Wednesday 101 - Rubber Stamping - The Basics

I am too busy to blog today...

Playing with my grandson is more important when I only get to see him once or if I am very lucky twice a year!

I am going to let Stampin' Up! teach you about heat embossing today. Videos are a great way to learn new things.

Some notes on this video:
1) personally, I like to store my embossing powders in shallow Rubbermaid or similar containers that are about 4" x 6". Keep a spoon in the container and then hold the stamped piece to be embossed over the container and spoon the embossing powder over the stamped image and let it slide right back into the storage container. I don't bend the project like she did to get the embossing powder back into the tiny little container. I also tap the edge or the back of the paper while I am holding it over the container so that any excess embossing powder will fall back into the container instead of being blown across the project the first time the blast of air from the heat tool hits it.

2) If you use a larger container like I suggest, the embossing powder won't spill all over your work surface where it can mess up the project you are working on, or get stuck to your work surface as you are heating the project.

3) Use tweezers to hold the project (to keep your fingers out of the heat) while you use the heat tool to melt the powder. Don't set your project down on your working surface while you are heating it, the work surface under your project acts like a heat sink and pulls heat away from the paper which means that you will have to apply heat longer to get the embossing powder to melt. Sometimes that can cause the paper to get singed. Brown spots around your embossed image are not what you had planned! (or maybe you did want that effect!)


Now for the video:

Wednesday 101 - Rubber Stamping - The Basics

Okay, you know this is all about the basics...
Today's subject is paper. There are so many types of paper that I could talk about paper for many blogs. But I am just going to mention a few of the many types out there because I don't want this to be overwhelming.
I'll start with the ones that you can purchase from Stampin' Up! at my online store.

Background papers:

Stampin' Up! calls theirs Designer Series Papers and they come in color coordinated stacks that make cardmaking and scrapbooking so much easier!

English Garden Designer Series Paper

This shows the 4 different patterns in Melon Mambo. There are 9 more colors in the Brights stack!

 

Designer series papers are not as heavy as cardstock. They are heavy enough to use as scrapbook page bases but not card bases. They work great for layering and all the types of ink that Stampin' Up! sells will work great on them. They are acid and lignin free.  Each 12" x 12" page has 2 designs, one on each side.

Watercolor Paper:

Watercolor Paper

 

Use this paper when you watercolor your stamped images. This paper is heavier (140 lb) than cardstock. It is highly absorbent. Use watercolor paint and paint brush as well as Classic Stampin' Ink, Blender Pens and Aqua Painters to add color.
I don't use this as the card base, I use it as a layer on cards.

White Vellum Cardstock:

Vellum

 

I'm not sure why Stampin' Up! calls this cardstock. It is a vellum, a translucent paper that is great for layering. It can be tricky to heat emboss because the heat can warp it. It is also tricky to pressure emboss with embossing folders because the pressure tends to cause the embossed designs to punch through the paper. Not all inks are suitable for vellum. Stazon and Memories inks work best because the surface is very smooth and not very porous. Because you can see through it you have to be creative in how you attach it to the card base. Some ways to attach it to a card are to:

• use brads that go through the vellum and the base layer.
• use a glue dot between the vellum and base layer and then cover it with something on the top layer to hide the glue dot...for example a button.
• use snail tape to attach it to the base layer and then hide the tape with ribbon and/or bows.
• attach it to the back of the card by creating a tab that folds around to the back side and adhering it there.

Vellum is acid free and lignin free.

 Glittered Paper:

Red Glimmer Paper

 

Stampin' Up!'s glitter paper is called "Glimmer Paper". It has the most glitter on it of any glitter paper I have seen on the market. It is a cardstock weight so it can be used to create card bases but I just use it for accents on my cards. I either punch out shapes, die cut shapes or cut strips to use on my card to add an extra bit of texture and sparkle. Glimmer paper comes in 12"x 12" sheets and is available in 4 different colors. Try it, you'll love it!

 Foil Paper:

foil papers

 

Stampin' Up!'s foil paper is a card stock weight and can be used for card bases. It can also be stamped on with Memories ink or Stazon ink. It can be punched and die cut. I usually use it in the same ways that I use Glimmer paper, as accents. I have also used it for matting layers, it makes beautiful mats. It comes in 12" x 12" sheets and is available in silver and gold. I've seen some people use it for pressure embossing (with embossing folders) but it may crack around the embossed design. Try it and see how it works for you!

This isn't even all of the specialty papers that Stampin' Up! carries, but these are the ones that I use the most. Probably in discussing certain techniques later on in Wednesday 101 posts I will share some more papers with you.

Have a blessed day!
Trude

Wednesday 101 - Rubber Stamping- The Basics

Adhesives

One of the items that I keep multiples of in my toolbox is adhesive. There isn't really such a thing as one that works for everything. Each has its own strength, so lets talk a little bit about them.

Liquid Glues

We know what liquid glues are, we've been using them since we were children in grade school (ie; Elmer's). Now that we are crafting we need to learn about some liquid glues that are acid free so that our projects can be put into scrapbooks or the scrapbooks themselves will last.

