13.12.2009 06:44:34

Amy

I just wanted to let everyone know that the design team over at Scrapbook News and Review has done some terrific work on their product review of Alluring Impressions.

If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out!

 

I hope you all are having a terrific Holiday Season and spending time with your loved ones, and taking time away from the hustle and bustle to remember those things that are most important to you!

22.12.2008 09:51:00

Amy

I have been stamping for over 15 years. I am also an obsessive collector of things. Combining the two, I have accumulated quite a pile of supplies, accessories, and things I "had to have". Lots of the things have either sat unused, found new homes, or had to be thrown out as they went bad before I got around to using them. I am all for trying new things, that helps my creative process! But some people who may be overwhelmed with all of the choices we as stampers, scrapbookers, collage artists, and papercrafters have to choose from.

I would like to share some of my "must have" supplies to have a well stocked studio.

Paper

• Quality cardstock in various colors and textures. Be sure to buy quality cardstock that is heavy enough for your projects.
• (I have learned that I personally prefer not to use the lighter text weight printed background papers that are out there. You can make background pages on your own for less cost and more fun!)
• If you are using your paper for photos, make sure to purchase archival, acid free paper.

Ink pads

• Ink pads in a variety of colors essential supplies for the papercrafter. If I had to choose just one brand of ink pads, hands down it would be Tim Holtz's Distress pads. The water based pads come in beautiful colors, and are fade resistant. They can be used for photo tinting, vintage distressing, color layering, and so much more (Check out Tim's blog to see the magical things you can do with these pads!)

Acrylic Paints

• I prefer to use acrylic paints by Golden Artist colors. The fluid acrylics in the plastic bottles are a little lighter than the tubes, but you can mix the paint in the tubes with a bit of water.

Brushes

• There are many uses for brushes in the studio. I have an assortment of both round and flat brushes. These can be found in kits at your local craft store. I buy low end brushes because I do not care for them like I should and if I don't pay too much for them, I don't feel bad if I need to throw them away!
• Besides paint brushes, I keep a bunch of small 1" foam brushes (again, your local craft store, or hardware store) Foam brushes are great for bookbinding projects - spreading glue, and also for spreading gesso or paint over a large area.
• Stipple Brushes are one of the most fun supplies I have! You can ad great effects with them to your work. One size is fne, just start working light colors first, and make sure to clean your brush well after you are finshed!

Gesso

• Gesso is used to prime your work surface before painting. It gives the surface "some tooth" for you paint to adhere to. Gesso is also used in many techiques for creatin texture and backgrounds.

Adhesive

• There are several different types of adhesive to keep handy depending on your use. First of all, for my paper layering, I use 3M's Adhesive Transfer Gun. It is an application system for double sided adhesive. I love it!
• I like to keep some narrow blue painter's tape handy for masking, holding stencils down, and other things that require temporary tape. The gentle adhesive keeps the paper from being damaged when you pull it off.

Glue

• My all time favorite glue is Club Scrap's Bookbinding, Padding, and Laminating Adhesive. The adhesive dries quick, clear, and flexible. It works great for not only bookbinding and covering, but also dries clear for gluing beads, glitter, and embellishments.
• For heavier items I keep a tube of E6000 Craft Adhesive. This stuff bonds great!!!

Markers

• My favorite Markers are Faber Castell Pit Pens. They are brush tip markers made with India Ink, so you get a bright, vibrant color that resists fading. They even have them available in Metallics! You can find them at fine art stores.
• Another must have at my workspace is Ultra fine point Sharpie markers. They come in a rainbow of clors, and come in handy for writing in cards, filling in small areas, etc.

Colored Pencils

• I can't live without my Prismacolor Pencils! The lead is so soft, they blend beautifully and can be purchased in as many as 132 colors!

Non-Stick Craft Sheet

• Nothing sticks to it! The slick, non-porous material withstands high temperatures from melted beeswax, hot glue, embossin, etc. It is a great way to protect your work surface!

Cutting tools

• I prefer Tonic brand trimmers the large base 12x12 is my favorite. If you travel frequently, you may want a smaller base - but make sure you get one with an arm so you can measure up to 12"
• I would never, ever give up my Tonic scissors! They are super sharp, and they cut throuh rubber and cling foam like nothing. After cutting hundreds of stamps, my scissors still cut paper just as clean as when they were brand new. They are a little more expensive than other brands, but the quality is well worth it (and if you ever need to, you can get them sharpened!)

Bone Folder

• Also called Paper Creasers for burnishing handmade book covers, making sharp creases and clean folds.

Grid ruler

• A see through acrlic grid ruler (can be found by the quilting supplies in your local craft store) is invaluable for measuring and placing oblects on your art. If you can get one with a centering ruler and a metal edge on one side that would be best. If you work with 12x12 papers, I would recommend getting one no shorter than 13".

And, of course, don't forget Rubber Stamps!

• Alluring Impressions has over 650 different unmounted rubber stamp sheets. Our unique images are designed by more than 9 different artists for all of your papercrafting needs. We also provide rubber stamp mounting supplies, and have a custom order accessory program for your supply needs.

22.12.2008 04:38:00

Amy

copyright Amy Erickson 2008

I made this card for my grandmother who just found out last month that she has breast cancer. Grandma is very strong, and vows she is going to live to be 94 (she will be 81 in January). I am sure she will be around for a long time!

The card uses Club Scrap paper from Simply beautiful. I stamped the Breast Cancer ribbon (from Awareness Z-084) in Adirondack Raspberry. After the ink dried, I covered the entire Ribbon in Glossy Accents, and placed the red heart embellishment in the wet Glossy Accents. I set the layer aside to dry overnight (this is always the hard part for me!).

Some of my favorite ways to dress up a card are fibers (I have 3 large bins of them, and two more of ribbon!), and eyelets or brads! They certainly help to dress up a card and add interest. The other thing I like to do (besides use multiple paper layers!), is to ink the edges of my paper layers. It just adds interest and depth.

The inside of the card is stamped with the saying (also from the same stamp set):
What Cancer Cannot Do
Cancer is so limited ..
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit - Author Unknown

Grandma loved her card and called me to thank me for thinking of her!

20.12.2008 19:51:00

Amy

Believe copyright 2008 Amy Erickson

This card started out as a puddle of alcohol inks on my craft sheet. Using 3 or 4 alcohol ink colors (be sure to include a metallic mixative!) Splash a small amount of alcohol blending solution into your puddle. Take pieces of glossy cardstock and smoosh and swirl into your puddle of ink. You can use more blending solution to re-wet the leftover ink and continue to make more backgrounds (Tim Holtz has a great step by step tutorial on his blog on this).

Once the glossy alcohol ink background was dry, I stamped the angel (Y-M302)in black and embossed her in detail black (even though I used detail EP, I lost most of the detail in the stamp - it is just the nature of pigment inks and embossing powder). I took the word believe (X-JP62) and also embossed that in black.

I layered the Angel panel onto the black, and used my setter to punch holes for the brads. I always place my brads on the layers, rather than the card so the back is covered by paper.

I distressed the edges of the teal cardstock woth my Palette Noir pad. I added a narrow strip of black paper left over from my layer, and glued three prima flowers to the center of it. In the center of

15.12.2008 00:23:00

Amy

Peace on Earth copyright 2008 Amy Erickson

Just like my "believe card", these cards also started out as a puddle of alcohol inks on my craft sheet. Using 3 or 4 alcohol ink colors (be sure to include a metallic mixative!) Splash a small amount of alcohol blending solution into your puddle. Take pieces of glossy cardstock and smoosh and swirl into your puddle of ink. You can use more blending solution to re-wet the leftover ink and continue to make more backgrounds (Tim Holtz has a great step by step tutorial on his blog on this).

Once the glossy alcohol ink background was dry, I stamped the treeline (Y-70)in black and embossed in detail black. I took the word peace (X-JP62) and also embossed that in black.

I then took my speckle brush with white paint and lightly speckled the tree panel to look like snow. I stamped the bird (P-V167)onto black cardstock and embossed with detail silver (again, remember to use the static bag or an old dryer sheet before using the detail powders). I cut the bird out.

I layered the tree panel onto the black, and then onto the card base. Once the card was assembled, I glued the ribbon down, and placed the bird on top. Again, a very appropriate Christmas card, but the stamps are all usable for projects other than Christmas.