Blending colour directly on rubber

A few of you have asked how I did the multi-coloured flower image in my last post, so I thought I'd go into a bit more detail and also show you another example. Applying colour to a bold stamp before you stamp it is one of my favourite ways to add impact to a card. It's quicker than watercolouring a line art image, but still looks great. You simply use markers to colour directly on to the rubber in whatever shades you desire.
Here, I've coloured with Almost Amethyst on the outer rims of the petals, and Apricot Appeal towards the centre, using the brush-tipped end of my marker. I've left a small blank space where the 2 colours would meet, which is where I'll do some blending. Use a fine-tipped Aquapainter with water in it, but dry the tip off on a tissue, so it isn't too wet. Then, just blend the 2 colours together. You don't want to end up with a muddy brownish colour, so don't overwork it. A few strokes should do it. Then stamp onto Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock, and hold your stamp down on the paper for a few seconds, to allow the colour to soak in. I've found that you won't get a very good result on other types of cardstock.
Next, I've done some 2-step-stamping with this image, where I've inked up the matching line image with my markers, and stamped it over the top of the bold image, to give a dimensional look.
The vellum has been wheeled with the Scatter Sunshine Jumbo wheel in White Craft ink. I've attached most of it behind the main image, so the adhesive won't show, with just a few bits of Snail adhesive behind some of the whiter flowers. The Snail adhesive is invisible under vellum if you use it behind a patterned area. I've torn the bottom of the Apricot Appeal cardstock.
The rest of this card is pretty simple: paper piercing in the corners, 3 Apricot Appeal brads in the lower right-hand corner for balance (I used the Paper Piercing template to get them lined up straight!)
I hope that helps those of you who have had trouble colouring and blending straight onto your stamps. Those of you who haven't tried it, why not give it a go!

NEWSFLASH! There will be a new mini coming out on the 1st August, and I received my Demonstrator copy today (one of the things I love about being a demo is getting to see it all first!). We get to pre-order on the 1st July, and I have an enormous wishlist already. Some of the sets I've been eyeing off on US blogs will be here really soon....YAY! Email me if you desperately want to know if your favourites have made it here!

A Swap!

Participating in swaps is lots of fun, and always inspiring. This is the card I made for a recent swap I was in with 5 other lovely ladies. Actually, this isn't the exact card that they received. I ended up deciding to stamp "En Francais" in Old Olive ink on the Old Olive piece, and I prefer it with that added detail. I think I used just about every background stamp I own on this card!
There are quite a lot of steps to this card, but you're all always telling me you like reading my descriptions, so here goes!
First, I stamped Linen Background on the Very Vanilla piece really lightly. I used Creamy Caramel ink and used the fifth impression (so I stamped 4 times on scrap card-stock before stamping on the Very Vanilla piece). The Brocade Backgrounds stem and leaves has been stamped in Old Olive ink on Very Vanilla card-stock. I stamped the flower on a separate piece of Very Vanilla card-stock and cut it out. I got a multi-coloured flower by colouring the inner part with a Pumpkin Pie marker, and the middle with a Rose Red marker, and then I inked the edges by rolling the stamp in the Purely Pomegranate inkpad. I then blended the colours on the stamp with an Aquapainter, before stamping it on Very Vanilla Card-stock, and cutting it out.
TIP: always leave a narrow white border when cutting out images. It's much more forgiving on the eye than trying to cut right up to the edge.
I attached the inner part of the flower with my 2-way glue pen (great for getting into small areas), and popped the outer part of the petals up on dimensionals. I sponged the edges of this piece with Close to Cocoa ink, and layered it on a piece of Chocolate Chip card-stock.
The Old Olive piece has also been stamped with Linen background in Versamark ink (I just love the subtle texture this gives!), and the edges sponged in Old Olive ink. The main card is Purely Pomegranate, stamped with Paisley background, in Versamark ink.
The greeting is from Occasional greetings, stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. I punched it out with my Oval punches (what on earth did I use to do before I had these???), with more sponging in Close to Cocoa.
The ribbon is Wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain.

