Explorations...

I got home one evening this week swearing to myself that I'd take one hour in the craft room, one hour to do other things, and then get to bed earlier.  Three hours later...

Whenever I can find the time, I read papercraft blogs and watch videos to learn techniques and get ideas from others.  And while I'm always happily behind the curve in all of the latest stamping and card-making fads and product purchases, I have a list of things that don't seem too time consuming or too messy that I've been eager to try, and a couple of recent purchases that have helped me down this road.

1)  Water-coloring:   You can't go anywhere in the papercraft world without hearing about coloring of some kind - adult coloring books, Copic markers, watercolor, and on and on.  I don't really have the time or the patience for coloring itself, and I have been reluctant to go down the watercolor path because it a) requires different paper, b) is potentially messy and leaves a messy look on your card front I'm not sure I love, and c) needs time to dry that I just don't have.

But the more I read and watched, the more I began to see that there might be something to this watercolor business that might work for me.  So months ago, I bought a small pad of water color and did nothing with it.  Finally in March, I played a little bit...

I read about a technique, not where you paint with actual watercolors on paper, but where you ink an acrylic block, spritz with water, and press the paper on top.  You can let it dry, or heat it with a heat tool to help it along, and once it's dry, stamp over it.  This is marginally messy and time consuming, but not really moreso than everything else I make.

The background does have that messy look, but I like the contrast with the crisp black stamping on top (I finally got a great black ink - this also makes everything better!!!)  I liked my first attempts above, but left it there, and didn't even make the images into cards.

Then sometime in the past week or so, I read about a technique where you ink up a piece of watercolor paper with Distress inks, which are designed to react with water, liberally spritz a stencil with water, and press that stencil down over the inked sheet with a paper towel on top to absorb the excess moisture.  I can't for the life of me find the source, but I remembered the technique and gave it a try using a new stencil from A Colorful Life:  Island Flowers.

This is one of a bunch of similar techniques with ink, stencils and watercolor.  You can put the dry stencil on top of the inked paper and spray with water.  You can put the stencil on the un-inked paper and ink or watercolor over that, and on, and on.

My results were subtle, and brighter in real life than in this photo (also note this unusual color palette for me - yellow! - craziness!).  I want to try this again with darker colors and different stencils, and even bringing the paper to the wet stencil instead of stencil to paper to see if the effect changes.  Here's a look at the full card:

2)  Heat Embossing:  Okay, I've known about and done heat embossing for a long time.  That's where you stamp something and while the ink is wet, cover the image or sentiment with embossing powder, shake off the excess and heat it with a heat tool to melt the powder, which produces a raised image.  I feel like I did a bunch of this back when I first started stamping, and then mostly avoided it because it added an extra step to my card making, and because I wasn't very good at it.  I never knew whether my ink wasn't sticky enough, my embossing powder of sufficiently poor quality, or my heat tool not up to par, or all three.  But like watercolor, it seems like these days all cards and techniques involve some heat embossing, so I decided to give it another go.

I made this card in May.  If you look at a close-up of the image, you can see the embossed image, which resists the ink over it.  And if you look really close you can see (or maybe you can't and I just can because I know it's there), uneven spots.

So at some point this month when Amazon was calling to me with its siren call, I added a new heat tool that looks less like a hair dryer, and has a stand to use when it's heating up, and a pointed nozzle to help you direct the heat exactly where you want it.  It's also powerful and heats up quickly, and for both the embossing and for drying my watercolor, it was fantastic.  Here's a close-up of my embossing - still imperfect, but faster!

Also notice the use of the stitched boarder frame die, which cuts the cover card piece to an exact A2 size with straight lines and everything, and include that notched line just inside the edge.  I often find I want a subtle border around the edges of my card panels.  I either use a tracing wheel, or draw pencil lines, or use a marker to create a border.

The stitched dies, which everyone in the card-making world already has, and I guess is done using, help achieve that same affect.  I'm in love with them.

I hope I can keep finding time to experiment and make things as the summer goes on.  One of these days I will be brave and tackle embossing paste!

What are you working on this summer?

Colorplay

You'd be amazed at just how often I mean to post to this blog...  I have a big list of topics for posts, and photos even, but the absence of time.  So for all two of you who will see this, maybe there will be more coming.  Maybe I'll even post again this year, or this season!

I try to make a habit of documenting all of the cards that I make.  In the olden days, I would splurge on a color copy of the card and be satisfied that the image captured the idea of what I made, if not the exact colors.  These days, my phone goes up to the craft room with me so I can take a quick snap when I have a final product.  And more often than not, I take another shot of the card at my office where my cube is full of natural light in the mornings.  I recently made a birthday card and photographed it twice:

I know it's just science, but I find it amazing how the different lights make the colors appear different - warmer in the view on the left, shot at night in a room with dark walls lit by halogen and (maybe) incandescent bulbs, and more yellow on the right, taken in the light of my office window with some fluorescent overhead. 

So what color is it really?  I guess now only the recipient will get to decide...

Card Details:  Tim Holtz "Tiles" stencil with Distress inks; Coffee Bean stamp by Stamps by Judith & Heather; Sentiment by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous "Saying Stuff set"

Think Pink!

I never make anything in pink, despite what Kay Thompson said!

...except for now, I suppose.

In an earlier post, I wrote about my serendipitous collection of art deco/art nouveau rose craft items, including Poppystamps' Art Deco Roses die.  My mother's birthday was the perfect excuse to both play with that die and dabble in an unusual (for me) color choice.

This was also my first experiment with the inlay technique of filling in your die cuts with the cut-out pieces, shown here in a contrasting color.  No doubt this is easier both with practice and with dies that have fewer solid pieces, and although I liked the end effect on my cart, it was a pain to do with this die.  If I do it again with this die, I'll only fill in a couple of the largest roses, rather than all of them.

I also loved using Technique Junkie's Bubble Girl image.  She presented a different type of challenge for me as I gravitate toward images that face to the right from the viewer's perspective, rather than to the left.  But I'm too fond of the stamp to not use it, so I'll add this to the list of ways this simple card moved me ever-so-slightly closer to the edge of my creative comfort zone.

In the world of card making, various stamp manufacturers, affinity groups, and other sites host challenges.  I hate competitions, and am in no way competitive, but I keep track of a few challenge series' topics if only to give myself a list of key words that might spark an idea if I ever run dry, or the impetus to carve out time to actually sit down and make something.  When I saw this week's challenge from CASology, I thought, I won't even write that one down, I never do anything in pink.  But then when I was posting a few new cards to Pinterest, I remembered this one, AND had a picture of it.  I'll write a little more about some of my (very few) challenge entries in a future post.

Mask, redux...

Last June I wrote this post about the mismatch of a favorite stamp and the pre-cut mask I purchased for it at the Heirloom Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts show in Allentown.  That same rubber stamp show was back for it's annual visit last weekend (and you want to be regaled with future posts about everything I purchased there, don't you???), and I took the opportunity to buy the stamp that actually goes with the mask.

I first purchased the stamp years ago from Silvercrow Creations, who calls it "Reading Woman." I'd seen the same image from Stampland, which they call "Janice Reading," a while ago too, but for some reason, I never liked it as much, although it was nearly identical to the Silvercrow version.  I bought the unmounted version from Stampland, and mounted it with cling foam.  You can see the size difference from the back, but it's more noticeable once you see the two stamped out.

But the key thing is that the mask (made by Stampland) matches their version of the image (go figure).

I made a quick card to experiment with the mask...

...and though it was definitely a time saver to have the pre-cut mask I can use over and over again, I still prefer the size and the detail of the original image.

It felt good to get back into the craft room again, even if briefly.  I dashed off another card recently and hope to spend a few hours there this weekend.  What are you working on this month?

Recurring themes...

Happy new year, all two of you who read this blog!! 

One of the long-term projects on my list is to get a new monogram stamp to use as a signature or logo for the back of my cards.  I have different initials than I used to, so my perfect monogram peg stamp made by the now defunct Stamp Cabana no longer does the job.  Of course there are many companies who will design and make a monogram stamp for you, but better than that, my husband offered to design one for me.  This led to the problem of having too many options:  what size did I want, what font, how readable, graphics, or none, and on and on.  Having too many options brings me to a halt, so though I've had new initials for a while now, I still have no stamp.  But it's the new year, so it's time for a decision and progress.

To get me on the right track, I recently started to think about what I liked about the current monogram stamp I have.  It's small, about 1/2" square, simple, with two initials intertwined, and uses a kind of Art Nouveau-esque font.  Internet searches of Art Nouveau and Art Deco alphabets led me to fonts which resonated with me.  From there it was a very short hop to the artwork of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who's work I studied in school.  This led to another connection - I already own a bunch of craft stuff in this style and gravitate toward those stylistic Glasgow roses.  Searching in my craft room last night, here's what I pulled out:

The products:  Acey Duecy stamp - Palazzo; Rubber Stamp Tapestry Stamp - Single Rose-Small;  Spellbinders M-bossabilities - Cabbage Roses; Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Scribbles; Poppystamps die - Art Deco Roses

In my head, the roses in all of these products looked identical.  Not so, of course.  I decided to see if and how they all worked together.  I used plum dye ink on cream paper for with the stencil.  As the pattern is called scribbles, perhaps that's what the designer sees, but I always see roses.

Using a similar palette, I stamped out the two images, and decided that the peg stamp was sufficiently different to not make the final piece.

I used textured paper with a white core in the embossing folder, and sanded off part of the paper to try and make the roses pop.

But in the end I decided that I like the solid coloring best, so used the debossed side.

My die cut corner was the final piece.  Here's how they all came together:

This card was just an exercise and an experiment with some new and old products.  In the end, I liked the pieces individually, but not how they came together.  The design developed organically, based on the scraps that were closest to the top of the pile on my desk, not with any forethought.  If I do something like it again, I'll think about the size and color of the pieces more carefully. 

