A Muse News

Stamping Tip

Paper Swatch Ring

This fun idea from Lexi - a paper swatch ring - is easy to add to, move around, or manipulate to find new combos! 

 

  

Stamping Tip

Ribbon Snippets
by Sherry

"I don't know about you, but I seem to have a lot of ribbon snippets laying on my stamping desk after a good day full of stamping and card making.  I hate to throw away the ribbon snips, so I put them in a little glassine envie on my desk and try to use them as I go.
 
Three different ways I use them are for bookmark toppers, a little ribbon bouquet, and fold overs.
 
The ribbon bouquet -  I just bunch up a few ribbons and tie a know around them, then stick it to the card with a glue dot as I did on the purple flower card below.
 
The bookmark - I run one ribbon through the hole and then tie the other accent ribbon around it and knot it.
 
The foldover - this is for the tiny pieces 1" or less, I put a glue dot in the middle, fold it over and then glue dot it to the back of my card front.
 
Hope you have fun creating with your ribbon snipets!"

- Sherry

Twinkle Sticker Trick

I love adding A Muse Twinkle Stickers to my cards & projects, especially since I discovered a fabulous time-saving trick!

Meet Kelsey!  Kelsey is the newest member of the A Muse crew in Seattle and she agreed to be my model for this photo tutorial. Kelsey LOVES Twinkle Stickers too!

Step 1: Cut the Glue strip

Each gem sticker is adhered to a glue strip.  In order to use a single gem, you must first cut the glue line between the gems.  Be sure to keep them attached to the plastic backing sheet. In this photo, Kelsey is planning to use a light pink twinkle sticker.

Next you will need some wall putty. You probably have some at home but if not, you can pick some up in the A Muse shop or at your local hardware store.

Step 2: Apply a teeny tiny bit of putty  

You need just a tiny bit of putty - about the size of a lentil bean.  Roll it into a ball and then apply it to the flat end of a pen or marker.  An RSVP pen works well or any other pen with a flat bottom.

Step 3: Use putty to pick up twinkle sticker

Make sure you've cut the glue strip between the twinkle stickers. 

Here is the twinkle sticker sitting in the putty...

Step 4: Apply twinkle sticker to project.

Presto! 

This nifty trick has saved me so much time and frustration!  And, I am able to adhere the twinkle sticker *exactly* where I want it.

Here are a few more tips:

• Keep your putty "fresh" by removing it from teh pen and rolling between your thumb and finger to make into a ball again.
• If your putty ball is too large, you will lose your twinkle sticker. If this happens, make your putty ball smaller.
• Can be used with A Muse Pretty Pearls too!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Stamping Tip

Custom Twinkle Stickers
by Glenda

"So we all love the A Muse twinkle stickers, right?  I'm addicted to them just like I am to ribbon and hardware.  Sometimes you are searching for twinkle colour that A Muse doesn't have (yet ;) ).  What do you do?  Grab a clear twinkle sticker and colour it with the Copic marker which suits your needs.  Cool!  The Spanish Olive Copic (YG97) worked perfectly for the olive on my Retro Martini."

Stamping Tip

Smudge Control
by Elena

"As many stampers know, the dreaded smudge on a stamped and colored image causes much frustration, especially when it happens when you are adhering the piece to your card base.  You might get a streak of ink or dirt from your work surface without realizing it.  In an effort to keep me sane, I always flip my stampers sketchbook to clean page.  Then I lay the stamped image face down on the clean page and apply the adhesive.  I am guaranteed a smudge-free piece that I can then adhere to my card or project."

Stamping Tip 3/8

Functional Files
by Joyce

"I keep a nail file (emery board) in my bag of tricks.  They are great for distressing but I use them mostly for touching up rough edges where a punch or a blade didn’t make a clean cut.   They also work great for altered items (where paper is being adhered to chipboard or wood) to file or round the edges.   I buy the big thick ones and they come in all sorts of fun patterns - so they look cute too. *wink*"

 

Stamping Tip 1/24

Easy Embossed Frames
by Elena

"Do you like the look of an embossed frame on your card, but don't have the money or space for a machine that does the work?  Well, if you have a lightbox and some punches, you can achieve the same look!  What you need to do is punch out the shape you'd like to have embossed and save the NEGATIVE space from it.  Here, I punched a square to use for the negative space.  Attach this to a lightbox (or even tape it to a window), place the cardstock you wish to emboss over it (I stamped the chubby bird on a scalloped square), and run your stylus over the inside edges of the negative space.  When you finish, you will have an embossed frame around the stamped image.  Very easy to do and it saves you money for stamps!"

 

Stamping Tip 1/17

Masking Tip
by Sherry

"I love to mask my images but don’t really like to cut the masks.  I’ve found a way to store my already cut masks with my stamps so when I need them I can find them.  I usually use Eclipse paper but sometimes I don’t have it handy so I cut my masks from my *stamp off* paper.  The Eclipse paper has adhesive on it already so it’s sticky and mounts to the index without a problem, but I use repositionable adhesive to adhere the other masks to the index sheet.  I do the same for my clear stamps; just stick them right to the index sheet.  Happy Masking!"

Stamping Tip 12/7

Perfect Paper
by Sherry

"Are you wishing for more colors of the fabulous A Muse Kitchen Papers?  I usually want more of something I love.  I discovered, when you color the dots in with your Copics, you can have more Kitchen Papers.  If you turn the paper over after you’ve colored it, you have the reverse so you can have cream paper with any color dots you need!  Just Fabulous!"

 

Stamping Tip 11/30

Reverse Stamping Tip
by Sherry

"When reverse stamping, use the second generation image on your card for the first image then when you reverse stamp they will seem the same intensity.  Here I stamped the bunny off once on scrap paper before stamping it next to the reversed wheelbarrow on my card."

Stamping Tip 11/23

Omitting words to fit tight spots
by Sherry

"When omitting, remember you can select the part of the stamp you want and change the stamp from horizontal to vertical.  On this project I needed the words to fit into the little tag punch. Just sittin’ here thinkin’ of you, turned into, thinkin’ of you."

Stamping Tip 11/16

Keeping Ribbon Ends in Place
by Elena

"When you purchase a spool of ribbon, the end is usually taped to the spool.  Unless you like to deal with sticky edges on the ribbon or pins in the spool, you can cut diagonal notches into the cardboard through which you can slip the ribbon ends.  I usually cut one on either side of the cardboard top so that the ends hanging off aren't too long."

Stamping Tip 11/09

Static Solutions
by Novell

"During fall and winter months, there's generally more static in the air. Using a Static Buddy or swiping a used dryer sheet across your cardstock before adding glitter or embossing powder will help keep the static down!  Be sure to pat the buddy down around the area before you stamp your image and blow away any excess, then emboss away!  Or, if using a used dryer sheet, swipe it across the area you will be stamping."

Stamping tip 10/26

a new use for those old cd's
by Emily

"Here's a trick I use for blending colors with markers. Recycle a CD by using it as a marker blending palette! In this photo I used the wide end of an orange marker to color on an old CD. Then I picked up a bit of the orange from the CD with my yellow marker and began coloring my stamped image."

 

Stamping tip 10/5

Cutting out stamped images
by Becky Rusher

"I love cutting out stamped images, especially if I want to add a little dimension with pop dots. But, sometimes I find myself trying to cut out a tiny little area that my scissors just won't fit into...like inside the handle of a tea cup, for example. Here's a nifty little trick: Take a small 1/8" or 1/16" hole punch and punch out a few holes inside the area you want to remove. That should be enough to get your scissors started so you can smoothly cut out the spot!" 

Stamping tip 9/28

Help with Masking
by Emily Montenaro

"Masking is one of my favorite techniques. But sometimes, if I've trimmed my mask too close to the image outline, I'm left with an empty space between my two images. For example - here, I masked the birdbath and then stamped the oval. Depending on the ink I'm using, I've found that this can easily be fixed with a brush! Here you can see that I've already used an empty water brush to lightly blend in a few dots of green ink to tough up the empty space on the right side of the birdbath!

stamping tip 9/7

Easy color combinations
by Elena Shachochis

"For a long time I have been compiling a list of favorite color combinations of A Muse notecards. Every time I've seen a card that I absolutely adore, I jot down the two or three main colors. Recently, I sat down with all my scraps and a 1 1/8" circle punch to make up color swatches. I punched a small hole in one corner of each little card, attached it to a binder ring, and now I have a color combination source right at my fingertips."

Stamping tip 8/24

Messy clear blocks?
by Becky Rusher

"If your acrylic blocks are looking a little ink-smeared and dirty, just give them a swipe with a cotton ball that's been dipped in rubbing alcohol. The ink stains will wipe away almost effortlessly...and your blocks will look like new again!

Visit Becky's blog to see some of her fun shabby chic style card designs and more great tips.

   

Stamping tip 8/17

Where to put that sentiment and what color should it be...hmmmm?
by Emily Montenaro

You've finished your card design and all that's left is to add the sentiment. But, you can't decide what ink color to use or where to position it. When this happens to me, I test out different ink colors on scraps! Use scraps of the same paper you are using for your card. Stamp the sentiment with different colors of ink and then cut each of them out. Now you can move the sentiment around and see what color and position looks best before you stamp on your actual card! 

Visit Emily's blog for more fun tips and card design ideas.

Stamping tip 8/8

Glitter on your ink pad?
by Julie

Before you toss that glitter-covered ink pad away, take a deep breath because all is not lost! Find some wide clear packing or masking tape, tear off a strip and lay it sticky side down against the ink pad surface, then peel it away. Repeat, until all the glitter has been removed!

For more great tips and fun card design ideas, visit Julie's blog!

Stamping tip 8/3

No More Warped Cardstock!
by Becky Rusher

"I use my heat gun a lot, especially when I need to heat set ink before coloring an image with alcohol based markers like Copics. Here's a super simple tip to keep your cardstock from warping or curling up. Heat both the front and back sides of your cardstock for about the same amount of time. That way, any warping that occurs when you heat the front will disappear once you heat the back." 

Visit Becky's blog to see her fantasrtic "shabby chic" style of card making. They are so much fun!

Anatomy of a rubber stamp

I am often asked how we make the sample cards that are on display in our retail shop.  Many people assume they are printed because the images are so crisp.  They are shocked and amazed when we tell them that they are all hand-stamped!

Are your stamped images as sharp as you'd like them to be?  There are a few factors that will determine your stamped results:

• quality of the stamp
• type of ink
• type of paper
• amount of pressure applied to stamp
• steady hand
• amount of ink

Quality
As for quality, you should look for deeply-etched red rubber stamps.  From my experience, these give the best stamped impression.  However, you can achieve quality impressions from other materials as well... keep reading. :)

Type of ink
Every stamper should own at least ONE good black ink pad.  It is fun to have colors too but a good black inkpad is essential.  One of my personal favorites is VersaFine Onyx Black (pigment).  This ink gives a crisp impression every time.  I also like it because it is a workhorse!  I have been using the same pad now for almost THREE years and it's still going strong! 

Another ink that I really like is a new dye-based ink called Memento.  The Tuxedo black is a sharp black and gives a nice crisp impression.  If you are working with alcohol-based markers such as COPICs, you will LOVE this ink because it doesn't bleed. 

Ink & Paper
Some inks will "feather" and make your stamped impression look like you've pressed too hard.  This will also happen if your paper isn't super smooth.  Try stamping on a paper grocery bag and you'll see what I mean.  This can be a fun effect, however, if you are aiming for a crisp impression, the smoother the cardstock - the better!

Easy does it!
The amount of pressure you apply to the stamp will also affect your stamping results.  I have found the every stamp requires a unique amount of pressure and you should always practice on a piece of scrap paper to determine the right amount of pressure you will need.

Hold it steady!
It goes without saying that you need to hold your hand steady when you are stamping.  And, remember to go straight down and straight up!  If you have ever stamped with children, you'll know exactly what I mean.  My girls concentrate very hard to get a good stamp but they mess up when they lift the stamp off the paper.  Straight down - straight up.

Are you still here?  This is getting long, isn't it? While all of the above is important and you've likely figured out much of it on your own... this is the SECRET information you've been wanting to know about!  It will improve your stamped results dramatically!

This is the anatomy of a rubber stamp:

This is a 'virgin' stamp - never been stamped before.  If you look closely you will see some manufacturing residue on the stamp.  The first thing you should do with a new stamp is to clean it - a quick wipe with a baby wipe will do.  You can also just moisten your finger and wipe it over the stamp.  You can feel the bits of residue and just wipe them away.  I have read other blogs where people recommend that you "condition" your stamps with an eraser or worse sandpaper.  Eeeeek!  No, no, no!

When inking your stamp you should only ink the stamping surface.  You do NOT want to get ink on the shoulder, the floor, the cushion (the grey foam stuff) or the wood - just the stamping surface.  The best way to ink only the stamping surface, is to hold your ink pad in one hand and your stamp in the other hand.  Lightly tap, tap, tap your stamp into the ink pad.  Look at the stamp.  Is the entire stamping surface covered?  If not, tap the stamp lightly into the ink some more. 

Here is what a properly inked stamp should look like:

And here's a close up.  as you can see, there is no ink on the shoulder of the stamp.

If you are getting ink on the shoulder of your stamp and then you apply strong or uneven pressure, your stamped results will not be super crisp.  And, If you get ink on the floor of the stamp and you have a large open area (think of an open circle) you will more than likely get a blush mark in the center of your stamped image.  This happens because as you press down on the stamp, it creates a vaccuum and sucks the paper up and it touches the floor of your stamp to create a blush mark.

Getting great impressions every time will take practice. However, I assure you if you follow the tips in this post and play around with your stamps, you can do it!

Here's a fun card that I made with the ink on this stamp.  It's one of those cards that is *just for fun!*

So, let me know how your next stamping project goes!! 

Fortune Cookie Tutorial

Guest Designer Stephanie Nishikawa-Yee graciously responded to our readers' pleas for instructions on how to make her adorable fortune cookie!  As promised, I am back with a quick tutorial, complete with pics, too!

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Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing this fun project with our readers!

I imagine these will be gracing the tables at *many* special events in the near future!  Be sure to visit Stephanie's blog, where she shares a lot of the fun that goes on at The Paper Garden Boutique!

--Julie

COPIC Spica Glitter Pens

I have read mixed reviews about the COPIC Spica glitter pens.  I thought I'd share something that might be helpful to all that have purchased or are contemplating a purchase.

COPIC Spica Glitter pens must be stored FLAT! 

If stored upright, they are not sparkly at all.  I have also found that sometimes when I first start using one, it doesn't seem as sparkly.  My remedy for this is to have a sticky note handy that I can doodle on *before* using them on my project.  Just about 3 small swirls will do. More if you're having fun! <wink!>

These pens are truly the sparkliest little gems.  They include real micro-flakes of glass and are supposed to last 2x longer than other pens (I'm still testing this statement.)  In any case, they are an inexpensive indulgence and a great gift!  I have to hide mine from my girls.

The "other" COPIC markers that you've been reading about are alcohol-based, whereas, these pens contain pigment ink.  They are not good for writing on photos or other glossy surfaces --> the ink will smear. 

13 *yummy* colors! 
To see the actual colors, click on the link in the first paragraph above!

Michelle has a blog!

More great blogging news!  Michelle, our A Muse Instructor in San Diego, has just started a new blog.  Check out her crafty goodness here.

Mary has a blog!

Woohoo!  Mary just emailed me to let me know she has a new blog.  Mary is part of the A Muse Instructor Team, and is presently based in Fallon, NV.  You can check out her wonderful creations here.

*08/29 - link works now!!