Colour Challenge Number 11

I was excited to see the latest Colour Challenge is up on Kristina's website. It was perfect timing for the Stamp, Scrap 'n' Chat night I had tonight at my house. And here I am, uploading at midnight, as I have to go to Wollongong (1 1/2 hours drive away) for a workshop tomorrow, and I won't be back until Sunday.

I would never have put this combo together! Rose Red, Old Olive, So Saffron, Going Grey and Whisper White. I pulled out a stamp set that I love, but haven't used for a while, Wild About You. I stamped a tower of animals, and built the card from there. I thought "Dream Big" was an appropriate sentiment!
I'm not too sure about this one...let me know what you think!

My Favourite Stamp Set

I know it was mean of me to make you choose just one favourite stamp set, but I really enjoyed reading all your responses (you can read them all HERE). The most popular choice was Baroque Motifs, followed by Scribble This, Garden Whimsy and Bud Basics. I already told you 5 of my favourites in THIS post, but I thought it was only fair to tell you all my favourite set at the moment, since I made you all choose just one.
I'm loving Boho Backgrounds at the moment. That circle stamp is so much fun to layer, the backgrounds are gorgeous and easy to use, and it even has some words thrown in. It can be masculine or feminine, depending on the colours you choose.
Having said that, I'll probably have a different favourite in 2 day's time, but that's it right now :o)

So, I thought it only fitting that I show you a card made with this set. The colours I've used here are River Rock, Rose Red, Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip. I used some of the Palette o' Prints paper for the Rose Red, in the Paisley pattern. I've inked up just the bottom 2 lines of the sentiment stamp, and used a Jumbo eyelet in the centre of the circles as an accent. The scallops at the bottom have been done using the new Corner Rounder Punch.

Using my Trusty Bingo machine, I have drawn out 32, ?? (it rolled under my bookcase and I can't get it out!), 99, 54, 31 BINGO! There were 31 comments, so the lucky winner is number 31, Sandie Carter! Send me an email Sandie, and I'll pop a Palette o' Prints on it's way to you!

Edited to Add: As I was posting this, there was one more comment, number 32, from Melanie W. Since I'm feeling generous, and I did pull out number 32 first, Send me an email Melanie, and I'll pop a Palette o' Prints in the mail to you too :o)

A Fun Card Layout

Before I show you today's card, just a quick reminder about my Blog Candy. I'm going to give it another day, to give a few more people a chance to win!
Just leave a comment on THIS POST <----click

I'm not sure where I originally saw it, but I've been making a few cards lately using this layout, including this one for the Elite Challenges Blog. I hadn't used this set, despite loving it the moment I saw it, and acquiring it quite awhile ago (I'm sure you can all relate to that!). It's the Level 2 Hostess Set "Spring Solitude".
This is also a Colour Combo that I hadn't tried before: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi. Choosing the colours just came about as I was inking the stamps. I needed a brown for the branch, green for the leaves, and I wanted blue for the bird and something in a warm tone for the flower. Chocolate Chip is a lovely, rich brown, and the In Colours called me for the rest.
The bird has been stamped separately, cut out and mounted on Dimensionals. I did the Polka Dots with my Polka Dot Background stamp. This has been getting a work-out lately; it's soooo easy to use. I stamped the floral background using the 3-flower stamp, stamped repeatedly, and over-stamped in the bold flower in the 3 In Colours. Then, the whole thing looked too busy and bright, but instead of screwing it up and starting all over (which I was very tempted to do!), I put a piece of vellum over it to soften it, and voila, it was instantly much better!
The word 'friend' is from the set "Forever in my Heart", and has been punched out using the small Oval punch, and Mounted on the Large Oval.
I'll be interested to hear what you think of this card...I'm not sure whether I like it or not. It definitely wasn't what I had in mind when I started stamping with this set! But then, that's one of the things I like about stamping...you never know what you're going to get (just call me Forrest Gump ;o)

Making a Good Impression: A Tutorial

One of the questions I often get asked is how to get bold rubber images to stamp clearly. It can really ruin the look of a card if the stamped image is patchy instead of crisp and clear. I love bold stamps for the striking and instant splash of colour they provide. They make a really quick card, since there's no need to go back and colour in.
There are 3 things that you have to get right when making a good stamped impression: Stamps, Ink and Paper.

Stamps
When a stamp set is new, you may need to condition the rubber. This will remove any residue left from the manufacturing process, and prepare the rubber to accept the ink evenly.
Here is a stamped impression of a stamp before it has been conditioned:

This is the same stamp after conditioning:
There are a few ways to condition your stamps. I start off by simply giving the stamp a good clean on my Stampin' Scrub, with a good spray of Stampin' Mist. The mist will clean and condition the rubber. Often a couple of good scrubs is all it needs for it to stamp perfectly.

If the image is still patchy, here are some other things you can try:

• Stazon Cleaner. Leave it on for a few seconds and then wipe off.
• An old pair of jeans. Just rub the stamp on your leg while you're wearing them. Yes, really!
• An eraser. Rub the stamp all over.
• Adhesive Remover. This will remove any tacky residue.
• Sanding Block. Don't be afraid to give the rubber a light sand. You won't harm it!

Ink
I prefer to use dye ink for bold stamps. It will soak in to the paper and leave a nice, even image. Dye inkpads also have a firm surface, rather than a spongy one, which makes it easier to ink up stamps evenly. The other benefit they have is that they dry quickly = no smudging!
To ink a bold stamp, "smoosh" the stamp into the inkpad (that's the technical word for it, meaning twist it from side to side LOL), and then tap, tap, tap onto the inkpad to make the ink even. Stamp onto your paper, pressing firmly, and don't lift the stamp up straight away. Leave it to soak in for a few seconds.

Paper
This one is really important. You can condition your stamps 'til the cows come home, but if you aren't stamping on to good quality paper, you might as well not bother. I use Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Very Vanilla for stamping bold stamps. It is ultrasmooth, and quite simply, it has been designed for stamping on.
Here's a side-by-side comparison:
On the left is ordinary white cardboard from a stationer, and on the right is Whisper White.

A few other tips:
Make sure you are stamping on a solid table or bench (if you are using a trestle table, stamp at the end where the legs are, rather than the middle, where it can bend.) I stamp on a pad of Stampin' Up! grid paper. Not only do the lines help me line things up straight, but the pad provides some cushion, which also helps to make an even stamped impression.

I hope this Tutorial helps you all make a good impression with your bold stamps!
all images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

June Promotions

It's very exciting that there's not just one, but TWO great promotions for June.

The first one is "eScape":

Remember when you got letters in your mailbox instead of your inbox? On 25 June 2008, Stampin' Up! is taking the day to unplug and unwind, and reconnect on a personal level with friends and loved ones through handmade cards. And we invite you to eScape with us throughout the month of June!

I just love this idea. Nothing makes my day more than opening the mailbox to find a hand-made card, and I think we all need a gentle reminder every so often to break away from the "e".

The second Promotion is "Extra, Extra":
I know my Hostesses who have already booked a Party between June 1 and July 15 will be thrilled about this promotion. Who wouldn't be happy about having an extra $50 to spend?!
I still have a couple of spots available, if you'd like to invite a few friends over to your house to see a free stamping demonstration in your home. I make a few projects on the day, which you also get to keep, and all of your guests make a card to take home. It's a really fun way to spend a couple of hours. I do in-home demonstrations at all times, mid-week, plus weekends.

Email me, if you'd like to join the fun!

Happy Birthday to Amy! + BLOG Candy

We've had a busy few days around here, celebrating the Number 11. Amy turned 11 on Friday, but it has turned out to be a big 4 days of celebrations, by the time we covered school friends, church friends, and various family members!
This card was actually a challenge by Amy. She told me which colours to use (chosen from the Colour Coach), and which stamp set... I did the rest! It was a fun way to make a card for her, and she was excited to see how it came out. The colours she chose are *bright!* Cameo Coral, So Saffron and Tempting Turquoise, with a splash of Glorious Green and Ballet Blue. The stamp sets I used are Garden Whimsy and Party Punch (level 1 Hostess set). I also used some Palette o' Prints DS paper. This promotion has now finished, but keep reading for some BLOG CANDY that could come your way!
I inked up the butterflies using my markers, blended the colours a bit on the rubber with my Aquapainter and stamped them on Whisper White cardstock. When I had finished stamping, I inked the whole piece in Versamark, by pressing my Versamark inkpad all over it. I then sprinkled the piece with Heat-and-Stick powder, and heated it until it was just shiny. I then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and re-heated it to set the glitter. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the sparkle is truly dazzling! I also made the 'Hb' sparkly by colouring it with 2-way glue, and sprinkling glitter on top. (I could have done this with Versamark and heat-and-stick powder, but I'd already put my heat gun away ;o)
I used the Designer Label punch for the greeting (don't you just love how the stamps and punches co-ordinate!). I punched a hole at either end with the Double rectangle punch to thread the ribbon through. I also highlighted some areas of the Designer Series paper with a white gel pen.
I think Amy liked her card :o)
Now, about that Blog Candy....I have a pack of unopened Palette o' Prints paper here. It's a 6"x6" pad of 48 sheets of double-sided paper in 4 gorgeous colours. If you'd like to receive this in your mail-box, just leave a comment telling me your favourite Stampin' Up! stamp set in the current Idea Book & Catalogue, and why! It's as easy as that.

I'll randomly pick a winner in a few days (Aussie residents only and no SU! Demos, sorry!)

Another Kristina Challenge

Just what I needed on a rainy Sunday afternoon...some lovely summery colours!

I had no trouble at all with this colour combo...these are soooo my colours! In a way though, that made this card a bit harder to make. The colours didn't really steer me in any particular direction. In the end, I was steered by my workshop hostess from yesterday, who showed me that the 5-petal flower punch fits one of the flowers from "In the Spotlight" perfectly (it was a light bulb moment, I tell ya!). Then I just started playing around with other flowers from the set and punches, and before I knew it, I had 5 flowers on my desk, and the rest was easy :o) The colours we had to use were from this picture:
Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, So Saffron and Not Quite Navy.
I used stamps from In the Spotlight, Little Pieces and So Many Sayings. And LOTS of punches: Scallop circle, 5-petal flower, 3/4" circle, 1" circle, 1/2" circle. The patterned paper is Old Olive Prints. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the row of dots straight, and to position "be happy" perfectly. I used markers to ink it up in Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy.

If you look at the comments on Kristina's Blog, you can see all the other (150!! *gasp*) contributions.

More Bleaching

This is the second card we made for my Bleach technique class. This time, instead of stamping with bleach, we stamped and embossed an image, and bleached out sections of it, and then watercoloured the bleached areas. It looks really effective on dark cardstock. Here, I've used Elegant Eggplant, embossed an image from "oh So Lovely" using Versamark and black powder. Then I 'painted' the flowers and stems with bleach. You can use an old paintbrush (find one with nylon bristles, as the bleach will eat away at natural bristles), but I prefer to use an Aquapainter filled with bleach. The bleach is less smelly that way, and you are less likely to spill any on your clothes. I've designated an Aquapainter for bleach (i.e. written BLEACH on it in big letters!), but I rinse it out after use and store it empty.
The image starts to bleach out before your eyes, but wait until it's completely dry before you start to watercolour it. I watercoloured with an Aquapianter (without bleach in it!) and Ink taken from the Inkpad lids (Purely Pomegranate for the flower and Always Artichoke for the stem). I also used a cotton-bud (Q-tip) dipped into bleach and ran it around the edges of the Eggplant piece.
The background for this card has been done using the background block in this set (see it on p17). I've stamped onto Pale Plum cardstock in Purely Pomegranate ink, and just stamped repeatedly in one direction, and then turned my cardstock 90 degrees and stamped repeatedly in the other direction. I then sponged around the edges in Pomegranate ink.
You may have noticed I've been going eyelet-crazy lately. I'm setting eyelets everywhere. The crop-a-dile just makes it so easy! Here, the shiny black eyelets echo the black embossed image, and add a touch of class, I think. The little tag is just a small oval punch, with the edges sponged, and another eyelet set in it.

Look Familiar?

This card was one of the cards we made in my technique classes this month, and I liked the colour scheme so much that I chose it for my banner. It has all my favourite things in it: polka dots, scallops and Certainly Celery :o)
The technique we learned this month was bleaching. For this card, the background has been stamped in bleach. It's always a surprise what colour you are going to get when you stamp with bleach...different cardstock will turn different colours, depending on the dyes used in the manufacturing process. To stamp with bleach, you just make yourself a temporary inkpad, by layering some paper towel in a container and adding some ordinary household bleach until it is damp, not swimming. Then, choose a stamp that's quite bold, and stamp away. You'll start to see the cardstock bleaching before your eyes. You can speed up the process with a heat gun. Don't expect a perfectly stamped image, but you do get a great effect.
We were amazed at the different colours we made appear, depending on the cardstock chosen. Everyone in the class got to make this card, plus another one (which I'll show you next time), plus matching envelopes, Technique notes and samples to take home and stick into a book like THIS one. All for $15!
This month's technique class is vellum, and you can the the dates in my class schedule over in the sidebar -------->
We'll be learning different ways to use and attach vellum to make pretty, delicate projects.

Stamps: In the Spotlight (level 2 Hostess set), Basic Phrases
Colours: Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, So Saffron
Accessories: White taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Paper Piercing tool, Soft Subtle eyelets, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crop-a-dile, Celery Prints Designer Series Paper

A Crabby Pop-Up!

This is the other Pop-Up card that we made at my Project Classes this month. This one actually looks simpler than the first one, but it took quite a lot longer (partly because of all the cutting and colouring), and uses a lot of cardstock too.
I've deliberately left the front of the card fairly plain:
The colours are Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava and So saffron (in case you can't tell, I'm loving the new In Colours!). I've stamped Mr Crabby (from "Crab and Company") on Whisper White cardstock in Black Stazon ink, and Watercoloured using an Aquapainter and my Watercolour Wonder Crayons. Since we don't have In Colours in the Crayons, I used Really Rust and a bit of Cameo Coral. I've stamped various other Crabby creatures on the So Saffron sand, and torn the edge, and inked it with the edge of my inkpad. I've stamped Linen background on the Soft Sky piece for some subtle texture. The sentiment comes from Short & Sweet (p 118). If you have the oval punches, you NEED this set! All of the little sayings fit inside the small oval. Besides that, you get 12 stamps for $29.95...what a bargain!
Now for the best bit. Here's the inside of the card:

Mr Crabby is all dressed up in his birthday gear! I've cut 3 sections out of the middle of the card to form 3 pop-up flaps. I made a template for this to make it nice and easy. Again, I've watercoloured using my Crayons and Aquapainter.
This would be a great card for a difficult-to-impress teenager, or anyone you want to impress, really!

My Craft Room

One of the things quite a few of you asked to see is my Craft Room. I've never taken any pics before because it really is quite an ordinary room, compared to some of the gorgeous rooms I've seen around the place. So, I hope you're not too disappointed when you see it!!

My room doubles as our family office and computer room, and it's only a very small room. Most of my stuff is at one desk. When I sit down to create, everything is within reach:

Since the desk isn't very big, Dave put a large piece of melamine on the top, to make it deeper.

I love the Stampin' Up! grid paper, and always use it to stamp on. It adds a bit of 'cushion', which helps to give a good stamped image, and the grid lines really help to line things up. I'd be lost without it! The lighting in my room isn't great, so I have 2 "daylight" globe desk lamps (I also use these to take photos of my cards). The wooden unit on the side is my Punch Storage.

This top unit is an IKEA bookcase, tipped on it's side, and cut down to size. Dave added the extra compartments for my stamp sets, and put a foam core back on it. The drawer unit holds my embossing equipment, wheels and small punches, with ribbon rolls on top. The other smaller drawer unit has wheel cartridges, re-inkers and extra inkpads. I add a white insert into my stamp set cases, with the name typed on it, so it's more visible. They are divided up into categories (Words, Alphabets, Hostess sets, Occasions & Sentiments, Flowers, Nature, Backgrounds and Christmas). When the stamp set has both words and images in it, I also stamp the words in that set onto the white insert near the name, so I can see at a glance what other words I have.

All of my cardstock is in 2 filing cabinets. It takes up 3 drawers, and the other drawers are for general filing. I sort in colour families, with 1 drawer for Earth elements, Bold Brights and neutrals, and the other for Soft Subtles, rich Regals, and In Colors. The third drawer contains my white and vanilla, plus scraps (a clear plastic A4 envelope for each colour family). I've stuck some In Color Combination Charts on the front for inspiration (and to cover up all that grey!)

I hope that satisfies your curiosity!
Let me know if you have any questions :o)

Free-standing Pop-Up card

NEWSFLASH:
We've just heard that Stampin' Up! have almost run out of the Palette o' Prints papers, and they won't be getting any more!
Place an order for $35 or more and you can purchase the limited edition Palette o' Prints pad for just $12.95. That's 48 sheets of 6x6" papers, 4 different colours, 12 different designs for just $12.95.
You can read all about it HERE, and see some cards made with this gorgeous paper here. You can see a card made with similar papers here.
Email me now if you'd like to get your hands on these gorgeous papers!

Every month I run "project" classes. This type of class is where the focus is on creating something fun, rather than on learning a new stamping technique. Often it's a 3D item like a box or mini album, and this month it was 3D cards, aka Pop-Up cards. It has been my most popular class ever...it seems like everyone loves pop-ups, and I've run it 6 times this month (phew...I'm pretty popped out!)

This is the free-standing pop-up. I found my directions here, but I adjusted to suit our cardstock. Take an A4 sheet, and cut it down to 10.5 x 28cm. This will be your card base (you can get 2 card bases from 1 sheet of A4 cardstock). Then, score at 2.5, 7, 9.5, 14, 18.5, 21, and 25.5cm. You should be able to follow Dawn's tutorial for the rest. It's much easier than it looks, but feel free to email me if you get stuck!
The colours I've used are River Rock, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate and Very Vanilla. The stamp set is Garden Whimsy.
I'll show you the other pop-up card we made next time!

Another Card by Amy!

My special guest stamper (aka dear daughter Amy, age almost 11) has another card to show you. This was the beautiful Mother's Day card I was so lucky to receive. Amy wants to tell you how she made it!
I had to make 4 Mother's Day cards because I have a Mum, 2 grandmothers and 1 great-grandmother. Mum showed me a cool way to make 4 cards out of 1 piece of paper. First, I used the Colour Coach to choose some colours. I chose Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, and Almost Amethyst. I got a Whisper White A4 piece of cardstock and the 5 ink pads. Then I got a stamp set called 'Priceless' and I stamped my favourite stamps from the Priceless set all over the white cardstock. Then Mum cut my sheet into quarters. Then I got 2 A4 sheets of Regal Rose coloured card and Mum cut them in half lengthways. I folded them in half and we cut off most of the front part. I tied a different coloured piece of ribbon around each one (Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Apricot Appeal), but I did two blue ones because there were only 3 colours. I meant to give Mum one with a blue ribbon but I accidentally gave her a green! phew, It was her favourite colour. The last thing to do was stick it together and stamp Happy Mother's Day inside. I think they all liked their cards.
Thankyou for all the nice things you said about my last card. I really liked reading all your comments!