Favorite Tip

[SilverDragoness]

Hey Ladies I was just thinking about what my favorite tip is for making stamping a little bit easier. I've seen all the wonderful stuff everyone has created here and I'm sure that this talented group has some noteworthy ideas. My favorite thing that I learned about a year ago was to use cheap coffee filters for when I am embossing rather than using a sheet of paper folded in half. The thing that is cool about using the coffee filter is that the powder doesn't stick and all you have to do to get it back into the container is to kind of squish it and dump the powder back in. So what is your favorite tip?

[kyloescards]

I love using my dental flossing "needle" for pulling ribbon and fibers through my cards. It has a huge end and is flexible so it works awsome!
Not a tip but keeping my stuff somewhat organized makes me a lot less grumpy!
If I can't find it and get mad I don't stamp as well!

[stampinCPA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyloescards

I love using my dental flossing "needle" for pulling ribbon and fibers through my cards. It has a huge end and is flexible so it works awsome!

What a fabulous tip - wish I had thought of that last night while I struggled to get a ribbon through an eyelet!

[Lisa Loiselle]

My demo showed me how to "split mount" stamps - e.g. if you have an image with a saying under it, mount the image on the back of the block and the saying on the side. That way you can easily use each separately. Works with some saying stamps too, esp. the ones that have a verse and a greeting like happy birthday.

[Stefanie]

I can't live without having a Swifter cloth at my side. It is amazing how easily you can clean up pearl ex, embossing powder and pastels with that cloth. I wipe off my card first and then use it on my work surface when I'm done. Nothing works better !!


By the way, this thread is great. I hope there is a lot more participation.

[Rainsong]

I haven't tried this yet--just saw it demonstrated on Carol Duvall---

need an embossing powder to match a particular color of ink? Place clear UTEE in mixing (sidposable) container. Add several drops of alcohol inks. Mix with a craft stick until alcohol evaporates and mixture is smooth.

Okay, Tim Holtz demonstrated this but if I'm not mistaken, Suze Weinberg has done something similar when using her melting pot. She melted clear UTEE then put drops of ink into the liquid UTEE, swirled them together to marbelize then dipped small cardboard squares, face down, into the mix.

Suze used Colors To Dye For inks (a dye based, heat safe ink). The colors can be blended for custom colors, too. I've looked at both Suze's website and Ranger Industries and see nothing listed as Colors To Dye For...only dye based inks.

Here's the link to the show where she makes the marblized thingys.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/ar...248447,00.html

I see all kind of cardboard cutouts in my future.

Rainsong

[muffysmom]

The best tip I have ever rec'd from my demo, was mounting stamps in the lower corner so you can stamp the image where you want it.(Thanks Kathleen!) I am right handed. Rubber facing up, mount the stamps in the lower right. Rubber side down, it is in the lower left. Especially for 2 step stamping, you can peek around the left side and see where the rubber is to place the image exactly where you want it. I place the label in the lower corner too, to remind me where the rubber is mounted.

I mount all of my stamps this way. The only downside is your stamp can wobble because it is not centered, but once you get used to this, for me, it has worked just great!! Wouldn't do it any other way.

Denise

[bemidjibelle]

I think my favorite tip is to use punches to place eyelets when they are going to be close to the edge of the cardstock. Just punch the hole with the 1/8" punch, insert the eyelet, turn it over, holding on to it, and insert the 1/16" punch, squeeze, and voila! your eyelet is set!!!

Another thing that has saved me when I make a mistake glueing is to use the waxed dental floss to separate the cardstock.

I can't wait to see the other tips....this is a great thread!

Sue

[Rox71]

-I have a lazy Susan on my work table to house all my main tools. With a quick turn everything is right within reach.
-I heat my embossing powder from underneath to avoid fly away.
-I use a long quilting or corsage pin to add thin layers of glue. Squeeze some onto scrap paper of put the pin into the nozzle to pick up glue.
-Store glue in bottles upside down so it comes out quick when you need it.
-A seamstress gauge (slide ruler) works well with measuring.
-I store my embossing powder upside down so I can see the colors.
-I also line the drawer with the rubbery shelf liner so it doesn�t slide around.

That�s all I can think of right now.

PS - I thought I was so smart when I came up with the threader idea just to find out Kyloe has been doing it much longer than I

[etsdas]

Wish I had some great tips like these - I know I'll use several.

One thing I do - I use letters from junk mail (not the shiny brochures) as a "base" for stamping, gluing, etc. Then I can just toss it as there is always more available.

