Have you seen all of the 147 Stampin'Up! Ink Colors?  Fifteen of them are new this year in the annual catalog (Bumblebee, Just Jade, Cinnamon Cider, Moonlight Mist, and Magenta Madness)!

With that many colors you'll never run out of just the right shade!

You are probably thinking right now--I've only seen 49* of them in the catalog--where are the rest? *Remember Purple Posey will not be returning....but this tip will help you out with this color.

Did you know that in one ink pad you have 3 different "colors." For example, here's Granny Apple Green ink

How did I get 3 colors from one pad...ink up your stamp well and stamp it 3 times without re-inking...you'll have 3 different colors.

It's truly awesome--for example, when you are trying to create a bouquet of flowers with Poppy Parade and you can't find just exactly the light and medium colors that coordinate well with the Poppy ink.... now, you can create the entire bouquet using just one ink pad. Just stamp the flower inked up in Poppy and then stamped twice more without re-inking!

See how awesome this can be---you can have 3 coordinating colors for all 49 Stampin'Up! ink pads...here are a few more samples

Note the 3rd color here in Gorgeous Grape--wouldn't this be a great substitute for Purple Posey?  And, it coordinates very well with the Gorgeous Grape and the 2nd color too!

As you are creating, each time you use a color create one of these sample swatches--2 1/2 X 5 1/2 on Whisper White cardstock (size depends on the stamp you are using), punch a hole at the top and pop them on a key ring--when you need a color in a shade you may not have in the ink pad itself--see if one of the 2nd or 3rd stampings  (without reinking) will do the trick!

You may want to organize them on rings designated as Brights, Regals, Neutrals, Subtles, and In Colors or you may organize them according to colors---reds, yellows, greens, blues, purples, browns, etc.  Whatever works best for the way you create! Just keep it simple and you'll have 147 colors swatches in no time.

Let me know if this tip was helpful--add a comment, share with your friends, sign up for my Newsletters or email me and let me know!

Today I'm going to show you How to Solve the Problem of Ink Color Coordination.

Yesterday I was creating a card and wanted to contrast but blend three colors of a flower arrangement. First I pulled out cardstock and picked three that looked like the colors would blend nicely...so I stamped the flowers in those colors of ink. The results were not what I expected based on the cardstock colors.

If you have stamped for any length of time you have probably realized that the inked image does not always look like the piece of colored cardstock. The transfer of ink to the stamp and then to the cardstock plus the difference in the background color of the cardstock can give you a much different appearance than just laying three pieces of cardstock on the table.

So here's what I did so that I could actually see how the ink color would appear....I cut a 2 1/2 X 11 piece of Whisper White cardstock. I pulled out all the inks I thought I might want to use and my Stampin'Scrub and Stampin'Mist cleaner.  Starting at one end of the cardstock I began stamping the colors...and labeling them (because after stamping a few I would forget with which color I began)....here's what it looked like...

Now after I finished and selected the 3 colors I wanted to use together I thought--if I cut these apart and punch a hole in the top corner and put a ring through them I won't have to do this every time i want to compare colors,...and so you have something like this

Now as you can see my original stamping and writing of the colors was a bit sloppy ---but at the time I hadn't formulated my brilliant idea for long term use. So for your stamping...I used 2 1/2 X 1 3/4 pieces of Whisper White cardstock. 

Here's another hint of something useful to do at the same time you are stamping on Whisiper White cardstock---also stamp on Very Vanilla--the color will appear differnt because of the background color. You can file all the White on one ring and the Vanilla on the other ring.

If this was a useful tip please share my blog with your stamping buddies and sign up to get reminders each time a new post is made--Just click on the button at the right hand side "Blog News Sign up" and "Subscribe to my Newsletter" to keep up with the latest in product news, new catalogs, fun projects and tons of fun!

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Stamping!

Today we're going to play with Another Aquapainter Background Wash. We looked at this technique on Tuesday and it is so much fun that I just had to do another project with it.

