Northwest Stamper

Category: Techniques

  • Farewell to One Of The Most Versatile Stamps!

    Back when I ran my new catalog retiring stamps prediction contest, I had people guessing that the Delightful Decorations stamp set would retire.  I thought, “No Way!”  This stamp set has been great for more than just Christmas so I figured that for sure it was saying. 

    Sadly, they were right and I was wrong.  Both Delightful Decorations & the Ornament Punch are retiring!  (Though at least the punch is 25% off!)

    imageimage

    So, today is a walk down memory lane of some of my favorite cards using this stamp set.  First up, a recent card that we made at my Fabric Technique class. 

    I die-cut out 4 flowers using the Floral Framelits and folded them together to make this cute flower.  But every flower needs a vase and the ornament stamp/punch with the bottom point trimmed off works just perfect!  The stamp set also contains that cool dotted circle that I used for my background.  See…totally doesn’t have to be Christmas. 

    Flower Card Supplies:
    Stamps: Delightful Decorations**, Lovely & Lacy
    Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade** pad and marker
    Paper:  Lucky Limeade**, Very Vanilla, Rose Red
    Accessories:  Flirtatious designer fabric, Big Shot, Floral Frames framelits, Ornament Punch**, In Color Brads**, 1 3/4” Scallop circle punch, Sponge Dauber
    ** indicates item retiring on 6/3/2013

    Next up… how about a fish?

    I love how you can turn the punch on its side and make it be a cute punch art fish.  If you are curious which punches I used for this card and how I put it together, you can check out the blog post here – Fish Punch Art.

    And yes, Christmas too!

    Of course, just because I don’t have to use it for Christmas, of course it is perfect for Christmas tags and cards too.  This simple card was one of my favorites from my holiday collection.

    I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane….I think I’m off to give my set some love. Smile  And if you don’t have this set yet, make sure you pick it up by tomorrow before its gone!  Shop the retirement lists online here.

     

  • Guest Stamper: Make Your Own Fabulous Backgrounds

    I have a Facebook group for my Stampin’ Up! team where we share ideas, support, and projects we’ve been working on.  Well, this was one of the cards that Elise Hamilton posted in the group and we were all blown away by how cool the background looked on her card!

    So I asked her if she minded if I shared this with you all since I thought it was a great idea.  Here is her card:

    Keep Calm card

    And seriously, who doesn’t love cupcakes? Smile

    So, I loved how she used the Keep Calm hostess stamp set (available through Monday June 3rd only!) and then made her own background paper to compliment the cupcake colors.

    When asked how she made it, this is what she said:

    “I took a paper towel and grabbed ink off of my ink pad and then began to swipe it over the whisper white card stock.”

    How easy is that?!

    So grab a paper towel, your white paper, and some ink and give it a try!

     

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    Stampin’ Up! Supples Used
    Stamps     – Keep Calm (*hostess set)
    Paper – Whisper White
    Ink – Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose marker

  • How to Make Your Own Flocking & Add Fuzz to Your Projects

    When I was playing with the Swallowtail stamp, I realized that it was a big stamp… seriously, like background sized big stamp.  And I was trying to figure out how I wanted to use it.  So, I cut and I played, but I really wanted to keep the full butterfly image for my card.  So I let go of my 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” boundaries and let my butterfly fly!

    But then as I was working on the rest of my card, I decided that the Honeycomb embossing folder looked a bit too tall… too sharp for my card.  So I grabbed my handy sanding block and started rubbing down the layers.  When I was done, I was much happier with my cardstock and I had a ton of extra fuzz collecting on my desk.

    That fuzz makes awesome flocking!  If you don’t know what flocking it, it is like glitter only instead of being a jar full of reflective bits, it is a jar full of fluffy fuzz.  It is perfect to add as a layer over parts of your stamped image or card that you want to have a plush texture and when you make your own, it perfectly matches the rest of your project.

    Here is a close up of how my honeycomb looked when I was done sanding and you can kind of see the butterfly body too:

     

    I even made a video so you can see how I made it!

