52 Weeks of Wonder

Get Fantastic Curves

"Who doesn’t adore lovely curves? We throw curves, watch curve balls, master learning curves, and sometimes find ourselves ahead of the curve. Today we’ll focus on a creative curve—adding shape to a My Acrylix stamp, something not even possible with a wood-mounted stamp! Sentiments that are designed to be stamped straight can easily be curved to match the contour of the paper.

Whether you are accenting cards or adorning the curves of a great scrapbook layout, stamps make the perfect addition.

To show off the curves in your artwork, place a clear block (that is slightly larger than the image you wish to stamp with) on top of the paper where the image will be placed.  Next, place the stamp image on the clear block by curving it as you lay it down. Follow the curve of the paper.

Once the stamp is in place, ink the image and stamp it with perfect placement.  With a little practice, you’ll soon find that it’s easy to embrace your curves—both in your life and in your artwork!"

Jeanette Lynton

Love our July Stamp Of The Month!  Look for a post in the next few days featuring incredible artwork with the "Let Freedom Ring" stamp set.

52 Weeks of Wonder

Turn on the Dark!

"I love the richness of dark, deep tones. You can’t go wrong adding deep browns like Cocoa or Chocolate to any project because they automatically add substance and ground your projects. Some crafters find stamping on dark cardstocks to be a challenge—how can you get it to show?—but there are some pretty straightforward guidelines to follow that deliver fabulous results. You can go very bold and contrasting or more subtle, with just a slight color variation.

And while I adore the subtle beauty of tone-on-tone stamping, sometimes the colors are so low contrast, you can barely see them. To turn on the dark and pump up contrast even in tone-on-tone projects, turn to your My Acrylix stamps for the perfect solution. With the clear stamp and the clear block you can double stamp your image two or more times, always with perfect image alignment. First, stamp the image on the paper using the same color ink as the paper color.

Then ink your image again using the same color of ink. Line up the stamp directly over the image you just stamped. For easier placement, I try to line up opposite corners of the stamp with the image I am stamping over. This can require some practice when stamping on darker papers because the images are definitely more difficult to see.

Double stamping really does bring out the word “Together” nicely on this card but for even more of an impact, the piece that is stamped on was cut ¼” – ½” longer than the width of the card then the ends were attached to the card. The center bows slightly for some unique dimension."

Jeanette Lynton

Jeanette has another great technique for stamping on dark cardstock with pigment inks.  Check-out her blog post for more details.

Creativity with Trees & Things Stamp Set

My Acrylix® Trees & Things is the perfect stamp set for showing off lots of neat techniques, including rock 'n' roll, second generation, masking, and more! In this short video, we take these stamping methods to the next level of creativity on cards, a scrapbook page, and even a journal. Easy and fun for all your stamping-crazy customers or those just learning!

52 Weeks of Wonder

Become a Dimension Diva!

"If you don’t currently own an embossing pen, you’ll certainly reconsider after seeing all it can do to elevate your artwork. Embossing pens can add precise, dimensional detail to any project—more so than an embossing pad—and in no time, you’ll become an embossing diva! 

Next, let’s look at this Happy Father’s Day card, shown above. Having embossing on both the hot air balloon and part of the sentiment really brings balance to the composition of the card.

If you’re looking for something even more meaningful for dad this holiday, a mini album is a wonderful, unique gift that’s also time-friendly. (It’s also a great way to get children involved in the project—each child can decorate his or her page for dad; and we have so many options to choose from! Here, I’ve chosen our All Sorts album.) The “Here’s To You” Father’s Day album not only highlights a variety of ways the pen can be used, it should give you some great artwork inspiration (hint, hint: you still have time). On the cover the embossing pen was used in conjunction with a ruler to create the straight lines that frame the photo. A fast and dramatic way to snazz up basic cardstock!"

Jeanette Lynton

Jeanette has great instructions for embossing on her blog post.  Plus, she has shared all the pages of her Father's Day mini album, cover shown above.  What a wonderu gift for any father!

52 Weeks of Wonder

Stamp Just About Everything!

"Slick, shiny, non-porous surfaces can be tricky to stamp on—traditional inks may not want to take. You have to have the right kinds of ink or use the right technique to make them work. Today we are going to explore two easy different options beginning with StazOn®. StazOn® ink is specially formulated for stamping on non-porous and semi-porous surfaces such as metal, plastic, acrylic, cellophane, aluminum foil, leather and even some glass surfaces.

Adding embossing to your embellishments on your project is an exciting technique. Many of the embellishments we use in crafting are non-porous, and stamping great elements onto them can add flair and personalization to even the most basic embellishment.

The embossing technique can be applied on a much grander scale. This project started with some great photos of our Art Director Eric Clegg and his family. Each of the photos has been cropped and mounted on the back of My Acrylix blocks. (Yes, you heard me, blocks! Isn’t this a fabulous way to create a unique and durable photo display?) These projects were easy to create and I’m sure it will be a treasured memento for a long time."

 
Jeanette Lynton

 

Jeanette has shared instructions on how to create this gorgeous altered project using our clear blocks.  Pop over to her website for the details, then jump back here to order your Acrylix blocks, Versamark ink pad and embossing powders to create your own!

52 Weeks of Wonder

Paint the Town!

"Today, we’re going to really break new ground by stamping with paint--a creative way to use stamps in a non-traditional forum. Using paint as a medium to stamp with takes some creativity because the results are not always “perfect,” but they are perfectly delightful!

You can stamp with Pearl Paint as it is for a white pearl finish, which works well on dark papers. Or, you can tint the paint using re-inker. To do this, add some Pearl Paint to a craft jar.

Add drops of re-inker then stir using a stylus. Continue adding re-inker until the desired shade is achieved.

Lightly dip a sponge dauber into the paint. Be careful not to get too much paint on the dauber. You only need a small amount. Gently pounce the paint-filled dauber directly on the mounted stamp. Work the paint around on the stamp until a generally even coverage is achieved.

Hold the stamp straight from above and gently press the stamp to the paper. Be careful not to let the stamp slide around . . . the paint is very slippery!  The paint will not give as clean a line to the edge of the image as you’re used to with ink. Remember, messy is good here! If the integrity of the image was lost, you may have used too much paint. Clean the stamp off, dry it and try again . . . using a little less paint. Good luck and let your creativity flow."

Jeanette Lynton

Love this technique!  CTMH's Create-A-Shade™ Pearl Paint is one of my favorite products; extremely versatile and completely customizable.