Renae Curtz
I have to go a loooong way back to remember when I first learned the basics of stamping. I’ve been stamping for nearly a third of my life. Sounds crazy when I put it like that! Anyway, even though I learned the basics long ago, I still use them every time I stamp!
Our brand new Stamp It! Techniques issue is full of these amazing tried and true basics, such as masking and embossing. The step-out photos on p. 51 illustrate perfectly how to mask, so if you’re a little rusty on the subject, you should really check it out. I’m sure you’ll find a whole new world of creativity opens up when you try this technique!
Now back to the basics…I’ve put them to the test in the projects below using three different types of inks: dye, pigment and solvent. (For a detailed explanation of these inks, turn to the Stamping Basics section (p. 91) of Stamp It! Techniques. You’ll also find solutions for cleaning and storing your stamps, as well as some designer tips.)
I’d love to hear your tried and true tips, short-cuts or solutions for stamping. Three lucky winners will receive a copy of Stamp It! Techniques, Stampin’ Up!’s Classic Stampin’ Spots (11 inks from their Getting Started collection) and their A to Z Background Stamp (the same one I used on all three projects above!). All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Friday, Feb. 18.
Three lucky winners will each take home this fun prize package!
Happy stamping!
Renae
P.S. Why not put those stamping skills to use and enter our 2011 Stamping Royalty Card Contest? Simply submit a stamped card(s) in ONE or ALL of these five categories: Birthday, Christmas/Season’s Greetings, Hello/Thinking of You, Love or Thank You. We’ll pick 15 winners to take home an AMAZING prize package (worth over $450!) and be published in our November/December 2011 issue. (FYI: Those cards not selected as winners will be donated to Operation Write Home. As a courtesy, please do not write your personal information on the back of your submissions. Instead, use a sticky note or write on a separate piece of paper and adhere with repositionable adhesive.)
Winners will be royally honored with this prize package containing the latest stamping products!
I don’t know if I have any tried and true shortcuts, but one of the things I like to do is un-mount my wood mounted sentiments so that stamping them straight is much easier then trying to “eyeball” it.
I love my Paper Crafts magazine but I have not looked at this website until today. Silly me! I am thrilled with everything I see today, especially the contests. I love Betsy’s creativity and everything she does and I always watch her blog.
I’m a stamper for many years as well. One tip I give people who are just starting is to pick something you can use over and over, not something so theme specific.
I think a Christmas stamp added to Christmas card envelopes or tissue paper for gifts is an excellent starting point to stamping!
I love to emboss with stamps and embossing power. The best short cut I know is using unscented cheap baby wipes to clean your stamps.
I use to hate using the thick craft inks because clean up was so time consuming but now!! Something I just found out about when after You stamp with craft ink, the ink is so thick, is to first wipe clean with baby wipes (unscented is best, won’t harm the rubber) which will remove at least 98% of the thick ink and then finish cleaning the stamp as You normally would. Not hating it anymore!!!!!
I’m a fairly new stamper and I love acrylics (wood mounted stamps just take up too much room in my small apartment). One thing that really helps me is seasoning my stamps when I get them home. Then I ink them up right on the carrier sheet and stamp them on some printer paper which I add to a binder. My stamps are ready for use when I’m ready for them and I know exactly what they look like when stamped.
I made my own embossing buddy from extra cloth and corn starch… works great. Thanks for the chance to win such a fantastic prize.
I have a tip for new stampers that I WISH someone had shared with me when I first began stamping – start your stamping index ASAP – so you can group sets by type “birthdays, floral, Christmas, etc.” and have images all easily accessible to jumpstart your mojo. Also, having stamped images like this in one place make it easier to see which punches or nestability shapes will fit around them. Thanks for the chance to win!
One thing I do is have both 8 1/2″ x 11″ card stock for your standard card sizes, but also 12″ x 12″ for the following card sizes: 3″ x 3″, 4″ x 4″, & 3″ x 6″. Using the 12″ x 12″ size when making these sizes results in less waste! Thanks for the chance to win!
I’m a subscriber to the paper crafts magazine ,And I can’t believe it took me this long to look at this website ,I love all of the great ideas these ladies have shared.I will sure use them and hope to share any that I might have.And Thank you for the chance to win.
I am a beginning stamper…so at this point I don’t have many tried and true techniques and tips…so I am learning from all of you! I wold love to win these Stampin Spots – would be a great opportunity for me to practice all those tips and techniques!
If you are going to make several of the same card (such as for Christmas) set up an assembly line. Rather than doing one card at a time, do more piece of the card for all cards, move on to next piece, pretty soon they are all done.
This saves having to make up one card multiple times – that gets really boring.
I love stamping and I love your blog. I always use the cheap, no name baby wipes to clean my stamps and all the ink I get everywhere. Works great!
Tips: HAVE FUN! and don’t be afraid to make mistakes (you can always cover them up)!! Baby wipes make a great cleaner, and stamping first on a scrap piece of paper to ensure image quality and stamp prep is a good idea!!! Thanks for the chance at the wonderful give away!
Gotta have a stamp a ma jig! Love that little tool!
Fun to read the tips from others! I have a small crafting space, so my tip is to keep things organized! It’s always more fun to stamp when your things are close by and easy to find.
I have a large 8×10 sponge in a tray. Before I start to stamp, I dampen it with water. After stamping my stamp, I set the stamp face down on the sponge so, when it’s time to clean my stamps, the ink is not all dried out on the rubber and I can clean them all at one time.
It is okay to make mistakes sometimes they turn into great art.
I am looking for this magazine and hope to find it soon. I am new to stamping but am passionate about my papercrafting. Thanks for the chance to win!
I found a super useful tool in painter’s tape. I use it to mask, hold down smaller pieces of paper to my templates (great when die-cutting and you want the shape in a particular spot) and tack down the ends of my ribbon spools. Thanks PaperCrafts for the endless inspiration!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
I also use unscented babywipes to clean my stamps!