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I'm putting in a good word for our USPS - one of the best in the world, if not the best. I recently learned that even if your local PO 'hand cancels' your envelope, if it's traveling some distance away, your card/envelope is more than likely going through a machine somewhere along its path. It's all part of the mechanized sorting system.
Bumpy embellishments of any type of material do need to be protected. A layer of cardboard and/or bubble wrap is often a good idea- this possibly means a larger envelope and some extra postage, but at 43 cents for the first ounce of first class mail, it is one of the best bargains in communication. And, it's certaily worth the cost to protect your gorgeous art work so the recipient is truly dazzled.
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the USPS or to the US gov't in any way. I've lived in countries where one had to bribe the PO workers in hopes they would actually mail what you have paid a high price for.
Many thanks for all of the fantastic suggestions you all are giving to the rest of us! I do agree with the person who said she spends hours here at SCS, going from one interesting thing to another, and runs out of time to actually stamp! Or, in my case, to try to get organized so I can stamp!
Carolyn
Carolyn, I agree!
I also know that in some parts of Mexico, they do not trust the postal system to deliver mail and important items are either hand carried or sent by pricey couriers when possible.
__________________ I'm a ChemoAngel & SeniorAngel! Click HERE to learn more.
I'm putting in a good word for our USPS - one of the best in the world, if not the best. I recently learned that even if your local PO 'hand cancels' your envelope, if it's traveling some distance away, your card/envelope is more than likely going through a machine somewhere along its path. It's all part of the mechanized sorting system.
Bumpy embellishments of any type of material do need to be protected. A layer of cardboard and/or bubble wrap is often a good idea- this possibly means a larger envelope and some extra postage, but at 43 cents for the first ounce of first class mail, it is one of the best bargains in communication. And, it's certaily worth the cost to protect your gorgeous art work so the recipient is truly dazzled.
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the USPS or to the US gov't in any way. I've lived in countries where one had to bribe the PO workers in hopes they would actually mail what you have paid a high price for.
Many thanks for all of the fantastic suggestions you all are giving to the rest of us! I do agree with the person who said she spends hours here at SCS, going from one interesting thing to another, and runs out of time to actually stamp! Or, in my case, to try to get organized so I can stamp!
Carolyn
Carolyn, I agree!
I also know that in some parts of Mexico, they do not trust the postal system to deliver mail and important items are either hand carried or sent by pricey couriers when possible.
__________________ I'm a ChemoAngel & SeniorAngel! Click HERE to learn more.
I'm putting in a good word for our USPS - one of the best in the world, if not the best. I recently learned that even if your local PO 'hand cancels' your envelope, if it's traveling some distance away, your card/envelope is more than likely going through a machine somewhere along its path. It's all part of the mechanized sorting system.
Bumpy embellishments of any type of material do need to be protected. A layer of cardboard and/or bubble wrap is often a good idea- this possibly means a larger envelope and some extra postage, but at 43 cents for the first ounce of first class mail, it is one of the best bargains in communication. And, it's certaily worth the cost to protect your gorgeous art work so the recipient is truly dazzled.
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the USPS or to the US gov't in any way. I've lived in countries where one had to bribe the PO workers in hopes they would actually mail what you have paid a high price for.
Many thanks for all of the fantastic suggestions you all are giving to the rest of us! I do agree with the person who said she spends hours here at SCS, going from one interesting thing to another, and runs out of time to actually stamp! Or, in my case, to try to get organized so I can stamp!
Carolyn
Carolyn, I agree!
I also know that in some parts of Mexico, they do not trust the postal system to deliver mail and important items are either hand carried or sent by pricey couriers when possible.
__________________ I'm a ChemoAngel & SeniorAngel! Click HERE to learn more.
Hello everyone we are the mother daugther team here at SCS we just joined and thought that swaps were the best way for us to "LEARN". So far just reading this group I learned about brads..sorry if anyone gets one from us in a swap..we had our showing..we have learned tho. I do have one question here most of the swaps we sign up for ask for 2 layers and 1 embellishments...what would be considered and ebellishments besides eyelets brads and ribbon..we are at a lost and could someone help out. P.S. we do try our very best on our swaps tho..so just bear with us as I have read we all started some where.
My tip: ask other people what they are glad they spent money on...of course, if they have a radically different style from yours, take their advice with a grain of salt!
The things I use a LOT are:
Stampamajig
new blades (it's not worth the ugly result to keep using a blade after it's dull)
cropadile
I find that if I store things where I can see them I use them a lot...and if they're in boxes etc. I totally forget about them!
WOW you are so right about the storage part I started saying to my mom..remember if it's out of sight it's out of mind so we have to put it somewhere else..LOL Thanks for sharing and it's the best tip we have so far that we learned!
Hi ladies, and welcome to SCS. Yes we all started from scratch at somepoint. And even though I been scrapping for many years, it's been awhile since I used eyelets, and had to think a little today when I went to use them LOL. I forgot how rough/sharp they can be on the back LOL.
Ok, for some embellishment ideas, brads, eyelets ribbons, sprial or other type of paper clips, charms, buttons, diecuts. You can even do great things with stickers! Sprinkle the back of them with babypowder, so they are not sticky for the time being (easier to work with). You can then either mounth them onto a piece of cardstock and cut around the shape of the sticker (a little bigger) to have a nice backdrop/background. Or put a pop dot (to make it stand out) then mount it onto a page.
I took a class years ago on using stickers. Another great idea that I still do is to look at other's works, even if you are doing something different, you can still get an idea. Such as the way someone matted a recipe. Maybe you'd like to try that on a photo. Browse the gallery, look for sketches or page maps. There's a whole world and then some out on the web :-)
I hope I helped a little. Sorry for such a long post.
Hi ladies, and welcome to SCS. Yes we all started from scratch at somepoint. And even though I been scrapping for many years, it's been awhile since I used eyelets, and had to think a little today when I went to use them LOL. I forgot how rough/sharp they can be on the back LOL.
Ok, for some embellishment ideas, brads, eyelets ribbons, sprial or other type of paper clips, charms, buttons, diecuts. You can even do great things with stickers! Sprinkle the back of them with babypowder, so they are not sticky for the time being (easier to work with). You can then either mounth them onto a piece of cardstock and cut around the shape of the sticker (a little bigger) to have a nice backdrop/background. Or put a pop dot (to make it stand out) then mount it onto a page.
I took a class years ago on using stickers. Another great idea that I still do is to look at other's works, even if you are doing something different, you can still get an idea. Such as the way someone matted a recipe. Maybe you'd like to try that on a photo. Browse the gallery, look for sketches or page maps. There's a whole world and then some out on the web :-)
I hope I helped a little. Sorry for such a long post.
Hi ladies, and welcome to SCS. Yes we all started from scratch at somepoint. And even though I been scrapping for many years, it's been awhile since I used eyelets, and had to think a little today when I went to use them LOL. I forgot how rough/sharp they can be on the back LOL.
Ok, for some embellishment ideas, brads, eyelets ribbons, sprial or other type of paper clips, charms, buttons, diecuts. You can even do great things with stickers! Sprinkle the back of them with babypowder, so they are not sticky for the time being (easier to work with). You can then either mounth them onto a piece of cardstock and cut around the shape of the sticker (a little bigger) to have a nice backdrop/background. Or put a pop dot (to make it stand out) then mount it onto a page.
I took a class years ago on using stickers. Another great idea that I still do is to look at other's works, even if you are doing something different, you can still get an idea. Such as the way someone matted a recipe. Maybe you'd like to try that on a photo. Browse the gallery, look for sketches or page maps. There's a whole world and then some out on the web :-)
I hope I helped a little. Sorry for such a long post.
Have a great day/evening.
Lori
Thanks so much I forgot about charms that might add some touch to the cards. The Sticker ideal humm we just might have to try that out..seems like a new Aha ideal! We have tons just laying around guess it's time to put them to good use. Well guess everyone will have to bear with us while we learn! Thank you to all for being so nice on here it really helps!
Rowanvamp0 and Scotties
Row, the classes I took at a sb store is called
Scrapbooking for you. They are online and it said something about free intro offer. Just incase you want to check it out. I'll pm you the link.
I'm glad I could help. Don't forget about buttons! If they are 2-hole you can tie a little knot on top and leave some fringe on the sides.
If there are 4 holes. just stitch them to your layout. Both ways, look great. You can use any kind of cross-stitch thread/floss.
I frequently see mentioned the use of baby oil with watercolor pencils. I am not familiar with this. Any help in the how to would be really appreciated. Thanks muchly!
I just tried out this technique it's really simple I took some baby oil not alot cause a little goes along way and had it in a bowl then took a blending stump which can be found in the art section at micheals and then dip the tip in just a little and make sure it's "wet" then the image that you just colored with using the pencils you take your blending stump and push some of that color around..hope that helps..tried my best to explain it I found a video tut of it online somewhere might want to look that up to get a better understanding.
Row, the classes I took at a sb store is called
Scrapbooking for you. They are online and it said something about free intro offer. Just incase you want to check it out. I'll pm you the link.
I'm glad I could help. Don't forget about buttons! If they are 2-hole you can tie a little knot on top and leave some fringe on the sides.
If there are 4 holes. just stitch them to your layout. Both ways, look great. You can use any kind of cross-stitch thread/floss.
