So Many Black Inks!

 Hello,
I wanted to take this opportunity and piggy back off of my last post regarding the many different inks and show you the differences among the 3 black inks that Stampin' Up! carries in their line, as each of the inks server a purpose.
First is the water-based dye ink, Memento® Tuxedo Black ink. This ink is formulated to work with alcohol coloring mediums such as Copic® Markers or Spectrum Noir®, however, it doesn’t work especially well with water-coloring as it does react to water and will smear, making for a bit of a messy piece as shown here:

Memento Ink

Using the Aqua-Painter

Adding Alcohol based Ink marker

Next is the Archival Basic Black® ink. This ink is also a water-based dye ink, however, it’s formulation makes it a permanent ink that does not react to water and therefore can be used for water-coloring and it will not smear and get messy, however, it does smear and react slightly with the alcohol inks. As you can see here in the photo, you could probably use the Archival ink with your alcohol based markers if you were careful to remain within the lines because as you see here, there is minimal smearing of the black color.

Archival Basic Black Ink

Water-color with Aqua-painter

Using Alcohol Markers

Last but certainly not least is Stazon® black ink. This is a permanent solvent based ink that can be used on non-porous material such as glass, plastic, acetate and tile just to name a few. It is water proof but does react to alcohol based inks, as you can see here, with the aqua-painter®, the color remains true while the Blendabilities® alcohol marker color blended with the black ink creating a much deeper shade of Daffodil Delight! Because of the solvent base to the Stazon®, you do need to use Stazon® cleaner to remove the ink from the stamp also, otherwise, you will permanently color/stain your stamps and you should never use Stazon® cleaner on your photopolymer stamps as the material used to make photopolymer stamps will react to the Stazon® cleanser and break down the stamps and will shorten their life span, and if you are like me, you love your stamps and want them around a very long time. So, to be safe, I avoid using Stazon® ink with my photopolymer stamps and then I don’t worry about that, I can clean them with the normal Stampin’ Mist®

Stazon Jet Black Ink

Using Aqua-painter

Using Alcohol Marker

Stazon Cleaner

I hope you have found this helpful in selecting which black ink to use for which coloring technique you are using. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think and please, if you have any questions that you would like me to address here on the blog, just let me know in the comments below and thank you so very much for stopping by and spending some time with me.
Have a great day and Happy Stamping!
Katrina

Ink Ink All Kinds of Ink!

Hi, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “is there a difference between all the inks out there, and if so, what is the difference?” Well the answer to the first part of the question is YES! There are 3 major categories of ink out there with a few sub-categories  that have made their way to the market, Dye Ink, Pigment Ink (craft ink) and Solvent Ink.

Let’s start with the most commonly used ink, dye ink. Dye ink is a water-based ink that is used most frequently to stamp with. Water-based dye inks work well on all sorts of paper and dries very quickly. It comes in a wide rainbow of colors and Stampin’ Up!© is no exception..we carry a wide range of colors in our collections. Other examples of dye ink are Archival Inks and Memento® Inks. 

Archival Inks have the properties of water-based dye inks, such as quick dry time, however, they also have the properties of pigment ink (crisp dark color) and Solvent inks, (don’t react with water). The later, making them ideal for water-coloring as they will not react with water and run like other dye inks.

Memento® Inks are a water-based dye ink that is ideal for coloring with alcohol markers such as Copic® or Spectrum Noir®. The formulation of these ink pads prevent their ink from reacting with the alcohol preventing them from running and smearing with coloring. These are a must have if you like to color with alcohol based markers.

The second most commonly used ink, is the pigment ink, or craft ink. These inks are much thicker in consistency than dye inks and have a much longer drying time than dye inks. This makes them ideal for heat embossing because the wet ink holds the embossing powder well while heating the powder. But beware, because of the increase in drying time, it is very easy to smear and smudge this ink making for a messy project. Currently, Stampin Up!© carries Versamark ®and Whisper White Craft Ink® in their line of pigment inks.

Finally, the 3^rd most commonly used ink is solvent ink such as Stazon® ink. Solvent inks are permanent inks that are ideal for non-porous materials such as tiles, glass etc. It is also an excellent ink to use for water-coloring as it does not react to water. Solvent inks are permanent and do require a special cleaner, such as Stazon Cleaner® to clean your stamps, however, do NOT use this cleaner with your photopolymer stamps as this could react with the photopolymer and ruin them.  

I hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding the different types of inks on the market. There are always new developments hitting the market, such as Distress Inks®, which are water-based dye inks that stay wet longer and are highly reactive to water for wonderful effects, Hybrid inks which combine dye based with pigment properties creating a “best of both worlds” and I’m sure many more developments to come in time.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below and I will be sure to get an answer to you. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the web.

Happy stamping ,

Katrina

Stippled Masking

Hello!
I hope everyone is staying warm in this deep freeze we're having! Good grief, today was the coldest day of the year so far, and I really hope it remains the coldest day of the year. -20 wind chill today and I think I about froze myself when I went out for a bit to meet up with some friends for a fun afternoon of painting. Which brings me to the conclusion that I need to stick with stamping! lol What do you think?

My master piece lol I will say it was a lot of fun and I will suggest that if you ever get the opportunity to do something like this, go ahead and try it. You can just have fun with it and be prepared to laugh at yourself. well at least that's what I did. I own the fact that I'm a stamper, not a painter!

Anyhoo, I have a tutorial to share with you and I made my very first video tutorial EVER! Making the video, not too bad, editing the video, I have lots to learn! I hope I don't bore you too much, but this card did turn out pretty cute. I hope you like it. It uses the soon to be retired Sky is the Limit stamp set. This is a sale-a-bration stamp set that goes away Tuesday 2/16! Not to worry, Stampin' Up! has some great replacements for it, however, you won't want to miss out on this one. Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of today's card and the video tutorial and thanks so much for stopping by and watching.
Have a great day!

It's My Party Designer Series Paper Stack
$26.00

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
$7.00

Sky Is The Limit Clear-Mount Stamp Set
$0.00

Decorative Label Punch
$18.00

1-3/4" Circle Punch
$18.00

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$7.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.50

Basic Black Baker's Twine
$2.25

Generated by SUDSOL, Free Trial at www.sudsol.org

Designer Series Paper for Sale-a-bration

Hi there! Today, I want to focus a little on the Sale-a-bration DSP, Perfectly Artistic. I love, love, love this paper! It is just so beautiful and sadly, this paper is going away as of 2/16/16! The only way to get this paper into your craft room is to earn it by spending $50 before shipping and tax and then and only then can you select it as your free Sale-a-bration product. But it really is a must have in my opinion. I used it as an accent on this card here:

 

And here are some beautiful examples from the Stampin' Up! designers! Can you say AWESOME??

 There are just so many things you can do with this paper. It is just fantastic.

I want to remind you too, that there is a weekly sketch challenge going on over on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/snsfromtheheart Stop over and check out all the fun that is taking place over there. We have a lot of talent that's for sure and we would LOVE to have you join us.Just click the Facebook tab above and it will bring you directly to my page. Like I said, we would love to have you join the fun. Talk about some great ideas! There are lots of them going on right now. Also, if you want this paper, go ahead and click the "shop now" above and place a minimum $50 order before shipping and tax and you will be able to choose this DSP as your free choice. You will certainly not regret it. It truly is beautiful. 

Have a great day all and I will see you back here Saturday, til then, happy stamping!

Katrina

Going Global

Hello,

I hope this finds everyone doing well and staying warm…the temperatures are beginning to drop to more normal (freezing) temps for around here. It sure makes me grateful to have a warm fire that’s for sure.  Today, I wanted to show you a card made by my mom, which she submitted into the sketch challenge taking place over on my FB page, www.facebook.com/snsfromtheheart using the Going Global stamp set.



I think she did a fantastic job using this stamp set and meeting the challenge quite well. I love the colors she chose, Lost Lagoon along with the coordinating ribbon and ink. What do you think? You can find all of these great products over on my online store, just click the “Shop Now” above to find your way there. You can also click on either of the catalogs over to the right.

I also wanted to remind you all that now is probably one of THE best times to join Stampin’ Up!. During Sale-a-bration, you get to choose $155 in product, (anything you want) for just $99! Normally, you pick $125 for $99, so that is an extra $30 in product added to your starter kit! Who can pass that up, not to mention, as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, you get a 20% discount on ALL future orders, and once you reach a certain dollar amount in sales and purchases, that savings goes up to 25%! And the best part? The best part is you get an early pre-view of ALL new product coming out! Yes, you get to see and order before ANYONE else! I don’t know about you, but I LOVE getting to see and try new stuff and being the first makes it even sweeter. You also have the opportunity to earn free stuff, attend On Stage events, both local and global. There really is NO downside to joining the Stampin’ Up! family. In addition to all this, you get a quarterly magazine designed exclusively for demonstrators to help you with your business as well as access to an exclusive demonstrator website and forum. If any of this sounds good to you, please feel free to contact me with ANY questions and I will get you the answers to them. I would LOVE to have you join me, so feel free to “Join my Team” from the SU business opportunity in the banner above.



