Welcome to our November Hop!  If you arrived from Deb K.'s Blog you are in the right place!  Please continue to follow our blog hop and enjoy all the beautiful artwork and creativity.  If you've started here, continue "hopping" to Nicole's Blog.  You will know you have reached the end when you end up right back here.  

This month we've chosen layout #2 (pg 8-9) and a card pattern #20 (pg 42-43) from our "Make It From The Heart" pattern book.  

Fall is such a beautiful season.  I had great intentions of getting some pictures of our family playing in the leaves this year.  However, my father became very ill and time got away.  I guess I have my layout for next fall already done:)

I used our Color-Ready Accents-Arbor Wooden Shapes to add dimension to my page.  This is the first I've used our wooden shapes and I L.O.V.E. them.  I will definitely be getting more of them! 

The card pattern we chose is a very simple and easy pattern.  This card pattern is perfect for Christmas cards because it is quick and simple assembly.     

I chose our Pear & Partridge paper.  The sample layout used ribbon, but I chose to make the "ribbon" out of paper by folding like an accordion and adhering to the card.  I also used our Irresistibles Persnickety Journaling Spots.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Please hop on over to Nicole's Blog.

Make sure you join us next month...we'll be showcasing layout #3 and the card will be pattern #21.

September Blog Hop!

Welcome to our September Blog Hop!  If you've arrived from Deb K.'s blog, you're in the right spot:)  If you're just starting here, simply follow the trail until you have visited all the blogs in the hop.  You will know you reached the end when you wind up back here.  This month we have decided to go with "Consultants Choice".  When you are done viewing my project, I encourage you to hop over to Nicole's blog and check out what she has created this month.    

My family and I just took a week off to spend together before our kids head back to school...we had a "staycation".  We chose to do day trips and/or activities to just spend time together.  One of our fun days included hiking to Old Man's Cave in Logan, Ohio.  What a beautiful day we had for hiking.  The views were absolutely amazing.  Our kids had never been hiking, so they were in total awe of everything they saw.  I love it when our family makes memories that we will never forget.  I'm sharing a layout from our day of hiking.  

I hope you enjoy our blog hop and get inspiration for your projects.  I used some techniques from my "Technique Boutique" lessons.  Feel free to check those out and be on the lookout for more!

Thanks so much for looking and I hope to see you again as a follower.  Have a safe holiday weekend!
Jane

Supplies used:
My Reflections Avonlea paper
Make It From The Heart Volume 1: pattern 9
Campin' Fever stamp set
Chipboard letters
Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

Click HERE to move on to Nicole's blog.

TECHNIQUE BOUTIQUE: MAKE YOUR OWN EMBELLISHMENT

Today I'm going to show you how to ink on chipboard to make your own embellishment.  

Supplies needed:

• DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS CHIPBOARD  I chose our heart shapes.
• INK PAD(S).  I chose Chocolate and Pacifica. 
• Stamp of your choice.  I chose DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS.
• Coordinating CARDSTOCK.  I chose Chocolate and Pacifica.
• Coordinating B&T paper from our MY REFLECTIONS collections.  
• ACRYLIC BLOCK

Refer to my 4 part lesson for priming, inking, using, and cleaning your stamps.  You will need to follow those steps when making this embellishment.

Step 1

Place your chip board on your paper with the foam insert placed under the paper.  I placed a blue piece of cardstock under the chipboard just to give contrast so you could see the chipboard on the paper.

Step 2

After you've primed your stamp, ink it with your choice of color

Step 3 

Stamp your chipboard.  I used a stamp that is going to have a lot coverage so I recommend holding the stamp firmly against the chipboard and count to 10.  The chipboard is porous and will soak up the ink.  Counting to 10 allows the chipboard time to soak in the ink and to have good even coverage.  If you are using a stamp with a less solid coverage, I recommend holding the stamp with medium pressure counting to 5.

With this project I also used the Faux Leathering technique on the Chocolate and Pacifica.  Refer to my post on August 7th, 2012 for this technique.

Below is the card I made making my own embellishment.  It adds just the right touch and gives dimension to the card.

Have fun embellishing!

TECHNIQUE BOUTIQUE: FAUX LEATHERING

Time for Technique Boutique

Now that you are comfortable using your stamps and you know which ink to use based on the project you are completing, it's time to learn some fun techniques.

The first technique I'm going to show you is how to make your own B&T paper; Background and Texture paper.  

This technique is called Faux Leathering:

Supplies Needed:

• CARDSTOCK
• INK that is the same color as your cardstock or a shade lighter/darker
• Deskpad or paper large enough to fit under the paper you are going to ink to allow you to go over the edge...and not get on your table.

Take your ink pad and "smear" the ink all over your card stock.  Not all the paper will get covered and that's good.  I prefer to go in a circular motion when covering the paper.  There is no wrong way of doing this.

Continue until the entire piece of paper is covered.

Now your ready to cut it into smaller pieces for your scrapbook page/card or use it as your base page.  Below is a sample of my artwork using this technique.

Have fun creating!  The possibilities are endless;-)

How To Stamp Artwork-Part 4 of 4

The first 3 parts of my 4 part lesson discussed the pro's and con's for different types of stamps, how to mount and "prime" your stamps, and descriptions of inks available.  The last part of this series will discuss proper technique for stamping your image.

Once we are done with this lesson, we will move on to the "Technique Boutique" to learn fun techniques with stamps and inks to create beautiful artwork.

How do I stamp an image?

Most have played with stamps, even those that don't scrapbook or craft.  I remember making stamps in Kindergarten out of a sponge.  We cut circles and triangles and dipped in paint...what a mess.  I also remember in Jr. High making a stamp in art class.  I can't remember what the name of the material we used, but we carved an image out and again...used paint.  It was fun!

When you receive your CTMH stamp, you will find a foam insert included with each set.  This is not packaging to protect the stamp...well it its, but that's not its main purpose.  You will use this when stamping your image.

Your first step is to place the foam under the paper you're going to stamp your image on.  The foam allows  "give", if you will, when stamping your image. 

 I compare it to a mattress.  Imagine the entire backside of your body covered in paint.  I know, sounds weird, but stay with me.  Now imagine lying down on a flat board (your scrapbook table) to stamp the image of your backside.  There would be areas that wouldn't stamp...the small of your back, your neck, ankles...are you still imagining this?  Now imagine your backside covered in paint and you lie down on your mattress (foam insert).  Your mattress "snuggles" around you to fill in the areas that a flat board wouldn't.  That's how this works.

Next you want to "ink" your stamp.  I typically tap it with medium pressure 3-4 times in the ink.  

Place your stamp straight down on the paper and apply pressure.  Be sure not to rock your stamp (block) so the image appears as intended.  

• When using an image with "fine" lines, apply little to medium pressure.  If you press too hard, your lines could be too thick on one side or have a smudged look. 
• When using a stamp with a "thicker and/or bolder" image, you want to apply medium to hard pressure to get the bold even color on the paper.  

And that is how you stamp with our acrylic stamps.

Don't forget to clean your stamp.  You will need My Acrylics 

Spritz Cleaner and My Acrylics Stamp Scrubber.  

Spray the "scrubber" side.

In a circular motion, rub your stamp to clean.  Then repeat on the dry side to dry your stamp.

This is the end of my 4 part lesson.  Now that you know everything there is to know about the "how to's", now it's time to learn some techniques and make some artwork!  Stay tuned;)

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this helpful!

Jane

How To Stamp Artwork-Part 3 of 4

What type of ink should I use?

I’m going to cheat on this one.  Close To My Heart is such a wonderful company to belong to.  They have already put out a great explanation to all of us consultants, so I’m sharing with you.  

 
There are many different types of inks available in the paper crafting industry.  Inks are typically classified as a “dye” or a “pigment,” and can also be described as “water-based” or “solvent-based.”

 
Dye Ink: Dye inks are produced in such a way that they can achieve a broader and more vivid range of colors than pigment inks. Dye inks absorb directly into the paper or fabric that they are applied to, so the ink color blends more easily with the material it is used on.

Pigment Ink: In contrast, pigment inks have larger particles so that they “settle” on the top of paper and fabrics instead of soaking into and blending with the color of the material they are applied to.  Since this property allows those pale colors to appear opaque on colored or bright papers. (Depending on how thickly you apply the pigment ink to your project, it may take a few stampings to get a solid true-color on your project.) Pigment inks take longer to dry. 

Water-based Ink: Water-based inks (also called aqueous inks) are inks that dissolve in water and are excellent to use in watercolor projects. This is especially easy to do when you use the waterbrush (filled with water) and/or a blending pen. 

Solvent-based Ink: Solvent-based inks are inks that dissolve in solvent. Solvent-based inks separate from water just like oil does, so these inks are best used for putting down an image that you do not want to be disturbed by water coloring. As an example, you could use the Black StazOn® ink to stamp an outline stamp, let it dry, then use the Exclusive Inks® markers and waterbrush to fill the stamp image in. The StazOn® ink will not run or bleed while you watercolor it in. 

Alcohol-based Ink: The advantage of alcohol-based markers compared to water-based markers is that the alcohol dries quickly; therefore, you retain the color of the marker regardless of how many times you color over it, making blending the edges of two similar shades possible. Each layer of color is retained allowing you to shade and highlight without changing the tone or color into a different color; red remains red, yellow remains yellow. 

Watermark Ink: Watermark ink is a special formula specifically designed for giving papers a “water saturated” look where they are stamped. Watermarking as a technique does not work well on Close To My Heart paper. Because the ink is sticky before it dries, you can use it to add some embellishment to your project by stamping an image in it, then sprinkling prisma glitter, Fun Flock, or embossing powder over top. (As a note, embossing powder needs to be heat-set afterward in order to achieve the shiny embossed look.) 

I hope this information has helped you know which type of ink to use for your project.

The last part of this 4 part lesson is:  How do I stamp an image?  I know it sounds pretty obvious, and it is, but I will show you some different stamping techniques too!

How To Stamp Artwork-Part 2 of 4

Now that I own a CTMH stamp, how do I get started?

This tidbit of information will show you how to mount and “prime” your stamps.

First I must tell you that I’m a very “wordy” person.  In my last blog when I said this is not “hard” and doesn’t take a lot of “work”; I meant it!  This looks like a lot, but I’m trying to give step by step instructions, so it appears to be a lot of work, but it really isn’t.  You’ll see!

First, you need an acrylic block.  Size doesn’t matter as long as it’s big enough for the stamp you are using.  Meaning, you don’t have to own 10 different block sizes, just as long as you have a large enough one to accommodate the largest stamp you have.  You can always mount a small stamp on a big block, but you can’t fit a big stamp on a small block.   I recommend 2 different sizes to get started; 2x2 (click here)and a 3x3 (click here).  If you have larger stamps, we also have a variety of other block sizes (click here).  I recommend the small one because although you could put the small one on a bigger block, it is easier for leverage of the block to not have a lot of extra space.  But make no mistake, if a 4x4 or bigger is all you have, it CAN be doneJ

Next you need your stamp set.  Remove your chosen stamp image and mount on the block.  If you look close, on the bottom edge of the block by my left thumb is a line for a guide to ensure you mounted it straight.

I learned some awesome tricks on how to “prime” my stamps.  This is something you can do for all stamp types.  I wish I could remember my fellow CTMH sisters that posted the information to give her/them credit.  SorryL  What is “priming” your stamp?  Well, if you stamp your image, and you wish it would be just a little “bolder” or “solid”, you prime it.  There were many suggestions of how to do this, but the one that works best for ME is:  Mount your stamp to the acrylic block and rub it on your arm.  This will help smooth the image and allow the ink to give a “bolder more solid” look to it.  **Just make sure you prime it BEFORE you ink it.  LOL.  If not, YOU will be pretty colorfulJ

Another good trick is to take a small sanding tool and “buff” the stamp(click here). 

You can also use an eraser

Below is a picture of a stamp I had not used yet.  The stamp worked great right out of the package, however, if you look at the letter "U" and around the "squiggle" on the bottom right, you can see where the ink didn't cover.

Below is a picture of the same stamp used after "priming" on my arm.  Full coverage.

You are now ready to stamp.  Happy StampingJ

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via email at jane.schoof@gmail.com or call me at 614-725-9677.

Stay tuned for my next lesson:  What type of ink should I use?