Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Mini Stamps


In case you've never used mini stamps before, I created this card using my 4 favorite techniques:
1) create a border or paper ribbon
2) create a background by randomly stamping
3) create a mini pop-up image as an embellishment
4) use different colors with the same stamp to bring an area to life with color
I used just 3 of the 40 new mini stamps we have in stock from Luni.
Shop for mini rubber stamps.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Lost Coast Designs Rose Boy and Domino Border Card

The background was created using the 5x7 Cuttlebug Domino embossing folders. The smaller folders were never quite big enough to create a full A2 background. The fun things about these larger folders, is not only that they are large enough to create an A2 background but there is actually a little room to insert the paper at an angle if you don't want the pattern completely straight. This beautiful high-detail stamp is from Lost Coast Designs. We carry that stamp untrimmed or cut on cling here. We also carry the neat domino border stamp. For complete instructions, click on the image to view the card in our card gallery.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Summer Love

The theme of our next newsletter is going to be summer love. We've put both our Love & Hearts and Love & Romance sets. Here is a sneak preview of the newsletter artwork.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Embossing Folder Technique: Letterpress & Other Ideas

Embossing Folder Letterpress


These cards were created using the new Tim Holtz Texture Fades and Lost Coast Designs Alice in Wonderland rubber stamps.

As announced in our last newsletter, we have just gotten the 8 new sets of Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades (embossing folders) in stock. I have always enjoyed
using my Cuttlebug Embossing Folders and am happy to have a few more designs as options. A few months ago we sponsored an embossing folder challenge to see what fun ways readers could come up with for using these. Since then I've had a chance to play with a few new techniques as well. Here are some fun things to do with embossing folders.



Thursday, June 3, 2010

StazOn Metallic Ink Pad Kits



Many of us have had an ongoing quest for the perfect metallic ink pad. Many companies have tried to create a permanent metallic pad that will stamp on non-porous surfaces like glossy paper and acetate, but there have always been problems with the ink drying out before the pad gets to the store and consequently many of those have been discontinued.

Tsukineko has done a nice job of dealing with the problems of the metallic powder absorbing the liquid. The first thing they did right was to ship the pad dry and include the ink with it in a kit. This way the first application of ink isn't dry when you open the new pad. The next brilliant thing Tsukineko did, which we haven't seen before, is use a special type of foam in the pad. It doesn't absorb ink the way other foam pads do. The ink seems to float near the surface. The first application of ink only requires 8-12 drops. Really! Exceptional instructions for inking the pad are included in the kit. You may need to ink the pad each day you plan to use it, but you need so little ink you can reink at least dozens of times. The third nice thing about this pad is that each kit includes an ink spreading tool. I keep an old credit card around for reinking but I can't ever find it when I need it. This little spreading tool can be stored right inside the case so you always have it handy.

Personal Preferences: I found that I like a freshly inked pad when stamping a bold image on matte card stock, like the dragon on green cardstock. Conversely, I actually prefer that the ink dries for a day before stamping a highly detailed image on a glossy surface like the poppy on acetate. The ink gets just a little tacky which keeps the stamp from sliding. I'm sure stampers will figure out their own preferences, but the one thing I think most will agree on is that this ink pad will stamp a lot of images, not waste ink and not need to be heat set, which makes it perfect for acetate and other plastics.

Instructions for Dragon Card
Instrctions for Poppy Card


Shop for StazOn Metallic Ink Pads