Northwest Stamper

Category: Techniques

  • Birthday Celebration–Day 2 with Simply Sketched on Vellum

    Woo hoo! It’s day 2 of my celebration and I have another card to share with you today.  This is a card that I made for my Fun n’ Crafty demo team swap.  Each month, everyone in my downline is invited to participate in a card swap… sort of like a secret santa – only for cards.  You are given one or more names to send a card to.  You know you will get a card for each one you send, but you don’t know from whom or when in the month it will arrive.  It’s pretty fun!

    Anyway, while I was working on samples for my Vellum class, I was inspired to try out heat embossing on the vellum and then coloring in between the embossed lines with some bold marker colors.  Check it out:

    I reached for a bunch of supplies that I love but don’t use nearly enough (lets hear it for vellum, candy dots, and core’dinations cardstock!) and started mixing and matching using a simple card design.

    I made a couple in this AWESOME Cherry Cobbler colors and then one in the Island Indigo color. 

    To make this card, it is simple to do. 

    1. Stamp your image on Vellum cardstock using Versamark ink
    2. Cover with White embossing powder and heat
    3. Color in between the raised embossed lines using a marker
    4. Glue Vellum to the front of your card or designer paper mat using candy dots (if you paper starts curling, you may need to secure the corners with glue dots and then cover with the candy dots)

    Oh, and that core’dintations cardstock?  It makes a great textured background and if you grab your handy dandy sanding block, it distresses beautifully and gives it a velvety feel.  (seriously, sand some of this paper and feel it!)

    Card Supplies Used

    Stamps – Simply Sketched
    Ink – Versamark, Chocolate Chip
    Papers – Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler or Island Indigo core’dinations cardstock, Vellum cardstock, Soho Subway designer paper
    Accessories – Cherry Cobbler or Island Indigo marker, Garden Green marker, White embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Sanding Block, Neutrals Candy Dots

    And we can’t forget!  It’s Day 2 of Birthday Celebrations!

    So, today’s presents for the giveaway are a cool combo goodies to make a project like this yourself.  If you haven’t already checked out the CUTE punch art birthday penguins I posted yesterday and entered yesterday’s giveaway, you should!  Then come back and get in on today’s prizes.

    Northwest Stamper Birthday Weekend Giveaway – Day 2

    imageimage

    Neutrals Candy Dots

    Candy Dot Brad Bases

    Each day I’ll post a new giveaway and you’ll be able to enter up 3 ways (and yes! you can get multiple entries each day!) each day and I’ll draw names on Sunday.

    Enter to win today’s giveaway by any combination of the following:

    • Leave a comment on this blog post sharing what was the last type of card you’ve made. 
    • Visit my facebook page and leave a comment today’s card post sharing what is your favorite crafting accessory?
      While you are there, don’t forget to make sure you’ve liked my page and are getting notifications to ensure you catch all the fun!
    • Place an order online or by emailing me at jennifer@nwstamper.com and get 2 extra entries

     

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  • Pretty Snowflake Fun with Vellum

    I recently held my Vellum technique class and one of the favorites from the class was this holiday card:

    One of my favorite things that I love to do with vellum is run it through the BigShot because it makes the coolest bright white image over the frosted white of the vellum cardstock.  Then I love sponging on the back side of my embossed image to add a pop of color.

    Turns out it is perfect for using with the Northern Flurries embossing folder for snowy snowflakes.  Though next time I think I would add a bit of glitter and sparkle to the front of the card for an extra magical touch!

    In this example, I attached a piece of embossed vellum to the top of a Whisper White cardbase with it only being adhered to the left edge of the card front.  By only adhering it to one side, the vellum pops up just a little and gives you a softer look.

    Project Supplies Used

    So give it a try and let me know what you think!

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  • Faux Tiling Card for Club

    Each month I have a group of ladies who get together for a Stamp Club.  We make a couple projects each month and this month I thought Pilar (the hostess) would enjoy learning about the Faux Tiling technique.  So, I promised her to have one of the cards use this technique, and this is what I came up with for her –

    As I was working on it, I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out but in the end I really like it!  Its pretty easy to do too.

