Brayering tips with Forever Young, Stampin' Crop dates and don't miss SALEABRATION!

I haven't brayered for ages!  It's a fun technique, but it can be a bit tricky to get the results you would like.  And very clever people like Michelle Zindorf have a habit of making it look a bit too easy!!
I made this card to demonstrate to one of my lovely stamping ladies, who had found a brayered card she wanted to CASE.  She was all set to give up and sponge instead, after having no luck on her first couple of test pieces so I showed her a couple of tricks.  I'm not pretending this is a proper tutorial, you can follow the link to another Michelle above for that!  But - here are my top tips:

1.  Use Glossy White cardstock - it has a surface that takes in ink a little bit more slowly than Whisper White, which seems to give a more even result. Find it on p160, 106555, $9.95 for 25 sheets (see, cheap too!)

2.  Make sure the surface is very, very flat.  No tiny bits of cardstock or ribbon snippets, no paper edges under your cardstock, just flat smoothness. 

3.  Choose your colours, lighter is better than darker, you can get a darker result by layering and building the colour gradually.  Two colours will blend in the intersection to create a gradient.

4.  Use a Speedball Brayer (102395, $21.95 - p179 of the catalogue) - and store it roller side up (or hang it) - this will help prevent a flat spot or dent from developing on the roller.

5. Use a nice juicy inkpad, reink beforehand if necessary.  Use a flicking wrist motion to ink up the roller, sort of spinning it between passes, to build up a layer of ink without obvious lines.

6.  Using a piece of grid paper underneath, start brayering completely off the piece of glossy cardstock, and super quickly and firmly begin rolling back and forth over the piece, keep going, keep going, more, more - moving down bit by bit.  Reink the roller, repeat!

7.  Don't discard the piece even if you think it is a dodgy one, sometimes the colours will mellow as they dry and what looks shocking will turn out just fine!  Also, you can always over stamp in places where you're not happy, and the final card will look amaaaaaaazzzzinggg!  (promise!)

8. Practice!  It always seems to take a bit of re-learning each time I do it, remember it's only paper, and you can use scrap white paper to 'get your eye' back in to begin with.

On the card above, I have stamped the tree from Forever Young (p116, from $35.95), using Stazon Black ink.  A length of (retired) Pear Pizzazz seam binding went across a dodgy bit (see, you'd never know!), and I finished it with a bottle cap.

WOT!??  A bottle cap??  Yes, they're baaaaacccckkkkkk!! They come in two sizes, and are a lovely chrome finish, $6.95 on p24 of the Anniversary Seasonal Catalogue.  I even used my old trick of smooshing it a bit flatter on my ancient red sizzix machine.  Inside it I have used the co-ordinating Collage Curios set (from $28.95, p24 ), and a sentiment from Itty Bitty Banners (from $21.95, p134 Annual Catty)  All done!  Hope this inspires you to dig out your brayer, and if you don't have a nice one, give me a call to place your order!

In other news, Sale-a-bration is nearly over!  (Gee, that has gone FAST!)  It ends BEFORE the end of March this year, due to Easter being early.  LAST DAY 22nd March.  Don't miss your chance to select from a great range of free stuff.  I also want at least one more person to join me and my StampInkPaper team - it's so much fun, and there is so much extra value packed into the kit at this special time of the year - choose $294 worth of goodies, pay just $169, and get a business supplies kit worth about $80 as well!  Just give me a call to discuss, 0403 175 790.

And, I have gotten myself quite organised, and planned the next batch of Stampin' Crop dates:
Saturday 9th March  (yep, this Saturday coming)
Saturday 20th April
Saturday 18th May
Saturday 15th June
Saturday 20th July

I'll post them up on the Google calendar soon, better get to bed in case I get a call to teach again tomorrow :)  I've also got a fun Off the Page class coming up, stay tuned!

Elements of Style - Get Well Soon and crayon watercoloring tips

I made this card for my mum, a keen gardener after her knee surgery late last year.  It uses the "Elements of Style" stamp set, to be found on page 99, from $39.95 (clear mount).  It is a great collection of stamps that work well either used separately, especially this floral branch, or together.  It also has a couple of great greetings, and there is the co-ordinating 'Decor' standard wheel as well.  If you have the Baroque Motifs stamp set and love it, you NEED this one in your collection too - you'll find yourself using it time and again.

In this card, the stamped layer is watercolor paper, stamped in Black Stazon.  I've used my Watercolor Wonder crayons and a blender pen to colour the image.  This is probably the easiest way to watercolour a stamped image,  but many people don't know the crayons work brilliantly with a Blender Pen.

Here are my tips for a professional-looking result:

*Stamp image on heavy weight cardstock, watercolor paper is best, followed by Confetti, using Stazon ink
*Choose your crayons, selecting light and dark shades to mix, according to the colour scheme you want
*Add short strokes of crayon direct to the stamped image, not to cover the area, just to lay some colour down.
*Using your blender pen, move the colour around to fill the section, simply stroke onto scrap paper to change colours.  You will get more intense colour from the initial pen strokes, this will shade out as the solublised colour moves out of the fibre tip onto the paper.
*For small areas and tiny colour accents, scribble a bit of crayon onto the lid of the tin - this acts like a palette.  You can then pick up a small amount of colour to dab where you want it
*You can build up colour intensity by adding more crayon onto parts of the image, to create depth and shading. The hashed or darker areas of the stamp are a good place to do this, as this is where the shadows would be on a real object.You can either leave the crayon as is, or blend it into the colours you've already laid down.
*Don't forget your neutrals to add some shading around the outsides of the stamped image, again look for where a shadow would naturally fall.  I often use Sahara Sand for this, as it is a not too brown, not too grey neutral

Back to the card for a mo, and then I'll give a quick rundown of other techniques for the crayons.