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Tombow creates a strong bond, comes in a bottle with a fine tip for precision application is acid free and works great for gluing paper layers or attaching glitter. I like this glue because a bottle lasts a long time. Plus I can do creative things with it like tracing lines and squiggles on my projects and adding glitter. Love that little bit of extra sparkle on things.

It also has a very wide gluing end in case you have some serious gluing to do, but I almost never use that end...dot, dot, not a lot.0

MultiPurpose Liquid Glue

2-Way Glue Pen

This glue comes in a pen with a bullet shaped tip. To use the glue you 'draw' on your project. It is called 2-way because it can be used as a glue that permanently bonds paper layers together by placing the layers together as soon as the glue is applied or it can be used as a temporary adhesive by allowing the glue to dry before you stick the layers together. This glue is acid free so it is great to use on projects that you want to archive or scrapbook. I like this glue because it is easy to use for small pieces of paper and embellishments. It goes on the places where you touch the pen, and it doesn't leave a tall dot that spreads when you stick it together. It is a good glue to use for embellishing your projects with glitter because you can trace the outline or fill in the area with a lot of control as to where you want it to go. This is also an excellent glue to use for foil effects. You apply it, let it dry, and then apply the foiling sheets to tacky dried glue.

2-Way Glue

Crystal Effects

I don't used this as an adhesive so much but it can be used to attach buttons and beads and other embellishments. It is slow to dry...it usually takes at least an hour and more if it is real thick. I like to use it for 3-D effects. I use it to make my own custom candy dots because unlike other glues that dry clear, Crystal Effects does not flatten out when it dries. I did use it to attach the embellishments to this welcome banner. Crystal Effects is also acid free.

Crystal Effects

 

Those are all the liquid glues that Stampin' Up! sells. Besides these liquid glues I also use Scotch Quick Drying Tacky Glue. It glues and holds paper very fast, doesn't wet the paper, has a fine applicator tip, is photo safe and acid free.

Glue Stick

Glue sticks are economical and good for gluing larger areas in less time.Stampin' Up!s glue stick has a diamond shape so that it fits into the corners easily. These glue sticks are also acid free.

Stampin' Glue Stick

Next time I will talk about other adhesives such as Adhesive Transfer Tape, Glue Dots, etc.

Wednesday 101 - Rubber Stamping- The Basics

One of the first things people usually want to know about paper crafting and card making is, what tools they need to start.

Really there aren't many tools that you need to have when you first begin, but there are many tools that you will probably want to get sooner or later.

Here are my basic go-to tools:

Scissors- I like small ones with a Teflon coating but they aren't easy to find. Here's a nice pair that Stampin' Up! sells.

Paper Snips

 

Bone Folder- For creating perfect creases on your cards. 

Bone Folder

A Glue Stick- I like the one that Stampin' Up! sells because it has square corners and gets in the corners easily.

Glue stick

2-Way Glue Pen- For attaching strips and small pieces of paper and glitter.

2-Way Glue Pen

Snail Tape- adhesive transfer tape that sticks layers of paper together oh so nicely!

Snail Tape

Double sided tape- love it for heavy duty sticking and also great for glitter application.

Tear and Tape

 

 I also keep a pencil, eraser and small 6 inch ruler close by. In addition to those items I also keep a pencil box handy to organize them and make them easily transportable. And that is pretty much the basics!

Wednesday 101- Rubber Stamping- The Basics

Today I'm going to talk about cleaning your stamps.

When you stamp with a stamp, the best time to clean it is right away. Stamps that are cleaned and stored properly will last many years.

One of the easiest ways to clean stamps is to use a cleaning pad that sits right on your work station. Stampin' Up has an extra large one that accomodates almost every size of stamp. It has a fuzzy surface that gently cleans the ink off the stamp.

Stampin' Scrub

One side is for cleaning and one side is for drying. Use with Stampin' Mist cleaner.

I do not use the same Stampin' Scrub to remove solvent inks (Stazon) and dye inks (Classic Stampin' Inks). I use one for each. They each have a different cleaning solution.

Here are some suggestions for cleaning your stamps if you do not have a scrub pad like the one pictured.

Most inks will be removed easily in water. Just hold them under running water then dry with a paper towel. Allow to completely dry before storing. 

Another way that doesn't soak the wood handled stamps is to fold paper towels into a pad and place on a plate. Wet with water and stamp the stamp into the dampened paper towels until ink is removed.

Another method is to use baby wipes. It works quite well to get a tub just for cleaning your stamps. Open the lid, stamp the stamp on the top wipe until the stamp is clean. Use only baby wipes without alcohol and ones that are lint free. Alcohol may dry out the stamps and lint will leave fuzz on your stamps.

For Craft and Pigment inks you may have to use a soft toothbrush with some liquid soap. Joy dish soap is pretty good. Dawn may be too harsh on rubber stamps. 

To properly clean solvent inks you need a special cleaner. Stampin' Up! sells Stazon cleaner as well as dye ink cleaners. If the stamp is still stained by the solvent ink after cleaning, don't stress about it. The solvent inks are permanent and will not transfer color the next time they are used.

I hope that you learned something today!
Have a blessed day,
Trude