    If you haven’t done Faux Tiling, the basics are as follows:

    • Start with your white piece of paper
    • Pull out your diagonal score plate for your Simply Scored (or other score board) and place the paper in the upper left corner.
    • For this card, I started scoring at 1/2”, 1-1/2”, and so on at 1” intervals.  Then I flipped the paper and used the same score measurements to complete my grid lines
    • Stamp a fairly dense or solid image randomly over the scored paper (the score lines should be valleys, so not poking up out of your paper.)
      ** make sure you aren’t stamping very hard as you want the stamped image to not go into the scored lines
    • Embellish the rest of your card as desired and you are done!

    I plan to put together a video on this so for those of you who are more visual, check back or watch my YouTube channel for updates. Smile

    Card Supplies Used (all Stampin’ Up!):

    Stamps: Happy Day
    Ink: Early Espresso, Crushed Curry
    Paper:  Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crushed Curry
    Accessories: Simply Scored Board, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate, Candy Dots Regals

    Hopefully they will enjoy making this card at club on Thursday!

    If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of joining Stamp Club or would like to learn more about my NEW Virtual Stamp Club that will be starting soon, shoot me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’ll give you all the details!

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  • A Fun Christmas Card and Coloring Tip for Embossed Images

    So, this started out as me trying to figure out the answer to a question for my downline, Liz, about how to get rich color on the top of the flowers from the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder.  I thought I knew what to tell her, but I wanted to try it out first so I could make sure I told her the right technique (since there are quite a few ways to color with your embossing folder).  Plus it was a great excuse for me to get back into creating videos too!  Yay!

    Anyway, I finally figured it out and then thought I ought to do something with the finished colored and embossed paper, so this is what I came up with:

    Christmas Card with Petals a Plenty and Tag It

    Isn’t he cute?  I finally busted out my Tag It stamp set and used the coordinating Chalk Talk framelits to create the center tag.  Plus I accented it with my beloved Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green.  It makes it so happy, no?

    Want to know how easy it is to color the flowers on this embossing folder?

    Check out this quick video I made to show you how I did it.  (if you are reading this in email, click here to view the video on my blog)

     

    Thank you, Liz!!

    Now that I have this technique figured out, you can be sure I’m going to use it a lot.  It is so fast and I love the look.

    I’m also thinking of including this card in my upcoming Holiday Card stamp-a-stacks.  What do you think?  Would you want to make this card? Smile

    And check back tomorrow for another card idea using this same folder and technique.  See you then!

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  • Spotlighting Paper Piercing for a Fab Blog Hop on Tools!

    Thank you so much for joining us for the September Stylin’  Stampin’ Squad Blog Hop! This month we are focusing on the tools of the stampin’ trade. Specifically, each of our favorite stamping tools. It’s amazing the kinds of tools that have been created to help us along in our paper-crafting addictions.  This month’s blog hop will showcase many of the Stampin’ Up! tools that are now available to us in the 2013-2014 Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Holiday Catalog and even a couple of products that are so new they aren’t in either catalog. We hope you enjoy seeing how we use the old and new tools and are inspired to come up with some great projects of your own.

    You should have just left stop number 9 on the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad blog hop – Stuck on Stampin’. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

    Ok, so are you ready to see what I picked for my favorite tool?  I was going to pick punches (since, have you seen my wall of punches??) but that was well covered.  And so I decided to go with the less popular tool – the paper piercer and templates!

    I promise the picture above includes all three of the templates included in the Essentials pack, but its hard to see, so here is a better picture of all of the options available to you in the pack.

    image This is my absolute favorite pack because I cannot live without my straight rows of piercing holes.  It is the simplest thing, but I use it all the time!  Now, I love the shapes and patterns as well, and have found they give lots of possibilities even if you don’t own the coordinating punch or framelit.

    But to show you 3 of the ways I use my piercer, I created this card to share today:

    Can you spot all 3 uses of the piercing tool and template?  Smile  Keep reading to see if you caught them all!

    1.  Creating Faux Stitching

    One of the coolest techniques I know with this tool is the faux stitching technique and it is so easy to do as well.  Yes, you can pierce your holes and then grab needle and thread and stitch on your cards…. or you can just do this.

    Line up the more widely spaced straight line holes of your paper piercing template so that the seam between two pieces of paper (in this case, patterns from the Etcetera designer paper) is exactly in the middle between the two lines of holes.

    how to use a piercing template for faux stitchingUse your piercing tool to poke each hole and then draw your stitch lines in with your favorite color marker.  Looks pretty real, huh?

    2.  Spotlighting with Pierced Patterns

    Since there are so many patterns on the templates, sometimes they are perfect to coordinate with a punch or framelit for an extra accent.  In this case, I loved how the oval of holes helps accent the sentiment in the center of the scallop oval punch out.  You could do some faux stitching with this as well, but I thought the simple look was a bit nicer.

    You can also do this without needing to use a punch.  Use any of the shapes to accent a stamped image on any project you are working on.

    3.  Precision Placement of Brads

    how to line up piercing template for corners

    Ok, this is my go-to use for my paper piercer and template – placing brads.  I am a pretty loosey-goosey card maker and stamper.  I’m ok if my image is a little skewed (hey, its artistic that way!) and if I didn’t quite get that bow right.  But one thing I can’t stand, is if an element that is supposed to be symetrical – like brads in a row or in the corners of a paper – comes out slightly off.

    So I ALWAYS pull out my piercing template when I’m going to add brads to a project so I can make sure they are spaced evenly apart and the same distance in from each corner.

    To do that, you just align the black solid line on the template along the edge of your paper and then pick the same hole in the corner to use for placement.  Then just use the same corner of the template for each corner on your paper and you will get perfect corners every time!

    So, there you have it…. did you figure out all 3?

    I also wanted to take a quick moment to show one other little trick I did on this card…. yeah, it has nothing what so ever to do with piercing, but I thought it was cool.  It was how I got the doily for the background of the card.

    two tone sponging on paper doilies I took a single doily and folded it in not-quite-half.  Then I took a piece of scrap paper and placed it between the top and the bottom piece of the doily.  I sponged the top piece in Pool Party; then I opened it up and sponged the bottom side with Midnight Muse.  It gives a neat effect with no cutting and only one doily!

    and back to paper piercing…

    I did a class on Paper Piercing a while back and so I thought I’d share a card we made in that class that gives you even more ideas for how you can user the piercing tool and template.

     

    So I hope you enjoyed all the tips and ideas, and now are inspired to get out your piercing templates and start creating!

    For even more inspiration and ideas for using the tools you have at home, keep on hoping and visit Bree for some fun with the Simply Scored!

    Blog Hop Participants:

    1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
    2. Pam S. of Stampin’ in the Sun!
    3. Tonya B. of Stampin’ with Tonya
    4. Dawn S. of Dawn’s Creative Chalet
    5. Darcy J. of DJ’s Stampin’ Place
    6. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
    7. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
    8. Justin K. of JK Cards
    9. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin’
    10. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper <— YOU ARE HERE!
    11. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
    12. Diana E. of Stampin’ Fun with Diana
    13. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life
    14. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
    15. Kristina M. of Mama’s Sanity

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    Card Supplies Used
    Stamps- Express Yourself (hostess set)
    Ink- Midnight Muse, Calypso Coral, Pool Party
    Paper – Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Etcetera designer paper
    Accessories – Paper piercer, piercing mat, Essentials Piercing Template, Scallop Oval punch, sponge daubers, white doilies, Mini Brads, stampin’ dimensionals

    Help me better plan future classes, online offerings, tutorials, and events –  take this quick survey on in-person and online class offerings and you’ll be entered to win!  Take the survey now!

  • A Fun Pop-Up Card with Swallowtail Tutorial

    When I was at convention this year, Shelli showed off some cards that had neat pop-up effects.  Once of the cards that really struck me was a cool card that used the Swallowtail butterfly to create a surprise pop-up on the inside of the card.  I thought it was extra cool because when you look at that stamp image, it is too big to fit well on a card front and so I never would have thought it would have thought to try it on the inside of a card.

    So for a recent technique class, I decided to try it out and create that moment of surprise for class attendees as they got to make this card.

    Here is the front of the card… I kept it simple since we were going to be focusing on the details inside the card.

    Then you untie the ribbon (which you need so the card doesn’t try to push open on you when you aren’t ready), open it up and hello, butterfly!

    If that is a little hard to see, here is another angle to help you see the pop-up effect.  I also used the Pleasant Poppies background stamp to give the effect of the butterfly flitting through the flowers.

    To create this pop-up effect, you want to do the following:

    1. Start by stamping and coloring your Swallowtail butterfly image. 
    2. Then cut out the butterfly. 
    3. Gently fold the butterfly image in half (you don’t have to press hard to crease it, just make sure it is set to fold how you want when the card is closed.
    4. imageTake a piece of window sheet and punch a 1-1/4” circle out.
    5. Cut a spiral into the 1-1/4” circle as shown in my poorly drawn image to the right. Smile 
    6. On the “top” side of your spiral, attach a glue dot to the center of your spiral.  Attach another glue dot to the “bottom” side of your spiral at the outside end of the spiral.  (it doesn’t really matter which side is top and bottom, as long as your glue dots are on the opposite sides of the spiral)
    7. Glue the right wing of the butterfly to the right side of your card inside.
    8. Fold the butterfly in half and press the window sheet spiral onto the backside of the left wing with the glue dot in the center of the spiral sticking to the wing.
    9. Hold the butterfly down so it is folded in half and close the card.  This will allow the left side of the card inside to stick to the glue dot on the edge of the spiral.
    10. Open the card and check if you like how much of a pop you get with your butterfly.  Reposition the spiral as needed to get it just how you like.

    Hopefully that made sense!  If not, let me know and I’ll try to put together a video on how to do the pop-up effect.

    Like I mentioned, this is a card I shared at a recent card class and I loved the idea of sharing some pop-up and flip style cards with everyone.  I’ve finished my class schedule for the rest of the year – so if you are interested in joining me at a future event, check out the calendar and let me know!

     

    Want to win a $20 Stampin’ Up! shopping spree? 

    Take this quick survey on in-person and online class offerings to help me better plan future classes, online offerings, tutorials, and events and you’ll be entered to win!  

    Take the survey now!

     

    In the meantime, give a pop-up card a try!  They are fun and easy, and give the recipient a fun surprise.

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    Card Supplies Used
    Stamps- Swallowtail, Pleasant Poppies, Express Yourself (hostess set)
    Ink- Early Espresso, Sahara Sand (marker), Pool Party (marker), Calypso Coral (marker)
    Paper – Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, Window Sheets
    Accessories – 1-1/4” circle punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Glue Dots, Pear Pizzazz taffeta ribbon, Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch

  • Getting Out of a Crafting Slump w/ a Holiday Catalog Hop!

    I know me, and once I let life overwhelm me and I set my crafting aside because I’m busy trying to deal with the house, family, etc; I find myself getting into a crafting slump.  You know, that time when you look at your craft supplies, get so excited to create something cute (or find yourself needing that last minute birthday card) and you sit down at your table….. and just stare at your supplies.

    That was me.  I saw so many great ideas at convention, had some cool topics for blog posts, but was having the hardest time finding the mojo to get started.

    But – that is why I said YES! when I was invited to join the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad and their monthly blog hops.  Because I know me and to get me out of my slump, I needed a theme to focus on and a deadline that I had to get it done by. Smile  And it worked for me!  I sat down with a few ideas, started pulling out some paper and by the time I was done with my first card I had ideas for a few more and couldn’t wait to have time to play more!

    August Blog Hop – Holiday Catalog Projects

    Card 1 – A Stenciled Halloween

    When I first checked out the Holiday Catalog, I wasn’t too excited by the Build-a-Banner kits.  But then I saw all the fun projects created with them at convention and I had a major change of heart.  I love the banners and can’t wait to make my first one, but I was even MORE excited by the stencils!  I know, I know, there isn’t anything new about stencils, but –hey- they are new to me! Smile 

    And for my first attempt with them, I figured why not try to do some heat embossing while I’m at it?  I don’t own any current halloween stamps but I loved the fact that I could still do spooky without even needing a stamp at all!

    So to make the “boo” on my cardfront, I tapped and smeared VersaMark ink over the stenciled opening (starting with the “b”) and quickly picked up the stencil, sprinkled white embossing powder, and heated with my heat gun.  Then repeat for each letter as you go through the word.

     how to heat emboss with stencils

    The rest of the card came together quickly as well because I used the new Witches Brew designer paper which had those cool orange spiders in the perfect spacing for me.  Sponge the edge with some White craft ink and layer over a Basic Gray cardbase and you are done! 

    Card 2 – Bow Tie Celebration!

    But one card just wasn’t enough for me.  I told you, when I was done I had more ideas I wanted to play with.  Well, this next card was using the new Gift Bow Bigz Die.  I had seen a card by Ronda Wade that had a more flat looking bow and I wanted to try to create one myself.  Ta-da!

    The neat thing about this bow is that all the pieces for it is cut out of 1-sheet of designer paper from the new Season of Style designer series stack (you know, those paper stacks that are 4.5” x 6.5”?)

    See, check it out

    gift bow cut outs

    Then all you have to do is cut that top die cut shape in half to make your two flat bow “loops”.  I found that if you lined up a flat edge at 2” you will cut straight down the middle too.

    cutting to make a flat bow

     

    I glued my bow together with sticky strip and Stampin’ Dimensionals and adhered it over some of the new Burlap Ribbon.  Finally, I stamped my sentiment from Seasonal Sayings but thought it needed some extra pop so I coated it with Crystal Effects.  Makes it feel more like a celebration to me. Smile 

    And with that, I even created one more card for tomorrow’s blog post and I’m back in the groove!

    So if you are in a mojo slump, here is my challenge to you!

    1. Visit the incredibly talented stampers participating in this month’s blog hop (see the full list below)
    2. Find 30 minutes this week and head to your craft room
    3. Pick an item you were excited to purchase, but haven’t even used it yet! 
    4. Create something, anything, even if you have no idea what to make, start cutting and stamping using the item you picked.  Copy a project you’ve seen on the hop or visit one of the many great challenge blogs and inspiration blogs out there to help get you started if you need it.
    5. Finish and share your project by 8/16! 
      Show it to a friend, post it on Facebook, or come back and leave a comment that you’ve completed the challenge and share it with me!  Feel free to link to your project too so we can see what creative project you’ve created.

    Ready to be inspired?

    Check out all of the great talent in this month’s line up!

    Blog Hop Participants:

    Enjoy and have fun creating!

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  • Tips for Using Pressed Clay on your Cards

    One of the cool perks of being a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! is that you get to check out products from the new catalogs before they come out.  Usually I get super excited about what I see, but I remember seeing the pressed clay when it came out and thinking:

    ”Huh.  I’m sure someone will think that is cool, but I can’t see myself ever using that stuff.”

    But then my mom got some clay along with the molds and I decided to try making a flower… which turned into two flowers…. oh and a button, and maybe one more button…

    Next thing I know, I’ve made a ton of clay items and ended up buying my own clay supplies. Smile 

    So, I had to share it with folks at a get together recently with this make & take:

    So, we made a quick and simple white flower and then used the Bitty Butterfly Punch to create the leaves behind it.  Clever, huh?!

    Card Supplies Used
    Stamps:      Oh Hello
    Ink: Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate
    Paper: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay
    Accessories: SU Pressed Clay, Flower & Buttons molds, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Tombow liquid glue

    Now, if you are curious about the Pressed Clay or maybe you have some but are trying to figure out using it, here are some tips I’ve heard and learned along the way:

    Tips for using the Pressed Clay

    • Only use just enough clay to fill out the mold form – so no extra clay running over the edge of the mold.  Otherwise it will want to stick and not pop out easily
    • I find I have an easier time getting the clay to pop out if I have let my clay sit out on my table for a little bit to dry out a little so it won’t be so tacky
    • If you are having a hard time with a bit of clay not popping out of the mold, try using your Embossing Buddy on the inside of the mold or put the mold (with clay pressed inside) in the freezer for about 10 min and then try popping your shape out.
    • Color your clay using one of these methods:
      • Add some drops of reinker to the clay and massage into the clay before pressing
      • Dab your ball of clay onto an ink pad to pick up some ink, then massage into the clay before pressing
      • Use marker to color your item after it has dried.  This is the most vibrant option.
    • To get the button holes, press your clay into the mold and then press extra hard on the areas with the button holes until you can rub or scrape off the extra clay on top of the button hole pieces.
    • After you have created your clay item, let it sit for a while (longer if you are in a humid climate).  They will never become hard like a resin or plastic embellishment but instead have more of the feeling of a harder foam that cannot be scraped or remolded after it dries.
    • Adhere your finished embellishment using either dimensionals or the mono liquid glue.

    And before I go, I just had to share the card that was my inspiration for the make & take project I shared above:

    My mom created this card before her new catalog party and I thought it was just such a cute idea.  Plus I love how she used the 5-petal flower punch to create her leaves!

    So, give clay a try and I’m sure you’ll have fun too!

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  • A New Way to Color Your Stamped Images with Marker

    Recently, my mom showed me a new way to try coloring in your images with your markers.  To show me what she was talking about she created this card:

    It uses the new Flower Shop stamp set and punch sitting atop the stem from Field Flowers.  Great idea, huh?

    Now, to do the coloring, she took a lighter colored marker (in this case, the Crisp Cantaloupe marker) and then swiped one side of the marker tip along the side of the Calypso Coral ink pad.  This gives you a darker side to the marker. 

    Then you can color in your stamped image and twist your marker as you are coloring so you end up getting both tones forming a cute spectrum of color on your image.  Now if it is a little hard to see, she created the following examples to help show it better:

    On the left is a flower colored in with a blender pen, the middle is using the two-tone effect, and the right flower is colored in only using the Crisp Cantaloupe marker.  There was more of a difference between the three than I expected!

    And I thought the whole card was a neat idea so I created a simpler version to send out as a customer thank you card this month.  So if you’ve placed a Stampin’ Up! order with me in June, you’ll have one of these in your inbox soon!

    Stampin’ Up Supplies Used:
    Stamps – Flower Shop, Field Flowers, Petite Pairs
    Ink – Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding, Daffodil Delight, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe marker
    Paper – Whisper White, Subtles Designer Series Paper stack (top card), Pistachio Pudding cardstock (bottom card)
    Accessories – Posy Punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, Pearls, Distressing tool

     

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  • Frosted Glass Butterfly Technique and Card

    As I get ready for Monday’s Terrific Techniques: Fun with Washi class, I was looking over a card I made recently using the Best of Butterflies stamp set.  (You know, because it was one of my few samples right now that uses washi)

    I was playing with Vellum and thought it would be really pretty to create a softly colored butterfly image.  Its super easy to do too!

    All you have to do is:

    1. Stamp your image on Vellum using Stazon Ink
    2. Flip over your Vellum paper (so inked side is down) and start coloring using markers. 
      I recommend coloring with your darker color first because the first color you ink will be the top layer you see when you flip over the stamped image.
    3. Cut out your image
    4. Adhere to your card base using a glue dot behind part of your image that is solid black.

    And TA-DA!  You have a totally cool looking butterfly!

     

    Stampin’ Up Supplies Used:
    Stamps – Best of Butterflies, Seasonal Sayings
    Ink – Stazon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, Cajun Craze marker
    Paper – Calypso Coral cardstock, Very Vanilla cardstock, Vellum cardstock
    Accessories – This and That washi tape, Glue dots

     

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  • Colorful Flower using the Mosaic Punch & Pressed Clay

    imageOk, I’ll admit it.  I wasn’t sold on the Pressed Clay when Stampin’ Up! announced it’s release during the demonstrator preorder in advance of the new Annual Catalog launch.  I kept hearing people get all excited about it but I didn’t order it because I couldn’t see myself actually using it.

    Wanna know what just showed up in my recent order? 

    Yup, that is right!  The clay!

    My mom, Kathy Thisted, ordered the clay and molds during the preorder and so I figured I’d make one or two to samples to show.  But I found once I got started playing it, I had a hard time stopping. ha ha!  Its kind of like being 5 again and playing with play doh.  Once you get started there are endless possibilities of what you can create!

    So while I haven’t gotten all my experiments photographed, I had to share with you one cool sample that she shared with me recently.  Check it out:

    Its this cool mashup of a bunch of new products in ways I never would have thought to do (isn’t that why sharing is awesome?!)  She took the Mosaic punch to punch out the petals and then stamped each one with the Mosaic Madness stamp set.  Then she dyed some Simply Pressed Clay with Daffodil Delight reinker and pressed it into the flower mold to create the pretty center.  Creative, no?

    Card Supplies used:
    Stamps – Mosaic Madness, Field Flowers, Sweet Essentials
    Ink – Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Baked Brown Sugar, Daffodil Delight reinker
    Paper – Soft Sky, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe
    Accessories – Simply Pressed Clay, Buttons & Blossoms Clay Molds, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Bone Folder

     

    So if you haven’t tried out the clay yet, you totally should!  Its easier to work with than I expected and has tons of potential.  I’ll try to get photos taken but I’ve seen:

    • Coloring with a marker
    • Multiple color coloring
    • Using the molds
    • Creating an impression with stamps
    • Creating an impression with a decorative brad
    • Turning molded images into brads
    • Creating a shiny accent with Crystal Effects
    • Heat embossing the finished embellishment

    And I’m sure there are more ideas I haven’t even seen or come up with yet!

    So, leave a comment with your ideas if you have been playing or pick up some clay today and start experimenting!

  • Playing with Photopolymer Stamps

    The stamping world has had Photopolymer stamps for quite a while and I used to try to play with my “completely clear” stamps.  I love the idea that I could see totally through the stamp so that I knew precisely where I was stamping.  However, I discovered that not all clear stamps are created equal.  I have some that have turned yellow on me (even without me using them… gasp! I know, right? how can you have stamps that never get inky? Winking smile) and I have some that frustrated me because I couldn’t get a crisp image no matter what I tried.

    Well, Stampin’ Up! held off while they tried to figure out a formula for making these stamps without some of these issues.  Then they started coming out with their own designs.  So, I decided to give them a shot and then thought I’d share what I did.

    I grabbed the Designer Typeset stamp set, which was the first set they came out with.  See, this is what it looks like when you get it…. no box, just a ton of cute little clear stamps in a plastic sleeve.

    designer typeset photopolymer stamps

    And out of the sleeve….Designer Typeset photopolymer stamps

    Then I set to work and created this as one of my first cards:

    designer typeset photopolymer thank you card

    I know, it is totally simple, but it gave me a chance to experiment and learn a few things… like:

    • Don’t be afraid to bend your stamps!
      If they can bend and stay on the block, then it is perfectly fine to stamp them that way.  If they won’t stay on the block, you’ve bent it too far. Smile
    • Be prepared and ok that your stamped lines aren’t going to be super thin
      When you push on the stamp to transfer your ink to paper, the photopolymer compresses and stretches a little, so you get slightly fatter lines than you maybe expected.
    • If you have the letters, lay them out on your paper for placement – THEN push the block down on them to ink up.
      So in this case, I stamped the banners first.  Then I laid out my letters in exactly the spot I wanted them to be on my banner.  How to line up letters with photopolymer stamps on a card
      THEN I pressed my clear block down on top of the letters.   That way I could ink them up all at the same time and stamp knowing they would go exactly where I wanted them to go!

    How to line up letters with photopolymer stamps

    • The juicier the ink pad the better!
      Yes I know, it goes without saying… but still.  I did see slight differences when I used my old style ink pads with my new ink pads.

    photopolymer stamps ink pad comparison

     

    If you want to see more tips, check out this video I made all about the Photopolymer stamps:

    If you can’t see the video, check out the direct link here.

    So, if you think it is something fun to try and play with, Stampin’ Up! just came out with their 5th photopolymer stamp set – Wanderlust.  But here is the complete list:

     

    Wanderlust photopolymer stamp set

     

     

    I still love my rubber stamps… but I definitely think completely clear stamps have a place in my stamp room too!