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I am really excited!! I just love the SU catalog... it is a little overwheming though!! but I have my list.. a LONG one..
Do you all recomend a heat gun right away?? I wasnt sure .. I saw some ladies talking about Dazzling Diamonds and I never got a chance to ask what that is and how it works??
I did not buy a heat gun for a long time. But then went to a stamp camp and did embossing and was hooked!
I love my Dazzling Diamonds and use them for Christmas especially. It is a glitter. I use mine in conjunction with Heat and Stick Powder and a wet ink, like Versamark or SU Craft Ink and the heat gum. Maybe one of the Demos can chime in on some other ways to use it.
Funny story about the heat gun... a few weeks ago my dh used MY Stampin' Up! heat gun to thaw out an outside water spigot (don't ask...). Okay, it was great that my craft tools have applications even a guy could love, but the darn thing stayed out in the garage forEVER, lol! I had to pull out my old Milwaukee heat gun, which, although a good quality, has an external tip that gets HOT! I'd gotten so used to my SU one that I wasn't careful and managed to burn myself on the darn thing! You better believe I marched straight out to the garage and hunted down my heat gun...
I've seen a few of you mention being a "hobby demo" for SU. I'm newbie who was fortunate enough to be GIVEN (!) two tubs - large laundry basket-sized - of SU stamps from a retired demo and love them. But since she hasn't been a demo for about 4 years, I don't have or know a demo. What is a "hobby demo" and what's the difference between that and a regular demo? This intrigues me.
Stampin' Up! themselves doesn't differentiate between hobby and business demos. Hobby demos either are their only customers, or don't have many, don't seek out a downline, don't hold a lot of classes, etc. Business demos are more actively seeking customers and downline, hold workshops and classes, etc. Every demo gets the same initial discount (called instant income) to start with and has to meet the same minimum. As you sell more you get more of a percentage of your sales back.
Thanks for such a quick answer! Yep, I was REEALLLY fortunate to get so many wonderful stamps. Now I want to find a local demo so I can learn tips and techniques and see new product in person (like probably most here, I'm a visual-type person) :mrgreen:
Thanks for such a quick answer! Yep, I was REEALLLY fortunate to get so many wonderful stamps. Now I want to find a local demo so I can learn tips and techniques and see new product in person (like probably most here, I'm a visual-type person) :mrgreen:
Yep, can't beat a good local group or club... I hope you find one! Have you entered your ZIP code into the demo locator on the Stampin' Up website yet? There will be a list of demos, starting with the closest. Although I would give them a couple extra days to get back to you, considering the time of year... and a good way to check them out a little in advance is visit their website or blog and kind of get a feel for their style and what types of classes they offer. Best wishes for finding a new best friend! :-D
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
Funny story about the heat gun... a few weeks ago my dh used MY Stampin' Up! heat gun to thaw out an outside water spigot (don't ask...). Okay, it was great that my craft tools have applications even a guy could love, but the darn thing stayed out in the garage forEVER, lol! I had to pull out my old Milwaukee heat gun, which, although a good quality, has an external tip that gets HOT! I'd gotten so used to my SU one that I wasn't careful and managed to burn myself on the darn thing! You better believe I marched straight out to the garage and hunted down my heat gun...
Oh, Betsy!!! OUCH!! I am so thankful the SU ones have the guard all the way down around the tip. You can still burn yourself but it takes a lot more effort :cool:
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
I am really excited!! I just love the SU catalog... it is a little overwheming though!! but I have my list.. a LONG one..
Do you all recomend a heat gun right away?? I wasnt sure .. I saw some ladies talking about Dazzling Diamonds and I never got a chance to ask what that is and how it works??
You're going to LOVE Dazzlin' Diamonds!! It's a super-fine sparkly white iridescent glitter (not chunky). You don't have to have a heat tool to use it--Crystal Effects, 2-Way Glue pen, white glue, even Sticky Strip for awesome straight lines or photo frames--lots of ways to use it. I just adore it with Crystal Effects.
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
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Hi, everyone. It's getting close to the Big Day, but I still have stampin' on my mind. In my order, I got the hostess set "Of the Earth', shich has some solid images.This got me wondering, what are different techniques that especially suit the solid images?
I will probably bump this messages a few times since many people will not be online over the holidays I'm sure.
All the best to you and your families.