The card base is square, Very Vanilla.  Can't remember the size Karen, think it was 5" x 5" finished
Next up is a layer of Blushing Bride, our dusty pink In Color for 2011-12.  Yum!  I've stamped this with French Filligree background in matching ink and distressed the edges with the Cutter Kit
Then there is a layer of Pear Pizzazz, my favourite green of the moment, and the reason I don't miss Mellow Moss as much as I thought I would!  Also yum!
Then we have the stamped panel, also distressed, coloured as described above with various shades of pink, red, green and brown.
To finish I used the In Color twill ribbon in Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz, and stamped the greeting from "Thoughts and Prayers" in Pear Pizzazz ink.

OK - after a few months of being unavailable, the Watercolor Wonder Crayons have very quickly found their way back into my most-used colouring tools.  They are available in sets of 10 in each of the 4 Colour Collections, and also come as a fabulous New Colour Collection kit, with new tins and inserts in the pretty pale green, so you can re-organise your existing crayons into their new families and add the new colours without duplication.  You can see this kit on Page 142, it's $64.95 for 17 colours and the fresh new tins.  If you're new to crayons, this kit is an economical way to get a good selection of colours to play with. (But if you're like me you'll soon want ALL the other colours too...)

A list of the new colours that come in the New Colour Kit to refresh your memory, now they have become integrated into the old faves in your collection:

Daffodil Delight
Tangerine Tango
Melon Mambo
Rich Razzleberry
Pacific Point
Pink Pirouette
Wild Wasabi
Baja Breeze
Marina Mist
Cajun Craze
Cherry Cobbler
Riding Hood Red
Early Espresso
Crumb Cake
River Rock
Soft Suede
Basic Gray

What else can you use the crayons for??

*Direct to rubber - colour a stamp with crayon by scribbling onto the rubber surface.  Bold stamps like Inspired By Nature and Upsy Daisy are perfect choices, but any bold-ish stamp will work.  Start with the lightest colour and add accents and layers.  Mist your cardstock (heavy weight is best as above) with a fine water spray to moisten the surface.  Mist the crayon-ed stamp with the spray, holding the bottle a fair distance from the stamp.  You are aiming for a fine dampness, not pooling water. The aim is to 'melt
 the crayon, but not to have it dripping off!  It does take a little practice, but the beautiful watercolour painting like results are worth it!



*Aquapainter and Crayon - You can also use the Watercolor crayons with an Aquapainter brush, which gives a wetter effect good for larger areas and backgrounds.  The base of the crayon has a perforated wrapper, so you can remove the paper from the crayon butt.  This way, you can preserve the tip for detail work, and pick up rich colour from the base, just like using solid pan watercolour paint!

Enjoy your Sunday people, please give me a call on (02) 9484 9447 if you're keen to book a free in-home workshop during the Sale-a-bration period (ends 31st March) - you too could be making cards like these!

Special masculine birthday card with Medallion

This one is a square card for a change, and I've been making a few of them lately and I've enjoyed the change in proportion.
I love, love LOVE the Medallion stamp, it can be used in so many ways for so many occasions.

Here it has a textured Very Vanilla base, 10" x 5" folded, followed by a Basic Black layer with distressed edges.  Tying the colours all together is a piece of the wonderfully useful "Newsprint" Designer Series Paper.  I've really ripped into this layer, tearing and rolling to give a distressed appearance.  The image layer is Confetti Cream, and I started the Medallion image by inking up with River Rock.  I then daubered a small amount of Basic Black ink  around the edges of the "branches" before stamping.  I repeated the image on a second piece of Confetti Cream, this time using Sahara Sand and Basic Black.  I trimmed the centre circular motif  and distressed the edges with the Cutter Kit distresser tool, mounting it over the base layer circle, with Stampin' Dimensionals for a bit of  'pop'  The finishing touch is a pewter "build-a-brad" with s 1/2" punched circle of Newsprint paper under the epoxy dome.  Now that I've shown you my little trick with the "Dog Bone" punch below, you'll know how I created the double layered Modern Label punch.  I used the "Party This Way" stamp set for the greeting, it's my current "go to" birthday sentiment.  All done, and the recipient was happy too :)  It's been CASE'd a few times by my regular crafting ladies, so I hope you like it too!

I am in LERVE! DIY Glimmer mist with SU! Shimmer Paint Tutorial

Oooh, I just looked at my hand, it's all sparkly!!
I'm so excited, I have just had a play with a new product in our catalogue, Shimmer Paint - available in three colours, Frost White, Platinum and Champagne Mist.
When I first saw the catalogue I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the Smooch Spritz products that the US have in their catalogue, but not any more, cos these are BETTER!  More versatile, and more economical to boot!  Yay!  I love it when things turn out like that :)  It's called Shimmer Paint, but that's really not the best name, as it's an ink really.  It can be used on fabric (heat set with an iron to make it permanent and washable), it can be daubered onto a stamp directly, it can be painted onto a pre-stamped image, and, using this method, spritzed over things to make them all glittery!  There's no doubt more applications, but these are a good enough reason to get some already, anything else is just a bonus!