Have a great day and Happy Stamping!

Katrina

Finding Inspiration

Hello! Happy Saturday! Any crafty plans for you? Now that the winter chill has returned here in CNY, I'm snuggling in and hanging out in my craft room today. Got my coffee, and cozy fire burning and I'm ready to create. In the meantime, I wanted to stop by to share a little bit about finding inspiration with you. I know I had talked about this in the past, but it is still a pretty popular questions so I thought it was worth bringing up again.
And the answer is.....anywhere you look! Look around. You will find color combinations that you will love, you will find a photo or magazine layout that can get you thinking about card and scrapbook layouts; but the absolute best place to find inspiration, is in your catalogs, new and old! Yes! Old catalogs can be a wealthy source of inspiration for a card! Stampin' Up! has some of the BEST designers in the business and they are literally handing you over idea after idea. You can CASE ("copy and share everything") exactly or you change up the color combinations, change out the stamp set or just change a few elements, it's completely up to you. That is one of the greatest parts about the paper crafting industry, you are actually encouraged to CASE! We're flattered when you like something enough to copy! Now, don't get me wrong, it is completely appreciated when you credit the originator and is the right thing to do, but the point is, don't sweat it and think, "I'm just not creative enough to make my own cards", because that's just not true! You do not need to come up with any idea on your own!
Here is an example of a card I cased using last years annual catalog! Yes, a catalog that is a year old was my source of inspiration! I just down sized the card and changed the orientation of it as well as changed the verse as I needed a thank you card for a customer and I thought the overall design of the card was perfect. So, what do you think?
Here is my card:

 

And here is Stampin' Up's version: 

 

I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave me a comment and let me know. I would also love to hear from you regarding what you would like to see and any other questions you would like me to answer. In the meantime, happy stamping and until next time,

Katrina

Oh Baby!

Hello,

I am so excited! I have been invited to bring my hand-made cards to a local children’s clothing consignment shop. This is such an honor and a blessing. I was so surprised and so excited when the owner asked. This was certainly not on my radar. I guess this just goes to show, God works things in his own way and in his own time and opens doors we never noticed on our own.

Being a children’s clothing consignment, I decided I had better get making more child themed and baby themed cards to offer with my selection, so here is an example:

 

I created this one to go along with this weeks card sketch challenge taking place on my Facebook page.  Please stop by and join us. There are so many wonderful ideas being shared by such friendly and lovely women, who support one another and encourage each other, that I’m sure you will find inspiration for your own creativity. You can find us at www.facebook.com/snsfromtheheart.  

In addition to all of this, I have been learning to use my new Cricut Explore Air. I completed the little card project they have you do as a first project so that you learn to use the pen that comes with the machine as well as cut. Simple enough. So I decided I wanted to create some word art for my craft room walls, I got some vinyl to cut and it was a disaster! I cut the pattern out twice and both times I ended up with a waded up ball of vinyl! Cutting it with the Cricut is the easy part..trying to remove the negative space is a nightmare! I had vinyl sticking to everything until it literally became a wad of vinyl! So, if any of you reading this has ANY idea on how to not have the vinyl stick to itself as you are lifting and peeling back, I would be eternally grateful. I will try anything…I really want to decorate my walls with the vinyl! So, please, if you know that answer to this, leave me the answer in the comments section below. As I said, I will be eternally grateful to you!

In the meantime, happy stamping,

Katrina

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Honeycomb Sale-a-bration

Happy Saturday! I hope this finds everyone having a great day so far and I hope you are finding time to spend in your craft rooms.

 Today’s card was done using some products from the Sale-a-bration catalog. I just love everything in this year’s Sale-a-bration catalog! And the best part, I was able to get all of these products free for every $50 I spent! And you can too! Sale-a-bration is going on until March 31^st, so you have time to get yourself some of this great stuff too.

