Thinking Inking

My New Die Storage Solution!

I've been in a cleaning and sorting mode lately--not because I really wanted to be, but because the stacks of *STUFF* in my studio were sapping every ounce of creativity and making me want to go read a book instead of working. Have you ever been there? One of the areas that was really getting out of control was the sheer number of dies that I have. Let's see. . . about twelve years of this hobby, with at least eight of that being a job, and I can tell you that it all starts to add up! See the drawer above? That is after I took about ten die template sets out. I have several drawers this full of dies--some current, some retired, some not even labeled with the actual name of the die set. I know, I know--BAD me. Gulp. . .

The morning that we headed to the airport from CHA, my sweet friend Taylor (Taylored Expressions) handed me a three-pack of her new Magnetic Binder Box Inserts to try when I got home. Oh. My. Goodness--I loved them! I promptly ordered a number of them that I can't won't admit to, and that probably won't be enough. Oh yeah--they have really helped with my die storage issues.

Now I had tried a couple of solutions in the past; one was ordering magnetic sheets and then making them into a spiral bound book. Unfortunately, I didn't take time to BACK the self-adhesive magnetic sheets with a really thick piece of chipboard, so the pages bend much too easily when I turn pages, and the dies then pop off. Yes, I can still go back and add chipboard to make my homemade spiral magnetic book be more usable, but it definitely wasn't the best solution for me. (My binder punch wouldn't handle the thickness of the magnetic sheet plus a thick piece of chipboard.)

These are Taylor's Magnetic Binder Box Inserts. Pretty sweet, hey? I can use Taylor's Magnetic Binder Box Inserts with ANY of the thin dies that I typically use, and at 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", each sheet hold several dies!  And these pages are stiff enough that I haven't had a problem with the dies popping off.

Now Taylor also has the Binder Boxes that will hold several sheets of dies. I have so many dies though. . . Don't even ask how many, because I don't know. I think I have maybe a third of them on sheets now. Anyway, that's the reason that I am currently storing my Magnetic Binder Box Inserts in an Iris container instead of in binder boxes. I pull out the entire sheet when I am using a die that lives on that sheet, and I don't put the sheet back in the box until all of the dies are back on it. I can flip through them, Roladex style too. I like it. A lot.

Disclaimer: Just in case you are wondering, this was a totally unsolicited post. Taylor gave me my first pack, but I have purchased many, many packs since then. I'm a happy customer. :-} Evidently I'm not the only happy one--you can see that from THIS Splitcoaststampers product focus that recently came out. And unlike me, it tells you about using the backs of the sheets too. Hey, I'll be happy if I can just organize the FRONTS! Thanks for visiting.

Spellbinders Sneak Peek and Giveaway Day Four

This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you for entering; Spellbinders will chose and post winners on the Spellbinders Blog.

Welcome to day four of the Spellbinders Sneak Peek and Giveaway! I am excited to be showcasing some fabulous new toys, including Labels Twenty Nine and the Harlequin M-Bossabilities.

Supply List

S5-156 Labels Twenty Nine, ES-013 Harlequin M-Bossabilities™,  A-2 Fancy Postage Stamps, and Spellbinders™ Grand Calibur® Die Cutting Machine 

Stamps: Lenten Rose (Flourishes)

Ink: Memento Espresso Truffle (Tsukineko), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Vintage Cream (PTI)

Cardstock: Cream (Flourishes), Sweet Blush (PTI)

Patterned Paper: The Sweetest Thing 6" x 6" pad (My Mind's Eye)

Markers: 0, C0, C1, C3, G000, G000, BG10, YG61, YG63, YG67, RV00, RV32. RV34, YG00, YG03

Tools: Teflon folder, embossing stylus

Accessories: Hug Snug Oatmeal Seam Binding, dyed with Copic R93 and E41 reinkers, cream vintage button, cotton crochet thread, foam tape

Emboss pink cardstock with the Harlequin M-Bossabilties folder, then cut and emboss texturized cardstock with the Labels Twenty Nine (4) die template. (Tip: I texturize my cardstock before cutting, but if I see that my texture is lessened by die-cutting and embossing, I sometimes re-emboss after cutting. It is simple to lay the cardstock piece back into the same grooves if you need to enhance the texture a second time.)

Using a cream-colored pigment pad, highight embossed cardstock with the cream ink. After cream ink is dry, lightly distress cardstock edges with distress ink.

Stamp lenten rose image on cream cardstock with Espresso Truffle ink. Usually a stamped image fits within the confines of die template's inside perimeter; when you want part of an image to extend past the die template edge, you need to add an extra step to prevent the blade from cutting in that area. As you can see above, I have part of the flower image that extends past my die template. I cut two or three extra pieces of cardstock exactly the length of the cut that I want to prevent and insert them under the die template. as shown above. I also usually hinge-tape the die template to prevent slippage. Finally, when I am "fussy-cutting" with a die template, I cut before I color my image, just in case I mess up a cut.

Shown above is my cut. Notice that the aqua shim piece is cut, but that it protected the surface beneath it. I did have some indentions afterward, but I used a Teflon folder to rub them mostly out. (Rubbing with a Teflon folder will not make a shiny spot on cardstock, but rubbing with a bone folder will make a shiny spot.)

Here is the back side of my cut focal image. Rather than embossing with my Grand Calibur and embossing mat, I hand-emboss a "fussy-cut" with an embossing stylus to avoid embossing the edge that extends past the die template.

Next, hand-cut the extending part of the image and then color the image. (All Copic markers that I used are listed at the top in the supply list.)

From the patterned paper, cut a mat layer for the focal image using the Labels Twenty Nine (5) die template. Leave the paper in the die template and airbrush inside the die template with a Copic RV34 marker and airbrush system.  Stamp sentiment in Espresso Truffle ink, die-cut, and emboss with the A-2 Fancy Postage Stamps label die. Lightly distress the edges of the patterned layer, the focal image layer, and the sentiment label with distress ink.

Cut card base with labels Twenty Nine die template. Tip: To cut a hinged card base, simply slide the die template up on the scored, folded cardstock base so that either the top or side fold is INSIDE the die template perimeter and does not get cut, as shown above.

This is what the top will look like. When you mount your card front, it will stick up above the fold--easy!

Assemble card with foam tape and embellish with button and ribbon.

For my second project, I wanted to step out of my card-comfort zone just a bit. I am NOT a packaging person, admittedly, but I wanted to give a package and gift card ensemble a try using both the Labels Twenty Nine and Harlequin M-Bossabilities. Sometimes it's fun to step outside of your comfort zone! This gift card and package set uses a couple of JustRite Papercrafts stamp sets (Good Friends Labels Twenty Nine and Special Gifts Labels Twenty Nine), paired with some Authentique Lovely 6" x 6" paper. Basically, I created a cardstock bag, covered it on the front and back with my Harlequin M-Bossibilities texture pattern, made a topper, and created a tag with Labels Twenty Nine. My card base is also made from Labels Twenty-Nine. 

Ready to enter? Then be sure to follow the link below! While I truly appreciate comments, commenting on this post will NOT enter you into the Spellbinders Giveaway.  Follow the link below that says"Click here to enter and WIN!" Thanks!

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Click HERE for official giveaway rules.

***(Entry is Now CLOSED)***

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Would you like to see some more great new tools?
Then be sure to check out both
Becky Fleck's and Beate Johns' blogs today!

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Questions? contestquestions@spellbinders.us

No entries will be accepted at this email address.

This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you for entering; Spellbinders will chose and post winners on the Spellbinders Blog.

Joy Banner

Welcome! I have another Christmas card to share with you tonight, this one made with a couple of JustRite Stampers clear sets, Market Place Clear Alphabet for the letters in JOY, and O Christmas Tree for the banners. Yes, they are Christmas trees, turned upside down. . . Ink colors for the banners and letters were Versamagic Tea Leaves and Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy. Papers are from a Melissa Frances Deck the Halls 6" x 6" paper pad.

I zig-zag stitched a string on top of the banners to hold them together, as well as stitching around the outside of the patterned paper. I used several Spellbinders Paper Arts die templates: Nested Pennants, Nested Lacey Pennants, Blossom Three, Standard Circles Large, and Standard Circles Small.  I dyed some off white seam binding with Copic Various Inks YG95 and YG63. I was out of Taupe pearl flourishes, so I airbrushed a white pearl flourish (Zva Creative) with Copic E35. One more Christmas card--DONE!

Tool Tidbits

I wanted to share one more thing with you in case you missed the tool focus article on Splitcoaststampers today. You can read more about the Light Beam Slim Light here. I've had a chance to try one of these for about three weeks now, and I absolutely love it! It's a cool (literally and figuratively) LED light strip; the 12" version uses only 3 watts of power, but is quite bright. In fact, I like it enough that we are planning to put them under our kitchen cabinets as well as in two more places in my studio. You can see how much it lights up my trimmer area below.

This is how my cutting area looked before the Slim Light, and that's with nine daylight fluorescent tubes in my studio! I did not adjust the brightness on the photo--what you see is what it is.

And here is the AFTER my 12" Light Beam Slim Light view--again, no retouching on light levels in either photo. I can actually SEE what I'm trimming now. That's why I'm ordering more. Thanks for stopping by!

May We Be Truly Thankful

"For these and other blessings, may we be truly thankful."

Welcome! I hope that you are having a great day, and for my American friends, that includes a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends. We will be enjoying Thanksgiving with a brother-in-law and sister-in-law this year, so I needed a Thanksgiving thank you note. I used several JustRite Stampers sets: Musical Notes Labels Twenty for that eggplant-colored frame, Lace Borders stamped in cream pigment ink, background stamps from Fleur de Lis Labels Twenty and Musical Notes Labels Twenty stamped in Adirondack Latte, and a focal image from Autumn Labels Twenty-Two stamped with an old Kaleidecolor pad. I love that I can pull out so many sets and have them work together!

I also used several Spellbinders dies, including Labels Twenty, Labels Twenty-Two, and Twisted Metal Tags and Accents. I used a Copic YG95 and Copic Airbrush System to airbrush the green on the inside of the little flourishes. 

How about that stitching? Yes, here's a second installment of Tool Tidbits. My old sewing machine was only four or five years old, but it was a reconditioned one when I got it and pretty inexpensive. It's been getting louder and more temperamental for a while, and a couple of weeks ago it decided to stop zig-zag stitching. Then when it broke five needles in two days, I'd had enough. . .  I looked at several machines online, and finally decided on this Brother CS6000i from Amazon. I considered a more expensive one that had cool embroidery features; but, honestly, this one does as much as I have time to do anyway. So far I love it! It's quiet and doesn't break needles. Having so many pretty stitches doesn't hurt either. :-D

That's it for today. Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for stopping by!

Ornament Trio and Tool Tidbits

Welcome! I've been playing with a couple of new stamp sets--love these! I don't often order stamps, simply because I have more than I have time to play with already. Once in a while though, I see a set that I just plain need--at least I think I do! When I saw the Nordic Winter and Holiday Ornaments sets from Waltzingmouse Stamps, they reminded me of my niece's sweaters, a perfect and sweet Christmas pattern.

The background set, Nordic Winter, is a great building set--long acrylic stamp strips that you can either repeat or alternate to build your own desired pattern. I didn't plan ahead on this; I merely stamped several different strips, then used my Genesis Trimmer with an edge light to cut them apart. Now, I don't usually explain my tools; but since Christmas is coming, I thought I would share some of my favorite tools, just in case you find yourself in need of something similar. (I'm starting a new post category called Tool Tidbits.)

I have several trimmers, each for different jobs. But the one that I use the most is my Genesis Trimmer that I purchased a few months back from Bonnie's Best Art Tools. If you like to cut stacks of cardstock at one time, this is probably not the tool for the job. However, if you generally cut one piece of cardstock at a time but want it cut perfectly, this might be just the tool for you. I don't use the edge light all of the time, but when I need to see through something, it comes in quite handy. Patterned papers, stamped papers, lighter colored cardstocks, or lighter weight cardstocks--the edge light shines through those. Darker, heavier cardstocks--not so much. FYI, I do not work for Bonnie; I just like her trimmer!

After I cut my strips apart, I arranged and rearranged them until I was happy with them, then lightly tacked them to red cardstock so that I could stitch the seams between patterns. Speaking of stitching, my old sewing machine died last week and I bought a new one. I'll tell you about it another day after I get more accustomed to using it.

The ornaments in the Holiday Ornaments set coordinate with the Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornament die template set, which makes it super simple to get a perfect cut on those ornaments! I used metallic string (purchased from Stampin' Up several years ago) to "hang" each ornament, mounting them on foam tape. I used Copic Various inks in R29 and R37 to dye my white seam binding to coordinate with the Pure Poppy ink that I had stamped with. So, that's it--one Nordic sweater card, done! Thanks for stopping by.