OK, what do you need - it's dead easy to do, so don't hold back!
*Bottle of Shimmer Paint - teeny tiny bottles of 14grams, but they'll go a LLLOOOONNNGGG way using this technique, $11.50 each, find them on page 143.
*Some Rubbing Alcohol (aka Isopropyl Alcohol, Isopropanol, Isocol) from your local supermarket or pharmacy.
*An eye-dropper, you just want to be able to add the ink dropwise.  I've used a transfer pipette since I happened to have one (insert whistling innocently smilie HERE ;))  A baby panadol doser is probably rattling around most homes, would probably work fine.
*A small spray bottle.  I've used a mini mister from Ranger as I like the superfine mist, but any small spray bottle will do.

1. Fill the spray bottle almost to the top (about 1cm head space) with Isopropanol
2. Shake the Shimmer Paint bottle well, it has a ball mixer in there, so you should hear it rattle
3. First wet the inside of your dropper with Isopropanol, by sucking some in and then ejecting, this will stop too much of the ink from clinging to the inside.  Then carefully suck up a tiny amount of Shimmer Paint, about 10 drops worth and add to the misting bottle, rinse the dropper by sucking up and down until all the paint is gone from the dropper, close the bottles!
4. Shake well before each use, then simply spray onto your cardstock and let it dry.

That's it - too easy.  The Isopropanol evaporates very quickly, so it won't take long to dry.  If you want more shimmer, you can either add a second/third spray, or add a few more drops of paint to your misting bottle.  If you're like me, you'll be digging through your scraps box to test it out on all kinds of cardstock and thinking of all the possibilities!

Here's what it looks like, although it is the devil to capture photographically!  The best photo was on dark cardstock, Basic Gray, but the effect was equally beautiful on both Rose Red, Whisper White, and looked especially pretty on a pre-embossed piece of Very Vanilla, using the Vintage Wallpaper folder.

As you can see, it has turned Basic Gray into something more like "Dazzling Pewter", it's quite like a car pearl metallic paint finish, but matte.

So cool, hope you like my instructions, please come back and tell me how you went with your attempts, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Melon Medallion

I love the "Medallion" stamp in the Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue, it's been on my 'drool list' since it made it's debut in the US Stampin' Up! catalogue.  And now it's here!!  Woo hoo!!  I've seen it used for quite a number of techniques, including emerging colour, emboss resist, layering and more.  It's such a bold and large image that it makes for a really quick card. 

For this card, I decided to try a thumping/multicoloured image technique.  I inked up the stamp in Melon Mambo ink all over.  Next, I took a wedge of clean, dry sponge and 'twisted' off patches of ink, leaving bare rubber underneath.  I then daubered on Kiwi Kiss ink into the spaces and stamped onto Whisper White.  And, the bonus is that by cutting the image in half I could make two cards with one impression! 

Instead of leaving it onto the white background, I cut around the image with papersnips and mounted it on a Kiwi Kiss piece, and trimmed again.  The base card is Melon Mambo, stamped with "Polka Dot" background.

To embellish, I used a yummy filigree designer brad, with a Rhinestone brad through the centre.  The Kiwi Kiss double sided satin ribbon was the perfect match for the bright, blingy look, and I used a diecut label shape to stamp a greeting from "Short and Sweet".  All done!

Flight of the butterflies and Circles - Circle Scissor tips for use

I had a lot of fun playing with my Circle Scissor tool (new in the Summer Mini Catalogue) to make the set of circles on this card. I am yet to actually take step by step pics of what I have gleaned from my Circle Scissor (CS) practice (one day, one day) but I can give a few tips on how to get great results every time:

* You really do need the GLASS MAT to go with the CS, there's no getting away from that. A traditional green OLFA style cutting mat is too soft and 'grippy' and will catch the blade so it drags and stutters, giving a rough result. The hard slippery glass surface allows the blade to glide smoothly.

* The principal secret is judicious use of a good removable adhesive, such as Dotto (#103305 page 154 in the main Idea Book and Catalogue) The paper or cardstock needs to be firmly attached to the glass mat so it won't budge while cutting. But, you do want to be able to extract your perfect circle without ripping it to shreds, hence the 'removeable' aspect!

* Next, have a close look at the CS tool and glass mat, and notice a few features

- Note the large rubbery black grip along one half of the tool

- Note the blade holder hole has a little arrow which is pointing anticlockwise

- Note the concentric rings and 'cross hairs' on the clear rotating section

- Note the grid on the glass mat, there are standard card sizes in bold and also a grid pattern

* Firstly, cut the cardstock into a square or rectangle about 1/2" bigger all round than the circle you would like to cut, and apply a small 1cm-ish splodge of dotto on each corner and in the centre. Firmly smooth down onto the centre of the glass mat, and rub to make sure it isn't going to slip. The reason for cutting first into the approximate size is that it saves both cardstock and adhesive - it's much more useful to have square bits and rectangle scraps than A4 sheets of cardstock that look like swiss cheese, and you don't need to apply yards of dotto to hold the whole sheet in place!

* Now place the CS over the centre of the cardstock, with the rubber hand grip between 6 and 12 if you were looking at a clockface. Rotate the clear plastic centre until the (empty) blade holder is at 9 o'clock, and use the black centre dial to adjust the scale to the desired size.

* Swing the clear plastic centre around, while looking at the pointer to make sure your cut can be completed without going off the outside of the cut piece, adjust the base position if necessary so you have clearance on all sides.

* Insert the spring loaded blade knob into the holder, lining up the little ridges so it fits smoothly. Note that the blade knob is springloaded, but this doesn't mean you need to use a lot of pressure to make the cut.

* Holding the black rubber grip with your left hand spread apart and the blade knob with your right, press down moderately and rotate 360 degrees ANTICLOCKWISE from 9 o'clock to just a tiny bit past 9 o'clock - you will feel the cut complete itself.

* STOP! Don't move anything yet, if you wish to cut a frame you have just made the first, smaller cut of the two. Without moving the base, adjust the dial by the width you want your frame to be, and make the second cut just as the first. If you try and make the larger outer cut before the smaller one, there will be insufficient adhesive to hold the circle while the second cut is made.

Ta da!! Now you can repeat again and again, and have lots of fun with circles! It's a good idea to periodically remove the dotto residue from the glass mat, with either your adhesive remover or some goo remover liquid. And slide the blade cover back onto the blade, because that tiny sucker is SHARP when you find it on the floor with your foot!

I hope you find this useful, and drag out your CS tools for a good practice - it's certainly the easiest and best circle cutter I have ever tried :)

Hello Again! My Blogs are now linked!

I've been working on my Demonstrator Business Website (DBWS)!

There are some very exciting features there that will be great for hostesses to keep track of their workshop RSVP's, sales goals and other details, as well as a blog. I have even been able to link this blog to my DBWS via the RSS feed. I don't really know what I'm talking about with this stuff, but I did manage to figure it out for myself - aint technology grand? (well, mostly...)

That just means that if you are short on time, you can click through to my DBWS and view the latest info on promotions, project ideas and my StampInkPaper blog stuff all on the one site. There's a calendar, similar to the Google calendar at the right hand side, and I'm going to try and make sure that there are lots of events to keep you all interested! In a moment I'll submit this and with a bit of luck it will pop up on the other site as well!

So, how do you find the blog on the DBWS? It doesn't leap out at you, but if you hover over the "About Me" tab on the top left hand side you will see it come up in the drop down menu Ta da! I'll keep you posted with new developments and features as I discover them :)

Now, about the card! It started with a simple scrap piece of Rose Red cardstock, not quite the same size as my usual A5 card base, but I used it as a challenge to play around with slightly different proportions for a change. The set is called "Hello Again" and is a very cute and versatile set from the Summer Mini catalogue. I have used the Polka Dot background with Rose Red ink. For the Whisper White band, I used the matching Retro Remix wheel with Apricot Appeal ink, and put Scallop edged bands of Barely Banana textured cardstock at the top and bottom, sponged with Apricot Appeal ink. I used the Rock n Roll technique to ink up the flowers, and stamped a few versions so I could cut them up and mix and match. I've used Stampin' Dimensionals to give the layers some definition. The little flowerpot I cut by hand, starting with the small tag punch as a base. The "hello" greeting is stamped on the band with Rose Red ink, and the final touch is a Rose Red Felt Fusion flower with a Certainly Celery button from the Sherbet collection and a scrap of So Saffron wide grosgrain ribbon. Oh, and I think I sprinkled a little Dazzling Diamonds over the centres of the flowers using 2 way glue. Cute, no? Now to hit the go button and see what happens in blog land!

Friday Evening Classes

It's the end of the week, and the weekend lies ahead... Why not take a couple of hours to relax and learn with one of my Friday Evening Classes?

We'll be concentrating on one style or technique in each class, and you'll make at least two projects to take home with you. You'll also receive some printed notes with samples you make to keep for reference so you can repeat and practice at home.

When: Third Friday of the month, 7.30 pm for 8pm-10pm class

Where: Cherrybrook, North Western Sydney - location advised on booking

Cost: $20, includes tuition, printed notes and all materials required to complete projects, tea, coffee and light supper.

What to bring: Your own paper trimmer, bone folder, paper snips and a selection of adhesive types (such as Two way glue, SNAIL adhesive, Tombow Multi glue, Sticky Strip tape, Dimensionals, these are available to order from me if you wish)

How to book: Places are strictly limited to 4 people, to ensure individual attention. Please call me on (02) 9484 9447 to reserve your seat, or email me at michelle.dyson@bigpond.com

Upcoming classes:

Friday 19th February - Watercolouring. Learn how to colour stamped images using several methods, including blender pens, aquapainters, watercolor wonder crayons, markers and more.

Friday 19th March - 3D boxes. Construct several styles and sizes of boxes, and take home templates to make them over and over.

Friday 16th April - Embossing. Use several heat embossing techniques to decorate your papercrafting projects in glossy style.

Friday 14th May - Using Punches. Learn how versatile your punches really are, and create some punch art projects.

Got a burning desire to learn about a particular technique? Please feel welcome to make a suggestion or two and I'll endeavour to include it in a future class.

Snow Swirled, Dazzling Diamonds and Pretty colours too!

Here is a very special Christmas card, one that I made for my Secret Santa recipients (just one of the nice things about belonging to a friendly team of demonstrators). I made two of them the same in colours they both liked, a nice co-incidence, hence the non-traditional Christmas colours. It was also an excuse to go all out and make a really pretty card, hence the frills and glitter! It was a lot of fun too :)

The card base is Pink Pirouette, and I have stamped the snowflake images in Pretty in Pink ink, also sponging the edges for definition.

The next layer is a extended mat of Baja Breeze that I have used the Eyelet Border punch on one edge, and I have used the sponge again, with Baja Breeze ink this time.

A narrow mat of Chocolate Chip comes next, just around the white stamped panel. On the Whisper White I have stamped the gorgeous swirly tree from the "Snow Swirled" set in Baja Breeze ink. I also stamped a number of the small snowflake, in Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip, and cut them out with my trusty paper snips. I decorated the tree with a tinsel garland, by swiping some 2way Glue pen along the swirls, and sprinkling with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I added a bit to the cutout snowflakes as well. I popped up the snowflakes over the tree using Stampin' Dimensionals, and placed an "Ice" rhinestone brad on the top as the star.

The ribbon ruffle is a trick we learned at the recent Regional Training day. Start with a strip of the super-dooper double sided "Sticky Strip" tape, and begin at one end with a length of ribbon. Remember the pleating takes up some length, so it's a good idea not to cut the roll end off until you're nearly done pleating your way across. Rub the liner tape firmly with your fingertip to warm up the adhesive first, because it is heat activated. Pretty hey! To finish, I stamped the Season's Greeting from the Snow Swirled set in Chocolate Chip on the bottom of the extended mat. Noice! My giftees liked it, hope you do too!

Why Whisper White is Wonderful and Well Worth Whacking on your Wishlists!

In the tradition of Stampin' Up!'s colour name alliteration theme, welcome to my post on the wonders of Whisper White fine stamping cardstock!

The issue of getting a great stamped image has come up several times since the launch of the new catalogue, and I think it is in part due to the set shown here, Upsy Daisy, although what I am sharing here has always applied to all stamping, particularly solid stamps.

Upsy Daisy is a complex yet solid stamp - it has lots of detail, and how well it appears is dependent on good coverage of ink and good ink transfer to the paper.

In the image above (click the picture itself to see an enlarged version) you will see the same stamp and same ink applied to four different cardstocks.

Upper left is Tangerine Tango Dye Ink applied to white Bazzill canvas textured cardstock, and it looks pretty patchy. You might be wanting this distressed kind of look, and if that's the case, go right ahead! So, WHY does it look this way? The textured surface of the canvas cardstock is preventing the whole film of ink on the rubber image from being transferred, despite applying significant pressure. The surface of the cardstock is also not very absorbent, so the ink does not transfer well from the stamp.

Under this at bottom left, we have the same ink applied to the best non-Stampin' Up! white cardstock I have been able to find. It's a good heavy weight, so it is great for card bases. That's where I believe its uses end! This particular Upsy Daisy stamp is well 'broken in' so it has no residue from manufacture, and the surface has been gently keyed with repeated use and cleaning on the microfibre pads of the Stampin' Scrub. So, this image quality is as good as you are going to get on this cardstock. Again, it's quite mottled and patchy. The surface of the 'other white cardstock' is not as smooth as Whisper White. So, the ink transfer is relatively uneven, leading to the blotchy look. I have also tried it on a few other white cardstocks I had lying about, and they are even worse than this, in addition to having a greyish or bluish tone to them that I don't find appealing.

At the top right, I have used Whisper White, and the same simple rub/tap application of ink as used with the other samples. I think it is quite obvious that the intensity of the image is better, and sharper, the ink has transferred evenly onto the cardstock and given a clear impression. The colour is also a nice clear neutral white, with no overly yellow, blue or grey tones. The supersmooth surface means there is excellent contact between the rubber and paper. The weight is a little lighter than other Stampin' Up! coloured cardstocks, but it can be used for card bases with no problems. If you prefer a stiffer card base, try applying a coloured mat over the card base (like in the just beachy/dear dad fathers day card below), or build your card base from coloured cardstock, but stamp your images using Whisper White and mount them as a separate layer.

At the bottom right is another sample of Whisper White. Here, I have used a rubber brayer (p156 IBC, 102395 $23.95) to apply the ink to the rubber. This gives the most perfect ink application possible, with no streaks or marks that you may get with the rub and tap method. Simply roll the brayer repeatedly over the inkpad, and then onto the rubber, as if you were painting a wall. You will be able to feel the ink cling to the rubber stamp, and will see a perfect ink film on the surface. Brayers are also excellent for inking up background stamps and several other techniques, why not add one to your wishlist?

Whisper White cardstock is specially designed for stamping on, and has very tightly packed paper fibres and an ultrasmooth polished surface with even absorbency. I think the benefits are clearly seen in the photo above. Additionally, it is economical! You can find it on page 130 of the IBC, and it costs $13.50 for 40 A4 sheets , around 34 cents per A4 sheet.
So, in summary, to get a good stamped impression from your stamps, especially solid images, try these tips:

*Clean the stamp thoroughly using Stampin' Mist and Stampin' Scrub before use, to remove residue and prepare the rubber surface for accepting an ink film

*Stamp using Whisper White (or the almost as great Very Vanilla)

*Hold the stamp in contact with the cardstock for a moment or two, to get great transfer

*For the best application, use a brayer to apply ink to the stamp.

I hope that helps you get the best out of your stamp collection, and I look forward to helping you with your Stampin' Up! wishlists!

Upsy Daisy Watercolor Crayon technique

I LOVE my Watercolor Wonder Crayons, they are probably my favourite method of colouring stamped images, because they are so versatile. (Well, I love my markers, blender pen and inkpad puddle methods too, but crayons are 'IT' at the moment!)

This card uses the "Upsy Daisy" set, from the main Idea Book and Catalogue. You can find it on page 75, and it's a bargain at just $33.95 (item code is 115898 for your wishlists)

It has been a very popular set, and there are loads and loads of examples you can find showing how it can be used, I think it is both because of the versatility of the sentiments, as well as the number of ways the large silhouette style flower stamp can be made to look.

Here I have used a watercolour painting effect, created with the water-soluble Watercolor Wonder Crayons (find those on page 127, go on, put them on that wishlist, they're FAB!). I have applied crayon directly to the surface of the rubber stamp, scribbling and blending. Because of the creamy texture of the crayon, you can build up layers of colour easily. I have used Summer Sun, Only Orange, Always Artichoke and Old Olive crayon colours.

The next step is to mist a piece of Confetti cardstock with a fine water spray, just enough to slightly dampen the surface. In this card I have used Confetti White, but you could also use Confetti Cream, Naturals Ivory or Watercolor Paper for this technique. In my water spray bottle (a Ranger Mini Mister) I added a few drops of reinker in Old Olive to give a light tint to the background of my image.

While the surface of the cardstock is still moist, take your crayon-coloured Upsy Daisy stamp and mist it very lightly with water, holding the spray some distance from the stamp. The aim is to dampen the surface enough to allow good transfer of colour to the paper, but without making it too wet, or else you will get the 'runs'.
Then stamp onto the moist Confetti cardstock piece and hold the stamp in contact with it for a few moments to get a good image. ta da! Your resulting piece should look somewhat like an abstract-style watercolour painted image of daisies. Purty, no?

To complete the rest of the card, I stamped the Sanded background in Always Artichoke onto a Mellow Moss card base. To pick up the bright colours in the stamped image, I used a mat of Summer Sun, but to avoid tooooo much brightness, I inked the edges with Always Artichoke and then overlaid this with a mat of Always Artichoke cardstock. I made it slightly asymmetric by using the Eyelet Border punch at one end, which allows the Summer Sun to peek through the holes.

The sentiment is stamped onto an oval punch (Whale of a Punch oval by EK success) which happens to co-ordinate with our new Wide Oval Stampin Up punch, made for us by EK. I'm hoping we get this size of oval punch, as it looks so much better than the Large Oval. I popped up the ovals on Stampin Dimensionals and it was all finished :) Hope it brightens your day just a little!

I'm off for a few days in Huskisson, on the South Coast of NSW, and I hope to create some more goodies to show you. Not sure about how I'll go with actually updating, but if I don't, perhaps you'll be inundated upon my return! Happy School Holidays to all my readers with kids in states starting winter hols this week, hope you can squeeze in some crafting time! Hint of the day - give the kids your scraps box, one stamp set and one (very important this bit) ONE!! ink colour, and challenge them to make a card or two. My 4 year old has been stamping now for a year or so, and it is quite interesting to see what she comes up with. My 8 year old makes quite an impressive card, I have a couple to show you next time. Ciao!

Upsy Daisy with a dash of Kiwi Kiss

I wanted to try a different look for the lovely and popular "Upsy Daisy" stamp set, so I experimented with embossing with the Stampin' Up dye inks combined with Versmark. Yes, it can be done! There is a trick or two to the technique, but it means you are able to match your embossing to your Stampin' Up! cardstocks easily.

* First, ink up the stamp very thoroughly with Versamark ink.


* Next press the Versamarked stamp directly onto the dye inkpad, taking care to press down firmly to get good ink coverage without smudging or twisting the stamp - you want to add a layer of dye ink over the top without rubbing off any of the Versamark.


* Then stamp onto your cardstock, and pour over clear embossing powder straight away - the combination of dye + Versamark inks still dries a little faster than pigment inks.


* Heat with your heat tool, voila!

The card base is Pink Pirouette, and I ran a strip of Kiwi Kiss cardstock through my crimping tool. I sponged the edges with Kiwi Kiss ink. Edging the strip are pieces of Whisper White punched with the Eyelet Border punch.

The embossing is done with Pink Pirouette ink and clear embossing powder, described as above, and then I matted the Whisper White piece with Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss.

To finish, I stamped a greeting from Pocket Silhouettes, which fitted nicely onto the tab punch. A piece of Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain was tied through the fold of the tab before sticking down.

Ta da! hope you like it

Make Life Prettier with Paper and Stamps!

Here are a couple of projects I have made to make my everyday essentials look a little more attractive.

The first project was to cover my brain. Yes, that IS my brain, well, at least a very important external adjunct of it. I have pretty much always needed to carry a notebook with me to jot things down in, being a list maker from way back. But now, with 2 kids and a pretty full-on schedule, I find it absolutely critical, or important things tend to fall through the holes! I used Bella Bleu Designer Series papers and the matching cardstock colours of Kraft, Very Vanilla and Not Quite Navy. I used the Spiral punch to make the cardstock fit the wire binding cover, and added a few extra snips where necessary (different brands have different pitch for the wire spacing) I then tied some ribbon scraps around the wires, which hides them nicely and adds interest. I stamped some Damask images from Friends 24-7 on the Kraft, using Sahara Sand ink, and on the Very Vanilla band at the base of the layering with the different matching cardstocks and couple of different paper designs. The label is made with the scallop circle and circle punch, and I made the title with the Calendar Alphabet - nice small letters so great for personalised greetings and sentiments. I can't remember where the "the" came from right now, but it was part of a sentiment from a current set that I inked up in marker. I have also used the very pretty Eyelet Border punch, and tied some hemp twine and tafetta ribbon around the band before adhering. I made a bookmark from a piece of Vanilla tafetta, threaded with some beads from the Pretties kit. At the base, which I accidentally chopped off in the picture is a filigree brad with a clear rhinestone brad in the centre. Purty, no? Purty useful anyway!

Next up is my boring black office diary. I buy my diaries for functionality rather than looks, but I figured it sure could use some dressing up!! I was concerned about the longevity of the finish, and intended spraying it with some sealant, but haven't gotten around to it yet, and several weeks later it looks almost as good as new. The top section is Barely Banana textured cardstock. an the bottom layer is smooth Not Quite Navy cardstock. The centre band is a section of the same Bella Bleu DSP that I used for the notebook, and Kraft Eyelet border. I stamped a floral image from the now retired Natural Beauty set, and the butterflies are from the Dreams du Jour set, along with the centre image for the circle motif. I inked up the Dreams image with markers to make it multi coloured and stamped onto Very Vanilla card. There is an Ice rhinestone brand in the centre. behind this is a yummy piece of So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon. The "Life" sentiment is from the Live Like you Mean it hostess set, and 2009 is from the Calendar alphabet - a must have in your collection!

One of the things I love about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that I get to attend 'training days' with my local upp-est upline, Jayne Mercer as the co-ordinator. We make stuff and share ideas. All day. And we can call it work!! Sooooo cool!
We also have awards nights where we recognise the achievements of members of the team,congratulations to members of the INKLings who took out the prizes for this year!

Here is a technique we played with at the most recent awards event, shown to us by Margaret Crawford. She had been experimenting with the "Inspired by Nature" set, and some watercolouring techniques, and brought along a sample and materials for us to try it for ourselves. It uses a diluted reinker solution, lightly misted onto Confetti cream cardstock. Then, the grass and flower images are stamped onto the moistened and lightly coloured background, using markers and inkpads. It creates a very authentic watercolour painting technique, and I can't wait to give it a try again! I took home my proudly-created panel, and turned it into a card by matting on Kiwi Kiss and Lovely Lilac, and mounting on an Elegant Eggplant base. Gorgeous!! Thanks Margaret! Does this sound like a fun way to pass an evening? If so, look below at the latest promotion for joining Stampin' Up! and give me a call for a casual chat on (02)9484 9447

Friendly Flowers

What I love about the Friends 24-7 set is that it has a mixture of greeting, solid and outline stamps, that all co-ordinate. So, it's easy to make a card with a background made from the solid stamps and add a watercoloured feature, and there are plenty of techniques you can play with using this set. Oh, and it has a matching wheel - Friendly Words!!

In the last card I applied Marker direct to the rubber of the Bird stamp, and in this one I have used the flower sprig stamp to make a panel for colouring. I have used Stazon Black on Confetti Cream, and coloured with Blender Pens and Aquapainters using Watercolour Wonder Crayons. The card base is Naturals Ivory, stamped in Sahara Sand using the Polka Dot background. Then, I tiled the damask stamp (LOVE it!) onto Kraft cardstock again in Sahara Sand, for a tonal effect. To make these sections pop, and to introduce a colour for the watercolouring panel, I mounted them on Not Quite Navy cardstock.

The greeting is from the same set, Here for You (24-7 is on a separate stamp for versatility), mounted on the essential scallop circle punch, with the three cardstock colours to tie it all together visually.

Hope you like it! Some tips on watercolouring coming soon - it's not as scary as it seems!!

More Bloom Away - Gorgeous Waratahs and Gum Blossoms

Gum Blossoms come in lots of different colour variants, but for my first attempt at colouring I used the one most familiar to me, red with yellow tips of pollen. I have stamped in Stazon Black on Whisper White, and used Watercolor WOnder crayons and an Aquapainter to colour with. Ruby Red, Summer Sun and tiny flecks of Pumpkin Pie have been used on the blossom, and Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa and touches of Ruby Red have been used on the gumnuts and leaves. I mounted it on Summer Sun to match the pollen tips. On the vertical panel of Kiwi Kiss, I have stamped the image repeatedly using Versamark ink, and tore the top and bottom for a rustic look.

The card base is Riding Hood Red, stamped with Riding Hood Red using the Sanded background, and I finished with a greeting from the Fresh Cuts set in Stazon Black and an Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet and some hemp twine threaded through it.

Waratah flowers are truly stunning in real life, rich in colour, with subtle shading from deepest reds to touches of cerise on the tips. Here I have tried to replicate the depth of colour in the flower structure by using layer upon layer of crayon and ink. I have stamped the image on Confetti White in Stazon black. I have used a mixture of the "ink puddle" technique (picking up colour from the inside of an inkpad lid, where a collection of dye ink gathers when the closed lid is pressed inwards) and Watercolor Wonder crayons, both applied with an Aquapainter brush. I lost count of which colours exactly, there is Real Red, Ruby Red, Rose Red , a touch of Pink Passion and a smidge of Bravo Burgundy I think. Plus Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip on the leaves and stem. I have used Sahara Sand ink applied with an Aquapainter around the outside of the flower image, again to create the illusion of depth and shadow. After blending the colour, I added some more spots of dry crayon to the tips of the petal florettes to make them stand out.

