Crop & Create September 2022

azcrafty and @cardboxer. I attended the PinkFresh scrapbooking event and in terms of value of product, quality of teachers, and ideas, it was excellent. But there wasn't a lot of interaction with the instructors, if that is important to you. Each class was two hours long (live) and most of that time was instructional. Because of that, I feel like I could have just watched the replay videos at any time. The layouts that everyone is sharing in the FB group is very inspiring. Lots of good riffs on the original layouts.

I want to try a C&C event next. All the cards you all are showing is intimidating! There's so much!

I used a template for the Hooray! stamp too. I always create a template for mass stamping and just tuck it into the stamp pouch for later use.

For the birthday candles...I used a piece of post-it tape to create my line and free-hand stamped (yes, really!) the candles, lining the post-it tape with the grid pattern on my stamp block. They're not perfect, but unless you are me you wouldn't notice.

Yeah, but remember that you’re not expected to make all the cards during the event. Very few do. Some participants watch and interact and don’t make any at the event. All the videos are on youtube for at least a year, and the forum remains up too. Very recently a few people posted cards in the March forum and albums. Making a playlist of the videos on youtube keeps them handy in one spot. 

And thanks for the heads up about the PinkFresh events. Tempting but I’ll pass on future one-company events. I think. 

ETA Ignore the following question.

Did you click or tap on the sender’s email address to see the actual sender’s email? Sometimes it’s just a tiny difference. 

Is anyone who specifically did the CTMH projects with their provided sentiment stamps have a difficult time getting full impressions with them? I circled back to them this morning, as I was Super disappointed with them during class.

*** before we go any further, the stamps are well seasoned and I am using a stamping platform, so those don’t seem to be the issue. I also have 2 sheets of 110lb cardstock under the piece of paper I am stamping. The stamps came with a piece of foam which I threw away, not knowing that they recommend it for under the paper you stamp with their stamps***

I’m attaching a photo. Each color was stamped 3 times. And yes, there is a little bleed (aka some not perfect edges) because I ended up having to press pretty hard to get them to stamp. But let’s ignore that for now. What I’m wondering if you all were able to get really nice and not blotchy impressions. And if so, how many times did you have to stamp and re-stamp?

Thanks a bunch!

MichyM I will try mine this  weekend and report back.  What brand inks are you using? If it’s distress brand inks that might be the issue.

MichyM assuming the ink works well with other stamps, try a piece of fun foam on the platform under the cardstock.

If you’re using Tim's platform, it's very sturdy so the lid has less flex than others. So solid stamps in some parts of the platform may need extra help. Your “pressing really hard” and foam that was provided with the stamp points to that as a good possibility. A piece of kids' “fun foam” cut to cover the entire base can help. Michael’s, Amazon, etc. carry it.

Even high quality ink pads can have glitches when going through the manufacturing process, like not enough ink, dried out with a cover that wasn’t secure, etc., but guessing you’ve already tested the inks with a previously used stamp to rule out ink issues. 

ETA wrote the above when half asleep so edited it.

Well, I think it may be my platform (TH). I tried adding the 1/16” fun foam (the thinnest) and it’s too thick for the platform to close. So I went back to using 2 sheets of CS underneath with Versafine this time and stamped 3 times. The results are below 😖

I then changed to a stamping block with the foam under the paper and the results with one impression were much better. Not perfect, but better.

I really appreciate y’all troubleshooting this with me. Thank you!

I know there is a lot of dislike on this board for the Misti, but it's much better than the TH.

I was all like “yes!” When I read this, but alas. No. 

The one on the left was hand stamped once with the fun foam under the paper. The one on the right was stamped 3x in the platform, on the rubber side (thanks for that reminder) and the fun foam - and ick. I think it may be a combination of my stamping platform and maybe the stamp itself is a bit thinner than it should be. I like these sentiments a lot. Both what they say and the fonts used. There’s not a lot out there for guys that isn’t theme-y, KWIM? I know I can recreate them on the computer, but I’d prefer not to. 

If I did decide to try a Misti, do I need any of the Misti accoutrements?

OTOH, I so want to mention how much my stamping HAS improved since March, and much of it is due to you girls’ help; either sharing your knowledge or directing me where to go for more information. When I first started, I totally jumped into teeny tiny stamped words right away, like first thing, and of course I was ridiculously unsuccessful 😆 I’m going to also post a photo of a recent tiny sentiment. I’ve made about 20 of these or similar so far and almost all turned out nicely. If you haven’t tried Brutus Monroe embossing powders, I think they make a huge difference in my embossing. HUGE. And I heated these from the back as well. 

Wow, so sorry I got off track (I’ve been excited about embossing now that I kind of have the hang of it and wanted to share in case anyone else struggles as well, and holy cow I’m talkative today but anyhow…I always appreciate everyone’s willingness to help me out time and again ❤️ So thank you!

☹️ Photo - pretend all the fuzz isn’t there Left is by hand, right is on the platform


and 😁 small sentiment photo

Agree about bar magnets, and they can be less expensive on amazon or direct from a company. Mine are 3 x 1/2 x 1/4 I believe. (OT I bought 1/32 x 1/4 neodymium magnets for closures. The Paper Pixie recommended total element.com, and PAPERPIXIE coupon code should give 10% off.)

The pad that came with the misti works perfectly for me, though it’s it’s been a long time, so maybe they’ve changed it? And it came with a few pieces of graph paper. Copying a Jennifer McGuire tip/video, I laminated a sheet of it—or maybe it was from an office supply store—to wipe it off and use repeatedly.

Creative corners have been useful occasionally when wanting to stamp off cardstock. I haven’t used them much for other stamping techniques. With all the sticky type sheets/pads out there now so the cardstock doesn’t have to nestle in a misti corner or against a creative corner, I wonder if the expense is worth it. But I bought the misti for $5.00 at an LSS going out of business sale, so told myself the creative corners were okay to buy.