I love the die cut especially, and hope to use that often, but I need to work on how incorporate it in a larger sheet without adding bulk or too many layers to the card, and more important, how to glue it down (If you look closely at the image above, you'll likely see tons of residue from the adhesive, and the oh-so-attractive visible bits of double-face tape beneath the two roses on the lower right.  One of these days I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go back to glue.  Suggestions???)

In the end, what struck me is how my collection of craft products is consistent, even in its breadth and age.  I have these mini themes that wind their way through my stamps, papers, and now embossing folders, dies, and stencils.  Maybe this just shows how little my tastes have changed through the years.

I have a long list of topics for this and my oft-neglected companion blog Festive, Yet Tasteful, so check-in from time to time, and share in the comments what projects you're working on this year.

MISTI...

In the world of rubber stamping and card making, just like in every craft or hobby out there, there are always new things to buy.  In my corner of the crafting world, not only are there always new stamps, inks, embossing folders, etc., (and yes, I have a few new things to show all two of you who read this blog), there are also bigger ticket items:  machines or tools of one kind or another for embossing, die cutting, and now duplicate and precision stamping.  To quote the introductory video, meet MISTI...

When I'm making a card and I need the stamped image to go in a particular place, I use a stamp positioner.  Mine is like this one from Apple Pie Memories.  I fit the acrylic sheet into the corner, and stamp.  This establishes the relationship of the stamp to the corner.  I can use the plate to place the image on my card, and then stamp confidently knowing exactly where my image will land (as long as nothing moves...).  This system is great and pretty easy to use, and one I'll probably always use with wood-mounted stamps.  But I started reading about this tool that helps you position stamps accurately and more easily create multiples when you are using clear or cling stamps.

MISTI is an acronym for the Most Incredible Stamp Tool Invented.  It's really an simple system.

It's a clear acrylic box with laser-etched grid lines on the top, and similar grids on the metallic bottom, with a hinged lid.  Your paper sits in the box, secured by magnets.  Your stamps adhere to the inside of the box lid.  Close the box, and voila! 

The tool comes with a removable foam pad so it can be used with both thinner clear stamps as well as foam-backed cling stamps.  The theory is that once you've made your design, you can always align your stamps and paper for easy re-stamping.  I've only played with it once, but here are some things MISTI does very well shown with my little-used Spellbinders/Hampton Arts Royal Affair stamp and die set.

I first die cut the shapes

And then by laying the un-inked stamp on top of the die cut, closing the lid, inking the stamps, which cling to the lid, and closing the box, I got a near perfect match of stamp to shape.

It's hard to see in the picture above, but the ornate frame didn't stamp well the first time.  I had missed inking some of the rubber.  This is also one of the benefits of MISTI - you get a second chance.  Because the stamp is adhered to the box lid, and the paper held in place with magnets, you will stamp in the same place the second time without any ghosting.  You can see in the picture below that I was able to rescue my frame and get it properly inked the second time.

The stamp set comes with images that you can put in your frame.  So I aligned the uninked image on the frame, opened the box lid, inked, and stamped.

You can see below that my alignment isn't 100% perfect, but it's pretty close.  I was able to stamp this single die-cut layer with two colors and no tears.

There are tons of other things you can do with MISTI - I'm only scratching the surface.  Youtube videos abound.  It may not be the tool I use every time because most of my stamps are wood-mounted, which I prefer, but I may make me more inclined to use unmounted stamps, and possibly even convert some of my mounted stamps to clings.

I'm using MISTI for my holiday cards.  I'll report back...

After the constant hum of activity of the last few weeks, I finally got a chance to spend time in my craft room and make some stuff.  I haven't started on my big holiday card-making blitz, but I needed a couple of Chanukah cards immediately, and with that as my goal, I got to work.

Tasks like this, where I feel like I'm starting from nothing, often overwhelm me.  But this time I kept moving forward aided by the fact that I don't actually have very many Jewish-themed stamps, and I have a pile of inspiration cards saved in Evernote and Pinterest.  The card that grabbed my attention last night was this one by Heather Nichols of Pine is Here: 

Heather uses the emboss resist technique which is simply stamping an image, embossing it with embossing powder and a heat tool, inking over it, and wiping away the ink from your stamped image.  Because embossing powder, once melted, is magical, the ink won't stick to its plastic-y surface.

I've long loved the cards people create with this technique, but as I don't really have good, sticky ink or good heat embossing skills, I have shied away from it.  But I have new power outlets in my craft room, a neglected heat tool, and a ton of embossing powder, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I chose these stamps:  Star by PSX; Sentiment by Stampinks, Unlimited (both companies now out of business!)

I wanted a simple design - something like this, but not crooked...

I stamped the image and the sentiment with white pigment ink, and embossed with white embossing powder.  I inked over both in blue dye ink, and used a damp baby wipe to carefully wipe the blue ink off of the stamped images.  The image below doesn't really capture how the white embossed bits popped, but they did!

Here's the final card, mounted on navy duplex card stock.

I definitely want to keep working on emboss resist.  With practice and newer, stickier inks, this might become a quick and easy card-making technique for me.

What are you making this holiday season?