Rubber Stamps- Ugh!

So I've been working today on doing a piece for the "With One Stamp" section of Somerset Studio. If you're not familiar with this feature, several different artists are asked to use the same rubber stamp to create art, in order to show the stamp's versatility. I agreed to participate, since it will appear in the same issue as my frame article (which is done, by the way- another check off the list!). Anyway, I agreed, and I may now be regretting that decision, because I had forgotten how difficult it is for me to use rubber stamps!

For some reason, I just have the hardest time incorporating stamps into my artwork. Any time I try, the image looks out of place. Instead of blending with the rest of the piece, it just sticks out. That's what was happening with the piece I worked on today. Every time I'd stand back to look at it, the stamped image stuck out like a sore thumb. Argh!

But I persisted, and amazingly came out on the other side with a piece that I really like! Not without a lot of effort, but as long as I like the end result, I'm happy! Here is a snippet of the piece- I won't show the whole thing since it's going to be published. (You can't see the rubber stamp in this photo.)

Tomorrow, the process starts again. I need to produce one more piece with the stamp. Wish me luck!