Favorite Tip

[Happy Heart]

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

No, bleach won't explode if it's exposed to sunlight. The reason it is put into opaque bottles is because light will cause it to lose it's potency.
I do leave one of my Aqua Brushes filled with bleach, though, and it still works to bleach the CS, even months later. Of course, it's in a pencil holder with a lot of other tools, so probably doesn't get much light exposure.

[stampin8mom]

I'm going to bump this thread - 'cause I know there are more tips out there just waiting to be shared!

Kathy

[ellie mae]

I am going to bump too! I love all of these ideas! I am a new demo and this is a great thread!!

[StampinOma]

I use a clipboard covered with aluminum foil to hold whatever I am heat embossing. The foil heats and reflects causing the EP to melt faster and more evenly and the clip holds it down so the air doesn't blow it around.

Use an old desk calendar (the large tablet type that lay on the desk top) for stamping pad.

I use an extra SU stamp box to hold my Twinkling H2O pots.

I have a couple of those large Rubbermaid storage cabinets with locking doors to store scrapbooks (in progress) and other extra supplies. The doors can be locked to keep little ones out and it keeps supplies dust-free.

I save some of the brown paper that comes in packages to stamp up as wrapping paper. You can iron it out flat if you need to. Would also be good to use on a table for messy projects. Tape it down, then pull up and toss afterwards.

A couple of old Dee Gruenig tricks. You can use Gold Encore pad (don't know if silver or copper work) to stamp on glossy cardstock and it will act as a resist. Stamp, rub off and then you can brayer over with spectrum for a neat look or if I remember correctly you can smear rubber cement on glossy CS in a random pattern, let it set up, then brayer over and rub off the RC. Doing this in the center of a card will leave a white window that you can then stamp an image in.

[lbirus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StampinOma

I use a clipboard covered with aluminum foil to hold whatever I am heat embossing. The foil heats and reflects causing the EP to melt faster and more evenly and the clip holds it down so the air doesn't blow it around.
.

Wow! That's a great one, I hate when it blows around!

[gurlzrok]

I still like the idea of using the drywall tape for the mesh (coloring with your stamp pads). I got an entire roll of the tape for the cost of a very small amount of the colored mesh.

[cropmaster2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by straw

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

Thanks
CC

I'd also like to know if it has to be a SU eyelet in order for the 1/16" punch to work. anyone?

TIA!

[SilverDragoness]

Well since everyone likes the idea of the tape for the mesh how about trying metal repair tape. You can find it in any hardware store and it comes in a variety of sizes usually. I have some that is a few inches thick and I just got a roll that is only about 1/2 an inch thick. So far I've only seen it in silver in the hardware store but I believe there are ways to get it in brass and copper. It adds a nice dimension to cards and is already adhesive so no worrying about sticking it to the paper. The really thick rolls I use for dry embossing and the thin ones are fun for adding layers.

Oh yeah I had totally forgotten about mentioning the clipboard thing. I've got a tin foil covered piece of cardboard on top but a magazine works as well. I never thought of actually covering the clipboard. I also like the idea of the locking cabinet I don't have kids but I could see where that would be really handy especially with some of the supplies we use.

[Happy Heart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbirus

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).

I have been unable to find any store around here that carries any drywall mesh other than the fiberglass kind, and that will not take color of any kind. I'm frustrated, and ready to just bite the bullet and buy some through SU!, although my tight-fisted Yankee up-bringing has me cringing at the thought! LOL!!!

[Upstate Stamper]

As far as I know, the 1/16" punch only works on SU eyelets. I keep trying it on other eyelets and can't get it to work. But, it works like a charm on the SU eyelets!
These tips are wonderful! If I could just think of one of my own to contribute . . .
Thanks! Beth

[karinlm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Upstate Stamper

As far as I know, the 1/16" punch only works on SU eyelets. I keep trying it on other eyelets and can't get it to work. But, it works like a charm on the SU eyelets!
These tips are wonderful! If I could just think of one of my own to contribute . . .
Thanks! Beth

I have very few SU eyelets but used the punchers for more than a year to set eyelets. The harder eyelets are harder to set but I usually get them with a lot of muscle LOL. Many of my other eyelets are softer and are easier to set.

[kathynruss]

I've learned a lot reading this thread and copied most of them into a Word document so I can refer to it.

Happy Heart's suggestion about plastic containers for EP also works well for glitters. You just spoon it on and knock it off back into the container.

Kyloescards' dental floss threader as a "needle" for pulling ribbon through holes is really cool!

Rox71's tip about coloring the different Coluzzle rings differently is awesome. Gotta go do that, 'cause I use them a lot.

Imastampin's tip to wash your stamping scrubber in the dishwasher is cool, too.

Some of the above posts are more techniques than tips, but they're all good. Thanks for sharing, ladies.

I learned this on SCS last month. Blender pens have the glycerin in them, but you can add a little glycerin to your water and then put it in your aqua pen. It makes the water a little more stable, so you may find this to be easier to control and a little less messy. It shouldn't soak your paper, either.

You can also refill your Versamark pads with straight glycerin. Glycerin is the "magic" ingredient that turns any dye based ink into pigment based ink, and you can get it at any drugstore for about two bucks a bottle.

You can also make your own stamp cleaner - to seven ounces of distilled water, add a dropper full of dish soap and a dropper full of glycerin. You can make a gallon of this for half the cost of what SU! is selling the eight ounce refill for.

I'm going to get some of that drywall mesh. SU's Magic Mesh is too expensive for me.

[Jay Dub]

I use an extra think piece of fun foam as my stamping base. If you can't find the extra thick, you can use 2-3 pieces of the regular. It's cheap and can be turned over and/or wiped clean when it gets dirty. If you prefer, you can put a piece of paper on top but the foam really helps the images to stamp evenly.

[purplewinkle]

Great thread.

I used rubber cement to glue my chalks in place. Now if my chalks get dropped, no mess!

[lbirus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Heart

I have been unable to find any store around here that carries any drywall mesh other than the fiberglass kind, and that will not take color of any kind. I'm frustrated, and ready to just bite the bullet and buy some through SU!, although my tight-fisted Yankee up-bringing has me cringing at the thought! LOL!!!

I sent my DH for the drywall tape and he called me from the store. Our collective memory said that it was fiberglass mesh (the wrapper is gone now). It was an ACE hardware and there were two rolls for around $2.60 shrink wrapped together. I would say buy some and try it, if it doesn't work it's only a couple of dollars and you can still repair any drywall damage in your house! Try another hardware store too. I am lovin this stuff.

Thanks for the info on glycerine. I knew it had to be something simple!!!

BTW another tip... use a spoon if you don't have a bone folder to make great creases and folds.

[BasketMom]

Love these ideas...
to expand on the person who uses the disposible Glad containers to store her EPs - I also do that and use those baby formula scoops as "spoons". If you know anyone that uses formula - believe me, they will go through them quickly! For a while, I had a drawer full of them and I gave them out to friends.

And, although I have my eye on those clear wheel storage containers in the new catty, right now, I use empty Pringles cans to store wheels. Take some computer paper (CS is too thick) and then wheel each image on the paper so you know what's inside each can. Adhere the paper to the outside of the can so at a glance you know what's in each can. You can store 7 small wheels and 3 jumbo ones per can.

Speaking of using wheels, to line up your lines when wheeling, start on the left side if you're right handed so you can see the last line you wheeled (vice versa for lefties). This helped me tremendously when someone pointed it out. Also, if the design doesn't matter - wheel diagonally instead of straight across the page - if you're a little crooked, it's harder to notice (at least I think so). This works for hot to dot, floral and images that don't "need" to be straight across.

I also use all the packing paper you get in packages to cover my workspace. Longaberger, in particular, uses butcher paper to wrap all their items.

Oldie but goodie - for the newbies out there - if you have a stamp image that is bold (like the Cool Cat or Simply Circles), it's best to ink up the image and then HUFF (breath heavy!) on the stamp before you stamp it.

Last one - I buy all my Tombo mono-adhesive refills at Office Depot or Office Max. They are practically 1/2 the price of SU! snail adhesive refills.

[imastampin]

Here is another good one I just thought of.

To store your daubers, use an extra small clear plastic stamp case. They stand up nicely. You can store them by color family or just have one full of daubers to use with chalks and another to use with the inks.

If you wish to wash your daubers, put them in one of those little baskets to hold small things in your dishwasher and run them through a cycle.

[kyloescards]

A couple more I thought of
-favorite tools-
1. metal kabob skewer (however you spell it) works great for making holes in the center of things, pushing things through the holes you make, rolling edges with...
2. surgical needle holders or tissue clamps work great to clamp on things to hold when embossing so you don't get hot, full of EP or glitter, also for pulling things, put the pom pom on the end to chalk with when you can't find the "roach" clip on the end of a pen
3. alcohol wipe pads - I use them for the scissors and they work great
4. can't be without those baby wipes - I have a travel size container I have in my stamping stuff that I use to wipe off stamps (sometimes I use the stampin clean after sometimes not, but it is nice to get in those edges with them)
best buys...
the sterilite containers with the little drawer on the top 50% off at JoAnn's I keep all of my must have stampin stuff in it so I am set to travel.
Great ideas - I will be checking back to see what more is added!

[Julzz]

I store all of my scraps in ziploc baggies by color or shades of the color. No more digging in my box for that one little color in all the mess. What do you store your scraps in? you know the ones you just can't throw away.

[imastampin]

For heat embossing, I cut out the back of a small cereal box (grape nuts) and lined the interior with foil. Now when I have a little piece I need to heat up, I put it into the box and heat it. The sides keep it from flying all over the house, and I don't have to have a spot on my project where something was holding onto it.

[vdub_fan]

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!
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!

awesome idea!! it makes so much sense and will make things a heck of alot easier! thanks for the tip!

[Melanwee1]

My husband is an Engineer, so needless to say, he goes thru TONS of blueprints and LARGE (something like 11x17 or larger) paper. I asked him to save me all of his throw-aways to use as a stamp mat. The first day he brought me home about 15 sets! They are all stapled together, so after I stamp, I just tear off the top layer and I have a fresh, clean canvas again. (I use the reverse side of the blueprint). I love the extra large size, especially when using my wheels!


When punching holes using one of those sharp poker/kabob things, I use an old mousepad. Makes a nice soft, cushion and saves my table.

Thanks for sharing all of YOUR tips! You guys are GENIUS!
~Melanwee

[purplewinkle]

When I want to emboss a small piece I stick it to a larger piece (with mono adhesive or whatever is handy) After I emboss it I gently pull it off the larger piece.

These tips are great, keep sharing.

[cajor]

Custom-colored brads!--this tip has appeared on SCS in the past, but since I haven't seen it yet on this thread at this time I thought I'd remind everyone how easy it is to color your brads...

Take any color brad--I use plain gold because a bought a whole PILE of them really cheap somewhere and have a lot of them...put the end of the prongs in a long handled holder of some type so you don't burn your fingers. Then WITHOUT COATING THE BRAD HEAD WITH EMBOSSING INK, just blast the head of the brad with your heat tool for about 15-20 seconds--enough time to really heat it up. Then immediately dip the head into any embossing powder. The powder will stick to the head of the brad. Blast the brad again to melt the embossing powder. Viola--custom colored brads! You can re-heat the brad, dunk in EP again, and heat again for a thicker layer. Works great for me!

Amy J. in Wisconsin

[KariT]

This is a great website! (and the first time for me). I went to the wallpaper store and got several outdated books (free) to use as background papers, but the plastic coating isn't ideal for the use, so I use the back side for my "table saver" paper. Its great to stamp off too - soaks up extra ink.

[kathynruss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cajor

Custom-colored brads! ...put the end of the prongs in a long handled holder of some type so you don't burn your fingers.
Amy J. in Wisconsin

I use a clothespin to hold on to the brad. I found some flower shaped brass brads. I will coat them as above, but then put a dot of glue in the middle and put on a contrasting color of glitter for the centers.

[cajor]

For those of you who use acrylic mounts for unmounted stamps, I have found that Fantastik cleaner (in the spray bottle) works best for removing the remnants of double-sided tape from the mounts. You may have to spray some of the cleaner on the mount and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, but I have had great luck with this product in cleaning off the most stickiest tapes from my mounts.

Amy J. in Wisconsin

[KariT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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!

What is a Yo Yo Yellow Pad? Where do you get it? I'm Canadian, so maybe its not available up here, but we're in America during the winters, so I'd love to pick a couple up.

Thanks for your help

[kathynruss]

Yo Yo Yellow is an SU color. I don't know if it is still current, but you could look in the new catalog and find out. SU came up with some silly names, didn't they? Eggplant Envy is my favorite silly name.

[purplewinkle]

yo yo yellow is current and I love that color. It is in the bold bright color family



Here is another tip:

When I read about a technique I don't know how to do I just go to goggle and do a search. It helps to include words like "rubber stamping technique" so far I have always been able to find insttructions.

[SilverDragoness]

If you've ever wanted to shadow stamp but can't justify the cost of purchasing a plain piece of rubber you can use fun foam to create your own shadow stamps in any shape that you would like.

[Cassandranet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KariT

What is a Yo Yo Yellow Pad? Where do you get it? I'm Canadian, so maybe its not available up here, but we're in America during the winters, so I'd love to pick a couple up.

Thanks for your help

Hello! Yes, "YoYo Yellow" is a Stampin Up color. It is the Classic stamp pad that I was talking about. There is something about the yellow ink that takes black off of the stamps. I don't know what it is or if other yellow inks would work. Does anyone know?

I got this tip from someone here on SCS a while back. It's amazing what info you can pick up here, isn't it?

[Onita76]

Quote:

Originally Posted by julyn young

I store all of my scraps in ziploc baggies by color or shades of the color. No more digging in my box for that one little color in all the mess. What do you store your scraps in? you know the ones you just can't throw away.

I store most of my scraps in a binder. I bought 25 page protectors for the 48 colors and a couple for neutrals, with the exception of white. I put a white sheet of computer paper in each protector so i can put two colors in each one. I store my white scraps seperately as I seem to have a ton of these! I got this tip from someone here on SCS, sorry I can't remember who!!!! It works awesome for me!

[kmk504]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KariT

This is a great website! (and the first time for me). I went to the wallpaper store and got several outdated books (free) to use as background papers, but the plastic coating isn't ideal for the use, so I use the back side for my "table saver" paper. Its great to stamp off too - soaks up extra ink.

What a great tip, sure beats paying for all that background paper. Thanks for the idea, looks like I am going shopping.

[kristransue]

Since someone brought it up, I store my scraps in a clear page protector in each of the file folders that I have my cardstock stored in. When I need a color I check my scrap page protector first to see if there is a scrap that size first.

I also got the pockets and pieces die cut sheets, I punched out one each of the die cuts and covered them in contact paper, I stored those in a ziplock bag and will use those to cut out pockets and pieces in any color I want in the future.

[bemidjibelle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cropmaster2000

I'd also like to know if it has to be a SU eyelet in order for the 1/16" punch to work. anyone?

TIA!

Well, Maybe so....I do it all the time, but I have only used SU eyelets. I believe they are softer than other brands.

Sue

[bemidjibelle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Heart

I have been unable to find any store around here that carries any drywall mesh other than the fiberglass kind, and that will not take color of any kind. I'm frustrated, and ready to just bite the bullet and buy some through SU!, although my tight-fisted Yankee up-bringing has me cringing at the thought! LOL!!!

Gee, I just bought mine at Home Depot and it works great!

Sue

[lbirus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KariT

What is a Yo Yo Yellow Pad? Where do you get it? I'm Canadian, so maybe its not available up here, but we're in America during the winters, so I'd love to pick a couple up.

Thanks for your help

Save your money for stamps, just put a few drops of alchohol on the stamp cleaning scrubber and it takes all your stubborn black ink off. Then clean with regular stamp cleaner so your stamps don't get dried out. I'm sure they do sell acholol in Canada! LOL

[Bevstamps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Heart

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

No, bleach won't explode if it's exposed to sunlight. The reason it is put into opaque bottles is because light will cause it to lose it's potency.
I do leave one of my Aqua Brushes filled with bleach, though, and it still works to bleach the CS, even months later. Of course, it's in a pencil holder with a lot of other tools, so probably doesn't get much light exposure.

At a stamp convention a few weeks ago one of the demos mentioned the same thing, to store bleach in a colored container. She said that when the bleach loses it's potency when exposed to light it builds up gases in the container that will eventually explode.

[Soni B]

You ladies are great...
I found that counter savers/ cutting boards work great to heat emboss on...or a clip board( love the idea of a swifter duster)
when I hit a slump...join a swap...
organization has truly helped me to "want" to stamp
summer time divided baskets for silverware and plates are great for scissors..rulers .. markers and pens .. dimentionals .. mini catalogues
my mind is not working...thats all I can think of now