Stamp It Stencil It Genius

One of the things I plan to offer regularly on my blog are product reviews and tutorials. With fewer independent stores, we are forced to purchase the majority of our products online. The problem is, no one shows us how to use the products and we cannot see and touch them ourselves. While I cannot let you see and touch things on my blog, either, I can try my best to critically review and share as much as possible about the products to make it easier for you to make a purchase decision. Some of the products I will feature I sell in my retail store. Others I do not, but I will provide you with links so you know where to get them.

The first product I want to start with is not new. It has been around for several years, but since I did not understand how it worked, I have not purchased it before. At the Great Lakes Mega Meet, I finally got up the courage to tell Wendy Vecchi, the genius who created this product, that I didn’t get it. She showed me the part I was missing and my head exploded!

This inventive product is called Stamp-It Stencil-It. It comes with a cling mounted rubber stamp and a matching stencil. You can use either piece on its own. But the magic happens when you use them together. The stencil actually acts as a mask for coloring in the flowers quickly and easily.

Since it is called, Stamp-It, Stencil-It, Wendy says you stamp it first. Then you line up the stencil and use it to mask off the leaves while you color the flower and then mask off the flower while you color the leaves. Notice in the photo above how, when lined up with the flower, the leaves are covered. This allows you to take an ink blending tool or makeup sponge and color the flower quickly and easily. Genius!! (just be careful not to go off the edge of the stencil).

The technique works so well that I was able to use the stencil to add Transparent Gloss Texture Paste over the middle flower to make it glossy and beautiful.

And here is the finished card … the flowers and leaves are colored with Wendy Vecchi’s Archival Inks. The background is colored with Distress ink.

You can order the inks and texture paste from me. The Stamp-It, Stencil-It sets are available from Stampers’ Anonymous. There are dozens of ink colors and even more stamp sets to pick from. I brought several home with me. And, yes, I wish every stamp came with one of these stencils!

What would you do for love?

My husband hates having his picture taken.

But, for love, he graciously poses time and time again so I can take photos.

I created this page to thank him for his support …

I used a few simple techniques to modify some of the pieces this time … learn all about it, here.

 

Technique Thursday: Crackle Paint

It’s Thursday (or nearly Thursday, depending on when you are reading this) and that means it is time to learn a new technique. This week, we are focusing on Distress Crackle Paint.

This is a great product, with the brush attached to the lid and a quick, one-step painting process. And, since all I know I about crackle paint came from the master, Tim Holtz, I thought I would start by sharing a video he made.

Distress Crackle Paint

A few highlights: It should be the consistency of mayo or peanut butter … if you want it thinner, just add water.

Always shake before using.

Apply an even, medium coat of paint and let air dry. Once it starts to crack, you can speed up the process with a heat gun.

One thing I like to use Crackle Paint on is a die cut.

I cut this fence (from QuicKutz) from textured dark brown cardstock and then painted it with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint. I love the different looks I get by applying the paint thinner in some areas and how some of the brown shows through. (click on the image for a better view)

Another technique, like Tim does in the video, is to use the Crackle Paint as a resist. Since Distress Ink will not stick to it, you can stamp with Distress Ink on the dried Crackle Paint and then wipe it off of the paint portion.

When I tried this technique, I did not have a finished idea in mind. I just started grabbing scraps off of my table, added some paint and then went to work at the scrapbook store. When I came home several hours later, I pulled out my newest Tim Holtz stamp and decided the gas pump would be great to hide behind the paint. As I was inking with Black Soot Distress Ink, I realized the service attendant was also going to be on Crackle Paint. I didn’t think he would appreciate being headless, so I inked his half of the stamp with Ranger Archival Ink and the other half with the Distress Ink. Then, I stamped it and wiped off the pump portion and watched the pump move “behind” the paint, like magic!

Finally, I wanted to share a project I made some time ago in a class with my friend Linda Neff.

It started as a bright red frame from IKEA. I then painted it with Crackle Paint and then sanded some of it off. It created a beautiful patina on the frame. Here’s a closer look:

To see these samples in person and to try the paint out for yourself, stop by Capture A Memory in Flint Township. I’ll be there from 2-6 p.m. Thursday helping you try this new technique. See you there!

Stamping Shrink Plastic

It is Thursday (or will be in the morning) and time for another technique.

This week, we are returning to shrink plastic to learn a few additional ways to decorate it — namely with rubber stamps and Copic Sketch markers. (If you would like to learn how shrink plastic works, click here to read the last Technique Thursday post.)

Many recommend lightly sanding the plastic so it accepts ink. Personally, I never have good luck with this method. I’m not sure if I sand too much or not enough, but I always end up with scratches on my plastic that are visible after shrinking and through my ink.

Instead, I like to work with products that easily adhere to the plastic. StazOn is perfect for these techniques, but Ranger Archival Ink in black will also work if it is heat set. The trick is to heat the ink enough to make it permanent, but not enough to shrink the plastic. Usually, if you hold the heat gun farther from the plastic, you can accomplish this. Of course, if you don’t plan to color the image, you can set it and shrink it at the same time!

The ability to use rubber stamps on shrink plastic opens up a whole new world of options to add to your cards, scrapbook pages and jewelry. You may wish to practice stamping on a piece of packaging plastic or similar smooth surface before stamping on shrink plastic. The surface is slippery and your stamp will want to dance along the plastic, which will create a blurry image. So, I brace my elbows on the table and very carefully place the stamp on the plastic and then just as carefully lift it back off without allowing it to move sideways. You do not have to push on the stamp the way you do when stamping on paper.

For this card, I used a background stamp by Wendy Vecchi of Studio 490 to decorate the tag I cut out of shrink plastic with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die. The image remains clear while shrinking and can add the perfect embellishment to a card. Here’s a closer look at the tag:

I used a similar technique here, using a butterfly die cut from Sizzix and a background stamp from Studio 490. I love how tiny the pattern gets when it shrinks.

You can also stamp an image and then color it with Copic Sketch markers, although there are a few “rules” to keep in mind for this technique. First, the plastic will not allow you to blend your colors like you can on paper. Simply choose a color and use long strokes, preferably from one side of the image to the other without stopping. If you want more color, let it dry for a few minutes and then go over it again. Otherwise, you will continually smear, puddle and remove your ink.

Second, keep in mind that StazOn and Copic inks do not like each other and using them together could ruin your Copic markers. However, if you use clear shrink plastic, you can stamp on one side and color on the other. That way, your inks never touch, but you get beautiful charms like this:

This is an image from Flower Soft. If you click on the image so you can see it larger, you will see some streaks in color. That happens and you just have to accept it as part of the charm of this technique.

Here’s another I did using a Riley stamp. With the addition of a swivel clasp by Tim Holtz, this will make an adorable zipper pull for my nephew.

But, there is more than one way to color with Copics. One of my favorite techniques is to use the Copic Airbrush System to spray on the color.

On this card, I used Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies to cut out the images, airbrushed them and then shrank them. But, since Copic inks are transparent, you could also stamp an image in black and it will be visible after airbrushing it.

Then, I got a bit carried away and came up with this …

Since I wanted a varied color, I sprayed the plastic with three different yellow/orange hues. Then, I used a template by The Crafters Workshop to airbrush the leaves and bugs in place. I didn’t do anything fancy — just held the template where I wanted it and sprayed it in green. I wasn’t worried if I had any overspray — I figured it would add to the organic nature. Then, I shrunk the plastic and added a strip of cardstock to make a mini book.

I did have a bit of an issue … when I put an acrylic block on top of the heated image to flatten it, some of the ink stuck to the block. When I did the back piece, I tried it upside down. I didn’t get any ink on my block, but I did get some on my nonstick craft sheet. You can see the little speckles where the ink was removed in the photo above, but I think it adds to the earthiness of the piece, don’t you?

Now, it is time for you to try these techniques for yourself. I will be at Capture A Memory in Flint Township from 2-6 p.m. Thursday so you can try rubber stamping, coloring or air brushing on shrink plastic for yourself. I’ll also have all of these samples, and a few more, with me, so you can get a closer look and ask any questions you may have. Hope to see you there!