Fun with distress inks and stamps

I've always been quite a clean crafter, ie minimal stamping and just colouring with my Spectrum Noirs, however I always wanted to get some distress inks and after buying some in America I seem to be using them a lot around the edges of my card layers. A few weeks ago I found myself bored in the study and just started playing with a brayer, distress inks and some stamps and made the below which are very different to my normal style but loved how they turned out. The oriental stamps were a free gift with a stamping magazine and the 'home' stamps were from the Kirstie Allsopp range at Hobbycraft

Using stamps from the Kirstie Allsopp range at Hobbycraft

Stamps, stamps and a few more stamps!

I apologise for the lack of blogging! I've been doing a lot of crafting but forget to take photos of it and post. 

Recently I brought a huge bundle of unmounted stamps as I'd been wanting more for my card making and always stick to the same kind of thing. When I got the stamps I wasn't sure exactly what designs I'd be getting as the picture was just showing a mound of rubber. I was so excited when I got them to find out what designs were in there and I was so pleased. There were different themed designs including Christmasy ones and lots of cool characters. 

I then had to set about cutting the stamps to shape and finding out how on earth you mount rubber stamps. I won a Mulberry Wood stamp from Crafters Companion last year and they suggested either using EZ Mount or Stick and Spray but I ended up using some doublesided tape on the stamp I won (which didn't work well). This time I wanted to do it properly so brought Stick and Spray and some Crafters Companion Rock-a-Blocks. Rock-a-Blocks for those who don't know, are slightly curved stamp mounts you can use instead of normal acrylic blocks. The rocking motion means that you could get a perfect image every time. 

 

Stick and Spray is a re-positionable adhesive spray.

You need to put the stamp (or what ever you want to make tacky) onto some scrap paper, shake the can then spray on the back of the spray. DO NOT spray it on the etched side of the stamp, ie the design.......yes I got a bit tired of stamping, didn't think and sprayed the wrong side! Luckily it washed off. You then need to wait 30 seconds until the adhesive stops being wet and is tacky.

Then you just need to attach your stamp to the block! Ta-da! Then just tap the ink onto the stamp (making sure you don't get it on the ink on the side of the block then it's ready to use!

 What I didn't realise is that the tackiness of the Stick and Spray stays on the stamp and it can be repositioned up to 50 times! So for storing my stamp I stuck my stamps onto plastic packaging and acetate, ready to use the stamps again when needed.

I really like using the rubber stamps as they don't stretch or squish like the see-through stamps you get. I also love the Stick and Spray so much I think I'll get the permanent one, Stick and Stay, for when I have thin diecuts to stick, especially at Christmas.

Promarkers v Spectrum Noir

As you'll see from my previous blog entry, I won a set of Spectrum Noir pens. I'm usually a Promarker user but being fairly new to crafting I only have two sets of Promarkers (stamp colouring sets) and before receiving these Spectrum Noir pens I had out two sets of Promarkers on my Amazon wish list for Christmas...I'll let you know if that changed at the end of this post.

The reason I brought Promarkers originally was because they were always on TV and in craft magazines, I thought they were the only pens around for crafting having not heard of Spectrum Noir pens. When I started crafting I brought pens, stamps and an in pad....a Stazon ink pad, little dd I know you should use a water based one if your colouring in using Promarkers as if not the two permanent inks fight with each other.

My colouring style is mostly block colouring, I've not really tried shading but when I have I've just gone over with the same Promarker again and darkened the colour.

Things I like about the Promarkers:
Ease of getting the right nib without looking (thin nib lid is a bullet shape and the chisel nib lid is flat at the end)
Easy of finding the colour when in a case of box as the colour is down the side.
The lids having a bit jutting out so your pens don't roll off the table.

I saw the Spectrum Noir pens on one of the Crafters Companion shows as though they look expensive and complicated. It was only after winning as try out the cool greys I've figured them out and demos now make more sense. I also love colouring and want to get the accreditation from Spectrum Noir when I get more pens and better at shading and graduation.

Spectrum Noir pens are numbered in their groups and the higher the number the darker the shade. Mine are IG1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. IG standing for Icey Grey I believe. This makes it easier or shading and graduation. Using the rule of thirds you colour the whole area in a light colour, two thirds in a darker shade and one third in an even darker shade then you blend the really dark shade into the medium shade with the medium colour you used, then use the light colour to shade the medium colour into the light colour. Sara Davies explained it much better on TV but hopefully you get my point.

One thing I didn't like about the Spectrum Noir pens, which has now been resolved, was that I kept opening the wrong end since both the fine and broad end have the same lids and I have having to look on the pen each time for the images showing each end.... However I just realised that the casing on the fine nib is grey and the broad nib casing is black so you can see a fine grey line round pen where it meets the cap on the fine end! This makes it far easier now I've realised!

Another great thing about Spectrum Noir (which I don't know if you can with Promarkers) is that you can but ink to refill your spectrum noirs with and each bottle of refill will last for 10 refills which is handy if there is a colour you always use!

Having now used both pens a few times, although I only have grey tones in the Spectrum Noirs, I think I prefer the Spectrum Noirs and quickly popped onto Amazon and changed my Christmas list, removing the Promarkers and adding Spectrum Noirs! I will still use my Promarkers but as a system Spectrum Noir seem much better in my opinion.

What do you think? What's your favourite?

A different Christmas Card

Good Morning!

I'm writing this while blasting my hair dry and suffering with a sore throat!

Last week I retweeted a tweet I saw Sara Davis (of Crafters Companion) retweet as part of national papercrafting day (I think, if I remember rightly). It was tweeted by Spectrum Noir, so I followed them. I've never used their pens before as I've always used Promarkers, but was interested about Spectrum Noir pens)

While at work the next day, after finding out our jobs are going (but there are others we can apply for, phew!) I got a message saying I'd won the prize from Spectrum Noir! The prize consisted on a Mulberry Woods stamp (a lovely Christmas panda scene) a ack of cool grey pens and some card. I thought the card was only a small pack but turned out to be A4 sheets!

I love the stamp as it is a bit different and my friend Annie loves pandas so I'm sure she will love her Christmas card I make. The only thing I didn't like about the stamp was the horrible rubber smell and also u had to find out how to attach it to my acrylic block to use it (I used some see-ds cling stickers which worked for a short while but need some crafters companion spray mount apparently)

Last night I had an evening in the craft room what my husband was out at a stag do (only until 10.30 though..he came back earlier than he thought).

I made this card below using the prize, some Promarkers (for the other colours that weren't grey) and the coordinations card from craft inspirations magazine.

I love this card!

I will post soon about my thoughts on Promarkers versus Spectrum Noir pens

Happy Sunday!

Oh dear! Goodbye injured stamp :(

I was looking through my stamps earlier to make some room and found that two stamps had merged! Luckily they were two free gift stamps but I did like the Easter egg stamp. The stamp which melted into the egg stamp was part of a stamp set from a magazine and I really liked the stamp designs (mice and sewing things) but when I got them home found they were really floppy and jelly like. When I used them they were uneven and as they were so soft if you put pressure on them they squished the image and they were impossible to clean. I kept them on their protective sheet in my stamp box but they didn't cling and were forever falling out, hense why I found it merged into the egg stamp.

At least I made more room in my stamp box for the Christmas bauble stamps I ordered! Plus I did read the instructions on my See-Ds stamps and found out the yellow sponge thing in one of the sets wasn't packaging but....a stamping mat and now the stamps come out so much better!

The damaged Easter egg stamp (on the stamping mat I found!)

A stamp from the jelly like free stamp collection that attached the Easter egg stamp (they were clear but the ink couldn't even come off them)

The jelly like stamp from the side (See how mis-shaped it is.... thats how they were as soon as you took them off the sheet!)

Had a lovely surprise this morning

My husband came back from the sorting office with a few parcels for me, one of them I though was maybe some things to test from BuzzAgent but it was full of craft goodies! I'd won a competition from Cardmaking & Papercrafting Magazine!

I received a load of The London Line goodies:

• 8 x 8 Designer Paper pack (half glittered) - full of flowers, cakes, union jacks, umbrella and butterflies
• 8 x 8 glittered pyramid decoupage full of animals doing sports, with presents or with a beefeater
• 2 packs of glitter stickers
• 2 clear stamps
• 3 lots of craft twine

So much stuff... What to make first!

The packaging is lovely, especially the paper packs and decoupage pack as it shows exactly what you get including the glitter! These a lovely girly pictures and they have a few hedgehogs in hehe!

Better order more silicone glue and bigger acrylic blocks!