I {heart} Polka Dots...

OK! I have said it before, I will say it again! I love polka dots! I know there are stamps you can buy out there but I have found a fun and easy way to make my own. If nothing else, it is saving me money! Yeah....I will keep telling myself that! :)

So here is a card I made recently with TAC's May special Pea Pickin! I love it and I know for sure I have said that before! You can see my "homemade" polka dot background here:


Now I can already hear it. This is either going to be just so simple you will laugh OR you are going to say it is too much work but let me tell how much fun it is! This is a long post so get comfy!

This template is made by using your period key and spacing them out on a blank document. Here is how I did it.....I hope this makes sense!



First you start with a blank Word Document. Evenly spacing with the period key, type out period after period. When you get to the next line do the same thing but space them accordingly. Then take the first 2 lines and copy and paste until you have a full sheet of polka dots! OR you could go the easy route and email me and I can send you one already done! :)

The biggest thing is to watch the color of your dots. If you are going to make black polka dots, you can print your document with black ink. If you are going to use a lighter color, you need to make the dots as light gray as possible so you can still see them but they won't show through your ink!

Next, print your document on a high quality white cardstock. I use The Angel Company's Ultrasmooth White. It prints out perfect! I also printed with black ink on TAC's Brown Cardstock. That worked great too!

Last, you need to pick out your polka dot tool! For this first card I simply used a #2 pencil eraser that had never been used!


Here is the example with the Brown Cardstock. I used Brilliance Moonlight White! This is a fantastic white by the way!

Here is this card with the white polka dots! I will say one thing. What you use will give you so many different looks. This one is a more distressed polka dot. Keep reading and I will tell you how to make the smaller polka dots.!

For the white polka dots and the red polka dots below, here is how I made them. I took an uncut gift with purchase stamp and cut the larger size whole out of the extra rubber with my Crop-O-dile. I also cut a small piece from the cling, basically making my own small stamp! Now you could also use a tiny eraser on a pencil or any other circle stamp you already have but I didn't have anything smaller than a #2 pencil so I had to get creative!

Again, you just follow the printed out dots and stamp over the top. One fun thing about this template is that if you wanted different colored polka dots you can use multiple ink colors. Or if you wanted "missing" spots, you wouldn't have to ink everyone. You can go over the printed dot with an eraser and it should come off so you can't see it. You can also play with the spacing of the "periods". Space the farther apart and use a larger eraser for bigger dots. Space them closer together for a smaller print! The possibilites are endless!

Just a quick recap of what I used and the sizes of dots.

And another finished card....


I know that was alot to take in! BUT if you have any questions, email me! I can send you the polka dot template so you don't have to make your own! This really is super easy! Once you have the print out, ink and tool you can whip out polka dots pretty fast! If you give it a try, email me with a link so I can see!

Also, stay tuned for a post coming soon with the completed project using the red polka dot paper! I have something else fun to show you! :)

Thanks for stopping by!