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Tips & Techniques |
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From Lorie M.: Do not spend 50-80 cents per sheet of shimmery pearly Cardstock for your Asian cards. Make it! I just tried this last night and I am hooked! Easy Peasy! You need: * Travel-sized pump spray hairspray, one per color of PE ($1 from the dollar store, plus another $1 for a huge refill pump spray) * Dark (cheap) Cardstock or paper (I used 6cents a sheet cheapy cardstock from AC Moore's paper sale) Scoop the tip of
your scissors into the PE powder and load about 1/2 inch of powder onto
the tip (I did not have a measuring spoon, and this slides off better
anyway). It is about 1/4 tsp. Uncap your hairspray container. Slip it
into the travel-sized hairspray (mine was Pantene Extra Hold, but any
will do). Close up and shake well. Spray onto dark cardstock, shaking
every couple of pumps. BAM! Instant Shimmery cardstock. Be sure to use a
sharpie and label the spray bottle. Refill it from your larger bottle
of hairspray. The cs will curl a bit, it will flatten once it is dry
or you start to cut it. OOH, I just got an idea.......place a stencil
down and spray over it.....!! Faux Shrink Plastic As many of you know, you can use CD cases as storage cases for unmounted stamps. Well, I went to the Dollar Store and got some more cases (those UMs are just getting our of hand...why so they keep coming in the mail??.... Oh yeah, better hide the credit card again). Anyway, I was pulling the innards out of CD cases (the black/clear plastic lining that holds the CD in.you just pop it out, leaving the outer case to store your stamps) and was getting ready to trash them. This really bugs me, because I hate to fill up the landfill with more junk, and I was sure that my recycling center would not accept this stack of plastic. hmmm... So I took my scissors and tried to cut one ... Made an interesting cut/break around the central spindle. Hey, I can use the flat plastic pieces as some sort of background layer for an embellishment! So I cut out this pile of black plastic pieces, trying to be random in size and shape, which is pretty easy to do, considering that some of it cuts and some of it fractures. I put them aside for later use, threw the remaining pieces in the recycle bin with a note to the recycle guys asking them if this is recyclable plastic. Oh well, at least I reduced the amount of plastic I was sending out. So later in the week I am making a card and decide to try the plastic. Okay, looks good, try stamping on it, Brilliance ink works fine, all is well, looks cool..... hmmm.... .... so what would happen (you know that most inventions come about this way) if I embossed it? So I inked an entire piece, threw it into the embossing powder, shook off the excess, and turned on my heat gun. Shazaam! Shrink plastic! The plastic started to curl up, then straighten out just like shrink plastic. Excited, I grabbed a stamp, inked it, poured a bit more embossing powder on the piece, heated it again and impressed the stamp into the molten EP... WOW! All I can say, is that it looks great, has a nice black background, and the plastic adheres to my card with a permanent-glue stick, so most adhesives should work. Have not tried the clear plastic innards yet, so maybe one of you can try those and report back? Try it; it reuses plastic that would end up in the landfill, and saves money on shrink plastic that can now be spent on more stamps! (now where is that credit card...) Now you know why
they call me Pyromomma! I have a tip I've
learned the best way : the hard way! Sometimes I make a card and think:
it needs something else, then I've added another stamped image and spoiled
the look. Now, I stamp the image I'm thinking of using on a piece of
plain Vellum, I can then position the vellum around the card to see,
firstly, if it's the image I want, and secondly, if it's in the right
place. If yes, I know what and where to stamp. If no, I have an image
I can use on something else. If you don't want
to waste your Xyron glue when running items through the machine place
a larger image over a smaller one so that the edges of the larger image
become sticky. You don't need to have glue on the middle bit. I store my cards
in a small photo album for 5 X 7 photos. Most cards fit in nicely, and
it's a great way to bring them along to share. It's also a great way
to store and display all your RAKs! A used dryer sheet
makes great faux mulberry paper. Just tint with a brayer, or sponge..and
layer! Every time I buy
a new ink pad, I stamp a square on a sheet of white card stock and label
it, creating a palette from which to choose from as I stamp. This enables
me to view every color I own at a glance & it is a great way to
color coordinate also. Most major craft
stores will accept each others coupons which is awesome!! And if you
look at your local paper online, they--at least in my area--have printable
coupons!! This was news to me a few weeks ago, as I stumbled across
the printable coupons online!
Pre-make a few
Coffee-, & or tea-themed cards, then store them in seperate plastic
zip lock baggies with either a strong scented tea bag, or the coffee
in the pre-packaged filter packs. This is an idea
for a substitute stylus. When you need a stylus and can't find yours,
reach for a paper clip and your Xacto handle. Remove the blade from
the handle and substitute a small paper clip. Push the clip in as far
as you can, tighten the holder and use the paper clip pen as a stylus.
This works so beautifully that you just might keep the new tool intact
and in your tool box for regular stylus uses.
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