If you recall some stampers were having trouble getting a nice background wash with the ink...so we are just adding some ink drops to the aqua painter barrel, filling with water and swishing the brush across the cardstock. I find the bigger aqua painter brush works nicely for the broad strokes of the wash.

Here's today's project.

I used Pacific Point re-inker today and I want to keep the background showing as much as possible so I used the silhouette from Sihlouette Scenes for this card...isn't that backgroun awesome?

I'll give you the directions to create this card below and following that is the list of supplies you'll need. Just hit the Shop Now button or click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store. Remember...

*Use your Bonus Day coupons before the end of August.

*If you place an online order and use this month's Host code (BW6M6NHM) you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up! product from me for each $50 in product that you purchase.

Directions:

1. Cut 4 1/4 X 11 Thick Whisper White cardstock, score long side at 5 1/2 (card base)

2. Cut Whisper White cardstock 5 3/8 X 4 1/8; run through Beads & Baubles embossing folder; adhere to card base with liquid glue

3. Add 10 drops of Pacific Point re-inker to the large aqua painter barrel and fill with water. Mix well. Cut Shimmery White cardstock 3 1/8 X 4 3/8. Swish the brush horizontally across the cardstock---there will most likely be some white and overlapping darker areas---this is intentional and adds a lot of interest to the background.

4. Cut 3 1/4 X 4 1/2 Pacific Point cardstock, adhere to painted cardstock with liquid glue; adhere this unit to card base with liquid glue.

5. Stamp verse (from Silhouette Scenes) in Stazon ink to Whisper White cardstock 1 X 1 3/4; adhere to card front with dimensionals.

6. Adhere rhinestones to card front.

Your card is ready for sending!

Below are the supplies you'll need for this card. Click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store. Order your supplies now:

Aqua Painters
$17.00

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
$3.75

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock
$8.25

Pacific Point 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75

Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$10.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad
$10.00

Silhouette Scenes Cling Stamp Set
$23.00

Beads & Baubles Embossing Folder
$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals
$4.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue
$4.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels
$5.00

 

Today we're going to learn to create Totally Awesome Easy Backgrounds in Seconds. Take a look at this card....

Isn't that gorgeous--and so very easy to do. If you were in class this past weekend you learned this easy technique. We've created cards before with the background 'wash' and many were having great trouble getting a pretty wash. I was getting ready for the class and was trying to find a quick and easy way to create the wash that was readily reproducible.

Here's my solution (and it worked really well for the entire class) that cause no moaning from any of the stampers. I added approximately 10 drops of ink refill to a large brush aqua painter (darker colors work a bit better) and filled the remainder of the barrel with water. Mix well and try out the mixture on scrap--adjust with more or less ink until you achieve the results you like for your card.

One of the useful things is that now you have enough inked-water to do several cards...the coloring goes very quickly by just running the aqua painter back and forth over the cardstock you are coloring...so it's quick, economical and very easy.

I'll give you the directions to create this card below and following that is the list of supplies you'll need. Just hit the Shop Now button or click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store. Remember...

*Use your Bonus Day coupons before the end of August.

*If you place an online order and use this month's Host code (BW6M6NHM) you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up! product from me for each $50 in product that you purchase.

Directions:

1. Cut 8 1/2 x  5 1/2 Daffodil Delight cardstock, score long side at 4 1/4 (card base)

2. Cut Basic Black cardstock 3 1/2 X 5 1/2, adhere to card base with liquid glue

3. Add 10 drops of Pumpkin Pie re-inker to the large aqua painter barrel and fill with water. Mix well. Cut Shimmery White cardstock 3 3/8 X 5 1/2. Swish the brush horizontally across the cardstock---there will most likely be some white and overlapping darker areas---this is intentional and adds a lot of interest to the background.

4. Cut 2 1/4 X 5 1/2 Basic Black cardstock, run through die cut machine using the cattails die (Friendly Silhouettes dies); adhere to bottom of painted cardstock with liquid glue.

5. Stamp verse (Friend Like You) in Stazon ink above the die cut; stamp the dragonflies in Stazon ink.

Your card is ready for sending!

