Mudra Craft Stamps: Multiple Cards With Monoprinting

Hi! I am so happy to be here today with some inspiration for our challenge for May - Hello Summer. For me, May means school holidays and hot summer days. It also means long, lazy days feasting on mangoes and watermelons.

I tried my hand at mono-printing techniques and created some cards to inspire you. Mono-printing is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, which allows for multiple originals. In other words, mono-prints are unique and impossible to replicate exactly. There are various ways to incorporate mono-printing in your cards. I will be showing you three ways of doing this today. The big advantage of these techniques is that you can create multiple cards simultaneously. I will explain the technique first and then tell you how I pulled the cards together.

Mono-printing with Vellum:
I made three cards with this technique.

Vellum is a translucent paper with a non-porous surface. This means that when you stamp, the ink is not immediately absorbed into the paper and stays wet for a while. We can use this property to create multiple copies. Here are the steps to create vellum mono-prints.

Take a piece of vellum longer than a standard A2 card base. You will need around two inches extra at the top to adhere the vellum to the card base. Score at the two-inch mark. Attach another vellum panel to an A2 sized white panel with temporary adhesive.
Place the vellum on your stamp positioner and stamp the outline from the Sweet Rose stamp set. Cover immediately with the vellum + cardstock panel taking care to keep the vellum at the bottom. Re-ink the stamp and stamp again. Since the ink of the vellum panel at the bottom is still wet, it gets transferred to the second vellum panel. Re-inking and stamping ensure a good transfer of ink and also gives us a third, cardstock panel.
Continue this process until the entire panel is covered. You will have to stamp all the layers as well. Though this might seem like a long process, the results are really worth it! Just ensure that you place the top layers aligned with the bottom vellum layer. I did not and got some blotches of colour in the wrong places. I rather like them as I feel they add an artsy feel to the card.
I used teal and red inks for the flowers and green for the leaves.

Here is a look at the three different impressions that you get.

Assembling the cards was pretty simple.

Card 1:
I used the first vellum panel. Since vellum is translucent, the images look soft and a little blurry.

Take the vellum piece and adhere it to the back of a white, top folding A2 card base. I deliberately left the front free as that adds to the look.
Stamp the sentiment from the Simply Floral stamp set on some teal cardstock. I used white embossing powder to make it pop.
Die-cut the sentiment panel. Also, die-cut a larger panel from the teal cardstock and vellum.
Layer the two pieces and adhere to the card base.
To finish, add the sentiment panel.

Here is a closer look at the sentiment panel.

Card 2:
The stamping on cardstock looks bold. I went for an eclipse card since I didn't want any of that gorgeous background to go waste.

Trim the stamped panel with a stitched rectangle die. Also, die-cut a heart out of the panel. Use the same die to die-cut a piece of red fun foam and adhere them together.
Adhere the panel to a top folding red card base. Inlay the foam heart.
The sentiment stamp is from the Carnation stamp set. I stamped it with Jet Black Mai ink on a strip of red cardstock.
To finish, add the sentiment strip over the heart popped up on some foam tape.

Here is a closer look at the inlay.

Card 3:
This is my favourite card out of this set. I love the very soft, dreamy stamping.

Fold the top of the panel and adhere it to a piece of white cardstock only at the back. Trim it to the required size. Leave the front free.
Trim a mat from red cardstock slightly larger than the stamped piece. Adhere it to a teal card base.
Tie some cream twine at the top of the stamped panel and adhere it to the card base.
The sentiment is from the Star Bursts stamp set. I stamped it with Jet Black Mai ink on a scrap of red paper. I added it to the card popped up on some foam tape.

Here is a closer look at the completed card.

Mono-printing with Background Stamps:
Dye inks are water-reactive. This property can be used to great advantage for this technique. Here are two cards I made using the lovely Incredible India background stamp.

Take a piece of watercolour paper and cover it with distress inks. Make sure you put in a thick layer of ink, though you don’t need to blend the colours too much.
Dry the panel thoroughly and then stamp and heat emboss the background with clear embossing powder.
Place the panel on your die-cutting machine and spray liberally with water. Cover it with another piece of watercolour paper and run through the die-cutting machine.
The water activates the ink and the pressure from the rollers transfers it to the second piece of paper. I also misted my second piece lightly with water to aid in the transfer. The embossed area acts as a resist. Just remember that the design is mirrored during the transfer. So any lettering will also be reversed on the second piece.
Allow the pieces to air dry thoroughly. Then use your heat gun to make the heat embossing shiny again.

Here is a closer look at the two panels.

Card 1:
The embossed area looks darker as the embossing powder acted as a resist and prevented the transfer of ink.

Trim the card with the stitched rectangle die.
Mount it on a black card base with foam tape.
The sentiment is from the Peacock Wishes stamp set. I heat embossed it with opaque blue embossing powder on a scrap of black paper.
Adhere the sentiment panel to the card after popping up on some foam tape.

Here is another look at the card.

Card 2:
The colours are lighter on the second panel and the images look almost ghosted.

Trim the panel with the stitched rectangle die and pop it on a dark blue card base.
The sentiment is from the Floral Love stamp set. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder on a black paper and added to the card popped up on some foam tape.

Here is another look at the completed card.

Mono-printing with Stencils:
The previous technique can be adapted quite easily for stencils. Mudra has such a fabulous range of stencils that I had to give it a try! Also, I wanted to see if the Mai inks worked for mono-printing. I ended up making three cards.

Take a panel of watercolour paper and add different shades Mai inks. Colours I used are Lemon Yellow, Tangerine Orange, Flamingo Pink and Sky Blue. I applied them with circular ink blending sponges to create a bokeh effect.
Dry the panel and then attach to the Floral Abstract stencil. Apply embossing ink through the stencil and then heat emboss with clear embossing powder.
Spray liberally with water, cover with another piece of watercolour paper and then run the whole thing through your die-cutting machine.
Dry the pieces thoroughly and re-heat the embossing powder on the first panel to make it shine again.

Here are the two panels together.

Card 1:
The first panel has a psychedelic, retro look which I love. I cut it into two.

Take a piece of light teal cardstock and die-cut some rectangles with stitched rectangle dies.
Adhered the nested rectangles on a matching card base.
Add the mono-printed panel, popped up on some foam tape.
The sentiment is from the Let’s Party stamp set. I stamped it on a scrap of teal paper with Jet Black Mai ink and added it to the card after popping it up on some foam tape.

Here is another look at the card.

Card 2:
I went for a more dramatic look with the second part of the panel.

Take a black card base and add some score lines for added texture.
Pop up the mono-printed panel with foam tape and add to the card base.
The sentiment is from the Birthday stamp set. I stamped the words on strips of black paper and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.
To finish the card, I popped up the sentiment strips on bits of foam tape and added to the card.

Here is another look the card.

Card 3:
I fell in love with the soft background that I got on the second piece of paper. I kept my card super-simple as I didn’t want anything to detract from this beautiful background.

Take the second panel and trim it to size. Also, trim a slightly larger mat out of black paper.
Adhere the mat to a grey card base. Add the panel popped up on foam tape.
The sentiment is from the Critter Party stamp set. I stamped it on a strip of grey card stock and added to the card over a small strip of black paper.

Here is another look at the card.

I hope you found my cards inspiring and will give mono-printing a try. Mudra has several stamps and stencils you can use for these techniques. Our current challenge is on and the theme is