Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

Mount: The base the die and cushion are placed onto.

· This type of stamp is sold as the die only or the rubber only, with no cushion or mount. It is usually purchased as a sheet of several images, although you can purchase single images.

· Unmounted (Un-mounted) rubber is often referred to as UM, UMs or Ums in text, design instructions, and magazine articles. Serious rubberstampers like to invest in this form of stamps because they are less expensive, take less storage space, and helps broaden the stamper’s image inventory.

· Most unmounted images are made of rubber. Rubber allows for long life and excellent detail. Rubber images can be large in size and highly lined and shaded. When stamping with larger images, stand and press down evenly across the entire image without rocking or moving the stamp.

· Mounts can be made of almost anything from wood to PVC to a domino; anything that will firmly hold up while the image is stamped. Mounts can be purchased or handmade.

· Since unmounted rubber images are often sold by the sheet, you will have to trim the images. Trim as close as you can with very sharp scissors or a sharp blade. Take your time and you’ll end up with a nicely trimmed image.

· You have to mount the rubber image to use it. You need a cushion, a mount, and temporary adhesive. You mount the die or rubber to the cushion with a temporary or permanent adhesive, and then mount the cushion to the mount with a temporary adhesive. When done, you’ll remove the die/cushion, clean the die and store the die/cushion until its next use. If the mount gets inked, clean it also to prevent unwanted transfer of ink to your next project.

· The cushion is an important aspect of the unmounted stamp. To get a clean, crisp image you need a cushion between the rubber die and the hard mount. Although you can stamp without a cushion, the image is much more difficult to achieve and often is smudge rather than crisp.

· Unmounted rubber images need to be stored dry, flat, and out of any sunlight or extreme heat or cold. The temporary adhesive on the back of the cushion will hold the image onto a sheet of clear plastic or a page protector.

· It’s best to use very thin wood embellishments in scrapbooking, cardmaking, and paper arts. Thick wood pieces may end up damaging other pages.

· If you want a touch of wood, try wood papers. They are very thin and can be cut or punched. In the long run it’s a very cost effective way to add a unique touch.

· You can get the effect of epoxy by using clear liquid laminates. Just squeeze the liquid laminate onto the surface slowly so it stays a raised puddle.

· Store any epoxy embellishments with protection for the top so it doesn’t get scratched. Scratches can dull the shiny, see-through quality of the epoxy.

· Even though an embellishment may be self-adhesive, better safe than sorry, so dab a little liquid glue onto the back before placement.

· Protect plastics with page protectors because just like epoxy, the surface can scratch and dull easily.

· Clear shrink plastic or craft plastic can be used for windows and shaker cards.

· If you don’t want metal to rust or tarnish, protect the entire surface with a spray sealer or finish (such as Krylon Crystal Coat) for long term protection.

· Just like wood, make sure all metal edges are smooth. Fine sanding paper or an emery board will smooth rough edges.

· When working with metal, use metal tools (wire cutters, snippers) not your paper tools.

· Sheet metals, also called foils can be cut or punched. Be very careful, however, because the edges can be razor sharp.

· Scoring Blade: Personal Trimmer, Rotary Cutter, or craft knife

· Folding Bone

Step by Step

1. Scoring and folding is done for pockets, flaps, card blanks, tea bag folding, origami, and other paper art forms.

2. Before scoring and folding, wash your hands and dry them thoroughly.  Make sure your folding bone is clean. You can fold with your hands, but a folding bones makes a crisper fold especially for making a card blank, tea bag folding and origami.

3. Scoring is done by lightly cutting the paper surface with a craft knife or a scoring blade of a personal trimmer or rotary cutter. You want a dull blade to score. If not using a personal trimmer, make sure you have straightedge or ruler to help guide you and keep your score line straight.

4. Keep with the score line and fold along this score line gently with your hands.

5. Using the folding bone, press down firmly on the fold and slide the bone across the fold. Repeat if needed (cardstock or heavy weight papers).

Tips

· Scoring before folding helps prevent crinkles, cracks, and crooked folds.  Paper does have a grain and it’s best to work with the grain than against it. To find the grain tear the paper vertically and horizontally. The smoother, straighter tear is running with the grain.

· A downward fold is called a Mountain Fold while an upward fold (makes a V) is called a Valley fold.

· A score should be wider and deeper than the thickness of the paper being scored. Perforating can also be used as a form of scoring.

· Scoring is a must for all coated papers. Simple folding will crack the surface leaving a messy finish.

· Scoring and folding should be done before any embellishing is done.

· Burnisher: bone, old toothbrush, craft stick.

Step by Step

Liquid Foiling Adhesive

1. All liquid foiling adhesive vary in instruction so read the labeling very carefully. Some adhesives must dry until tacky while other say dry until milky clear. You will apply the adhesive either in a thin coat covering an entire surface or apply in lines for a design.

2. Once adhesive is set to label instruction, lay the lay the foil or leafing with the dull side down on top of surface as smoothly as possible.

3. Burnish or firmly rub over the foil or leafing to adhere it to the adhesive. Foil has a thin clear backing while leafing is just the raw material.

4. If using foil, lift the clear film backing and make sure you’ve rubbed the foil onto all the surface. If not, place back down and continue to burnish.

5. If using lines of adhesive, just cover the lines and burnish. Lines are best burnished with an old toothbrush so you can get into nooks and crannies.

Foiling/Glue Inkpad

1. This technique uses a rubber stamp. Ink stamp with foiling inkpad and stamp image. Clean stamp immediately.

2. Heat foil glue with heat tool.

3. Press down foil and burnish.

Foiling Heat Tool

1. Usually a pen like tool that heats up by batteries.

2. Foil is placed down onto surface and you use the foiling heat tool by lightly pressing down. Dull side down and apply foiling heat tool to the shiny topside of foil.

Mount: The base the die and cushion are placed onto.

· Foam stamps are made of an absorbent material that soaks up some of the ink or paint (liquid forms of color) for stamping an image.

· Foam stamps vary in absorption. Some are very dense absorbing very little while others are more porous absorbing more liquid than you might think!  Practice with your foam stamps before using on your project. The more absorbent the foam stamp the better off you are using paint as your color.

· Foam stamps are the least expensive of all stamps. Perfect for the beginner who isn’t sure yet if he or she wants to make an investment in stamping. The images are usually bold, solid, and very simple. Foam stamps are also excellent for children. Foam stamps are best for bold images or patterns, not detailed or line images.

· Some inks and paints can stain the foam. This will not hurt the stamp unless the stain is really excess ink or paint that wasn’t removed during cleaning. If excess paint or ink remains in the foam, the foam will harden and no longer absorb color for stamping. Make sure you clean foam stamps immediately after each use.

· It’s best to brush or dab on the ink or paint rather than dip the stamp into the liquid. Tap the inked image on a paper towel to remove any excess liquid. You want the stamp image covered, not dripping.

· Press inked foam stamp to surface gently. You do not need to press down hard as you do with other types of stamps. If you press to hard, the excess ink or paint will spill out the side of the image and puddle.

· Like other types of stamping, get your placement figured out, lay the stamp down onto the surface and press gently. Do not rock or wiggle the stamp. Pull stamp straight up to remove.

· Since foam stamps are opaque, you may need a guide for placement. There are tools available to help with image placement or you can mark the surface softly with pencil.

· The real key to foam stamps is to not over-ink! Less is usually more with this type of material. The only way to really get a feel of a foam stamp is to practice, practice, and practice. You can brush on chalk or pastel for a very soft image. Remember that the chalk or pastel needs to be “set” with some type of spray sealer or over time the chalk will rub off.

· Most of us at least doodled as children so take a break from your everyday worries and be a kid again! Start by taking a sheet of cardstock and pen, relax and just daydream while drawing, scribbling, and doodling on the paper. Don’t think about it; just let your hand be your guide.

· As you get more comfortable with doodling, use a patterned or designed paper instead of a plain sheet of cardstock. Doodle around the design or patterns. Coordinate and contrast your writing instrument with the colors within the paper. Enhance the paper in front of you.

· You can also be organized in your doodles. It may seem contrary since doodle are supposed to be done without thought, but try planning out the your doodles. For a garden page, doodle flowers. For a 4th of July page doodle fireworks. For a birthday page, doodle presents or balloons.

· Doodles add a personal touch to a scrapbook page or other paper art. It’s your hand creating some interesting and embellishing “art work” to the page just like a written signature.

· Use a variety of writing and coloring tools. Mix up the colors. Draw lines, shapes, outlines, and solid blocks of color and texture.

A little doodle interpretation…

· Faces: The simple face is a motif from early childhood, with a genuine ’smiley’ suggesting a happy-go-lucky nature. A beautiful face can also indicate a sociable ‘people person’.

· Houses: Houses are regarded as representing the home life.

· Flowers: Doodles of flowers indicate a gentle personality, a love of nature, childlike innocence or wistfulness.

· Geometric Shapes: Regular patterns from geometric shapes tend to indicate an organized and efficient mind. Triangles suggest direction and sense of purpose.

· Circles: The circle appears in every culture as an archetypal form representative of the eternal whole. With no ending or beginning it also represents the universe.

· Games& Mazes: Game grids such as chess or checkers suggest a competitive nature and desire to win - or a love of the game!

· Hearts: You’re in love. Generally, hearts are drawn by people in love, but may also indicate a romantic disposition.

· Arrows: Arrows represent direction and ambition. Drawn aggressively, they represent a desire for action. Drawn in careful outline, they indicate a desire for progression or advancement, especially if pointing upwards.

· Boxes & Perspective Forms: Perspective drawing is quite an advanced stage in artistic development. 3-D boxes indicate an ordered mind and love of routine.