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  1. #166
    Dedicated Scrapper
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    Wow Ladies you are a talented lot I love your cards Ellie, gave me a prompt to look out my Dies similar to those {thankyou.}Alison what great card and Wendy well just stunning, I have some Chocolate baroque stamps on my wish list for Mothers day. Nat I love the stamping and colours, A question ladies "what is the best card for stamping on."
    Big HUGS for you and your family Elaine.
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  2. #167
    Paper addict extraordinaire Mystik Nat's Avatar
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    Thanks for the lovely blog comment Sue and for your comment Chris.

    As for recommended card for stamping on.... it's a toughie - I have tried a few over the years and have a number if different ones that I use depending on what I'm going to stamp.

    Bazzill Card Shoppe I bought in bulk, I use it so much - the card I shared was using Bazzill but the ink takes a lot longer to dry out fully and for the spolitchiness to disappear. It's a heavyweight cardstock for cardmakers and I love it for stamped sentiments and diecut words. The white is a lovely natural white.

    I have also used Stampin' Up Whisper White especially for the smaller layered stamps of flowers that I then cut out with dies. It is thinner card (actually I'd call it thick paper rather than card) and it is a starker white than the Bazzill. It has a very smooth finish so the ink dries quickly as it doesn't have as much fibre to sink into.

    Then there is Nennah solar white that is now sold over here by Crafter's Companion and that takes dye ink really well. I have a pack of I think 25 sheets of the 216 gsm/80 lb version and that's been good. Ink evened out really well. I am wanting to get a pack of the heavier weight solar white to compare but Crafter's Companion doesn't sell that as far as I can tell.

    The SU and Nennah whites are much starker whites than the Bazzill - I just wish there was a nice cardstock that had the Neenah coating and the Bazzill heavier weighting but was off white/more of a natural white and that they also offered it in a nice light grey as my Papertrey Ink Soft Stone pack that I've had for about 4 or so years will run out at some point!

    But yep, with dye ink stamping you have to get used to the fact that what you've just stamped isn't going to look its very best straight away - the ink evens out as it dries, so what looked ugly and splotchy looks much better a few hours later (or usually the next day in my case as I craft on an evening). The cardstock you use is just as important to the end result as the inks you use. In fact I had almost given up on the Hero Arts ink cubes I had bought and was reaching for another company's inks first until I recently stamped out all my inks to create a swatch book and found the Hero Arts inks performed a lot better in the coated card with a super smooth finish. I used Hero Arts inks on my Niagara card and that was stamped on Bazzill but the impression wouldn't have been as clean had I not used my stamp positioner to stamp some of the images a few times to get full coverage.

    Anyway, hope this all helps! I have to say Jennifer McGuire's videos comparing what she uses for what purpose are a really good resource. I tried the Neenah on her recommendation and also have the Bristol Smooth cardstock she recommended for markers to try next time I do that kind of project.


    ~ Natty ~

  3. #168
    Dedicated Scrapper bramblepie's Avatar
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    Thanks for those tips Nat
    and all the lovely cards I think I need to up my stamping and practise a bit more I did try last night alcohol inked then stamped but it wasnt very good

  4. #169
    Paper addict extraordinaire Mystik Nat's Avatar
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    I forgot to add, that I received some of the Simon Says Stamp White #120, White, Ivory, and Cream when I subscribed to their card kits last year and those 4 cards have that lovely smooth finish that is ideal for stamping - I had good results with those. But it means ordering from the US. I would probably order the Ivory myself as it's just off-white and that's the tone I prefer for everyday stuff.

    I'm going to link you up to Jennifer McGuire's blog post/video comparing papers - actually her whole My Favorite Crafty Things series is a good one to watch for tips and many of the items are available in the UK. I enjoyed her series in 2015 and the 2016 was a good top up too.

    The other thing with clear stamps especially is that not all stamps are made the same. Some clear stamps are not as high quality as others and this can mean they really don't take ink well.
    When I've used freebie stamps from magazines or ones in scrapbook lines which aren't made by dedicated stamp companies I've seen the difference - so I condition my stamps first by applying Versamark and stamping off a few times on scrap paper. There's no harm applying Versamark then immediately applying the ink you want to use and stamping directly on a project. I used to do that a lot when my stamps were new and I was using Distress Ink with them for their first outing - no ink pads suffered from the experience.

