Archive for the ‘Tips and Techniques’ Category

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.
       ~ Will Rogers

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way.
       ~ Daniele Vare

 

 

You know, I always run my cards by my family, who I have trained to oh and ah on queue. My daughter, well trained in critique diplomacy said – she hates it!

I immediately defended my card as my first venture with Magnolia stamps and began educating her on the virtues of Scandinavian style craft. I told Caitlin about how the stamps originate out of Sweden and showed her the Magnolia Ink magazine so she could appreciate the culture of the card. United Nations would be proud of my efforts at bridging the differences between American modern minimalism and Scandinavian ornate vintage, Caitlin, however, could not be convinced. She couldn't even bring herself to look at it! So, being the incredible diplomat that I am, I got my way – and I didn't even have to find a rock!

 

To those of you who love and create beautiful art with the Magnolia images, oh dears, do be gentle. Remember, it's just my first dabble at it. Being more than just a little intimidated, I did what any novice would do – I copied a master: Rachel Jakes. (I want to be like her when I grow up!)

 

I used so many sources for inspiration, I'm not sure I can even take any credit for this card.

First, Jen has this really fun sketch at i{heart}2stamp (I flipped it upside down and all around).

 

 

This week the My Time to Craft Challenge is "Pretty Pearls." Making a Scandinavian card without pearls would be like making German Chocolate Cake without coconut – it's almost a required ingredient. Besides that, they're so pretty.

I'm still keeping up with the Copic Creations challenges. Challenge number 26 is all about coloring black hair. The funny thing about coloring something black is (write this down – it's very important ) don't use the Black marker – it's too black. Suzanne Dean's tutorial, Coloring Images/Objects Black (very helpful) called for cool grays; C3, C5, C7, and C9. I didn't have C9, so I made a C9 with a 100 Black marker. (I know, I just told you not to use the Black marker – and it was very important.)

 

I touched the nib of my C7 marker to the nib of the 100 Black marker to pick up just a little bit of black and then colored the image with my C7 marker that now had just a little black mixed into it. I promise, you can do this without contaminating your markers. It works much like the way you might use a blender pen to pick up color from another marker, chalks, or ink refillers. By the time you finish coloring your image, the color you picked up with be gone from the nib, and you'll be back to your original color.

 

Here is a breakdown of the markers I used. If you're reading this in a reader like Google Reader or Feedblitz, or, if you one of the lucky ones with the new iPad, you may not be able to see this slide show (it's in Flash), so here's another link to it.

 

 

And, all together . . .

• Embellishments – Basic Grey Opaline half pearls, Prima flowers, Charm Me (from Oriental Trader)
• Fibers: Stampin' Up! White Taffeta and Silver cord
• Ink – Copic Markers (see above), Memento Tuxedo ink pad
• Paper – Neenah, American Craft (Letterbox)
• Stamp: Magnolia Tilda with Bike
• Tools: Nestabilities, Stampin' Up!/EK Success border punch

So, in the interest of good, diplomatic relations – where you do weigh in on the vintage Scandinavian vs modern American styles? Are you in Team Caitlin or Team Magnolia. I promise – I won't look for any rocks!

 

 

I love the look of vintage, Scandinavian style cards. Penny Black's "For Goodness Sake" stamp gave me a good excuse to try – it's such a great image. So I did some field research first.

Hypothesis: Vintage cards are gorgeous and I will make one someday!

Methods of study:

• Committed to memory every page of the Magnolia Ink magazine. That magazine is hard to find – it's so popular. So, I also  stalked visited one of the fantastic designers for Magnolia, Claudia, at Pretty Pressings, to see some gorgeous Scandinavian styled cards.
• Followed fellow Austin-ite Jennifer Stewart's blog, The Simple Things.  Jennifer is the queen of Vintage, and every time I see her blog I get the urge to go to an antique mall or estate sale. Of course, Tim Holz is the King of vintage, and Melissa Phillips is in the royal court there somewhere.
• Studied Suzanne Dean's free (#19 through #23) on coloring for a distressed look with Copics.

 

Conclusion:

The magic behind a vintage card is all the attention to details: soft, sweet colors and lots of pearls, stitching, glitter, lace, ribbon, charms, and flowers. Stick with off-white, cream card stock, and, for extra credit, add some tulle and a hat pin.

I learned a lot making this one little card . . . and I love, love the results. I have a few un-inked Maganolia stamps to tackle next . . . Oh dear . . . back to the research lab.

 

 

 

 

 

I used this week's sketch from the Friday Sketcher Challenge, Sketch #94.

Paper Garden Projects' Birthday Challenge #3 asked us to herald in Spring or Easter, and Cardvarks challenged us to add Lace. I loved this heart-inspired lace, but didn't like that I only had it in bright white. So, I tea-stained it. If you've never done that before, it's eazy peazy and Fun! (I tried staining with coffee once. It looked nice, but still smelled of coffee. Tea doesn't add any special effects.)

1. Just brew some tea – good ole' cheap Lipton works as well as any.

Drop your lace into the tea. If you want to tea-stain paper, crinkle it up first so the tea will settle into the creases.

Pull the lace out after about 5 minutes and set it out to air dry. (I put mine on parchment paper to save the counter surface.)

Here are the Copic markers I used and the rest of the recipe.

 

 

• Embellishments – Chatterbox paper flower, Oriental Trader charm, Making Memories Vintage Findings (hat pin), Creative Imaginations pearl brad
• Fibers – May Arts ribbon, Wright's lace (from Joann's), tulle (Hobby Lobby wedding isle)
• Ink – Memento Tuxedo, Copic Markers (see above), Tim Holz/Ranger Antique linen and Old Paper distress inks, Spica clear glitter pen
• Paper – Neenah Classic Crest Baronial Cardstock. Stampin' Up! Textured vanilla Card Stock, Graphics 45 Baby and Bride Collection.
• Stamp: Penny Black's cling stamp, For Goodness Sake
• Tools: Nestabilities Classic Rectangle Large
• Misc.  – SU Pretty in Pink and Blush Blossom Stampin' Pastels

I promise I have no affiliation with this store . . . I just discovered Paper Garden Projects on-line store and, oh my goodness gracious gravy. I love everything they carry – ink, paper, stamps, etc., and I have never, ever received such fantastic service. I placed an order on Sunday, March 7, got a note it was shipped on March 8 and received it on March 10. Inside my package Cathy added a handmade card, stitched grosgrain ribbon and a handwritten note: "Thank you for your order, Linda (FYI, for long-term storage, it's best to store the glitter pen flat so the glitter stays dispensed in the fluid.)" Oh, and she signed it with a smiley face. Now that's service!

 

Happy Spring everyone!

 

 

See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
                                William Shakespeare

 

 

My Tom had has the most wonderful cheeks. Nice, pudgy, gotta-pinch-them, cheeks. He hates them. He says no matter how much weight he looses he still has this round face. I love his cheeks – they make the greatest smiles.

See what I mean – don't you just want to pinch!   

 

 

So, Nice Cheeks had a birthday last week. He was out of town, and I was up to my ears at work. Even as he walked in the door I was putting the finishing touches on his Double Nickle birthday card. He smiled (swoon, those cheeks again), and maybe even giggled.

 

Check out the inside (before I signed it and wrote something naughty you do NOT get to see).

 

Over at Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge Cathy's got a fun, fun challenge for you all this week she'll reveal tomorrow. Can you guess what it is by looking at my card? Ah, only time (just a few hours) will tell.

This week's Card Positioning System sketch (CPS158) jump started my design. Of course, I flipped it over a bit.

 

 

You know I LUV cupcakes. I mean, really obsessively love cupcakes. Especially cupcakes with lots of icing and sprinkles. So, I went to town with this icing. I used a 1/8" paint brush to paint on Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects and then sprinkled some Vintage Glass Glitter onto the Crystal Effects before it dried. It's really sparkly and yummy in person.

 

Oh, and I had fun with those Hamster cheeks. After I colored the hamster with different shades of brown Copic Markers, I added some Stampin' Up! Stampin' Pastels (chalks). Didn't they turn out cute? Here are the Copic Markers I used and the rest of the recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Embellishments – Stampin' Up! (SU) Button Bouquet
• Fibers – SU Grosgrain ribbon in Mustard, SU Gold Cord, SU Hemp Twine, SU Dotted Grosgrain
• Ink – Copic Markers (see above), Spica Lemon Pen
• Punches – Outside: SU Jewelry Tag, SU Slit, Creative Memories Corner Rounder. Inside: SU 1-1/2" Circle Punch, SU Circle Scallop, EK Success Border Punch, Word Window Punch 
• Paper – Neenah. SU Blush Blossom card stock, American Crafts Botanique and LetterBox
• Stamps – Mo's Digital Pencil Birthday Hamster
• Misc.  – SU Pretty in Pink and Blush Blossom Stampin' Pastels, SU Crystal Effects, Art Glitter Vintage Glass glitter

Tip – To make the round-tip green shaped tab in my card, I used the Stampin' Up! Slit punch. Cut a strip of paper 5/8" wide and a good 1" to 2" longer than you want your overall tab to be. Insert your strip into the top of the punch and pull it through the bottom so it looks like this. (Tweezers help.)

    

 

 

Be sure to check out all the other great inspiration for this week's challenge at Mo's and Card Positioning Systems. Leave me a message if you decide to play with us so I can see all your fun creations.

 

Gotta run. Gotta go pinch me some cheeks!

I'm sitting on my couch with an icky stomach – hoping it's not this stomach bug going around. Maybe I should just stop watching all they twirling and swirling going on with the Olympic figure skating and men's aerials.

 

Meanwhile, someone asked me how I did the cutout on this card, extending the image past the Nestabilities oval die.

I love, love the look of this technique, and it's really pretty easy. Here's a video from Paperthreads that shows how to do it. If you can't see the video, here's the link. This video made me a new fan of the Paperthreads Blog for all it's great tutorials for die cuts and stamping.

Leave me a comment with a link to your projects if you try this technique – I'd love to see what you create!

I haven’t made a tutorial in a month of Sundays. But, I got a couple of questions on how I made my Texana Round Up card, and, you know, quick as a hiccup, I aim to please.

I’m going to show ya’ll the techniques to make a second card featuring Texana Designs stamps from the JAM’N Stamp series. And, just to keep it interesting, I thought I’d throw in some good Texas livin’ advice. So, saddle up, you’ll be happy as a gopher in soft dirt before we’re done.

Cowboy Guide to Life #1 – Never smack a man who’s chewin’ tobacco.

First, I started with squares of Stampin’ up! Natural Vanilla card stock I sewed on with beige thread.

Cowboy Guide to Life #2 – Always take a good look at what you’re about to eat. It’s not so important to know what it is, but it’s critical to know what it was.

I inked up the paisley stamp from Stampin’ Up!’s Wanted stamp set with Creamy Caramel classic ink and stamped off once before I stamped the image. I also sponged on Creamy Caramel, Really Rust and Chocolate Chip for a real rich distressed look.

Cowboy Guide to Life #3 – Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Here’s where the fun begins. I stamped the JAM’N Barbed Wire Texas Flag and JAM’N Star Trio stamps on the distressed Natural Vanilla cardstock.

Cowboy Guide to Life #4 – The easiest way to eat crow is while it’s still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.

I also stamped the same images on three different sheets of patterned paper.

Cowboy Guide to Life #5 – Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.

Then, I just cut out the pieces I needed in my final piece. I didn’t have to worry about all the tiny lines in the barbed wire images because it was stamped in the anchoring, background piece.

Cowboy Guide to Life #6 – Evil thoughts are like chickens–they come home to roost.

Then, it was just a matter of putting together puzzle pieces.

Cowboy’s Guide to Life #7 – Ask no more and give no less than honesty, courage, loyalty, generosity, and fairness.

I just had to add the Texas Lonestar star.

And, here’s the finished card:

Can you stand one more tip?

Cowboy Guide to Life #8 – Go after life as if it’s something that’s got to be roped in a hurry before it gets away.

I made the bow on this card following a wonderful tutorial for multi-loop bows at Kittie Caracciolo’s blog, KittieKraft, Ribbon Tying Tutorials.

Here are the stamps I used from Texana Designs.

So, pardners, are you as confused as a goat on astro-turf? I hope not, and I promise, next time, I’ll be back to talkin’ like city slicker.

Twick or Tweet Tweats – sounds like Sylvester the cat with some cwazy lisp . . . When I saw Tiffany Miller's sour cream containers with the polka dot window sheets, I thought – what genius! How cute is it to be able to see what's inside the treat container. You can see her collection of three Halloween sour cream containers at her site, Tiffany's Cardique. (Isn't that a cute blog name?)

 

I absolutely love the Night & Day Designer Series paper – it has this lovely distressed look on a lot of the papers. It also includes two black polka-dot window sheets – how fun! Tiffany had such a great idea, too – you can fill these little containers with Hershey Kisses, M&M's, Skittles, Tootsie Rolls, etc., and throw in a plastic spider ring among the candy as a little "trick". So, check out what I found at Target – stetchy frogs.

 

 

 

 

If you look really closely, you'll see some of these in the treat containers.

Kind of reminds you of Harry Potter, doesn't it? 

So, here's how you make the containers: Basically, it just takes a 4 1/4" by 5 1/2" piece of paper (or 1/4 of a regular 8 1/2 x 11 sheet), some sticky tape, and a crimper. Run the adhesive on the very edge of the two long sides and one of the short ends. Put the two short ends together to form a tube. Pinch one of the open ends together and crimp. Then add a treat and pinch the other end together in the opposite direction to form the "twist", and crimp. Keeping the tube shape kind of works against gravity, so we found it worked best to staple the two crimped edges together – otherwise they came open at the most inopportune time and spilled candy on the floor. The dogs loved it. 

 

Can you believe it? I made these beautiful flowers out of Paper! I took a class by the lovely Susan Tierney Cockburn on Monday at Scrappily Ever After. Cheryl's store in Temple, Texas, is one of the few scrapbook stores that carries Susan's full line of paper punches and books, as well as the tools, adhesives, etc., she recommends. The store is just full of Susan's beautiful sculpted flowers – that alone is worth the trip.

I've admired Susan's work for years and purchased her books hoping to some day master the craft. I never thought I'd be able to do it to my satisfaction, but Susan is such a great teacher. She has incredible knowledge of the paper crafting industry (and even the latest gossip about many of the paper crafting "stars.") But, most inspiring was her love for horticulture and her passion for staying true to the flower.

Okay, don't laugh, because I know this is pretty dated . . . but here's one of the three projects I created on Monday with Susan's guidance.

 

Yep, that's none other than my new husband and me – 26 years ago. Don't you love that hat and those wings on my shoulder?! And isn't Tom a cutie?! When I showed Tom this new mat for our wedding picture, he said it was a little overkill. Okay, I kind of agree. But, still, aren't those flowers just amazing? My mind is spinning with projects to make with my new flower-making skills.

Susan flew from her home in Washington State to be with us in Central Texas, and was practicing her Japanese to head to a trade show in Tokyo. It was a huge treat to spend the day with her.

Stay tuned for more projects from Susan's class. And, don't forget to come back on April 27 for our Stampin' Up! Blog Hop, when I'll be featuring the set, "Scene in a Garden."

Yes, we are so way overdue for a Tipsy Tuesday Tip. Do you ever hear one of those tips and think, well, duh, why didn’t I think of that? Some of the best tips are the ones that are right in front of your nose, but, it took another genius to come up with it. (You know, like the tip about not running your ceiling fan when you’re playing with glitter, unless you like that overall glow look.)