[jm_donahoe]

These are great! Here are mine:

1. Keep a baby wipe handy when mounting stamps - they degunk the scissors easily.
2. Use the brayer to evenly ink up background stamps.
3. Use a yellow crayon instead of white on glossy when doing resist - it shows up and you can see where you've used it.
4. I also love the 1/16" hole punch as a silent eyelet setter.
5. 2/3 stamping mist to 1/3 water does teh same cleaning job and makes your mist last a lot longer.

That's all I've got! Keep em coming!

[stamper1996]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm_donahoe

These are great! Here are mine:

1. Keep a baby wipe handy when mounting stamps - they degunk the scissors easily.

Someone here once suggested to wipe your scissor blades on your Versamark pad--no more gunking! (it does work, I've tried it)

[YESINDIDI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by etsdas

One thing I do - I use letters from junk mail (not the shiny brochures) as a "base" for stamping, gluing, etc. Then I can just toss it as there is always more available.

I do this too.

[SilverDragoness]

These tips are wonderful ladies I knew there had to be tons out there with everyone on this board. Oh I know another one with EP to make new shiny colors of EP I really like to use old film canisters and either place glitter or pearl ex powders into the mix. This works really well when you have tons of colors but none of them seem quite right for a project.

[BilliePam]

You guys are GREAT!!! You have such marvelous tips!!! The best tip I have gotten from here is the organizational tool from Pampered Chef. It is round, it turns it holds lots of stuff. It makes my stamping life a whole lot simpler to have all of my supplies right at my fingertips.

[Cassandranet]

This is an old tip I picked up from here(SCS), but maybe not everyone has seen it before.

I keep a Yo Yo Yellow pad just for cleaning black ink off my stamps. After stamping with basic black, I stamp off on a scratch sheet then stamp onto the yoyo yellow pad. Then stamp off again and then clean. It takes almost all the black off every time. Some of my old stamps are stained with black, but since I learned this tip, none of my newer stamps are stained. It does ruin the yellow pad, tho, so I dedicate one just for that use.

This is a great thread -- I am learning a lot! Thanks everyone for sharing!

[Cassandranet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rox71

--I store my embossing powder upside down so I can see the colors.

What a great idea! I wrote the color names onto the lid with a sharpie. Never thought to just turn them upside down!

You're so smart.

[WeimFamily]

I wrote the names of my non-SU stamp pads on the sides of the containers with a paint pen. I can now easily see which color I need to grab.

[Stampingpat]

My tip you probably already know about, over here we have one crafting chanel on the telly and it is a shopping one at that, anyway they say to store your ink pads upside down. That way the ink is always at the top of your ink pad when you need to use it. I also came up with one on my own. I was having a problem with glitter and embossing powder and static cling, at the time I didn't have a rosin type bag, so instead used a bounce dryer sheet and it worked great to help with the static cling. Thanks for all the great tips!!!

[nonda]

I love this thread!

My best tip is to use paint edger refills to clean your stamps. You buy the refills (very cheap at WalMart or Target) and hot glue them onto a flat object. (I use a small plastic cutting board). Spray with Stampin Mist, and they are wonderful for cleaning your stamps! You get two in a pack so I usually use one "wet" and then one "dry". When they get too dirty, you just peel them off and wash them in the sink. Awesome!

To clean my scissors after mounting stamps, I use Goo Gone. It is the best.

Keep these great ideas coming!

[qcbetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonda

To clean my scissors after mounting stamps, I use Goo Gone. It is the best.

Works like a hot damn, doesn't it??!

My tip came from Jenn....Balcer, that is......if you don't have an eyelet guide, use the top of an order form (the part you tear off to separate the pages). Works perfectly.

Anyone with tips on how to spend less time doing things OTHER than stamping? LOL!! I never seem to have enough time!

[Joan B]

Great thread. Most of my tips are probably well known, but...

1. Instead of using gold or silver cardstock to layer, take a gold krylon pen and, with the cardstock face up on top of scrap paper, draw a border around the cardstock. After a couple of tries, you will have near perfect gold borders.

2. For colored embossing, stamp a stamp with versamark ink, then stamp into a dye ink pad. Emboss with clear embossing powder. Won't be as vibrant as craft ink, but works.

3. Use a sheet of a catalogue or a magazine (shiny paper); fold with a sharp crease and use as a bottom layer for embossing. The embossing powder will slide right back into the jar when done.

