If you've got a pile of paper offcuts sitting on your craft table and a drawer full of stamps you keep meaning to use, this video is exactly the kind of nudge you need. It's Part 9 of my ongoing ephemera-making series, and the idea is simple: stamp on your scraps ahead of time so you've always got a ready-made collection of embellishments to reach for when you're decorating journal pages, tags, or covers. No hunting for the right stamp mid-session — just pick up what you need and keep creating.
What we cover
This is a quick, practical session covering how I store my stamps, how I work through paper offcuts with distress ink to build a stash of stamped ephemera, and how to finish those pieces with cut or ripped edges. At the end, I go into one of my actual junk journals and use the pieces I've just made — a short, relaxed decorating session that shows how these little images come together on real pages.
What you'll learn
How to store stamps in DVD cases without damaging them One thing I learned the hard way: the side of the stamp with the rubber image should not sit against the CD slot. If you rest it that way, you get indentations pressed into the rubber over time and the stamp is ruined. Flip it so the blank backing sits against the slot, and the image faces away. I also label each case — borders, birds, flowers, planning, and so on — so I can pull out what I need at a glance.
How to choose paper offcuts that actually stamp well Not all scraps give you the same result. Cardstock offcuts and sticker paper give a much cleaner impression than thin, flimsy paper — the ink sits better and the image holds its detail. That said, I do still use some softer scrap paper; you just go in knowing the result might be a little rougher. Cereal box interiors are worth keeping too — that uncoated, slightly aged-looking surface can print beautifully.
How to build a stamped ephemera stash from scraps The process itself is low-pressure: ink up your stamp, press it onto an offcut, move to the next one. I work through a selection of stamps I tend to reach for again and again — florals, small word stamps like enjoy the ride, lovely, and dare to dream — and I stamp on a mix of paper types and sizes. The goal isn't a perfectly curated collection; it's having enough variety that when inspiration strikes, something in the pile fits.
How to finish stamped images with cut or ripped edges and inked borders, including:
- Cutting cleanly around the stamped image and inking the edges with distress ink for a worn, aged look
- Leaving space around the image before you cut — because if you want ripped edges later, you need room to tear into
- Ripping toward yourself for a soft, natural edge, then inking the torn line so it reads as intentional
How to use stamped ephemera as focal points on journal pages and tags A stamped image on a simple tag — with a small ink detail and a ribbon at the top — can complete the piece without much else. On a cluster of snippets, that same image becomes the focal point that pulls everything together and gives the eye somewhere to land. I show a few quick examples: bookplate-style placement on a journal cover, layering over packaging cardboard, and wrapping a piece around a tag for added dimension.
Why pre-making ephemera protects your creative flow This is really the point of the whole exercise. When you're in the middle of decorating and you need a small bird or a word stamp, the last thing you want is to stop and dig through your supplies. Having a ready-made stash means you stay in the creative moment — you just reach in and find something that works.
Tips & gotchas
Store stamps with the rubber image facing away from the DVD case slot. It sounds like a small thing until you ruin a stamp you've had for years — I've been there.
Use your better offcuts — cardstock, old sticker paper backings, packaging card — for the cleaner impressions. Save the thinner flimsy pieces for stamps with bold, simple designs where detail doesn't matter as much.
If you think you might want ripped edges on a stamped piece, leave yourself a margin when you stamp it. It's frustrating to stamp right to the edge of a scrap and then realize you have no room to tear. A little extra space around the image costs nothing and keeps your options open.
The pre-stamping habit works best when it becomes genuinely low-stakes — just an afternoon activity when you have scraps piling up, not a project in itself. Stamp a batch, ink and trim them later, tuck them somewhere accessible. That's it.
You stop treating each page as a production and start treating it like a conversation with what you already have. I go into my journal at the end of this video and use pieces from the same session — dare to dream on a spread, a tiny bird on a pocket piece, a word stamp on a tab I've been meaning to finish — and each one takes seconds to place. That rhythm of making ahead and then reaching for things later is something I come back to across almost every part of how I make journals, and stamped ephemera is one of the simplest ways to get there.