     

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    Supples Used
    Stamps     – Swallowtail, Fabulous Phrases
    Paper – Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
    Ink – Early Espresso
    Accessories – Big Shot, Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Rhinestones, Sanding Block, Stampin’ Dimensionals

    image

  • What To Do With Extra Easter Egg Dye

    So, now that Easter is over, grab that extra Easter egg dye that is on sale in the stores because I have a fun project for you!  Making your own custom dyed ribbon!

    I was making Easter eggs with the kids and I loved how vibrant the colors came out.  (I always us the formula where you use 3 Tbsp of vinegar to dissolve the dye pellets) and I thought it was a shame to dump all the extra when we were done.

    So, I thought – why not try using it on other things.  So, I thought why not ribbon?  Turns out it works great!

    Once you’ve colored your eggs, leave the dye in your bowls and grab some ribbon.  I particularly love the white Organza Ribbon for this technique.

    Leave your ribbon in each of the bowls for a few minutes to let it soak up the dye completely.  You can pull it out to check on the color and if it isn’t as deep as you want, put it back in for a little bit longer.  Then when you take them out, lay them out on paper towels to catch drips and let the ribbon dry.

    You’ll see your ribbon go from shiny white to something like this:

    Once you have all the colors done, they will probably look like this:

    I found the Twill tape ribbon and the Victoria Crochet ribbon didn’t turn out as vibrantly as the satin-y part of the Organza ribbon.  So, I would probably stick to that type of ribbon for best results.

    Once you are done, use it like any other ribbon on your projects.  I thought that the yellow reminded me of Daffodil Delight, so I used it in a spring card with lots of bright colors:

    See, here is a close up of the ribbon (and some Dazzling Details on the flower that is really hard to see in a picture Smile):

     

    I hope you enjoyed this idea for your extra dyes… and don’t forget, FREE SHIPPING starts tomorrow morning!  So, it is a perfect time to grab some extra ribbon, clearance Easter egg dye in the store, and get creative!

     

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    Don’t Forget!  RSVPs and mail order kit orders are due soon for the Print Poetry Class coming up on April 20th!
    Can’t make the party?  Class by mail and instruction only options are available – check it out here

    Print Poetry Camp & Class by Mail

  • Cute and Quick Masking Card using Oh Hello

    I love my monthly technique classes, not only because I love sharing new ideas with the folks who come craft with me, but it forces me to remember some techniques I haven’t tried in a while and come up with new takes on old methods.

    Today’s card is one we created recently in my Misting and Masking technique class. 

    This was a simple card that is a lot of fun to do!  And it uses 3 different styles of masking!

    1.   Using a mask so your stamp pattern only shows in the pattern of the mask
    (in this case, I die cut a flower from the Floral Fusions framelits and laid the paper with the flower shaped hole over my card front.  Then I stamped using the chevron oval from the Oh Hello stamp set.  Ta da!  A custom chevron flower!)

    2.  Using a cut out piece of paper to prevent part of the stamp image from leaving ink on your card front
    (in this case, I used the die cut flower from step one and laid it over the stamped chevron flower.  Then I could stamp my arrow “leaves” and have them appear to be hidden behind the flower!)

    3.  Use a post-it note to cover up part of a stamp’s image before inking
    (in this case, I covered up the “oh” part of the “oh hello” stamp so that I only inked up the Hello part.  This works a bit better than inking up the whole thing and trying to clean off just the “oh” part because often you don’t get it all or you still have some weird colored cleaner on the stamp that transfers to your image exactly where you don’t want it.)

    See, made entirely by tweaking up the Oh Hello stamp set:

    Oh, Hello Clear-Mount Stamp SetAnd the cute Sycamore Street ribbon and button bundle from the Sale-a-Bration flyer (yup! that is right!  Get all the ribbon and buttons you see here FREE with your $50 order!)

    Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack

    So, give it a try and I hope you had as much fun as I did!

     

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    Hello Masking Card Recipe:
    Stamps:     Oh Hello
    Ink: Crumb Cake, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green
    Paper: Whisper White cs, Raspberry Ripple cs, Crumb Cake cs
    Accessories: Sycamore Street ribbon & button pack*, Glue Dots, Big Shot, Floral Fusion framelits

    * item that is available for free with a $50 order through 3/22/2013

  • Adorable Easter Class Projects, Punch Art, & a Blog Hop!

