, magenta with the pink inks.
5. Select a stamp for the main part of your image and stamp it toward the middle of each opening in burgundy ink.
6. Select some tiny faux postage stamps and stamp them in black around the edges.
7. Cut stamps apart with a decorative paper-edging scissors.
Following are the stamps I used in each sample.
The background stamp is by Stampington. Butterfly stamps are from 7gypsies then in black I stamped the following stamps from Carolyn’s Stamp Store:
The background stamp and flower are both by 7gypsies. In black I stamped the following stamps from Carolyn’s Stamp Store:
The background stamp and flower are both by 7gypsies. In black I stamped the following stamps from Carolyn’s Stamp Store:
The background stamp, bee and Fig. 13 are by 7gypsies. In black I stamped the following stamp from Carolyn’s Stamp Store:
- “Cash Value 10 Mills” from the set Faux Postage Set 4
If you would like to read my first spring postage tutorial, here is a link:
Spring Faux Postage