For the Love of Rubber Art

Organized People vs Me

via www.trimblecrafts.com

Cherish Border Die... with Love

The Cherish Border die from Memory Box is one of the big hits at Stampassion
this month and I think you can see why... it's just so happy.  This card was quick and easy, just as I like them.  What you can't see is the pretty shimmer in the die cut paper, Cryogen White; it subtly sparkles in person. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The little Love stamp is from Lockhart Stamp Company.  I stamped it with VersaFine Crimson Red Ink because: a} it matched the card perfectly and, b} I prefer VersaFine for stamping words - the image stays crisp, with no bleed. The card comes from a nice Hero Hues three-color assortment, Blush Mix.  I'm working on a second version of this card using a different Blush card, which I'll post soon.

Here's a close-up of the Love and heart detail.  The hearts are the waste (aka: die-poo : ) from the die cutting process.  I glued one of the smaller hearts on top of a larger one with my always handy, never-to-be-without Quickie Glue Pen. Again, double click on the image to see a larger version. 

The Quickie Glue Pen is a great tool for gluing small items.  I used it under the tiny, intricate areas on this die, although I didn't glue them all.  I like the dimension shown by leaving some loose.

How To Shim Memory Box Dies

I have heard from a few Stampassion.com customers who have asked for help with the more intricate dies from Memory Box.  Specifically, some of the detailed areas on the beautiful dies are not cutting all the way through on some machines. To address the issue, Memory Box has produced a short video on how to shim their dies so they will cut evenly.  And here it is:

I hope this will help anyone who is having this problem.  Please note that the metal shim Dave is showing is now available on Stampassion.com! 

Love and Kindness Collection from Memory Box

We have been shipping out stamps and dies like mad from the new Memory Box collection, Love and Kindness.  Dave's new designs are beautiful, as always.  So much so, I placed another (huge!) order almost two weeks ago as I knew these would sell quickly.  We've been shipping to every corner of the country. If you are looking for something we don't have at present, please know that we will be restocked soon!

With my recovery from some minor surgery, I have not had any creative time.  However, Dave and his team have been hard at work, so take a look at Dave's blog. 

Dave has made some great videos about using Memory Box stamps and dies also.  Look on his blog for the latest, Tuckaway Heart Card.  For the video showing how he made the Paper Rose card to the right, just look at his post on January 3.  Everything is from Love and Kindness collection. Enjoy!

She Lives!

I'm sorry to have been away for so long, with no communication.  I wasn't feeling too well in November and December and after Thanksgiving, found I needed some minor surgery, to take place at some point to be determined, in January.  Needless to say, it made planning for the New Year difficult at best, so no classes or projects could be planned.   That said, every Stampassion.com order was sent out on time (actually super-fast!), as we always do : )

The surgery was on January 6, I'm doing fine and am looking forward to getting back up-to-speed—almost there—and back on schedule with Zentangle classes, card kits and creativity!  Here's an extremely attractive photo Dan took of me before surgery.  I wanted to Zentangle on my pretty blue hat, but they wouldn't let me (hospitals are so picky).  Actually I was at Bellevue and they were great, as is my super-surgeon, Dr. Debbie Youngelman.

Peace Love Joy...

The latest card kit from Stampassion includes this pretty stamp from Unity Stamp Company, Candi Vintage Berries embellishments, velvet ribbon, a dozen cards and lots of yummy layering papers. To see a larger image, click on the photo at right.

Our card kits always come with instructions for multiple projects, as well as color copies of them. But... I always enjoy seeing the cards our customers come up with that are not like the samples—so fun. The kit also includes a second stamp from Memory Box. It's a pretty saying image, shown below with a Candi dot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another of the three card samples I came up with for the kit. Instead of the smaller note card, shown above, this one uses a True Red A2 size card and the velvet ribbon included in the kit. It also shows a different way of using the focal image, by cutting and separating the different elements and, one of Tim Holtz' Texture Fades embossing folders, Sheet Music, to texture the background paper. Click on the image to see a larger photo of the card.

Zentangle Inspired Christmas Card

I am beyond impressed with this lovely card created by one of my students, Beth, after just one Zentangle class!  Obviously, she had lots of talent to start with and Zentangle added another technique to her artistic quiver.  

After I snatched it out of her hand, Beth agreed to let me to share it with everyone ; )  Her ornaments include each of the tangles we did in class, as well as a couple of additional ones.  Beautiful, isn't it?

Follow The Star

This beautiful stamp, Follow The Star, is from Penny Black and I loved it on first site, just as I knew my friend and neighbor, Sharon, would too.  You get to know people's likes after awhile.  As predicted, she did "need" the stamp, so off to Sharon's house it went (but I do have more : )

This is the lovely card Sharon created and agreed to let me share with you. It's extra cool, because she used a quick background technique she saw on Hero Arts' blog, along with one of the gorgeous Memory Box dies she got from Stampassion, called Piestra Tile, on the left edge.  The ribbon embellishment is a Mini Spiral Clip.

Hero Arts' video, called Layered Stamped Backgrounds, by the super-talented Shari Carrol, shows the technique Sharon used right at the start of the video.  She basically used an acrylic mount as a shadow stamp, combined with Distress Ink and water to create a quick, colorful background.  The rest of the video shows how Shari builds up layers and texture for a stunning card. Clever Sharon used the first technique to lay down color on her watercolor paper and then stamped Follow The Star on top in black. 

You will note that Shari, in the video, and Sharon, in real life, used Distress Inks. For those who may think any die-based ink will do, I would ask you to try the Distress Inks. I'm certain you will see that Distress Ink delivers quite a different result with no color shifting. These inks are designed to be highly reactive with water and really are superior for watercolor techniques or just for stamping.  Lots of great colors too!  

Here's the Hero Arts YouTube video ~ enjoy...

      

 

 

Winter Seasonal Distress Inks

I have, yet again, "lifted" a photo from Tim Holtz' blog.  After all, Tim is the Master of Distress, so who better to show the lovely palette of Christmas colors available in his new Limited Edition Seasonal Distress Inks for Winter, 2011.

This beautiful ink set is in stock now at Stampassion.com. As the name suggests, they are available for just the season and when they are gone, they're gone. 

Evergreen Bough and Festive Berries are bright and happy traditional Christmas colors, though different from other Distress Inks.  The third color, Iced Spruce, is a nice, mellow blue/grey.  Tim's video will show you more about them — take a look here.

CZT Retreat Group Mandala Project

Bette Abdu and Christine Britos, hosts & facilitators extraordinaire for the Certified Zentangle Teacher's Retreat in North Andover, MA this summer, planned a group project.  Each of us chose a section to tangle within a 'pre-strung' circle. Best of all, everyone received a copy to take home (which I must frame for my office!).  Here's a shot of the entire piece; just click on the image for a larger view:

I decided to draw a fun border tangle I dreamed up and named Frippery.  Below, you can see a close up of it within the group project; it's the diamond shaped border right below Suzanne McNeill's red heart and hands.  Christine did her section after I completed mine and I love the way she shaped her Betweed columns under the Frippery border to integrate the two patterns.  Looks great!  Again, click on the photo for a larger view: