The Stamp Workshop

Need Help Applying Decor Elements?

Have you received your new Decor Elements yet?  Orders placed on the 1st of July are slowly trickling in and people are starting to use Decor Elements in and around their homes.

I typed up a great tutorial (well, I think it's great *smile*) on how to apply your decor elements.

How to Apply Decor Elements

In case you can't quite visualize what I was trying to say, here is a great video that Stampin' Up! has provided to help you along.  Just click on the screen, sit back and enjoy the video!

If you haven't ordered Decor Elements yet and would like to, click on the brochure cover on the right hand side of my blog.  You will be able to see the entire line in a PDF file.  I am offering a 10% discount on *any* one Decor Elements image in your order.  Please note that this offer is only offered to US customers directly by me.

If you have any questions about Decor Elements, feel free to contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

More Pretty Paper!

Those of you who have been following my blog know how much I LOVE Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Papers.   I wanted to show off the newest designs - Afternoon Tea and Summer Picnic.  They are a great accessory to add to all your paper crafting projects.  Both first appeared in the Occasions Mini on March 1.  Along with the paper swatches are listed its coordinating colors.   You can use the coordinating colors along with the Designer Series Papers to make perfectly coordinated cards and scrapbook pages!

Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (Item 111356, $9.95) - to the right: Coordinates with Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi
	Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper (Item 111355, $9.95) - to the left: Coordinates with Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

I hope you've found this information useful!

Happy Stampin'!

In the Background

Background stamps are something that I recommend to stampers that ask, "What are some of the essentials I need to make cards?"  Stampin' Up! currently offers 23 background stamps.  These stamps measure 4 1/2" X 5 3/4".

Backgrounds stamps can be used to fill the blank spaces on your card.  They can give your card that little something it needs.

Here's a tip: Backgrounds also make for quick and easy cards!

Here is a simple, but elegant card.  The background stamp sets the tone of the card.

There is a lot going on with this card, but if you look at it closely, it is two pieces of cardstock, two colors of ink, ribbon and two stamps.  This card took all of five minutes to make.

First, cut your base piece the size of a standard card (4 1/4" X 5 1/2").  Here I used Chocolate Chip.

Next cut your second piece of cardstock (Cameo Coral) as a layer piece.  That is, cut it to 4" X 5 1/4".  This will give just enough space around so that when you center this piece on the base, you get a nice layer.

Next, punch the corners of the layer piece.

Ink your background stamp.  Lay the stamp on a nice hard, even surface with the rubber side up.

Place the layer piece directly on the rubber.  Lay a large piece of scrap paper over that and gently rub evenly and smoothly to distribute the ink onto the layer piece.  Be careful not to move the layer piece as you smooth over.

Once inked, tie the Chocolate Chip Grosgrain around the base of the layered piece.  Adhere entire piece to the base piece so that the space around the card is even on all four sides.

Stamp the sentiment in the bottom right corner.  Now the card is done!  Simple as that!

Here is the recipe for this card:
Stamps: En Francais, Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral
Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain, Ticket Corner Punch

Background stamps are $17.95.  To order background stamps or for questions, please contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com.

Spring Summer 08 Collection Designer Series Paper

Of all the fabulous accessories that Stampin' Up! carries, many crafters agree that the Designer Series Paper line is their favorite.

I use Designer Series Paper all the time.  It makes for a quick project, and it is very versatile!  With each new Collection, we see fresh, new designs.  There is a style for everyone.

To help coordinate all your paper craft projects, here is a list of the new Spring Summer 08 Collection Designer Series Paper and their coordinating colors:

Azure: Brilliant Blue, Very Vanilla

Bali Breeze: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie

Berry Bliss: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa

Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron

East Coast Prep: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard

Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise

Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand

Ginger Blossom: Ruby Red, River Rock, Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava

Jersey Shore: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue

Le Jardin: River Rock, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue

Notebook: Soft Sky, Kraft, Vanilla

Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi

Spring Break: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky

Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron

Spring Silhouettes: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla

Western Sky: Ruby Red, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky

Each package of Designer Series Paper comes with 2 sheets each of 6 different double sided papers.  Each package has a total of 12 different designs.  The packages retail for $9.95.

To order Designer Series Paper, email me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

Rub-On Tips

Have you seen the new Rub-Ons in the Spring Summer 08 Collection?  They are found on page 182.  The Rub-Ons come 2 sheets per package, one white sheet and one black sheet.  The retail for $10.95 a pack.

Here are the product names and a short description:
110283 Take Note - Office theme.  Traditional styling.
110282 Anchored- Coordinates with the Crew Classics Style (pg 9 SSo8)
110284 Eastern Elegance - Coordinates with the Eastern Eclectic Style (pg 10 SS08)
110281 Cherished Memories - Romance theme.  Elegant styling.
110285 Urban West - Coordinates with the Boho West Style (pg 13 SS08)

Here are some tips directly from Stampin' Up artists for making your Rub-Ons experience simply sublime.

• When applying bold images, rub your finger over the transfer sheet before using the wooden stick to transfer the image. This will help the image adhere to your project and keep the transfer sheet in place while you fully transfer the image.
• You’ll know that your Rub-Ons image has transferred to your surface when the image becomes lighter on the transfer sheet.
• Pull up slowly on the transfer sheet, being careful not to slide it.
• If you haven’t quite got all the image transferred, just lay the sheet back down and try again.
• Tape your image in place, especially on surfaces like glass and when applying larger or more
• detailed images.
• You can remove Rub-Ons with our adhesive remover if you make a mistake.
• Always store Rub-Ons with the paper backing or your images will come off where you don’t want them to!

