In the Works...

Oops!

Oh, my!  Today I sort of got lost compiling "new" material, and completely forgot about the tea party!  Remembered just as I started cooking supper... Then there was homework, exercise, showers, devotions, and bedtime for Eli...

Anyway, Dina, our hostess for the week, sent out this challenge:  Make a matchbook card -- any size... any style... any closure...

Thankfully, I just happen to have something from the archives, not a card exactly, but a matchbook style, mini Post-it note holder.  It was one of the projects presented in my "Just A Little Something" class at Stamp 'n Scrap way back in November...

The front flap of this one, is decorated with Message Mouse (stamped on white scrap, colored, & cut out), one of the sayings from Mini Messages #2, and a few layered flower punches.  The flower centers are accented diamond glitter glue.

Here are the basic instructions for making one of these little gems:

Cut heavy cardstock to size -- 2-1/2”W x 5-1/2”L.
Score as shown at 1/2”, 3”, and  3-3/16”.
Fold along score lines.
“Staple” center of short flap to back panel. (Note: A mini brad or eyelet also works)
Depending on the thickness of the stack, adhere one third to one half of a stack of mini sticky notes to the back panel. (Post-it note size: 1-1/2" x 2")
Secure bottom edge of long flap under top edge of short flap.
Decorate front flap as desired.

Believe me, this is a great quickie project -- fun to make, super as a "little something" for giving, and always happily received... Yup, one of those projects that just says, "More!"

Now it's time to see what the hostess and her other guests (the Cookies) have put together:
Dina at Mama Dini's Stamperia
Donna at Dee's Studio
Trish D'Antonio at Tah Dah!
Susan Liles at Susie Stampalot, and
Heidi at Sweet Somethings

Best Laid Plans...

Well, my "working vacation" is officially over...

Did I get everything on my "to do" list accomplished?  In a word, "no."  In expanded format, "not even close." 

Life simply had other plans for me... 2 snow days with everyone home and underfoot, 1 early release day & 1 holiday with the same results, a sick child (with a fever & losing his cookies every 20-30 minutes all one night, needing to get to the doctor a day later when, "my ear hurts," finally surfaced, and home from school two more days until the medication took effect), a mother with pneumonia... Etc.

At first, it wasn't so bad because I still had lots of days ahead to crunch everything into, but as I lost more and more of my time to other things, I started to become really disgruntled... 

It's sooooo unfair...
All I wanted was a few days...
Why is it always too much for me to ask?
So pointless for me to have taken the time...
Great!  Just great!

You get the picture -- Me.  Me.  Me.  All about me!  Not exactly a whiny pity party, but for sure, an ugly one! ~Groan, groan, piss and moan...

Then all of a sudden, I could almost hear my Heavenly Father start the lecture,

What an ungrateful child you are!  How dare you complain!?!  Because yes, it was all about you... Even way back when I guided you on the dates to choose for "closing up shop."  I knew what was coming down your pathway, and I knew how stressful it would be to have the pressures and "must dos" of work on your shoulders at the same time... Yet, here you are, fussing about a blessing... So, get over yourself!  And start being thankful...

I was also reminded of the saying on this card:

A saying which, by the way, I cut out of a church bulletin many, many years ago, and had pinned to my bedroom wall all through high school. 

It still rings true for every tomorrow of my life, and often helps turn my ungratefulness or fear to thankfulness and reassurance.  This time, it has also helped me gain a deeper appreciation for just exactly how good God is to me -- even before I know it.

Other Cardworks:
Stamps -WD-79 Brings, FL-30 Leaves #1
Leaves stamped lightly and randomly on white chipboard in Brilliance Galaxy Gold.
Overstamped in Versafine Olympia Green, with two images and the saying clear embossed (Transcendence).
Embossed leaves colored with Radiant Pearls.
Layered to gold and black cardstocks.
Mounted to an A-2, coordinating green card (Bazzill stock).

Lovin' This Silhouette

I'm really supposed to be on a working "vacation" re-organizing the smART workspace instead of stamping and blogging, but Trish's tea party from last week got me playing with the bird silhouette image from WD-198 Small Things, and I've found it really difficult to stop... Too many "what ifs."

You know... 

What if I use that color instead of this one? 
What if I pair it with that saying? 
What if I incorporate a different punch?
What if I add embellishments?

I think I've come up with either seven or eight variations so far, and I've had a ball doing it.

Here's one of my finished what ifs:

The cardstock is sand, the saying from WD-90 All Creatures, the flower punch (PBS1), and the bling stones in the flower centers are "Nail Jewels" from the local dollar store.

I thought, however, besides sharing the card, I would also share some of my tried and true tips for working with silhouette stamps because over the years, I've heard at least a dozen stampers say how they love the look of silhouette images, but won't buy them due to a lack success in stamping with them...

Yes, I agree, using a silhouette stamp can be a tad tricky, especially if you think of it as just another stamp, but if you alter your perception a bit, and equate silhouette images with mastering a technique, I think success is more easily achieved:   

Before using a silhouette stamp for the first time, rub an eraser all over the rubber's surface, then brush off the eraser "crumbs," and wash the stamp.
     This helps remove any "pressing residue" which can interfere with ink adhesion --I know some people say to use fine grit sandpaper, or a nail file for this, but beware,these methods may mar the rubber.
     My favorite eraser?  Magic Rub by Sanford.

Use a "juicy" ink pad.
     Many times, if I know I want to do silhouette stamping, I automatically re-ink my pad...

Use smooth cardstock.
     One matte cardstock that works very well is Beckett Expression Cover from Marco's Paper.  (Marco's shipping charges are on the hefty side, so you might want to check and see if this paper is carried by your LSS.)

Apply the ink to the rubber as heavily and evenly as possible.
     Tilting the inked stamp toward a light source should show how well this is being accomplished. 

When putting the stamp to the paper, hold for a full count of ten.
     Remember, doing this gives the paper time to absorb, or "suck" the ink off the rubber.

Before stamping on your project, do a test image on a scrap of the same type of paper you will be using --
    Results vary ink to ink, paper to paper... Change one of these variables, and the outcome might be different.
     Doing a test image also acquaints you with areas of the image which may require more or less pressure.

For some inks, a small paintbrush (or even a cotton swab) can be used to fill in "voids."
     Stroke the brush's tip along the ink pad, dab off excess ink onto scrap, then use small circular motions, and apply ink to the stamped image where needed.
     This takes a bit of practice, and a measure of patience because it has to be done slowly, using almost a dry-brush technique... If you apply too much ink at a time, the image will end up looking "patchy."
     Black inks that work really well for this - Versafine, and Brilliance.

Give the stamped image time enough to dry before handling (or heat set).
     You've applied lots of ink to a rather small area, so you can't expect it to dry as quickly as usual.  If handled too soon, your fingers will inevitably pick up some of the ink, then leave unwanted smudges.
 
Practice... practice...practice.
     Remember, the expert at anything was once a beginner who practiced.

With Sprinkles, or Without?

It's tea party time once again, with smART Cookie, Trish D'Antonio, acting as our hostess. 

Trish served up this sketch:
...and added "sprinkles" (bonus points for including some type of 3-D embellishment).

Per usual, I did a lot of anticipating and salivating before sinking my teeth into the first bite... Then using little more than powder blue & black cardstocks, black ink, stamp set WD-198 Small Things, and a decorative leaf punch, I came up with this piece:

It wasn't until wiping my mouth with my napkin, and feeling very satisfied, that I decided to look in my computer layout file again...

Oh, no!  The background and focal panels were supposed to be "different."  I had worked from a printed version which, for whatever reason, had eliminated the color variations.  Shh!  Don't tell Trish, but I actually LIKE my mistake. 

As for a 3-D embellishment, hmmmm, I don't think the leaf punches I used really count, so no sprinkles for me... But no matter, I think this one is just as tasty without them...

To find out what Trish and the other Cookies did at the party, visit their blogs: Tah Dah!, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio, Susie Stampalot, and Sweet Somethings.

You could also take a little taste of Trish's sketch yourself, then send me a link.  I promise, with or without the sprinkles, it will be mmm...mm good, and lots of fun! 

Mom's Observations...

Here are some of the observations and subsequent musings I've made concerning Eli's artwork and his stamping process:

Eli is a "fearless" stamper  --

Unafraid of color...
Unafraid of white space...
Unafraid to put his "vision" on paper...
Unafraid of imperfection...
Unafraid to try anything or improvise --
     I have no idea how he did his masking effects because he never cut out any traditional ones... or how he got things positioned and pieced together so well without using a positioner...
Unintimidated by "learning in process" --
     i.e. "I shouldn't have used that color 'cause it's way too dark, but except for that, I like everything else... Next time I'll remember..."

Even during his first session of stamping sans help/supervision, a personal style seemingly emerged --

Bold collage-like artwork with a story to tell, or humor to share (makes me think of the things one sees in RubberStampMadness).

Eli was supremely happy to work with "just the basics" --

White paper, black ink, clear embossing powder, brush markers, and a Zig Millennium pen.  Even with "oodles" at his disposal, he never needed "more."

The satisfaction of his stamping experience was not in the finished cards themselves (the product), in fact, I don't think he's given his finished pieces another thought... The satisfaction came in making the cards (the process).

Of course, after taking these mental notes on Eli and his artwork, I couldn't help, but turn my thoughts inward, and wonder about my own work/stamping process...

• Have I gotten overly "technical" in my stamping?  Is it getting "cookie-cutter?"
• Does having so much stamping paraphernalia help, or actually hinder my stamping spontaneity and creativity?
• Over time, have I become more focused on the outcome of my efforts rather than the efforts themselves?

Hmmmm.... no conclusions quite yet... still musing (probably because I don't like some of the answers I'm suspecting).

In the meantime, I'm thankful for Eli deciding he wanted to stamp "all by himself" because being able to observe his experience and its outcome, certainly have given me a couple good reminders for stamping in the year ahead --

"It's not what you have, or acquiring more that counts, it's what you do with what you have...."

and

"The stamping journey is the reward." 

Happy Stamping 2008!

(And yes, all the images Eli used on his creations are by smARTworks.)

More from Mr. Eli...

Due to loading troubles, this is a 2-post entry.

The cards shown here are a few more samples from Mr. Eli (my 11 year old).  Post #2 with my observations will immediately follow...

Technical Difficulties...

A couple of days ago I received e-mail notification from Diane Miller of A Monthly Rubber Stamps Club that she has revamped the "vendor system" at the AMRSC site -- Monthly specials are no longer viewable at the site itself, but linked to vendor's site.  This was done because 98% of the vendors on her list were posting the exact same special on their own site anyway...

Certainly her decision makes a lot of sense, and saves her a lot of work, but for me....UGH!!!

Being one of the 2%, the smART specials for AMRSC were not duplicated on the smART site, so consequently, link pages had to be created...

Now something appears to be wrong with the link from the AMRSC site to those pages, and when clicked, a "Page Not Found" error is displayed.  I have notified Diane, and am assuming she will fix the problem as soon as possible, but in the meantime, customers are unable to view... Sooooooo...

If you want to take a look-see at the January 2008, AMRSC, 25% off retail specials from smARTworks, here's the working link:

http://www.smartrubber.com/smartsite_122.htm

Thank you for you patience.

Stamp 'n Grow

After breakfast the other day, my eleven year old, Eli, announced, "I feel like stamping."

"Oh, great!" I thought, "He wants to do a mom activity, on the one day I really can't drop everything and play..."

Hence this conversation:

Honey, I'm awfully busy today...
But, Mom, I can do it myself.
But, Eli, you've never stamped all by yourself before, (said aloud) or used my stuff without any direction. (thought)
Mom, I know I can do it.  I've watched you since I was little, and we've stamped stuff together lots of times.
But do you know how to find the stamps?
Yup, you've shown me before... It's like the library... I just look in your book and find the number of the case, and...
Okay, but you've got to remember to put the stamps back in the right cases... and you've got to remember to wipe them off first...
That's easy... Mom, puh-leeeze, l know I can do it.
Okay. (uttered with much trepidation)  I'll set you up.

Of course, I had visions of it all ending in a worst case scenario, with everything I "love" being ruined, used up, and put away all wrong, etc. 

Gulp!  At that point, God convicted me of just how selfish I was being... After all, how often do I get the chance to really stamp anymore?  Would I really be happier for my treasures keep collecting dust vs. allowing someone else to enjoy them?  Shame on me!!!  Loosen your grip, Susan!  Nothing except your son's desire is irreplaceable!  Besides, what if Tim Holtz's mother had always said, "No?"  Where would the stamping world be today?!? ~giggle

Long story short -- Eli stamped (and hummed) ALL day long.  He asked only one question,

Mom, look at this... How come my outlines aren't shiny like yours?"
Because they're not embossed.
Is that where you sprinkle on powder and use the heat thing?
The heat tool, yes.
Can you show me?

Warning him as to how "hot" it can get, I showed him once.  He tried and burned the paper.  He tried again, and nailed it, so everything from that point on got "shiny."

Except for the occasional, on my way to the bathroom "peeks" which were met with, "Mom, don't say one word... I'll show you when I get it done," I stayed completely away - Truth be told, I really was too busy working on a website deadline to do anything else...

After Eli had gone to bed that night, I headed out to my stamping area fully expecting to "clean," but there wasn't anything to do.  The boy had put everything back in it's proper place, and even wiped down the counter!  (Maybe you heard something that evening?  It was my jaw hitting the floor!)

Thank you, God, I uttered, for giving me the gift of Eli, and for helping to "let go" today... but, God,  I just don't understand why every time I see him grow, I'm the one who has the growing pains. ~smile

In my next post, I'm planning to share some stamping observations and discoveries about my son's work, but for now I'll leave you with one of his creations:

Stamps: Mad About Tea

Pour the Tea!

The first smART Cookie Tea Party of 2008 is being hosted by Heidi Kingery.  This is her sketch:

Of the three or four ideas I had bopping around in the ol' noggin, this is the one I decided to tackle:

Halfway through, I figured out all the things I would like to change (the color scheme and print paper for starters), but by then there was no turning back. ~sigh  What is it they say?  Hindsight is always 20/20?  Guess that applies to stamping as much as anything else...

Anywho, the one thing I really like about this piece is the frosting on the cupcake.  I used the Stickles, glitter glue called, Frosted Lace ,which up until now I've considered a boo-boo purchase -- kept on the shelf because it's new, but never used because it disappointed me by not being very sparkly...  Then today, lo and behold, it turned out to be just perfect for frosting!  Yeah!  I always love it when I find uses for my boo-boo buys!

Other Cardworks:
Stamps: WD-42 Cupcake, WD-203 Sing
Versafine Ink - Onyx Black
Markers & Colored Pencils
Circle Punches - 1-1/2" & 1-3/4"
Foam Tape

I can't wait to see what the Cookies did with this, so I'm off to visit Sweet Somethings, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Tah Dah! , Dee's Studio, and Susie Stampalot.  Why don't you come along and join me?

smART Card Stamping Contest 2007 - Quarter #4

Another quarter of the smART Card Stamping Contest came to a close yesterday, Dec. 31. Sadly, this round had very few entries, so although first and second place winners have been announced, no third place prize will be awarded.

The names of the two winning stampers, Sarah Stainback and Ann Caldon, may sound familiar. That's because these two gals were also winners in Quarter # 3... This time, however, they swap places -- Sarah's card is in first place, and Ann's in second...

Oddly enough, each card used CMS-01 Sledding as it's focal image, and each combined this image, in one way or another, with trees and snow... But that's pretty much where the similarities ended.

For Sarah's - Boy on Sled -the color scheme is mostly blues and whites, with a bit of red thrown in for contrast. The tree images are in an actual photograph (used as the background), and the snow can be found, not only in the photo itself, but also by way of white, embossed snowflakes with opal glitter glue accents. All coloring was done with colored pencils, and a holiday sentiment was stamped on the card front. Snowflake and saying are from CMS-12 Reindeer.

Ann's - New England Winter - on the other hand, is done in earth tones (red, olive, brown). The trees are stamped in dye ink, and the snowy effects have been produced using a Snow Writer, and Dazzle Dust. Coloring was done with markers, and there are no words. Tree images are from WD-188 Snowy Pines.

The two cards, similar yet very different, were equally matched in originality, difficulty level of techniques used, and skill of execution, so believe me, choosing first and second places was very difficult.

"Boy on Sled" edged out "New England Winter," however, for two reasons --

1. It's images"carry" -- when viewed from across the room, they remain crisp, clear, and easily  distinguished.
2. Incorporating not just a photo, but such a well-suited photo for the background layer, then embossing the snowflakes over it, really is super clever... Every person who has looked at it so far says exactly the same thing, "Hey, it's a real picture...That's cool!" 

Congratulations, Ladies!  And thank you very much for participating.