    I totally sympathise with the frustration - I have been there so many times, but now I generally get nice results with a combo of high-quality stamps, good cardstock, good inks, and a stamp positioner that allows me to easily restamp if I've not applied ink/pressure evenly the first go. I'm really happy Tonic is bringing their own tool out - I have the MISTI original model which I received for Christmas the year before last, but if the Tonic one is a success I really hope they do a smaller version too as my craft workspace needs small gadgets otherwise they often get lost under a pile of paper!


    ~ Natty ~

  5. #170
    Dedicated Scrapper alison 2's Avatar
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    Great tips Nat, thankyou. I never thought I needed a stamp positioner, but now I see the use - it will help with all those times you stamp and it doesn't work fully first time !! Off to buy one now....
    This card group is full of 'enablers '
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  6. #171
    Paper addict extraordinaire Mystik Nat's Avatar
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    Alison, you may want to hold out a little bit for the Tim Holtz one to arrive as the price point on that will be lower than the MISTI (not sure about the other brands) but I really liked the look and ease of the TH Tonic one - especially from a cleaning point of view and how quickly you can switch between cling/clear stamps - plus it looks sturdy! If I was buying from scratch that's the one I'd probably hold out for - but definitely check out youtube videos of the WRMK one and Hampton Arts ones to see if they're more suited to what you want. I've also heard that people have managed to make their own from IKEA frames, but I am just set in my ways now that I have my own and am getting on with it.


    ~ Natty ~

  7. #172
    So many crafts, so little time here be dragons's Avatar
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    Just went and had a look at this month's colour.......
    I never thought about a stamp positioner for repeat stamping to get the 'failed' bits.... oh dear.....

    Wendy
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  8. #173
    Dedicated Scrapper alison 2's Avatar
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    Noted Nat, I'll do some research
    Alison



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  9. #174
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    Hmmmm, seems I not the only ENABLER on here.

    Great tips Nat, I am always trying out stamps but I am a bit hit and miss. I know what you mean about the quality of stamps too. I've had some that won't stamp no matter what and others which leave a lovely crisp image.

    Finding the best card I find is the hardest thing and I usually give up and go back to printing. I must try stamping on this laid paper I bought, it was meant for stamping and I'll let you all know how it goes. I have boxes and boxes of stamps because I see what other people like you Nat and Wendy do and am so impressed and then when it doesn't work out for me I give up. I will definitely look at the Jennifer McGuire blog.

  10. #175
    Chatty papercrafter elainevking's Avatar
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    Well I'm a bit rubbish at stamping so I decided to bite the bullet and have already ordered a WRMK precision press..it's a it of a wait but I hope it'll be worth it. I looked at The Tim Holtz one but, for me, it looked too large and certainly too heavy. I like smaller tools too Nat
    As I'm a relatively inexperienced stamper I use the White card from Poundland! 30 sheets for £1 and it's good enough for the standard I'm up to thus far..if I do more of it it may be worth investing in better quality card. Thanks for the tips Nat.

    Thanks for comments re DIL.. She's a brave girl, very stoic and an inspiration to us all! Fingers crossed for Monday.

  11. #176
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    Good morning Ladies, I haven't been around as I have been looking after my DGD who is off school with an ear infection but I have got some good card stock and have been practicing using stamps but now I need to learn to colour them once I get time to play, but I have quite a pile of images for my art journaling pages so not wasted. L.O.L. I did treat myself to some phrase die cuts and am really enjoying them. Once Becca goes back to school I am going to try and sport this Laptop out and try to upload some of my cards.
    Chris
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  12. #177
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    I love Jennifer McGuire's site. Her favourite things videos are really useful and her general technique videos are interesting too. I'm holding back on getting a big stamp positioner. I've made a mini one with a CD case and I have my old school L-shaped positioner which works fine for me. They are good for re-stamping and also for the layering stamps that are everywhere at the moment. I tend to bulk buy white card from shows and it works fine for me. The company I buy from also does a Promarker card which I may try next time as I recently bought some alcohol based markers and they do tend to bleed through the back.
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  13. #178
    Senior moments? I thought they came in MONTHS!!! new2this's Avatar
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    I didn't realise this challenge was here until February .. so I'm playing "catch up" already!!
    These are my two for January ...

    ....
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  14. #179
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    As this is still open I thought I'd post this card. When a load of my stuff had to go into storage I 'saved' a box containing ancient card blanks - many from the days when I did cross-stitching - including some pre-cut lacé cards (anyone remember that trend?). It's the closest I could get to the colours.
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  15. #180
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    Lovely card and one of my, some would say, (meaning Elaine) many favourite dies, Prim Poppy.

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