To order Rub-Ons, contact me today Michelle@stampworkshop.com.

Clean Stamps are Happy Stamps!

Have you ever wondered how to properly clean your stamps?  Read on for some tips!

Why clean your stamps?

• Properly maintained rubber stamps should last a lifetime
• Ink from one project can bleed onto another project, ruining your artwork.
• Likewise, using a stamp with residual ink can ruin the color of your inkpad.

One of the easiest ways to clean your stamp is "stamping off".  On a scratch piece of paper, continually stamp your image until the image runs clear.  Once the image runs clear, the stamp is clean.

For a deep clean in which ink is removed from all the "nooks and crannies", a stamp cleaning pad and stamp cleaner is best.  A stamp cleaning pad has soft, tiny bristles that can reach all the intricate details of the stamp, brushing out excess ink.  The stamp cleaner helps to loosen the ink to be brushed off by the stamp cleaning pad.

The Stampin' Up version of the cleaning pad is called the Stampin' Scrub (102642 $14.95) and the stamp cleaner is called Stampin' Mist (102394 $3.95).  To clean your stamps, open the Stampin' Scrub and lay on a flat surface.  Spray the Stampin' Mist on one side of the scrub.  Gently rub your stamp, image side down on the side of the scrub with the cleaner.  On the dry side of the scrub, gently rub the stamp to remove the excess cleaner.  Using Stampin' Mist not only cleans the stamp, but conditions the rubber as well.

Some things to avoid when cleaning rubber stamps:

• Avoid soaking wood mounted stamps.  This may cause your rubber to come loose from the foam padding.
• If using cleaner other than Stampin' Mist, avoid cleaners with alcohol, including baby wipes.  Alcohol can contribute to the breakdown of the rubber.
• When cleaning stamps, avoid using a heavy hand.  Vigorously rubbing a stamp can cause it to peel away from the foam or even the wood.

Designer Series Paper

Need a card in a hurry?  Well, here's a tip.  Designer Series Paper.  Designer Series Paper (DSP) makes it easy to crank out a beautiful card in minutes!  By using DSP, your color scheme is already predetermined.  All you have to do is use some coordinating cardstock, one main image and a few embellishments and in no time you have a beautifully coordinated card!  Here's an example made with Ginger Blossom paper - brand new DSP that will be available in the upcoming catalog.

This card was very easy to put together.  The coordinating colors for Ginger Blossom DSP are Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, River Rock and Groovy Guava.  Take a look at the "recipe" for this card:

• Stamps: Embrace Life, Short & Sweet
• Cardstock: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, River Rock
• Ink: Ruby Red, StazOn Jet Black
• Accessories: Paper Distresser, Ticket Punch, Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon, Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper

As you can see, by taking the Coordinating colors directly form the DSP, this card came out perfectly coordinated.

Here is a list of coordinating colors for all the current Designer Series Paper:

• Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
• Cerise: Real Red, Very Vanilla
• Charbon: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
• Creepy Crawly: Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
• Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
• Darling Doodles: Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
• Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
• Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
• Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
• LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
• Linen Prints: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion
• Notations No. 2: More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
• Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
• Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal
• Prints: Monochromatic papers available in Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava,Lovely Lilac, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, Rose Red, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise
• Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
• Uptown: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
• Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky

Use this info.  Get out your favorite Designer Series Paper and make a card!

Get a Perfect Stamped Image

Have you ever stamped and re-stamped twice or even three times because the image didn't come out just so?  Were there gaps in the image, or perhaps a blurred image?  Here are some tips to make sure your stamped images come out right each time:

• Firmly tap your stamp onto the ink pad.  Avoid rocking the stamp or pressing too hard onto the inkpad.  This will cause your stamp to be over inked.
• Make sure the entire image is well covered with ink.  After tapping the stamp onto the ink pad a few times, swirl the image on the ink pad and tap again.  This eliminates any lint or dust that might have gotten on your image.
• Make sure your stamping surface is flat.  A stray micro bead or ribbon under your paper can cause uneven stamp images.  Keep your stamping area clean.
• When setting the stamp to paper, stamp straight downward.  Do not move your stamp.  This will cause blurred edges.
• Keep the pressure even, do not rock the stamp.
• After stamping, lift straight up.  Be careful not to drop the stamp back down on your image.
• Let the image dry before embellishing or layering.

Punch Maintenance

Do you love punches, but find they get dull or sticks?

If your punch starts to stick, slide a piece of waxed paper in the groove where you slide the paper and punch.  Punch through the waxed paper a few times and in different spots.  It will leave behind a bit of wax, helping the metal pieces to slide through one another.

If you find that your punch just isn't punching as cleanly as it was when it was brand new, punch through aluminum foil.  Do it just as you did with the wax paper.

To make sure your punches work smoothly, punch through waxed paper and aluminum foil periodically.

Color Combos

Stampin' Up! features more than 50 exclusive colors in four color families, In Colors and a selection of neutral colors.  These colors can be mixed and matched to create perfectly coordinated projects.  There are literally thousands of combinations available!  Check out this Stampin' Up! color combination website provided by Laura at scraptitude.com.

Ink Pad Tips

Here's a quick and easy tip for today!

Don't always ink your stamp in the middle of your ink pad.  Extend the life of your pad by inking your stamp on the edges as well as the middle.  This will ensure you utilize all the ink on the pad and reduce wear of the pad in the center.

Do you have a helpful stamping tip?  Send me your tip and be entered into Stamp Workshop's monthly drawing for a free gift! Michelle@stampworkshop.com