4. liquid hairspray mixed with pearl ex makes a cool background.

5. take a good look at your stamps and learn to use only part of a stamp. opens up new possibilities.

6. don't store bleach in a clear container. may explode. must be colored or white.

7. never tell your non stamping friends "how you did that" -- make them think it is harder than it really is!!

[Happy Heart]

My demonstrator gave me a great idea for embossing powder. I bought some inexpensive, flat, square food storage containers, and I store my EP in them. I use a tiny dipper or spoon and, holding the CS over the container, pour on the EP and pour it off, right back into the container. No fly-away powder!
I could never remember what colors belonged to which families when I first started stamping, so I wrote the first letter of the family (R,S,E,B) on the bottom of my stamp pads with a permanent marker. That way I can always put them back in the correct spot.
I'm sure there are a lot of other little tricks I use, but after awhile, they just don't seem that novel or innovative!

[straw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bemidjibelle

I think my favorite tip is to use punches to place eyelets when they are going to be close to the edge of the cardstock. Just punch the hole with the 1/8" punch, insert the eyelet, turn it over, holding on to it, and insert the 1/16" punch, squeeze, and voila! your eyelet is set!!!

Another thing that has saved me when I make a mistake glueing is to use the waxed dental floss to separate the cardstock.

I can't wait to see the other tips....this is a great thread!

Sue

I just tried this tip, can't seem to get it to work. Does it have to be a SU eyelet?

Thanks
CC

[thegmommy]

Love happyheart's idea for storing Embossing Powder...now to find a little dipper spoon...

[Rox71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joan B

7. never tell your non stamping friends "how you did that" -- make them think it is harder than it really is!!

Joan, you have to convince them it�s easy so they will buy stamps themselves and you will have someone to borrow from!!!

Happy Heart I wish I'd had your letter idea before I just marked mine with different permanent marker colors.

And here is one I forgot in my earlier post.
If you use the Coluzzle templates, mark each line with a different colored permanent marker so you know which line to move your knife to when you reach that cross over point.

[SilverDragoness]

I had no idea that bleach would do that. I've got some in my waterbrush (aqua painter) and it is semi clear kind of a blue clear. Do you think that will explode? I also use the Krylon pen technique it looks great. Just make sure you let it dry before it gets mounted I have a tendency to try to use it too soon. Oh I like that idea for the coluzzle templates I'm off to mark mine.

[Julzz]

I didn't realize that about the bleach either...I wonder why????


ps. Maybe I'm blonde??

[outsiderartist]

Here is a tip I learned from a member of my monthly stamp group, take those little Silica gel packets you get with new shoes, some foods and other purchases and put them in the containers that you have you EP in... it is supposed to keep the ep from being all staticy and it also prevents moisture build up.

[Kittypaws]

When I get a new stamp set, I stamp each image on an 8 1/2 x 11 paper (you can get more than one stamp set on a page) and then label the name of the set on the page, then put this in a 3-ring binder. I can usually remember the large pieces, but this is particularly useful for some of the small images that come in a set that you might want to use as a background, etc. It's a lot easier to go through a 3-ring binder than rummaging through stamp sets. Works for me.

[nonda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rox71

If you use the Coluzzle templates, mark each line with a different colored permanent marker so you know which line to move your knife to when you reach that cross over point.

What a great idea!!! I love my Coluzzle, but I get "lost" when I move my blade.....Time to get out my Sharpies and mark them. Yeah!

[imastampin]

I have a couple I haven't seen mentioned:


If you need to move something you have stuck down with snail adhesive, just heat it with your heat gun for a few seconds and it peels right off without leaving a residue. Awesome.

Put the pads from your Stampin' Scrub on the top rack of your dishwasher, TURN OFF THE HEAT DRY, and run it through a cycle. All nice and clean and fluffy again! I wash it with my dishes even, not wanting to waste a whole cycle just for the pads. It really gets them clean, which I can never do in the sink.

[Mylene]

Turn off your ceiling fan while using dazzling diamonds glitter.

[Rox71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kittypaws

When I get a new stamp set, I stamp each image on an 8 1/2 x 11 paper (you can get more than one stamp set on a page) and then label the name of the set on the page, then put this in a 3-ring binder. I can usually remember the large pieces, but this is particularly useful for some of the small images that come in a set that you might want to use as a background, etc. It's a lot easier to go through a 3-ring binder than rummaging through stamp sets. Works for me.

You can also just scan and print the images before you cut them out for assembly. And you should also put a paper of images into the stamp set box itself. This way if you take the set out to a get together and share it, you know for sure you have all the pieces before you leave.

That silica gel idea outsiderartist really does keep mine from lumping up and I just throw them in the drawer where I store the EP jars.

Bleach exploding is a very scary thought, I didn't know that. Puts a whole new light on explosion cards doesn't it! Okay, bad joke!

[Cassandranet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mylene

Turn off your ceiling fan while using dazzling diamonds glitter.

hahahaha -- That's a good one.

[lbirus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mylene

Turn off your ceiling fan while using dazzling diamonds glitter.

Wonder how you found this out???
Here are the ones I can think of now, love this stuff!

1. Use an old kid marker (like the crayola type) for a bleach pen. It's opaque and it soaks up the bleach well, let it sit in the bleach then turn it on it's side for a few minutes. ***Mark well so little ones don't get in it.***
P.S. I don't think the bleach will explode when exposed to light, it will simply loose it's potency.

2.I found a paper funnel at the Mobile station (free) that helps with EP

3. If a brand new stamp doesn't seem to accept the ink evenly, rub it with an eraser.

4. I use a sharpie to mark all sides of my set boxes so I can always tell what set it is, then I take one of the images from the set and stamp on a small label, it's just enough to jog my memory as to what the set has in it. Do ya know how many nature's somethings there are???

5. Drywall tape works wonderfully as a substitute for magic mesh (has a sticky side too) and can be colored easily by placing it face down onto a sheet of scrap paper or waxed paper, then rubbing the ink over top (chalk inks work really well). Someone on an earlier thread even tried spray painting some gold (I think I'd try the painty pens first).

6. Old style computer paper makes a great stamping surface and rips off to reveal a fresh one. Usually folks are giving or throwing it away.

7. The dollar store "craft" scissors work great for cutting stamps out, they have shorter blades and only cost $1! (Trust me!)

8. You may know this, 10 secs in a micowave lets you 'unmount' and 'remount' any sets that may need an extra trim.

[stampin8mom]

I've posted this tip before, but I am an avid watercolorer and this is my all time favorite tip that was passed on to me.

Stamp your image you are going to watercolor onto the cardstock. Lightly spray with Krylon Matte Spray (available with sealers and spray paints). It will dry in seconds. (best to shake the can for 30 seconds before you spray! as per instructions on the can)

The matte spray makes any ink waterproof (navy, gray, brown, etc.) and lightly coats the paper so the watercolors blend effortlessly.

You can watercolor with any medium - aquapainters, blender pens, paintbrushes, etc.

Because the paper is coated, it won't soak up the water as fast, won't curl and won't "pill."

Love my matte spray!!!

Kathy

[jm_donahoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stampin8mom

I've posted this tip before, but I am an avid watercolorer and this is my all time favorite tip that was passed on to me.

Stamp your image you are going to watercolor onto the cardstock. Lightly spray with Krylon Matte Spray (available with sealers and spray paints). It will dry in seconds. (best to shake the can for 30 seconds before you spray! as per instructions on the can)

The matte spray makes any ink waterproof (navy, gray, brown, etc.) and lightly coats the paper so the watercolors blend effortlessly.

You can watercolor with any medium - aquapainters, blender pens, paintbrushes, etc.

Because the paper is coated, it won't soak up the water as fast, won't curl and won't "pill."

Love my matte spray!!!

Kathy

Ooooh! I am so gonna try this! LOL - just one more thing in my stamp room that looks like it doesn't belong (Future Floor Wax, Glycerin, Alcohol, Shaving Cream, Rubber Cement etc...)

[SilverDragoness]

An easy way to have custom watercolors is to color with markers onto a AOL cd then just pick up the color with your brush. I like how I can get vibrant colors with little effort. I've found that sometimes mixing the pen colors is fun as well.

Oh I love the idea of using an old kids marker. If I'd thought of that sooner I would have one more of the watercolor brushes to use.

Mylene that totally cracks me up my glitter has a tendency to get everywhere even without the help of a fan. One of my favorite stamps says "Yes, I know I have glitter on my face." Good luck cleaning it up.

Hmmm now that I think of it using gladware containers for EP would be really nice... maybe I'll have to get some for my stamping stuff.

[Shanon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by julyn young

I didn't realize that about the bleach either...I wonder why????


ps. Maybe I'm blonde??