Montage stamping!!

Way back in 2007 we bought a little stamp making machine and we started to make our own stamps, it all started with a little flower. Well at that points Stamps Away was born. I was not a confident stamper by any stretch of the imagination but I discovered what you could do with even the smallest of stamps, so we started our Montage Range. They were popular and I started demoing with them at the retail shows. So over the next few years these little stamps have ticked along nicely, but as I became more confident at stamping and we had the amazing Pilkington artwork they got left behind a little. Until now, now they are back and better. We have taken all aspects of the business, and joined them together to make a complete stamping system. We knuckled down, filmed another DVD and here we are. So I thought I would share a few of the samples over the week of my stamping babies, where it all started. In the next post I will also do a little tutorial as well but I thought it would be nice to see how we have reconnected with our stamping roots!

Just a quick post...

Boy where has time gone!! This whole year is just whizzing by and I am running to catch up, I might pass myself going the other way at this rate. This is just a quick post really just to share some of the samples from the last couple of weeks and to say watch out for a major launch of some exciting stuff on 16th August and I will also be demoing it all at The Great British Craft Festival that weekend, so it is head down and sample sample sample. All I can say is it revolves around one of my favourite styles of stamps, that we have made for years but combining it with our other products to make it awesome!! Right back to already dine stuff. The below butterfly card was created just using the beautiful botanical washables, all I did was coloured the butterflies with a distress market, and the used clear embossing powder over the top, hear set it from behind to make it nice and glassy. Then I roughly colour in the flowers again with my distress markers, spritzed them with water so the colours bled, allowed it to dry and the did a light inking with antique linen to take away any remaining whiteness. Die cut, inked and glazed the flower embellishment and we were done! Simple. The second photo is a similar technique just a different paper.

Keep crafting

Ali xxx

Ways with washables!

I love the washables because I love to be in creative control. I love to have options, I like to have choice and I like to do what I want in what ever colour. So the idea of washables was born, they are the burger king of the paper world, you have it your way! Now because they are printed on the beautiful stamp and colour paper they ink brilliantly, so all the inky techniques in previous posts work on washables, but have the added bonus of that design shining through. A really easy and effective use of washables is a nice crayon resist technique. I used the bauble washable from the Christmas pack for this. I then took a white crayon and added highlights to the edges of the design. Then all over the top with with a distress ink, where the white crayon is you will see the design pop! Buffed it with a bit of tissue, just to remove any residue ink off the wax, and my own designer paper is finished. A candle can also be used for different effects.
Nothing I do is overly complicated it might be different but not difficult, so. give it a go.

Happy Crafting

Ali

Upon Reflection

Our beautiful new riverside wildlife stamp set contains the most stunning Kingfisher stamp, it is adorable! But as soon as I got it I knew I had to reflected him, but me and brayers do not get on..... So I decided to use another easier more Ali friendly technique. First I needed to create the water effect and again this is usually a brayering technique, so I improvised, screwed up a sandwich bag, dabbed it in the ink pad and on to the paper, instant ripples! Just be careful to mot over do it as you can lose the effect. Normal inking gave the effect of sky. Background complete now on to creating the reflection, all I did was stamp my kingfisher with black soot distress ink onto a piece of acetate, the ink does not dry on this so it means you can turn it over and press it down onto your water effect, gently rub it and you will see the image darken as it is transferred. Remove the acetate and then just stamp the kingfisher normally above the reflection. This technique is perfect for this type of reflection as it doesn't give you a perfect image it really looks like there is movement in the water. I then coloured it in with promarkers, making the reflection slightly less intense with the colours. Job done!

Give this a go you will be surprised how effective it is!

Happy Crafting

Ali

Simple is best

Well sometimes the simplest of techniques can create the most wonderful cards. And colour blocking is one of those techniques, quick, simple but stunning! All you need to do is select your stamp, and the acrylic block you are going to stamp it with (now make sure your block is clean!!) select a couple of nice distress inks (or a Big and Juicy pad) and swipe the colours on to your acrylic block, always apply the lightest colour first to avoid contaminating your ink pads. Now spritz it with some water and stamp it onto some paper (not too close to the edge as a nice white border is effective!) making sure you really squished it down. Now lift the block off, trying to lift the lightest ride first as the colour can pool a little. Set it aside to dry, I sometimes mop up the excess with some kitchen towel but you don't need to. Let it dry. When fully dry overstamp with black your chosen image. The finishing touch comes from a free hand black line around the colour block. Simple bit effective!!

Now just a little note my Paper Clinic for Create and Craft has been moved to 30th July but that gives me time to do more experimenting!!

Keep crafting

Ali

Plaid and simple!

I am a sucker for patterned paper, I really am, but I also get frustrated when I don't have the right colours to suit my project. So I inevitably end up making my own. From these frustrations washables were born, printed papers specifically designed for you to ink yourself in your colour scheme, enabling you to create your own designer papers. Plus it is all printed on our beautiful stamp and colour stock, which is carefully selected to take inks wonderfully. Meaning all your favourite ink techniques work perfectly. My favourite of this background making session wa my plaid effect. All you need is a couple of distress ink pads and a wet wipe (still wet) fold the wet wipe up to form a pad, then dab the folded edge into the different colours of ink, so you have spots of colour along the edge. Now drag those colours diagonally across the paper, so it leaves streaks of colour. Repeat the process until the paper is covered with diagonal lines, I then repeat with diagonal lines across the other way to complete the plaid look! Great for men cards, quick and simple, plus helps clean all the mica and embossing powder off your ink pads!! Give it a go

Happy Crafting

Ali xxx

Double Embossed!!

Double trouble, not with this technique. I love embossing with my masks, the texture, the dimension and the array of effects you can create. But I always thought it was a once type of technique, I have heat embossed on top of embossing, but never embossed embossing. Well until now!! Having seen the stunning effects a lady got at a workshop when she re-embossed her card because she was not happy with it, I knew it had potential as a planned technique! So when I got my inky mitts on the new snowflake frame, I knew this was the mask to play with! Now in order to create the full effect with this one I did need to use my Grand Calibur, and all I did was emboss the mask on the middle of a piece of stamp and colour paper, I then rotated the mask, so it lined up with the embossing to create a full wreath effect, and embossed it again. At this point the first embossing can look a little flat, but don't panic, ink it (my motto in life, if in doubt ink it!!) Then watch the depth appear, it really appears that the second embossing is in front of the first, I love it!! When happy with the inking I brushed a bit of mica on to add something extra, stamped and die cut a Christmas stamp, matt and layered it all and, there you go!! Simple!!

I am also pleased to give you some dates for your diary (so you can avoid me if you want!!) I have Create and Craft shows on 6th July, 12th July and.......drum roll please.... Paper Clinic 16th July!!

Ok folks happy crafting

Ali xx