Here are a few often-used techniques for beginners. After a while these procedures will become second nature to you.
Stamping
Turn the stamp you are using rubber side up. Pat the inkpad against it a few times giving an even coverage. Press the stamp firmly onto paper or card and remove without blurring.
Masking
Stamp the image you wish to have in the foreground on your paper or card and again on thin paper. Cut the second image out carefully, slightly inside the outline. Position the cut out mask over the image to be masked before over-stamping.
Reversing a stamp
This can be done in two ways: (1) Stamp the image to be reversed onto a reversing stamp and then stamp the reversing stamp immediately onto smooth paper. (2) Ink up the stamp. Roll a clean brayer carefully over the stamp and then over smooth paper. (This method works best when the stamped image is to be cut out.)
Embossing
Ink up the stamp with an embossing stamp pad or slow drying ink. Stamp and sprinkle embossing powder over the wet image. Tap off excess powder and funnel back into embossing powder pot. Heat powder until melted. (An embossing tool is best, but until I invested in one of these waving the card over an electric frypan worked fairly well.)
Dry embossing
Hold light coloured card or paper over a stencil against a window or light-box. (I own a light-box but usually end up using the window.) Note that the reverse of the stencil should be facing you. Trace around the stencil shape’s edges with a dry embossing tool and then fill in the centre.
Using a stamp positioner
Place the inner right-angle around the corner of a piece of vellum (or acetate) and stamp with the image you wish to position keeping one right-angle of the stamp against the positioner. Place the stamped vellum over the place where you want the image to be and butt the stamp positioner against the corner of the vellum. Hold the positioner in place and remove the vellum. Stamp inside the positioner as you did on the vellum.
Stamping off
To achieve a lighter colour ink when stamping ink up your stamp, then stamp on scrap paper two or three times before stamping on your card.
Setting eyelets
Punch a hole the same diameter as the eyelet. Push the eyelet through the hole and put face down on several layers of newspaper. Hold an eyelet setting tool in the narrow end of the eyelet and hammer two or three times. Remove tool and hammer once more to flatten.