Elaine, I almost always use craft ink (pigment ink) with solid images. It makes for much better coverage.
Another good way to use them is with the "Thumping" technique. Basically you ink up the stamp and then take a few different colors of markers and tap the sides of the brushes (not the tip!) in various places. This is an easy way to get multi-color images.
"Kissing" is another great technique. It doesn't always look right but with a lot of images it's really fun to ink up the stamp and then press it onto a patterned stamp before stamping on your paper. This will give your stamped image the pattern of the 2nd stamp.
BTW, I imagine you know these techniques, lol, I just thought I'd explain them in case some people don't...
Oh! Don't forget the "rock 'n roll" method, lol! Ink up your stamp and then sort of "roll" the edges of the stamp in a darker ink before stamping on paper. That really adds nice dimension to the image.
I'm sure I'll be back before Christmas is over, lol...my "baby" is 17, almost 18, so we don't spend nearly the amount of time we used to on "Christmas-ey" stuff...
Yep! Well...come to think of it, the thumping works fine with either dye or craft. Since the markers are dye ink, I'm just as apt to use dye pads for the main ink. It works with either, though.
Thanks for the neat ideas on stamping the more solid stamps! I will have to experiment! I really like that "kissing" stamp idea. Never heard of that one before.
MSBetsyZ , thank you so very much for the explanation of the techniques that you have suggested.:mrgreen:
__________________ ~~@Marcia Luisa@~~ Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance. -Bruce Barton
The solid image stamps I have, including the trees in "Scenic Season," are so slick that they won't hold either dye or pigment ink well enough to stamp a true solid image. I have tried cleaning the stamp with both SU cleaner and Ultra Clean, thinking that might help, but it didn't. Others have suggested using the SU sanding blocks to rough up the surfaces a bit. I'd like to know how long and how hard you sand the stamp, if you have to be careful in what direction you rub with the sanding block, and if it's possible to truly ruin the stamp in the process. Not getting a picture-perfect image is getting very old!
The solid image stamps I have, including the trees in "Scenic Season," are so slick that they won't hold either dye or pigment ink well enough to stamp a true solid image. I have tried cleaning the stamp with both SU cleaner and Ultra Clean, thinking that might help, but it didn't. Others have suggested using the SU sanding blocks to rough up the surfaces a bit. I'd like to know how long and how hard you sand the stamp, if you have to be careful in what direction you rub with the sanding block, and if it's possible to truly ruin the stamp in the process. Not getting a picture-perfect image is getting very old!
I don't sand my stamps, Alice... I just rub mine on the upholstery fabric of my stamping chair to roughen it up a little. I would really worry about sanding it a little too hard using anything rougher. I know others have mentioned denim jeans as well.
But you mentioned Scenic Season--I have the best results with that using a brayer to ink it up evenly. Also another little tip is to leave the stamp down for several seconds so that you are allowing gravity to help pull the ink down to the paper.
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
Elaine, I almost always use craft ink (pigment ink) with solid images. It makes for much better coverage.
Another good way to use them is with the "Thumping" technique. Basically you ink up the stamp and then take a few different colors of markers and tap the sides of the brushes (not the tip!) in various places. This is an easy way to get multi-color images.
"Kissing" is another great technique. It doesn't always look right but with a lot of images it's really fun to ink up the stamp and then press it onto a patterned stamp before stamping on your paper. This will give your stamped image the pattern of the 2nd stamp.
BTW, I imagine you know these techniques, lol, I just thought I'd explain them in case some people don't...
Oh! Don't forget the "rock 'n roll" method, lol! Ink up your stamp and then sort of "roll" the edges of the stamp in a darker ink before stamping on paper. That really adds nice dimension to the image.
I'm sure I'll be back before Christmas is over, lol...my "baby" is 17, almost 18, so we don't spend nearly the amount of time we used to on "Christmas-ey" stuff...
Kissing is fun to do around Valentine's Day
Rock and roll is my favorite instant wow, though. It's been around a long time and yet I never get tired of how cool it looks. I'm on a laptop with no mouse so it's irritating getting around, but I will go hunt up some samples....
__________________ Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek, Gold EliteSong of My Heart Stampers14-time incentive trip earner
I hope I am in the right forum, but I didn't see anything else that looked right. I am posting a question for the first time. I am trying to make the New Year Party Hat that is pictured on Page 5 of January 2010 Stampin Success. My problem is that the hat seems wayyyy too small and the folding of the pattern that I downloaded from the Stampin Up! website does not have good instructions. Has anyone else tried to make this and can you give me any tips? I believe the measurements for the pattern have you cut a piece of 12 x 12 specialty card stock in half diagonally, so you can make two from one sheet. However the directions on the PDF just give you a measurement instead of stating it easily like I did.
I would appreciate any help from someone who already sorted this out!
Oh my gosh! I'm so out of touch since leaving SU this summer. I've gotten heavy into digital scrapping, but was stamping up some cards for holiday gifts and was lazily looking for digi images to use instead. I was just googling digital images and discovered the stamps that SU now offers in digi form. Just need someone to confirm: these can be downloaded and used in Photoshop Elements, right? Wow I am literally jumping for joy!!!!! Thanks!
Kim, yes, you can choose one of two forms to download, either for the SU software OR for other applications. "Other applications" are any one of several leading programs that can use png or jpg, etc. They are SO much fun to play with!
Alice, the sanding is a last resort for me, too. You've done the first-recommended things with the cleaning. My tried-and-true method is to "season" the stamp, which is really just stamping repeatedly without cleaning. Ink up the stamp and stamp it onto scrap paper. Without cleaning, ink it up again and stamp. Successive stampings will be better and better. Repeat this until you get a good image. Then after stamping your real project, you can clean the stamp. You "shouldn't" have to do this much anymore.
Stamps are made by filling molds with vulcanized (melted) rubber. In order to remove the stamps from the mold, a mold release is used to coat the molds prior to adding the rubber. Sort of like coating your pan wit Pam when you bake, you know? When you get ink beading up on new stamps or just not complete inking, it's usually because there's still some of the release agent on the rubber.
Kim, yes, you can choose one of two forms to download, either for the SU software OR for other applications. "Other applications" are any one of several leading programs that can use png or jpg, etc. They are SO much fun to play with!
Thanks so much - I am super excited about all they have to offer!
The solid image stamps I have, including the trees in "Scenic Season," are so slick that they won't hold either dye or pigment ink well enough to stamp a true solid image. I have tried cleaning the stamp with both SU cleaner and Ultra Clean, thinking that might help, but it didn't. Others have suggested using the SU sanding blocks to rough up the surfaces a bit. I'd like to know how long and how hard you sand the stamp, if you have to be careful in what direction you rub with the sanding block, and if it's possible to truly ruin the stamp in the process. Not getting a picture-perfect image is getting very old!
Try rubbing on the stamp with the eraser end of a pencil, that usually does the trick for me. And I always leave the stamp down on the cardstock for just a little longer than normal to let it really make good contact.
__________________ Barbara SU! Demo with a Blog
Procrastinators of the world unite... tomorrow!
Has anyone bought the new repositionable stamps or the clear blocks from SU yet? I am curious to know how you like them. I have ordered some and am looking forwad to the blocks. I am tired of these rinky dinky ones from the stores where I get just as much ink on my fingers as I do the stamps!
I love the new blocks. The grips on the sides put them above anything else on the market....so comfortable in your hands.
I've only played with the Clear Mount on a few stamp sets so far. We're having an ice storm today so I plan to play with them some more today. So far, so good!!!!
Ice storm here today too! LOL so I know what I am dong! I love the new clear mount stamps from SU! And I like the new containers also. I just ordered extra containers to try that system for storing some of my other rubber unmounted stamps.
The only thing I had to be careful about - was lining up the clear sticker with stamp. The instructions were good, but the smaller pieces would sometimes lift off the sheet backing before I had the rubber stamp part lined up right - that got a little tricky. And sometimes I got an air bubble on the larger ones, but that was easily fixed. Overall, I really like their new unmounted system and I sure hope they offer more in the future!
I think it would be nice if they offered some of their existing stamp sets in the unmounted version in future offerings.
The quality of the stamping is as great as always! And today I am going to stamp to my hearts content and not deal with this ice storm! Even my kitty with claws was slipping and sliding all the way up the walk this morning!
I love the clear blocks and repositionable stamps. I didn't think I was going to, I really love my wood mounts. But our demo had them at the last stamp club and the clear blocks are so much nicer than any other ones I have ever used before. And I really love the idea of being able to afford more stamp sets. So yesterday at club I broke down and bought the unmounted stamps and it was nice to see how much further my $50 went.
I haven't bought the blocks yet, because I already have other blocks. I hate throwing good money away on something I already have a different version of. But the SU blocks are so much nicer that they aren't really the same thing. I know I will end up getting them eventually.
Now I'm off to go to the grocery store in the ice storm!
I was pretty unsure about the clear mount, but I love, love, LOVE them! Last night was a good example why; I bought the block bundle and used the long, narrow letter "I" block and lined up all of the little houses and the trees from the Good Neighbors set and stamped six cards so fast! I did go back and put the roofs on afterward, though, since you can't get the roofs close enough to the house tops.
I cannot even imagine how long it would have taken me to line up and stamp all three houses plus the three trees on six cards. I'm sure I'll still buy some sets in wood mount for various reasons, but I think I'm going to switch over to clear mount for the most part! Loving the cheaper prices and the great storage for the clear mount too!
Has anyone bought the new repositionable stamps or the clear blocks from SU yet? I am curious to know how you like them. I have ordered some and am looking forwad to the blocks. I am tired of these rinky dinky ones from the stores where I get just as much ink on my fingers as I do the stamps!
I love that SU is offering cling mount stamps. Love, love, love it. I've been doing myself for a couple of years now. I've decided against using the image stickers. But, I'll tell you, I LOVE the blocks. I wasn't going to get any because I had tons from various vendors. But, I have to tell you, I just ordered a couple and the SU blocks are my favorites. SU is just my favorite of all stamp people.
I love that SU is offering cling mount stamps. Love, love, love it. I've been doing myself for a couple of years now. I've decided against using the image stickers. But, I'll tell you, I LOVE the blocks. I wasn't going to get any because I had tons from various vendors. But, I have to tell you, I just ordered a couple and the SU blocks are my favorites. SU is just my favorite of all stamp people.
I didn't use the stickers either. I have always been a wood mount kind of gal. Due to lack of room I have switched to unmounted and was so happy to hear that SU was offering this option. ( I would still buy from them if they didn't , but so glad they did). I also love the blocks! I have others but these are fantastic.
Just think how much extra room I would have if all of these were the 'cling' stamps! I heard a rumor that ALL of the stamps in the new catalog will be offered in both wood and cling mounted, is that true?
Just think how much extra room I would have if all of these were the 'cling' stamps! I heard a rumor that ALL of the stamps in the new catalog will be offered in both wood and cling mounted, is that true?
I don't think all of the sets will come in clear mount in the new catalog, I can't remember the exact wording but I think they will ease into this new system like they did with the die cut sets.
I too love the clear mount blocks, they fit my hand like they were made just for me!!!
__________________ Barbara SU! Demo with a Blog
Procrastinators of the world unite... tomorrow!
I love the clear blocks and repositionable stamps. I didn't think I was going to, I really love my wood mounts. But our demo had them at the last stamp club and the clear blocks are so much nicer than any other ones I have ever used before. And I really love the idea of being able to afford more stamp sets. So yesterday at club I broke down and bought the unmounted stamps and it was nice to see how much further my $50 went.
I haven't bought the blocks yet, because I already have other blocks. I hate throwing good money away on something I already have a different version of. But the SU blocks are so much nicer that they aren't really the same thing. I know I will end up getting them eventually.
Now I'm off to go to the grocery store in the ice storm!
I had a chance to use the SU blocks at Stamp Camp today. I do like the ridges and they don't seem as heavy as some of the others. I kind of wish they had printed a grid pattern on them the way I've seen it on other blocks. I don't know if that's a feature I'd really need or not though. Thoughts anyone?
I don't think all of the sets will come in clear mount in the new catalog, I can't remember the exact wording but I think they will ease into this new system like they did with the die cut sets.
I too love the clear mount blocks, they fit my hand like they were made just for me!!!
If I have it right, I think the new sets coming out in the next catalog will be offered in both clear and wood mount.
I used the clear mount stamps at a SU party yesterday but they kept falling off the blocks. Is there a trick to keeping them on ? I just am not sure about ordering them but I did like being able to see thru them.
__________________ THE SECRET TO CONTENTMENT IS KNOWING HOW TO ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE. Lin Yutang