I created this card for a sketch challenge that is taking place over on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/snsfromtheheart - you should see the great ideas going on over there, stop by when you have a minute and take a look! Anyway, today’s card uses the Sale-a-bration stamp set, Honeycomb Happiness and Sale-a-bration paper, Wildflower Fields DSP along with the Honeycomb Embellishments found in the Occasions catalog. I love this stamp set, I find it to be sooooooo cute!

So, what do you think? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. I also want to remind you that today is the final day to place an order with hostess code AZHFKHGX . All orders of $30 or more before shipping and tax will be entered to win the hostess rewards.

It's a Little Sketchy

Hello! I hope everyone faired well in this past weekends blizzard that struck the East Coast. I’m very grateful, the storm missed us completely. I still managed to spend some time in my craft room and made a few cards up to share with you.

Both of these cards are inspired by a sketch challenge taking place on my Facebook page…stop by and check it out, www.facebook.com/snsfromtheheart I’m sure you will like what you see. And if you would like, feel free to join us and create something to share. The more the merrier right?

Oh, before I forget, Sale-a-bration is still going on, so remember, for every $50 you spend before shipping and tax, you can choose a free Sale-a-bration item and a 3 month Paper Pumpkin subscription counts as your $50 order! Yes, the 3 month subscription price has been decreased just for Sale-a-bration! I love my Paper Pumpkin! It’s like Christmas in a little red box every month!

Ok, well I better get on with my day. I’m glad you stopped by to visit for a bit. Please check back on Saturday and I will be sure to have something good to share. Have a great day!

Happy Stamping,

Katrina

A Bloomin’ Valentine

Hi! I hope this finds everyone safely tucked away from the storm hitting the east coast this weekend. Luckily, I’m far enough in-land here in CNY that I’m not being affected by it. Thank God! But I know many not too far off are getting a big dose of it. If you happen to be one, please stay safe!

Anyway, I have a card here to share with you using the Bloomin’ Hearts Bundle. Here I used the negative of the die cut piece and I have saved the die cut for another day. I love the Hardwood stamp and decided to use that as well. I used both Crumb Cake cardstock and ink and I cut the flowers from Blushing Bride and used the Blushing Bride cardstock to back the die cut negative. I then sponged all of the pieces with the Crumb Cake ink and put it all together.

 

So, what do you think? I would love to hear your comments so please feel free to post them below. Have a great day and I will see you again on Tuesday.

Happy Stamping,

Katrina

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Hearts a Plenty

Hello
I hope this finds you all warm and toasty. Here in Central NY we are getting a winter blast from our friend Lake Ontario. Right now, I am listening to the wind knock at my door, driving my poor little Tucker crazy! Anyway, I did manage to get a couple of cards made using the "First Sight" stamp set from the 2016 Occasions Catalog found on page 36. I just love this set. I find it to be so versatile and so pretty.

The first card I used Watermelon Wonder Ribbon and ink with Sahara Sand ink and cardstock. The second card uses Sahara Sand Cardstock and ink with Melon Mambo. Stay tuned for more ideas using this set and be sure to check out this weeks weekly deals and don't forget about my online party where you could be the hostess with the mostest...mostest Stampin' Rewards that is! So be sure to place a minimum $30 order to be placed in the drawing and you could be selecting a minimum of $15 in free product! Just use the hostess code AZHFKHGX when placing your order.
In the  meantime, have a great day, stay warm and happy stamping!
Katrina

Foxy Rose

Well hello! Have you had the opportunity to pour over the new Occasions catalog? If you haven’t, you have no idea what you’re missing! I have to tell you, I am in L-O-V-E with this catalog! Could it have something to do with Valentine’s? Maybe? But, I really think it’s just because everything is a “must have” in my opinion! OMG! Check out this card I made using the Rose Garden Thinlits and the “Foxy Oxi” technique (uses Oxiclean).

It’s so pretty and so elegant; I wish you could see the shimmer of the rose from the clear Wink of Stella. Do you want to know the BEST part of all? The Rose Garden Thinlits are a part of a bundle! Yes, a bundle that will save you 15%! Now, who doesn’t like to save money? “I don’t” said no crafter EVER!

I will tell you, this set of Thinlits is very intricate and I do suggest you use it with the Precision Base Plate and the Big Shot Die Brush, also found in the Occasions catalog on page 19. They will ensure not only a perfect cut but an easy removal of the design from the die without having to sit and poke out each and every hole in the die with a “pokey” tool, you know, the paper piercer.