The image has then been mounted on Kraft, and then Riding Hood Red. The card base is Kiwi Kiss, stamped in Kiwi Kiss using Weathered background. I was then looking at my wall of punches, and an idea popped into my head to make another base piece out of Kraft, to look like a piece of torn notepaper, using the Spiral Punch. I distressed and bent the tabs to make them look real, and dabbed a little Close to Cocoa ink along the 'ruffled up' bits - I hope that makes sense! The greeting is from Life Definitions, stamped in Chocolate Chip.

That completes the first set of cards made with this gorgeous Australian set, Bloom Away. I look forward to playing around with soft colours next. Is this set on your wishlist yet? I hope so!

Fresh Cuts sneaks in again...

I know I said I would post the pictures of the other cards made with the Bloom Away set, but here is another card I made yesterday using the Fresh Cuts set. I think I've mentioned once or twice that it is a favourite already. Here I was playing around with the Marker to Rubber technique, where you can colour in an image with various colours before stamping. This is quite a complex pattern, but it wasn't too hard to decide where to put what colour. I've used Sahara Sand for the text, Old Olive and Always Artichoke for the foliage, and Ruby Red for the flowers. It's stamped on Naturals Ivory, and mounted on Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and then Very Vanilla for a bit of pop. The background is stamped in Kiwi Kiss onto Kiwi Kiss Cardstock with the Sanded background. Finishing touches are some Tafetta ribbon in Riding Hood Red (a new colour for this ribbon) and the greeting, from the Friends 24-7 set. It was lots of fun and I think I'll try it in some other colourways soon.

NICE Australian stamps! Bloom Away #1

This year, we got the first set of stamps designed especially for us that I personally really like! It is called "Bloom Away" and it's a bargain MUST HAVE at just $31.95! There is a Waratah, Gum Blossom and Banksia bottlebrush flower stamp, all drawn in the style of botanic art. Here I have made a card with the Banksia stamp. The base is More Mustard, with a scallop edge backed with a strip of Kiwi Kiss. Then I have added some Old Olive Prints Designer Series paper and some Chocolate Chip scallops to make it stand out. On the More Mustard base I have used my Spritzer tool and Chocolate Chip marker to create a speckled background. The greeting is from the now retired "Live your dreams" set - I love this quote and will miss it!

Now to the image - it is stamped in Stazon black onto Naturals Ivory cardstock, and I have used my Watercolour Wonder Crayons and Aquapainter brush to blend the colours. I love the crayons, as you can build layers of creamy blendable colour, bys scribbling directly onto the stamped image before applying water with the brush. I was pleased with how easy it was to achieve a realistic Banksia colouration. I have mounted it on Summer Sun, then Kiwi Kiss, then Chocolate Chip to make it stand out. Hope you like it! Waratah and Gum Blossom cards to come...

Enjoy your Easter weekend everyone, stay safe if you are travelling!

A birthday card for another special friend

Here's a card I made for a very special person. She's my birthday twin as well as my talented team member, Ryn. Happy birthday to you!

I've used the Together Forever set, which has a gorgeous flower sprig stamp. I stamped this in Stazon ink, onto glossy white cardstock. Then I simply coloured in the image with my Stampin' Write marker pens. The nature of the smooth absorbent surface of the glossy white is an ideal surface for markers, and you can add layers of colour easily. It's also a very quick and foolproof method of colouring, so why not give it a try?

Then I cut out the coloured image with my fabulous paper snips, and mounted it with Stampin Dimensional foam dots onto some scallop and plain circle punches. The colours are Barely Banana, Certainly Celery and Not Quite Navy, and the background stamp is Polka Dot. I have also used a piece of Certainly Celery Designer Series paper, and my distressing tool from the cutter kit. The Happy Birthday greeting stamp is from It's Your Birthday (on the retiring list and now low in quantity!)

We'll see if she spots it on my blog before she receives it in person!!??

Stampin' Crop Days

Come along to my Stampin' Crop Days! Starting on Saturday 28th March, and continuing every 4th Saturday, these will be a casual event, where you can work on whatever crafty projects are calling you, be they stamping, scrapbooking, or anything else portable enough to bring along with you. Bring along a friend, or get to know a friendly group of papercrafters. While catalogues will be available to browse, the purpose of these days is primarily to relax and enjoy some crafting time with good company. There will be technique demonstrations, casual instruction and lots of inspiration on hand!

When: Saturday 28th March 10am -5pm, stay for an hour or 2 or all day!

Where: My home in Cherrybrook, location details provided on booking.

Cost: $10.00 per person, includes light snacks, tea, coffee, use of my stamps and tools and a make 'n take or two.

Bookings: Please book early on 9484 9447 or email michelle.dyson@bigpond.com to reserve your place, and mark your diaries! RSVP during the week prior to each crop would be very much appreciated.

Upcoming dates for your diary:
Saturday 25th April
Saturday 23rd May
Saturday 27th June