What's the least successful card/technique you've done?
 

My least successful card was the magic card (the one that looks black & white, but colored when you pull it up) it always looks bad or doesn't work. My least successful technique is stamping on acetate. It always smears and I always have to restart. Let's know what your least successful card/technique is!



God Bless!

~CluelesslyCreative

I've tried about three times to do crayon resist and I cannot get it to work. That was one of the first techniques I was taught when I started stamping, too. Don't know what my problem is.

My least successful was when you stamp a pretty solid image with versamark on white paper and emboss the image with black embossing powder. Then you take the same image stamped with versamark on black paper and emboss the image with white powder. Then you cut each of the papers in half of the diagonal and match 1/2 of the black image up with half of the white image. No matter how much I tried using embossing buddies and tiny paint brushes to eliminate specks, I got specks of white on the black paper and specks of black on the white paper and I normally don't have this problem embossing. Not sure what I was doing wrong but it was very frustrating and I abandoned the idea. I love the result tho so I will probably try it again at some point.

I'm still having trouble getting something I really like with water stamping. Funny you post this this thread, because I only just gave it another try the other day...and ended up stamping in ink and embossing. And I saw some gorgeous cards posted when it was the technique challenge one week.
I love magic cards!! My tip for stamping on acetate - use a stamp positioner, then your stamp doesn't slip on the smooth surface.
My problem with the split negative, as described in the post above, is that I don't have a white EP that's the same "white" as my card - and I've tried several. So I don't like the look I get.

I tried the technique where you ink up your stamp block with a few different colors, spritz it with water, and stamp the block on the cardstock. It is supposed to make a nice water-colory square that you can use as a background. I've tried it a few times, and I'm just not happy with the results.

I haven't had very good results stamping with bleach or using the watercolor technique that KristaTracy mentioned. When I do either technique, I just get a blurry mess. Not very pretty.

My "clear card" skillz sucketh...

I had to smile when I read this question. I have probably messed up every single technique I've tried at some point!

But I don't think I could ever top the soot technique. Yep. Cardstock. . . flame . . . fire. :rolleyes:

I'm enjoying the answers - and will probably learn about some new techniques thanks to this thread :) .

I cannot make a card like Michelle Zindorf or Heather Telford for the life of me. My sponging and brayering techniques are terrible!
Barbara

Me and you both! I even have a DVD showing me how to do it, I have all the tools.....but none of the skill! lol

I'm just going to put - Yes as the answer to the question, because pretty much everything mentioned so far and then probably after I post.

Lol, it seems everyone has messed up at sometime! Soot stamping and clear cards, I've never done well with either. Cook22: Never tried using my stamp-a-majig to keep it from slipping, will definitely try that. KristaTracy and QueenOfInkland: Never heard of those techniques?! Will have to try them out. :D

Soot stamping I love :D.
Scrapjanny mentioned bleach, I must say that although I faithfully give it a try any time it comes up in a challenge, I've never got good results with that either.

Coloring with chalk and blender pens. I can't get it to blend quickly enough and I end up with fur-ball paper every time! I'm sticking with my Copics, I do just fine with them.

Before SU came out with scented ep, there was a tutorial in the demo mag about using Kool Aid powder along with clear ep.....never worked for me and I'm pretty sure I bought a specific stamp set to use with the technique too!
I've never had great success with bleaching either and many of the water techniques have left me with blurred soggy messes. However, many times when I keep trying I end up with something I like.

I've given up heat embossing as I never get it right and also shrink plastic, can never get it to flatten out.

Ruth

The trick to shrink plastic is to let it go longer - eventually it does flatten out. I kept thinking that I was doing it wrong because all my pieces were so "wonky", but when I gave them more time they did much better... It also makes a difference if the shrink plastic is old, I think.

I just can not ink my embossing folder and get what I want out of it. :(

Another tip on Shrink Plastic is to keep a heat resistant flattener at hand (I use a bamboo cheese board I repurposed for crafting, or the bottom of a glass) and just press down on the item while it is still pretty warm - works like a charm. YOu can also always reheat repeatedly, if you were too slow to get it. I often use an oven, then just zap it with my heat gun for a few moments to flatten.

Soot stamping is my nemesis! Much paper was flaming every time I tried this. I'll try again when I am in a patient mood.

Spritzing inked stamp with water for the wc effect :(
Doesn't seem to work for me...Jennifer McGuire makes it look so easy!

I have been in a quandry about coloring. I don't have too many outline stamps, and I avoid them because I can't settle on a technique. I can't use Copics or any alcohol based markers, I can't get the look I want with Prismas because I can't use Gamsol and all my attempts at using baby oil have been less than stellar. I have some water based markers (some SU and some Distress) and I find they streak. I have tried painting with my Distress Inks, but unless I use watercolor paper it doesn't work well, and I sometimes have a hard time getting a good outline stamp on WC paper.

It's a conundrum. And it annoys me. I need to have a reliable coloring method and I can't seem to find one.

Really?! I love coloring with Copics, however you need about 3 shades for each color to blend. For Prismacolor I use regular mineral spirits and it works fine. I understand what you mean about water-based markers. They really tear your paper the more you try to blend. May I ask how many Copics you own? I know they are quite expensive, so I don't own to many. Also, have you tried Spectrum Noir or Prismacolor markers. I hear they are about the same, except for more blending. Hope you can find something! Coloring is what I do the most. :D


God Bless!

I have had some good luck with bleaching. It depends on the cardstock -- not all cardstock is suited to bleaching. You need to try a few samples/scraps to know for sure.

Also, I like to soak a baby wipe with bleach and then use it as a stamp pad. Then my stamp does not get overly wet and drippy.

When I saw Phantom's response about soot stamping I almost jumped up and down screaming - YES! That's so my nemesis. Only thing is I doubt I'll ever be patient enough to get it to work. Love the look people who do it right get instead of the burned mess I get.

I haven't tried using bleach on my stamps yet. But I do emboss an image and then bleach (I use cosmetic cotton swabs, which have one pointed end) and the colors you can get are beautiful. I love that technique. I would like to try stamping with bleach.

Isn't bleach bad for stamps, though? I know people do it, but I just wonder about it.

I have heard it's fine for rubber stamps. I have not heard about clear.

Same with me. I always manage to leave some spot un-inked. I also mess up when I try to brayer over the raised portion of cardstock that I ran through an embossing folder. I always get ink in the recesses.

I'm with RiverIsis, I've messed up all the ones I've tried. Soot - I would probably burn down the house, hee hee.

Wow - this is interesting. The technique I could never get down was the one where you use egg shells - can't really recall the steps but it was icky looking. Also, chalk and blender pen is not good for me either.

here are some hints that might help:

Shrinkplastic - try using the oven technique - can't recall the temp, but you cover a cookie sheet with foil and bake.

Bleach - I get best results with a gel bleach pen

Crayon Resists - I have to put down a lot of crayon to make mine look good

Watercolor Spritz - color stamp twice with marker, hold stamp at arms lenghth and spray with a fine mist (not the mister you use with an iron). Let the water run around a little - it should not have a lot of water. If you get muddy colors - it the color choices that you put next to each other.

Clean image on watercolor paper - try using Bristol watercolor paper - it has a smooth finish

Sponging and brayering takes practice to learn the feel of how hard to press. It took me some time but I do a decent job.

I had to laugh when I saw this... my nemesis is the alcohol... (stamping, not drinking) I tried it several times years ago and finally gave up. I think there is a tutorial for it using a snowflake, and mine NEVER turned out remotely like the tutorial. Oh well.

As for the magic cards, it was hard to get the acetate stamped to start, but after a few tries, I found that stamping the acetate, when you first place the stamp down, don't press. I was using staz-on ink, and once I gave it a moment, then I could press down (I have to stand up to make sure I am pressing down instead of at an angle), and then carefully pull up the stamp.
As for the Zindorf cards... I think she is the only one to make them! I have done one and it took a lot of time sponging to get a similar effect. A LOT of time. Worth it, but I haven't attempted another one since.
I haven't tried either bleach or soot. I am curious now...

I agree with Stamphappy on the distance and fine spray for misting with markers.
I could never do it well even with a spray sold by a big name stamp company specifically for spraying stamps - but when someone recommended the Mini Misters from Tim Holtz, bingo, that was it.

I have Bristol Board as well as watercolour paper, and I do like to use it when I want a bright white but it doesn't work as well with distress inks as watercolour paper does.

Is Bristol a watercolor paper? I always see it as "Bristol Board." I have some, and I have the same experience as Sabrina with it - wet Distress techniques don't work so well on it. It behaves much like cardstock. When I started working with Distress Inks and tried to do wet techniques on cardstock, it turned out so badly that I was going to give up altogether. Then I tried on watercolor paper and it was a completely different result - no pilling or warping.

Same here!
## oops! See post below!

Same here! Wish I could get it to work as I love the look.

Grunge/distressed look. Seriously was a mess. A bit of sponging around edges for depth is fine, but ragged or torn edges, dirty looking paper, stamps that look as if they were damaged during manufacturing, etc, forget it.
To those that can pull if off with gorgeous results, you have my utmost admiration!

Bristol board or smooth finish watercolor paper is not quite as thick as the textured watercolor paper but doesn't pill for me. I don't know why the bristol gave you such problems. I guess it's just a matter of how much water was applied. I don't have a problem doing the watercolor background even on card stock. This Celebrate You Shadow by stamphappy1650 - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers was stamped using very vanilla.

Very pretty! But yes, I work very wet. When I do wrinkle free distress I layer and layer, drying between layers. So I have to use WC paper.

Maybe I'll try the Bristol I have for a simpler, less layered effect, though.

What a great thread.. I kept looking for the "like" button on each and every post. In 5 years of trying and one of my very first techniques was using the color box tool on glossy - Stampscape style. On and off for 5 years I have tried but my success rate is near zero. After several attempts I may get a monochromatic tone on a one stamp scene. If I try composition and multi colors- well- it's not going to happen. Kudos to those who can do it. Maybe some day I will.

This thread is hilarious cause I would have to say, as someone already did, that no matter what I try, the first few times with a new technique ends in the trash. But the two that cause me most grief are stamping with an ink and using black em. powder...it just is everywhere no matter what I try to do to prevent it. Now having given up, I use the color ink I want and just put clear over it. The other technique that I am having a hard time with is coloring with alcohol markers or any marker to be quite honest here. I have such dreams....then I try it and it turns out ugly. Oh, and another thing is getting ink on my hands and accidentally touching some part of the cardstock that needs improvisation to cover. I get tired of putting flowers over spots instead of where I originally wanted them. How do I keep the ink off me???? Oh, the woes and learning curves to card making! But, having said all this I am still thrilled with what I CAN do to produce a pretty card!