Tons of Terrific Tips
· Store your markers flat, so the ink stays in contact with the tip better.
This is especially helpful when are getting a little lower on ink in the
marker. Also this allows you to see what colors of markers you have
easily. Wrap the almost-dry markers with a piece of masking tape to let
you know they're just about out of color, and then use those for very
pale soft color (almost a chalky or pale crayon effect).
· Keep each of your inkpads in a small zipper bag with its bottle of the
re-inker, so you can re-ink the pad when you are finished using it. This
is very helpful when you are doing A LOT of stamping at one time.
· When you have rainbow pads (like the Kaleidacolor; Ranger Big n
Juicy, etc) keep a piece of cardstock with a few images stamped from
different sections of the pad. That way you know what ranges of colors
are in each pad. You can keep the cardstock and the pad in a zipper
bag so it's always together.
· Store mounted stamps on trays. Use acrylic photo frames that have
the cardboard in the back. Take that out and use the 'frame' part as a
tray. You can categorize them by theme, and have each tray labeled
so you can pull out the tray instead of searching.
· Store small brass stencils in a small photo album.
· Store large sheets of paper on skirt hangers that have 5 or 6 tiers of
clips. You can store about 30 sheets of paper on each skirt hanger.
· When you buy acrylic craft paints, take a drop of the paint and put it on
the cover. That way you can see what color it is, without digging
through all the bottles. This is also helpful with any type of paint that
you may be using. If the lid is slick plastic, put a white stick-on dot on it
(like from the office supply store) then put the paint on top of the dot.
· Always stamp on a flat hard surface (EXCEPT when using Acrylic Stamps!
Then you need foam under them!) and allow plenty of drying time inbetween
layered colors.
layered colors.
· Do not "rock" the stamp when applying it to your surface material
because the images could blur. Only light pressure is required around
the edges of the stamp.
· To make sure your stamps stay in good condition you will want to store
them rubber side down and clean them immediately after use and
between colors. Do not immerse your stamps in water as it could
loosen the adhesive. There is a wide variety of stamp cleaning
products available commercially or you can blot the image on a paper
towel until the ink is gone. Use a solvent based cleaner or liquid
detergent and old toothbrush to completely clean difficult designs.
· Use pages from old magazines and catalogs to make inner envelopes
for your cards. Floral garden pages are great!
· Use limp plastic window screen cloth to make fantastic backgrounds!
· Future Floor Finish is perfect for rubbing over a finished polymer clay
pin and also works great for acetate cards! Stamp image in black on
the front of the acetate and heat-set, then flip it over and pour a puddle
of Future on the back and mush it around with your fingers. Then
sprinkle various colors of Pearl-Ex and gently spread them around.
Crumple up a piece of white tissue paper and lay it over the Pearl-Ex
and let dry. Finished art looks like foil!
· Garage sales are a great source for old music sheets which make
wonderful embellishments/background paper.
· To ink press or tap the stamp firmly onto the stamp pad several times.
Large stamps can be inked easily on the raised pads by moving them
around over the surface.
· Some stampers prefer to lay the stamp face up on the table and apply
the pad to the stamp. Either way is effective.
· New stamps may need a "breaking in" period before they will accept
ink evenly. Apply firm, even pressure to the stamp.
· Always stamp on a flat, smooth surface.
· Do not rock the stamp or slam it down. This will cause over stamping
or blurring of the image.
· Large stamps and stamps with solid areas require more ink and more
pressure. Apply even pressure to entire area using fingertips, but not
allowing the stamp to move. For large stamps or designs with a lot of
filled in areas, more pressure can be applied if you stamp standing up.
· Small stamps and fine line designs require less ink and less pressure.
· To store your wheel stamps, try using the tall potato chip cans. To
identify whats inside, take a piece of paper and 'wheel' the image on it
and glue this paper around the can. 6 wheels can fit in a regular size
can.
· To hold your embossing heat gun, use a doll stand.
· If you like to have your embossing powders in a bigger container, use
plastic sandwich style containers. To apply powder to your image, use
a business card, then dump leftover powder back into container.
· If you want to trim a little extra rubber after you have adhered it to the
wood block or it was applied crocked, simply warm it in the microwave
for up to 10 seconds. The rubber will peel off and you can then trim
the rubber and reapply straight. Sometimes it will leave a little sticky
on the wood, try using goo gone to rub it off.
· Wiggle eyes make great surprise eyes on animals
· Use Craft Pom-Poms for 3-D balls.
· Don't throw away jar candles. Soak in cold water to expell any extra
candle wax, and wash. Use StazOn ink pads to stamp on images. Fill
with treats and give as gifts. Or use as storage containers.
· Use Goo Gone to clean off the stickies that cake-up on your Xyron
machine or scissors/trimmers.
· To keep ink from staining the wood apply clear nail polish on the wood
mounts.
· Put a piece of uncooked Macaroni in a jar of embossing powder. It
soaks up all the moisture!