Stampin’ Up! has always been known for such excellent color coordination (paper matches ink matches ribbon matches eyelets and brads). This year they’ve really stepped it up a notch so that their punches are coordinating even more with their images and accessories. Here are just a few examples:

• SNOW BLOSSOM PUNCH works with "In the Spotlight" and the "Snowfall" stamp sets
• THREE FOR YOU PUNCH works with "Punch Pals" (3 poinsettias) and "Sweet Thing" (small flower)
• STAR PUNCH can be used with the "Sporting", "Labelicious," "Wanted," and other Boho products
• WORD WINDOW PUNCH – There are 55 sets to use with this punch!

Some smart person at the recent Stampin’ Up! convention came up with this idea.

Make little index cards of each of your Stampin’ Up! punches. I used scrap pieces of paper that I cut down to 4" x 2 3/4" – that was big enough for the biggest punch shape. Then, with my handy-dandy crop-a-dile, I punched a hole in the top of the sheets and put them all together with a binder ring. Now, I have an inventory of all my punch shapes (I love punches). Because it’s on a binder ring, I can add or delete my index sheets as my inventory changes. And, since the stamp images in the catalog are actual size, I can also overlay my index cards to see which punches work well with the individual stamp images. Genius. Wish I’d thought of it.

I color coded my index sheets so that Sky Blue is for circle shapes, Wild Wasabi for square shapes, Purely Pomegranate for miscellaneous shapes like the star, and River Rock for flowers, etc. It took me all of about 30 minutes to make my inventory index cards. Don’t you just love easy tips like this?

Today is my adorable twin sister’s birthday. Well, you know what that means. It’s my birthday, too, and she won’t let me forget it. So she sent me that great card in the picture. Here’s the inside sentiment:

Wha, ha, ha! I about peed in my panties. Yes, that’s me, glitter gas. Buy, that’s because I’ve played with glitter under the fan! That’s my niece’s disclaimer on the bottom: "I am not responsible for the actions of my mother." Here’s a shout out to my adorable sister, and a song in her honor.

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday you crazy loon!
You’re freakin’ 49 years old today . . .
Hey, that’s okay, I am too!

I love you, sis! May all your birthdays be glittery!

My husband and I are camped at my father-in-law’s house, keeping an eye on him while at the same time occupying ourselves to keep our minds of what lies ahead. Thank you for your very kind words of support and sympathy. Thankfully, Dad is staying comfortable and peaceful. We’re doing everything we can to keep him that way.

So, not being at home, I don’t have access to my stamping supplies. I do have the companionship of the Internet, though, and have enjoyed all the news from this past week’s National Stampin’ Up Convention in Denver. Kimberly Morris of SUDSOL fame forwarded along some fantastic notes. Among the gems were these hints from a presentation by Carrie Cudney & Lori Olaveson.

Remember that Paul Simon song . . . Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.

Okay, now sing along with me,

She said its really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning wont be lost or misconstrued
But Ill repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be 20 ways to use your markers.

1. Colorbook – stamp in black, then color in.
2. Opaque Coloring – stamp in white craft ink on dark or black cardstock, then color over portions with markers. (Batty For You set is great for this.)
3. Color in spots on a black and white photograph. (Lighter colors work best for this; don’t color on one of a kind photos. Make copies to color on.)
4. Watercoloring.
5. Dual end coloring – pick up a bit of re-inker of a darker shade onto the tip of a marker.
6. Omitting (TIP: lightly dab with sponge dauber to smooth out brush strokes from surface of inked stamp before stamping down onto card stock.)
7. Embossing – ink stamp up in Versamark first, then color with markers then stamp on card stock and cover with clear embossing powder (EP).
8. Shading and Highlighting – start with lightest color and move to darker colors.
9. Water Misting  – ink up image and spray either stamp or card stock with water before stamping
10. Color Spritzer Background – mist a background onto card stock.
11. Color Spritzer Inking – mist onto stamp before stamping. You may want to color with lighter colors first, then mist speckles onto image.
12. Thumping – ink up image in light color, "thump" markers of 2-3 different colors onto the top of that, exhale on stamp to moisten the ink and then stamp image
13. Coloring Acetate – take page protector and cut away two sides so that it opens like a folder. Scribble with different colors of markers, then mist with water.  Close "folder" and open it.  Place two pieces of card stock in there back to back and close folder, rubbing the color onto the card stock. Remove card stock and let dry. Mist again for a lighter set of background pieces.
14. Dyeing Ribbon (This especially looks neat if you run a marker on each little edge of the grosgrain ribbon, as it makes the edges stand out by themselves.)
15. Dyeing flowers in Pretties Kit
16. Dyeing Pearls in Pretties kit – Color pearl, hold in tweezers from Crafter’s Tool Kit, dip in clear EP and heat EP to set
17. Dyeing Hair! (streaks for Halloween)
18. Stencil through brass template
19. Stampin’ Around wheels – color with marker, spray with mist of water, use chalk applicator to remove words or letters or other parts you don’t want.
20. Tone on tone journaling