    It’s the first Thursday of the month and that means the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad blog hop.  I lucked out because this month the theme is Easter/Spring and I just so happen to have my Everything Easter class coming up this weekend on Sunday!

    So I thought I would share some of the projects we’ll be doing in the class and give you some inspiration for what you could do for your own Easter baskets!

     

    Not-so-tiny Treat Pouch!

    I had been looking at some past projects and saw some old treat pouches that were made with a Big Shot die that retired a few years back.  It reminded me of the fun and easy idea of a no-sided bag that holds a pouch of treats in the middle.  Did that make any sense at all?  I bet not, so here – how about a picture to show you what I mean?

     

    Does that make more sense now?

    Ok, so this is really easy to make and you can change it up for any event or holiday.

    In this case, I took a 4”x12” piece of Certainly Celery cardstock and scored at 5” and 7”.  Then I used my new Ovals Framelits to cut out a piece of Pool Party core’dinations cardstock to make my top flap!  I then embossed the top flap and sanded down the dots for a subtle, textured effect.

    The stamped flowers are from the Madison Avenue stamp set that is only available as a free stamp set with a $50 order.  The flowers are separate from the leaves and it makes for some great stamping options.

    Tip:

    • Use Sticky Strip (red line tape) to attach the scallop oval flap to the back of your pouch.  This helps hold up with multiple openings of the pouch.
    • Use a slim velcro dot to keep your flap closed on the front of your pouch – this allows for easy reuse later.
    • Secure a clear envelope or card sleeve to the front-inside panel of your base cardstock.  (So in my picture, behind where my stamped flowers are).  This helps with the stability of the pouch and keeps the candy from getting away. Smile 

    Punch Art Easter Duck / Chick

    I’ll admit I don’t have many Easter stamps.  But that is usually ok because there are so many adorable punch art options that are perfect for Easter!

    Like take this duck punch art for example …  isn’t he CUTE!

    I just love this little guy and knew I had to share him with my friends for the class.  I tried to use as few punches as necessary but ended up with 6 punches used:

    • Ornament Punch
    • 1 3/4” Circle Punch
    • 1 3/4” Scallop Circle Punch
    • 1 1/4” Scallop Circle Punch
    • Large Oval Punch
    • Circle from Itty Bitty Punch Pack

    The funny thing about this sample card is that this duck was my “figure it out” version and then I made a “nice sample” version where I sponged the edges of the different body parts, made sure everything was on straight, etc.  But when I was putting together the card, I grabbed a duck….glued…. and then realized I had used my messy version instead of the “nice” one.  Smile  I guess it didn’t turn out too bad, huh?

    I have two more projects for the Everything Easter class on Sunday – a card and an awesome punch art bunny treat box!  Sadly, I didn’t get them photographed in time for today, but I’ll try to share them soon.

    Until then, if you want more inspiration for your Easter and Spring projects, check out the other talented stampers who are sharing their great ideas on our blog hop!  Click the “Next Blog” image or your favorite link below:

    1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
    2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
    3. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps-A-Lot
    4. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
    5. Tonya B. of Stampin’ with Tonya
    6. Dawn S. of Dawn’s Creative Chalet
    7. Darcy J. of DJ’s Stampin’ Place
    8. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
    9. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
    10. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin’
    11. Jennifer B of NW Stamper  <—YOU ARE HERE!
    12. Bree of Craft-somnia
    13. Diana E of Stampin’ Fun with Diana

    I hope you enjoyed my projects I shared today!

    I’d love to hear what you think – please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

     

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  • Smashed Bottle Cap/Soda Pop Top Spring Card

    Ever since I went to Leadership in January, I have been dying to try out the technique of smashing the soda pop tops with your Big Shot to create these super cute embellishments.  For some reason I thought it was going to be super hard or complicated… or something that made me a little bit intimidated to give it a try.  But then one day I decided to just go for it and I was shocked at how easy it was!

    So, I just had to put together a card to share with my group at my monthly team conference call/meeting.  I showed them how easy it was and then had supplies for everyone to make this card:

    I just had to use some of my new favorites including Tea for Two designer paper and the Honeycomb embossing folder for the base of the card.

    But check out this pop top… isn’t is awesome when smashed?!?

    How to Smash Your Soda Pop Top in Your Big Shot

    Ok, so if you want to do this yourself, this is what you need to do:

    1.  Put your white multi-purpose platform on the Big Shot base with all of the tabs/shims flipped open

    2.  Sandwich your bottle cap/pop top between the two clear cutting plates and place on top of the multi-purpose platform

    3.  Run through your Big Shot

    That’s it!  It smashes fast and like buttah!  I have way too much fun doing this. Smile

    I just used the 1” Circle Punch after I stamped my image from the Collage Curious stamp set (stamped on River Rock cardstock) and adhered it to the inside of the pop top.  Then I filled the inside with Crystal Effects. 

    I will warn you it takes a long time to dry!  Like seriously, it took probably about 45 min for mine to dry because I used soooo much Crystal Effects.  But it looks so awesome that I just had to do it.

    So if you haven’t tried this smashed soda pop top technique yet, you totally should!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

     

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    Smashed Recipe:
    Stamps:     Teeny Tiny Wishes, Collage Curious
    Ink: Crumb Cake, Markers: Calypso Coral, Certainly Celery
    Paper: Very Vanilla cs, Certainly Celery cs, Tea For Two designer paper
    Accessories: Big Shot, Honeycomb embossing folder, Glue Dots, Crystal Effects, Paper Snips, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • The Cool Effect of Embossing Vellum

    Have you tried embossing vellum before?  I’ve done it a few times and never fail to forget how cool it looks until I get a great swap like this card to remind me what a great technique it is!

    card designed by Jill Nolan

    I received this card at an event last year and was struck by how simple yet elegant it was.  The Fancy Fan embossing folder created a cool background for the card and complimented the shape of the central sentiment… a stamp set that I could never see myself using until an example like this.

    Plus, she did the awesome touch of using Crystal Effects to gloss and raise the heart in the middle of the card.  Cute, right?

    So grab some Vellum and give it a roll… through your Big Shot that is!  Smile  See what kind of fun effects you can get.

     

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  • Masking with Framelits–A Super Pretty Effect!

    So, since folks were pretty positive about my masked Summer Starfruit card in my last blog post, I thought I would share another fun card using masking.  I got this at convention last summer and thought it was just the prettiest!

    card created by Candee Smith

    Label Framelits from Stampin' Up!I love how she used the fact that you get 6 different sizes of the framelits to create a perfect mask for her stamped image.  If I were to do this (and you know I will be doing it! Smile), here is what I would do:

    1. Pick your smaller (inner) size framelit and cut it out from a card front sized piece of scrap paper.  So, roughly 4.25” x 5.5”.
    2. Set aside the cut out piece…won’t need it for this project.
    3. Grab the piece of paper with the label hole cut out of it and lay it over a piece of paper for stamping on.  Tack it down some how, like with tape or a post-it note.
    4. Sponge all along the edges of the hole so you get the border on your stamping paper.
    5. Stamp your design if desired overlapping the edge of the scrap paper hole.
    6. Remove the scrap paper mask.  Cut out your stamped image using the next size bigger framelit.
    7. Woo hoo!  You are done!

    Ok, now I’m totally inspired now.  And I still need to get some swaps done for Leadership this week, so I think I’m going to take this idea and go play today!  Hope you got some inspiration too!

     

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    shoot me an email to jennifer@nwstamper.com with your contact info and I’ll make sure one will be making its way to your mailbox shortly!

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  • My Little Valentine with Greeting Card Kids

    You may remember my somewhat recent watercoloring on glossy paper posting using this adorable Greeting Card Kids stamp set.  Well, I’m back at it again, this time with a Valentime’s Day theme.  I just loved this cute little girl and thought she needed to be colored up for the holiday.

    It was the same idea, heat emboss the stamped image – this time in black – and grab my neglected aqua brush and get to work coloring and blending on glossy paper.  I tried my hand at shading with mixed results.

    But then I preceeded to distract from… ahem, I mean highlight, the coloring with some brightly colored accents on the card. Smile  From the Real Red polka dot dsp from the Polka Dot Parade pack, to the wrapped Cherry Cobbler bakers twine… and just a touch of bling in the corner.  All adds up (I think) to a sweet little card that needs no sentiment at all.

    And if you know me and how hard of a time I have leaving a card front sentiment-free, you know this is a big deal for me! ha ha!

    So, grab your aqua pen and give it a whirl.  I promise it’s fun!

     

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    shoot me an email to jennifer@nwstamper.com with your contact info and I’ll make sure one will be making its way to your mailbox shortly!

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  • Making Envelopes to Hold 4×6 Photos

    I always do this… pick a card to send to someone (in this case Christmas cards), grab an A2 envelope (the type made to fit a 4-1/4” x 5 1/2” card), and then as I’m going to stuff the envelope realize that I’m mailing out 4×6 cards… which doesn’t fit in the envelope!

    Simply Scored Diagonal PlateThis year, however, I was motivated and determined and so I grabbed my Simply Scored and Diagonal Scoring Plate and decided I was going to figure out making my own envelopes this year.  Plus it was a good way to use up some really old 12×12 scrapbooking paper that I bought when I first got started and didn’t realize the difference in quality between the different companies.

    Anyway, so I thought I would share with you some tips I learned while running this experiment!

    1.  First, grab some of that cheap scrapbook paper that is printed on one side and white on the other (or if you want to match your project, grab some nice 12×12 designer paper and I recommend at least one side be pale or very small patterned so you can have that as your outside to write your address on.

    cheap scrapbooking paper

     

    2. Next, cut your paper to size.  I found a great measurement list from Jackie Topa that I used to determine that I needed an 8” x 8” square.  I scored at 3-1/8”, rotated and scored at 4-1/2”, rotate and score at 3-1/8”, and then finally rotate and score at 4-1/2”.  She lists another measurement but I didn’t understand what it was for so I skipped that one!

    Tip: When you are using the lightweight or “cheap” paper, I recommend using the fatter tip of your stylus for scoring.  I found that the skinnier tip made me nervous about tearing the paper since it had so much pressure in a tiny spot.

    stylus tip

    3. Your score lines will cross each other near the edges of your paper.  Trim out the triangles where they cross each other.

    snipped envelope

    Now, as you look at the picture above, you may notice something funny going on.

    That is right!  I was trying to use paper that had text on it and cut my 8×8” piece for the envelope, only to discover that once I scored the paper that the text was now going to be going at an angle!

    So if you care about orientation of the pattern on your envelope, take into consideration your preferred final layout before scoring.  In fact, if you can cut your paper down so that the words/pattern is going at an angle on your 8”x8” square, than you will be in great shape when you start scoring.

    4.  Fold over the flaps and glue one big flap to two of the little-side flaps.  Once you stuff your envelope, you can adhere the last side.

    Tip:  If you want to make your envelopes in advance and be all ready to go.  Put some sticky strip on the last flaps of your envelopes.  You can leave the tape covering on the exposed side so that it will be adhered to you envelope but doesn’t stick to anything else until you are ready to mail the envelope and you peel off that red backing!

    5.  Stuff your envelopes and you are ready to go!

    I just thought I would show you what I ended up with for now.  The dark and busy patterns I used as insides for my envelopes while the paler and more solid patterns I used for the outside of my envelopes.

    finished handmade envelopes

    So I hope that was helpful to you and that you will have lots of fun experimenting and creating your own custom envelopes!

     

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  • Wise Men Punch Art Christmas Card

    I love Punch Art cards and I’m always amazed at what people come up with when creating punch art…. so I was blown away when I was at convention this last summer and someone had come up with a 3 Wise Men card using punches!  How unique is this?!

    card created by Ingrid Rosario

    I thought it was so cool how this shows that with just a few switches of punches and paper color you can create unique people shapes.  So here is what you need:

    • 1 1/4” Circle Punch
    • Boho Blossom punch
    • Curly Label punch
    • Scallop Square punch
    • 5 Petal flower punch (retired)

    Only a few punches but totally different looking people, huh? Smile  This is also an excellent way to use up your scraps too.

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