Have a great night,
You are full of ideals BIG THANKS now we have to run out and get buttons..LOL we don't have any of those and it would work perfectly with my boy cards I'm doing to bad that they are due soon..pout! Ohh well on to the next swap with a new ideal to try out!
Hi everyone, ok I'm not new to scrapping, but I never really got into cards, but from all the beautiful ones in the gallery, I wouldn't mind trying some out. I might not be up to a swap (for cards) yet, but could someone give me a few sizes to try out? And I wouldn't have a clue how to put a verse on the inside with a pc/printer. I did make a halloween card once and stamped a verse, but I only have a few bigger stamps for those. What do you usually do?
Thanks everyone,
My avatar is Jesse, 7-month old English Bulldog.
One of my "Bully Boys". :-)
Have a great night,
I'm going to emphasize good quality card stock as well. Stampin' Up has nice smooth white and vanilla. I've also read many, MANY posts exclaiming over the smoothness and weight of GinaK and Papertrey Ink papers.
A good, smooth paper is what will make your stamped images come out beautifully. Especially if it's not a line image that needs colored; but is almost a "solid" image that will need to pick up lots of ink from your ink pads.
For instance, SU's new set for this Christmas, Delightful Decorations has ornament stamps that are mostly solid. To get a beautiful solid looking stamped image you must use good quality paper. I drove myself nuts trying to get a solid image on my Naturals Ivory card stock ( not an "ultrasmooth" paper ). It wouldn't come out well. I tried reinking my ink pad; I tried loading the stamp with Versamark first then the color....finally it dawned on me...DUH!!! Use an Ultra Smooth paper like the white or vanilla and...TA-DA!!! Good solid ink image!
A good, smooth paper is what will make your stamped images come out beautifully. Especially if it's not a line image that needs colored; but is almost a "solid" image that will need to pick up lots of ink from your ink pads.
For instance, SU's new set for this Christmas, Delightful Decorations has ornament stamps that are mostly solid. To get a beautiful solid looking stamped image you must use good quality paper. I drove myself nuts trying to get a solid image on my Naturals Ivory card stock ( not an "ultrasmooth" paper ). It wouldn't come out well. I tried reinking my ink pad; I tried loading the stamp with Versamark first then the color....finally it dawned on me...DUH!!! Use an Ultra Smooth paper like the white or vanilla and...TA-DA!!! Good solid ink image!
Good point! Thanks for the tip!
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
Hi all, a newbie here...just read through all the pages and nobody has posted for several months so hopefully I will bump this up to the top again. I really appreciate all the information you experienced stampers have shared. I know I sometimes feel like those who know what they are doing might be looking down at those of us who don't, so it's good to know that you are pretty tolerant folks!
Another question - is there anywhere I can go to look at how people finish the inside of their cards? I've been trying to find some examples so I can improve my cards on the inside and I guess I'm not using the right words in my search. No matter how nice the outside looks, the inside of mine always looks kind of...unfinished.
One of the things I try to do to conserve my scrapping budget is to challenge myself to use my scraps;
Once my scrap bin full of patterned paper is full (and it is a pretty small bin), I challenge myself to use them all up on random cards. What I do is make card blanks with no embellishments, stickers, die cuts, anything at all except the patterned papers and base card stock. I call these my card blanks. Then when I need a really quick card ('cause my DD has indicated that she is off to a birthday party and needs a card like RIGHT NOW!) I have a blank that all I have to do is add the bling or stuff to it. I have flowery blanks, masculine blanks, kid blanks, birthday blanks, etc. And, I will often mix and match paper companies, as long as there is a similar colour scheme. I have even mixed Christmas paper that had just a subtle background to it with an Easter themed paper, and you would never know the difference!
Happy crafting!
__________________ Elizabeth
---------------------------------------
Hand over the chocolate, and no one will get hurt!
Inside of cards ~ a couple of suggestions: Layer your sentiment; use a piece of the same background paper along one side or across the top or bottom. hth
You can also stamp a corresponding image inside. Many SU sets have a larger, main stamp, and then several smaller ones that "go with" them. I often use them on the inside. I have a couple of sentiment sets that are nice, but you can find great quotes and such online or get a book that has them.
__________________ Diana
*******
Save your drama for your llama.
For a card that we'll be making at my Stamp-A-Stack, I used a 1.5" strip of designer paper that matches the inside of the card. Put adhesive around the sides and bottom and it can be used for a gift card insert (or check or cash).
Another question - is there anywhere I can go to look at how people finish the inside of their cards? I've been trying to find some examples so I can improve my cards on the inside and I guess I'm not using the right words in my search. No matter how nice the outside looks, the inside of mine always looks kind of...unfinished.
Another nice thing to do on the inside of your card is to take a large flourish stamp and use very light ink or perhaps stamp off once and cover the entire inside of the card It leaves a nice almost watermark type background and you can still write over it. Very nice effect. I found once you start embelishing the inside you don't want to leave any of them blank in the future. As always though just have fun!
Indexing is a life saver! I finally did it after looking and looking for a certain stamp, and spent too much time looking. Now I just use my binder, leaf through a few pages and there it is and I know what clear box I stored it in! No matter what method you use to index your supplies, this is a great idea! I am slowly building my Copics collection, and I am recording those too. Whatever you need more than one style, you should probably index. I will be indexing my die-cuts this weekend!
Another question - is there anywhere I can go to look at how people finish the inside of their cards? I've been trying to find some examples so I can improve my cards on the inside and I guess I'm not using the right words in my search. No matter how nice the outside looks, the inside of mine always looks kind of...unfinished.
I generally double mat the inside of my cards. I use a corresponding color to the main color of the outside, and then put a white or cream top of that. On that layer I either stamp or print my sentiment, then I stamp coordinating images on it so it matches the front.
when i first started out, i bought wood or foam-mounted rubber (clear stamps had yet to be invented)... my best advice for wood mounted stamps.... look and smell. the rubber should smell fresh, and the picture on the wood should exactly mimic the stamp image. i buy $1 stamps at Michaels and AC Moore with that in mind.
Clear stamps are super cheap and easier to store, so i have been buying more of the clear lately. My best advice on clear stamps is to avoid teeny-tiny letters... i have a missing 'e' that has never resurfaced after i dropped it.
invest in good tools... a good paper trimmer is key. i used a little slide one for a while, then finally bought a big guillotine-style cutter.... so much easier than a ruler ann Xacto knife. Also, for inkpads, don't buy the cheapest ones.... the $1 inkpads suck
think outside the box when buying craft supplies- metal bits can be bought in a hardware store, stickers at a card or party store, tins and boxes to alter at the $ store, and lace or ribbon at a sewing store. Sometimes the $ spot at Target has a few stamps.... the clear stamps are a bit thin, but fine to use.
Paper to make cards doesn't need to be archival-quality (as in scrapbooks), so patterned paper can be as simple as an old page of a book, newspaper, wrapping paper, or parchment paper (used for baking)... embellishments can be soda pop-top tabs, cleaned bottle caps, old buttons, beads, or even braided dental floss (obviously not used)
you can use eyeshadow from the $1 store as chalk, to shade your images... a great, cheap way to try a technique
if you want to stamp an image in different colors, just draw on the actual stamp with water-based markers in whatever colors you are using...huff a big breath onto the stamp to moisten the marker, and stamp.... crayola markers are great for this, as you color more and more you may want to invest in better markers (some are like $3 each... yikes... i stuck with crayola untill i found a great sale)
at every pharmacy, there is a 'nail care' ailse... there are great kits of tiny rhinestones and pearls, for around $4 you get a lot of bling, and they are a nice size for smaller stamped images
as far as envelopes, i try to buy big packs of cards off-season, when they are on sale. then i just toss the cards in a drawer (i can use them in an emergency) and use the envelopes, so much easier than cutting my own envies...
thats all i can think of for now, will get back to you later
-laura s
oh, and my best advice if joining a swap- put your best foot foward. It doesn't matter if it's your first swap or your millionth, make sure things are clean and neat... no glue globs, smudged stamped images, or cheap, flimsy construction, like a card made of really thin paper.
Follow the rules of the swap to a 'T'. When I want to join a swap, I ask a hundred questions first, so i know what i am getting myself in to.
Package your swap in a bunch of Ziploc baggies, use whatever bubble wrap or tissue paper or newspaper to get it to the hostess safely. Please remember postage.
Swaps are tons of fun, and there is a swap for everything... stamped images, cards, scrapbook pages... so just browse and see what you'd like before you join. Warning- swaps are addictive!
Not sure if this belongs here, but what does it mean when someone posts "subbing" in a forum? Thanks
It means they are "subscribing" to that forum so they will be notified of any future posts to that thread.
Another way to do this is to go to the gray bar just above the top post on the page where it says "Thread Tools." Hover over that and there will be a dropdown. One of the options is to subscribe to the thread there.
If you want to unsubscribe from any thread, go to the thread, Thread Tools, and then hit "unsubscribe."
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
Another way to do this is to go to the gray bar just above the top post on the page where it says "Thread Tools." Hover over that and there will be a dropdown. One of the options is to subscribe to the thread there.
One of the benefits of going to the "Thread Tools" to subscribe is you don't bog down a thread with unnecessary "subbings."
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