I use my markers a lot, but I sure picked up some good tips. Thanks, Kimberly. Can’t wait to try some of these ideas, especially when I break out my Pretties Kit.

This Tipsy Tuesday topic includes just some basic Stampin’ 101 tips for the Care and Feeding of your ink pads.

Storage:

• I’m a little slow sometimes. I store my Stampin’ Up! ink pads by family color but it took me months before I caught on that there’s a little code on the end of the pad to help you keep the families together. Did you know the number of dots tells you the color family? The Real Red pad here has one dot, which places it with the Bold Bright family. Pads with two dots go to Earth Elements, three dots belong to Rich Regals, and four dots go with Soft Subtles.
• Felt ink pads are best stored upside down to keep the ink closest to the stamping surface. Fortunately, Stampin’ Up! designed their pad cases so that the ink pads are automatically face down when you close them.
• If you don’t have the boxes the stamp pads come in (by color family), find an organizational tool that allows you to store all of your pads flat. Always store your pads level, never on their ends (especially rainbow or Kaleidescope pads).

There are lots of creative ways to store you pads, including some cassette/8-track storage systems and custom shelves. I like the Stampin’ Up! caddy because, as the name of my blog implies, I like to go to crops, and our caddy is easy to tote. The small, turn-style footprint takes just a little space on my desk. When you go out to look for something, take a few stamp pads with you and make sure your system will keep the pads flat. Here are a few on-line sources for pad storage.

1. Stampin’ Up! Color Caddy
2. Dek Development Ink
3. Storage Units Ink
4. Wisconsin Stamp Supplies
5. Sizzle
6. Stamp N Store

Maintenance:

• Old stamp pads never die, they just get re-inked. Re-inking is very easy and saves you money in new pads. Spread a thin layer of the bottled refill ink as evenly as possible over the pad. Start in the middle, squeezing out the ink as you draw lines on the pad, back and forth. In the areas where the ink is absorbed very quickly keep applying more ink until it sinks in much slower. You can then use a stiff piece of card stock or a  heavy plastic (an old credit card) to drag across the pad and spread the ink.
• Don’t forget that the current In Color inks and paper will retire on July 1 (other colors may retire as well, but we won’t know until July 1.) If you’ve purchased those pads, be sure to order re-inkers before July 1 because they’ll only be available for three times the cost on E-Bay.
• Ink stains on the outside of the ink pad case usually clean up easily with a baby wipe or paper towel and a bottle of Stampin’ Mist. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works well for cleaning up both stamp pad cases and stained stamps.
• Do you have some stray little threads sticking out the sides of the felt pads? Trim those easily with scissors to prevent loose threads from coming out on your stamped image.

Hopefully now your pads are well fed and taken care of with a home where they can retreat laying flat with a generous re-inking and an outer makeover.

Here’s where my pads retreat.

My craft desk probably doesn’t maximize space but I’m very sentimental about it. It’s full of family momentos such as my Dad’s roll-top desk, the steeple clock he made for my Mom that chimes the hour, and favorite family pictures. I’m a sentimental stamper/scrapper so that suits me well. There are practical benefits, too, like the OTT light (love it!), the Ranger Craft Pad to protect the desk, and lots of knick-knack drawers. I’m very, very fortunate that I have a small room in the house I get to call mine. If you’d like (and I get up more nerve), I’ll share the rest of the room with you this week.