Masking Technique Tutorial

Learn how to use the Masking Technique to create the bundle of presents on this fun Happy Birthday Card!

This little kangaroo from the Kangaroo & Company stamp set by Stampin’ Up! is just hopping by to wish someone a Happy Birthday Who wouldn’t love these mounds of presents of handstamped presents?

If you look closely, you’ll see that the presents look like they are stacked on top of each. To achieve this look, I used a card making technique called “Masking” – and the good news is that it’s very easy to do! More on this is just a minute.

I decided to use “primary” colors for this card so that I could use it for boys or girls. This is the color combination I used – you can see other combinations here.

On to the masking technique. Masking is basically a way of protecting an area from ink when stamping or blending.  In this card, I stamped an image, then masked it before stamping another image on top of it. This make it looks as tho one image was stacked or in front of another. Tip: whatever image you mask is the one that looks like it’s in front of the other images. Masking in this way also gives the illusion of depth, which we definitely wanted in this card.

To create your mask, my favorite thing to use is a Post-It Note. They have the advantage of being very thin with “stickiness” on the back to hold it down while you stamp over it. When I make a mask, I stamp the image on the Post-It Note and then cut it out with scissors. When cutting out your mask, you’ll want to slightly undercut (meaning cut right on the line of the stamped image.) By doing this, you’ll prevent any gaps between the images.

Here are the easy steps for masking:

1. Stamp the image you want to mask onto a post-it note and cut out the image with your scissors. Cut out the image on the stamped line to prevent any gaps between the images.
2. Stamp the image that you want to be in front onto your cardstock.
3. Mask that image with your post-it note mask you created in step #1
4. Stamp the second image of your choice over the masked image. This will become the image in the “back”.
5. Remove the mask.

For this particular card, I repeated steps 2-5 several times to get the “mountain” of presents. Organizational tip: save your masks inside your stamp set as they can be used mulitple times!

Supplies Use On This Project

Supplies Use On This Project

• Pumpkin Pie cardstock: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″
• Basic White cardstock: 4″ x 5-1/4″ and 3″ x 3-1/4″
• Night of Navy cardstock: 4″ x -5-1/4″
• Crushed Curry cardstock: 3/4″ x 3-1/2″

Supplies Use On This Project

1. Cut a piece of Pumpkin Pie Cardstock to 5-1/2” x 8-1/2”, score at 4-1/4” and fold at score line to
   create your base card.
2. Cut a piece of 4” x 5-1/4” Basic White Cardstock and adhere to inside of base card.
3. Cut a 4” x 5-1/4” piece of Night of Navy Cardstock. Stamp the small hat using Night of Navy ink
   onto the Night of Navy mat. Adhere to the base card.
4. Cut a 3-1/4” x 3-1/2” piece of Crushed Curry Cardstock and a 3” x 3-1/4” piece of Basic White
   Cardstock. Set the Crushed Curry cardstock aside.
5. Using a post-it note or some other thin paper, stamp the package onto the Post-It note using
   Pumpkin Pie ink 2 times. Cut out using your scissors to create 2 “masks”.
6. Stamp 3 Pumpkin Pie packages and 3 Crushed Curry packages onto the Basic White Mat at
   different angles, leaving a lot of space in-between each of them. Cover one of the Pumpkin Pie
   packages with the “mask” and then stamp a second package; add the 2nd mask to this 2nd package
   and stamp a 3rd package. Remove both masks and repeat on the remaining packages.

Pin It!

Like this project?  Be sure to pin it so you can easily find it again.  It will take you right back here to all the details of the card.

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Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you are inspired to try the Masking Technique and make some simple handmade cards for friends this week!    Check back soon for more card making ideas!