Well I hope you enjoyed today’s card, please let me know in the comments below and don’t forget about my on-line party going on right now until January 30^th. I will be drawing for a hostess to earn the hostess rewards on that date, so why not have it be you? It will be a minimum of $15 in hostess rewards, so place that minimum $30 order to get your name entered into the drawing, and if you place a $50 order, you will earn a Sale-a-bration item as well!  (All qualifying order totals are before shipping and tax)

See you Saturday and Happy Stamping!

Katrina

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Pretty in Pink

Well hi there! The new catalog has been live for almost a week now and it has been a big hit! I have another sample for you, using some new stamps from the Occasions catalog and the Sale-a-bration catty too!

 

I love how the Mellon Mambo and Smoky Slate come together to make this card. The Designer Series paper comes from the Sale-a-bration catalog while the stamped flower and sentiment comes from the stamp set Blooming Birthday found in the new Occasions Catalog. The stamped border is from the Tin of Cards stamp set found in the Annual Catalog. For the layout, I found a sketch on Pinterest and followed that and there you have it, a bright and cheery card.

In honor of the new mini catalog, I am going to have an On-line party and I would like you to come. I invite you to place a minimum order of $30 before shipping and tax, using the hostess code:  AZHFKHGX and you will be placed in to a drawing for the hostess rewards. Just go to my online store and place your order. I will close the party out on January 30th and will notify you by email that day to pick out your hostess reward items; so be sure to not check "No Contact" when placing your order, otherwise, Stampin' Up will hide your contact information from me and I will not be able to contact you. Now, if you place a $50 order, before shipping and tax, you will also be able to pick out a FREE item from the Sale-a-bration catalog as well! Now,if your order totals $150, DO NOT USE the hostess code! You will automatically qualify for hostess rewards!! And for every order placed, I will send you the complete supply list and instructions for this card as an extra little bonus from me. If you need a catalog, please feel free to contact me and I will get one out to you right away.

I hope you are all having a great start to your weekend! Be sure to enjoy and get some stamping in and I will see you all here again on Tuesday!

Happy Stamping!
Katrina

Spring Time Friends

Hello! Today starts the beginning of one of the most exciting times of the year at Stampin’ Up!, Sale-a-Bration! Yes, I love Sale-a-Bration! Where else can you get something free just for spending $50? Especially, when you were going to spend the $50 any way? The Spring Occasions catalog is to die for, so many beautiful stamp sets and accessories for birthdays, Easter, Mothers Day and Fathers Day, and of course, just because. I love new catalogs! It means, fresh, new ideas and brand new products to spark creativity. Today’s card is just an example of what you will find in the new catalog. This uses the brand new stamp set, Birthday Blooms. It’s so pretty and so feminine.  I just love it.

 

 What do you think?

To create this card, I cut a card base from So Saffron CS, 8 ½” x 5 ½” and scored it at 4 ¼” and added a piece of So Saffron DSP from the Subtles DSP pack, cut at 5 ¼”x 4” with Fast Fuse. I then cut a piece of Whisper White CS 4 ¾” x 3 ½” and stamped the large floral image from the stamp set into the bottom left corner using Momento Tuxedo Black ink. I framed the image using the same ink and the loopy border stamp from the “Tin of Cards” stamp set found in the Annual Catalog. I proceeded to color the flowers, using the blending pen and So Saffron ink and outlined them in Hello Honey ink. I colored the leaves using the Pear Pizzazz ink and outlined them in Old Olive ink, also with the blender pens.  I added a sentiment from the same Birthday Blooms stamp set and added the panel to the card base, using Stampin’ Dimensionals. A very easy card with a lot of punch, don’t you think? And to add a little something extra special, I added a little clear Wink of Stella to the flower petals and that put this card over the top as a WOW card! You really need to see it in person that’s for sure. The shimmer is just amazing.

If there was just one product I could buy from this new catalog, it would be Wink of Stella! That just takes your simple projects and makes it look like an amazing, wow project.  If you have never tried it, I would say this is a MUST have for your stamping arsenal.

Ok, well I’m off to see what else I can do with the goodies from this new catalog release. Be sure to browse through the catalog and see what wonderful goodies you find that you must have and feel free to leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts about today’s’ card and the new catalog offerings.

Happy Stamping!

Katrina

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog