Becoming a Great Stamper

Video with this Info

Tips to Become a Great Stamper

• 1. Use quality products. There is something to be said for getting what you pay for. And in stamping great results come from great products plus practice.
• 2. Inks from Tsukineko, Ranger; Colorbox are all great.
  • a. My go to ink pad for general stamping is a Versafine Onyx black; for Copics Memento Tuxedo Black both Tsukineko products. But I have all the Paper Trey Ink and Stamping Up for the color range. I have over 670 ink pads and these are the ones I use the most. Why so many for one there are specialty inks and they have a place. Pigment, Chalk; Dye; Permanent Dye etc.
  • b. In Chalk ink I use the fluid chalks more than the versamagic. My favorite permanent inks are Ancient Page because of the color range.
  • c. Make color sample of your inks so you can compare colors.
• 3. Paper: SU; Paper Trey Ink, MFT all great papers. For my card bases I general y use Cougar Opaque (just cause I can get it by the ream for much less that any of those others that I have mentioned). A great card base makes a great card. Your base has to be sturdy. Please no 65# CS for your base. I consider 65# for layering only. You won’t find any 65# bases at Hallmark.
  • a. Use a paper trimmer that cuts straight and clean and keep spare blades. My go to is a Genesis from Bonnie’s best but at 16 inches that does not travel well. So I keep a Tonic guillotine in my to go bag. I can cut a sliver with either of these cutters. I also have a Fiskars slide type for those occasions where I want to stop or start cutting in the middle of my paper.
• 4. Make sure your stamping is clean and crisp. If you miss stamp, fix it if you can, embellish over it or DISCARD IT.To get great results stamping you need some sort of foam pad underneath the paper you are stamping on. Mouse pads work even layers of fun foam. Cover the foam with some typing/copier paper scrap (this protects the foam from absorbing stray ink). The foam gives so if the stamp is uneven and often they are the foam compensates for this.
  • a. Ink your stamp thoroughly, look at the stamp surface and make sure it looks wet. Test a new stamp on scrap.
  • b. Press the stamp to the paper and don’t rock or twist. Walk you hand over the backs of large stamps to make sure that all parts of the stamp have kissed the paper. (You can take paper to stamp instead for large stamps and them cover the paper with scrap and use a brayer or walk your hand over the back of a scrap paper. Then let the stamp REST momentarily on the paper so that it can transfer the ink and so the paper has time to absorb the ink.
  • c. Use a stamp positioner. Stamp A Jig is one, this makes sure your stamps are where you want them and on the paper straight. Especially useful for sentiments.
• 5. Adhesives. Keep a variety of them both wet and dry. My favorite wet is 3M Scotch Quick Dry and for heavy items Glossy Accents. Dry ATG. Dot N Go Glue Dots in several styles.
• 6. You need a variety of great scissors. Detail ones with a very sharp tip. I use EK Success Honey Bee pair because they are non-stick and they cut well. I have a pair by Fiskars but I think the EK Success cut better. I have some titanium general scissors that I got in a multipack at Sam's that have been cutting for 10 years well and true.

In the Hands of the Creator

LnL

LnL does it mean Laughing and Loving. It could, because we did. But it means Late-Nite in Louisville. My friends from the Cincinnati Based Late-Night Stamper group came and spent the day with me on Saturday and I was so blessed by their presence.

 

They entered into my craft area with Christmas music playing as the majority of the crafts we were to make where Christmas themed.  I started the day by introducing them to my new Pet Dog Bling.

 

They thought I had gotten a dog. LOL! I created him during a resin/mold class but he was not made with either one. He is made out of sculpy clay and different kinds of glitter. I may have found a new talent….not.

 

I donned my Tiara, then we opened with prayer. Ms. Wanda is a praying woman, yes sir; bless God; and once covered by the blood of Jesus we got down to crafti-goodness.

 

First we made a bottle station and matching designer clothes pins.

 

It is made out of PVC pipe coupling and designer paper. It is held together with hot glue. The paper is adhered with gel medium. Above is the sample I have been using for a couple of months. It comes in handy keeping your glue bottles upside down so that the glue is ready when you are.

Ms. Wanda

Ms. Ruby(she is just so cute!)

 

Then we got started making Christmas Door Knob Hangers.

 

this is the sample:

Ms. Bonnie

 

Ms. Rena

 

Ms. Mary(Free Range Chicken I’m still laughing that’s a story Mary told us)

 

This is my work in process. Its hard to teach and create at the same time.

I used the Tim Holtz holiday rosette to create the embellishment and there is a trick to getting 2 different sizes out of one size die. See my YouTube video for details.

 

Then we had to eat; crafting is hard work. My hubby, wonderful chef that he is made Chicken Salad and I made Brundage Soup ( I named the recipe after the friend who came up with it). The Ladies brought salad, brownies, two kinds of cookies and chocolate cake. I had some Klondike bars and oh the things they did for those bars. All that put Ms. Vickie to sleep!. Here are the other cards we made.

Ms. Vicky

It was getting late so I sent them home with the supplies to make this card. That’s my way of keeping a party going.

 

Everyone made it back home to Cincy safe and sound and I am still LNL Laughing and Loving and already planning for next year!

In the hands of the creator,

 

QP

World Card Making Day 2012

Just a quick post to celebrate World Card Making Day.

I just made this card using copics. Got Copic Certified yesterday so now I must practice Practice Practice!

 

 

 

A closer look.

I made a video about and you can find it on my YouTube channel: Elon47 channel

 

I hope you get to make a card today!

 

In the Hands of the Creator,

QP

 

-

Right Now

Enjoying: I just finishing working for the day and since it was a particularly rough one I’m enjoying the fact that it is over.

Planning: I’m planning to craft some more Christmas cards for Operation Christmas/ Operation Write Home. I’ll show you some at the end of this post.

Remembering:I spent Friday night crafting and I’m remembering how good it is to play with others.

Praising: I’m giving God praise for all the many blessings He alone has given me. A great Husband, 2 adult children who are doing well; a grand Girl who really is grand; a job, and for having ENOUGH. Hallelujah!

I’m on a CAS (clean and simple) kick






Procrastinating: I must finish a swap that is due on the 30th. I have most of the pieces complete; just not the whole. I don’t like how its turning out. I keep hoping that some bright idea will make it all fall into place.

In the Hands of the Creator,

QP

Losses

A couple of Friends suffered the loss of a parent. Another friend has decided not to attend our crafting nights anymore. It just seems to be a season of loss. So I made some cards for my friends.

First up the sympathy cards. I was playing with a technique I learned while visiting home from Rena (Hi Rena)! The stamps, ink and paper are all from Paper Trey Ink.



The paper on this one is kraft from Paper Trey Ink and colored with Prismacolors.
The ink was Archival. Stamps by Hero Arts except for the sentiment it is from
Cornish Heritage Farms. Someone so wonderful… can never be forgotten is what the full stamp says. I stamped a portion on the front and the rest inside. Added a few pearls to finish it off.



These three cards were inspired by a die set I bought from Paper Trey Ink.
there are 3 dies in the set as seen below. The stamps are from their Counting Your Blessings stamp set. I had this floral ribbon that covers the seam between where the embossing folder ends. I think it is a hello kitty set from Sizzix.






Even though this seems to be a season of loss; I am blessed and grateful, thankful for what I have.
In The Hand of the Creator,

What Is your Place of Rest?

You should have a place of rest.  A place that simply by being in it brings calm. A place that brings peace. You probably have one even if you don’t recognize it. Where do you spend most of your ME time? Time that is not dictated to by anyone other than you.

 

For me that place is my craft room/office/studio. It just gives me joy to create. I told my husband that he should ask me to come out if he feels neglected because I loose all track of time here in my secret garden.

 

If you could see my studio/craft/office place you would find it messy. I tend to like this room messy. I’m more creative when it is messy. Hubby does not get that “Why are bits of paper always on the floor?” I have an answer too but I don’t share it with him. I have less time to be in my craft-office-studio place than I’d like. And I don’t want to spend the time I do have cleaning. My friend who is into personality typing says if my P personality. Whatever even when I go all out and clean it and take an oath to keep it that way it never lasts more than a week. I’m not a neat crafter. I was watching a ustream last night and the woman put everything away after she used it. I sure wish God had made me that way.

 

Alas He didn’t and people have been trying to make me “neat” my whole life. My mom and my 3 sisters were/are all neat nicks (name given by non neat people to you neat people). I craft with a woman who says after each project we make “We have to Keep Our Work Spaces Clean” and then we sweep away the debris.  Left on my own the whole night’s debris would be there the next morning, ha ha. I adapt to other’s rules when I play in a group.

 

But In my OWN place I can be me

and leave debris,

             for all to see,

                           tee hee.

So where your place?

 

In the Hands of the Creator

It Pays to Hop

It does pay to Hop…blog hop that is. I participated in the Webster’s Pages August Blog Hop and I am a Winner. I will be getting items from their newest Collection Park Drive. Yippy

Yahoo! I won this 6x6 pad (perfect for me a card maker); some petals and accents.

This is a great start to my weekend!

In the Hands of The Creator,