Here's the supply list---click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store. Order your supplies today!

Aqua Painters
$17.00

Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75

Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$10.00

Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad
$10.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue
$4.00

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
$3.75

Friend Like You Photopolymer Stamp Set
$21.00

Friendly Silhouettes Dies
$32.00

Friend Like You Bundle
$47.50

 

Today we're going to talk about how to Clean Up Your Embellishment Mess! I don't know about you but when I need to dig into my embellishments, I really hesitate because I know it means dragging out that box that is stuffed with those little round plastic embellishment cases and they are all jumbled up in the bin with some ribbon and bits of other stuff that should have been put away but just got dumped in the bin (to be put away when I have time)...here's one of my embellishment bins....

And I don't have just one of these bins...I have multiple bins...it's really disasterous!

So I've tried stacking those little round plastic containers in the bins keeping them in tidy rows....I only needed to get into the bin once and my neat stacks were gone awry in two seconds.

I've tried putting those little round containers in zip lock bags but if I didn't seal them closed they spilled out in two shakes and it was a mess again.

In prep for receiving the new embellishments from the new catalog I decided it was time to do something about this mess in a way that it wouldn't happen again. 

I thought I needed something that was easy to open and close without much fuss because I have little patience when I'm designing...then I hit upon this...I decided to use the Full Wide Stamp cases---they are rectangular and snuggle up to each other very well...I can line them up in the bins and pull the entire bin out to the design table and (since I labeled the spine of the case) I can see in a glance which case I need to open. And even if I put the case back without closing the round plastic container--it's still all contained in the case!

I no longer have to dig through multiple containers or plastic bags...each is within easy reach and all lined up easy to read.

Now I keep multiple packs of some embellishments so I'm using the wide cases...if you only keep small amounts you may want to use the standard cases or the Half Wide cases...whatever works for your volume. You could also combine "like" elements in a single case and reduce the number of cases that you need.

If you are like me and like to keep small lengths of ribbon from the ends of spools--you can even label one for these bits--you can store a bunch of these in a single case.

So order your cases today--click on the Shop Now button or click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store.

Remember:

*If you place an online order and enter this month's Host Code (9EAGCTMM) you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up'! product for each $50 in product that you purchase.

*If you have not received your new Stampin'Up! Annual Catalog and do not have your own demonstrator, email me at sandihartka@sandilovesstamping and we'll see if we can get one to you...ordering begins at 2PM Eastern time on 6/4/19.

Here's the supply list for the products we mentioned today...click on one of the product images and you'll be in my store--order your supplies right now:

Full Wide Stamp Cases
$7.00

Half Wide Stamp Cases
$5.00

Clear-Mount Stamp Cases
$6.00

 

Today I'm going to show you a Secret Trick with the Stampin'Up! Take Your Pick Tool!  

This is the great new tool we have to use for multiple tasks--pick up sequins, pierce out tiny pieces from dies, scoring with the stylus, scoop off embellishments that land in the wrong place...that's all very  handy.

Have you ever been wet embossing--you've rubbed the stamping area with your embossing buddy (to remove finger print oils or other moisture--to keep the powder just adhering to the inked image). Then you stamp your image in Versamark, sprinkle on the the embossing powder, flick off the excess and then.....yep there's a tiny spot of embossing powder right where you do NOT want it! Dang...and things were going great until then.  This is what I'm talking about..see just to the right above the "s"

Well, listen up--this is a great fix for you! Take the putty end of your Take Your Pick....looks like this...

Then gently dab up the excess powder....

And this is the "after"----all gone!
FABULOUS!!! Now you are ready to heat with the Heat Tool and your embossing will look perfect.

Now take your Paper Snips and just clip off the very end of the putty and you are ready for your next task with your Take Your Pick tool.  There's just a never-ending use for this super tool. One of the really great features is that you only need the one base tool and all the "tools" are simply screwed into an end...the piercing end and the stylus are both on the same part--just unscrew from your base tool, flip to the other end and screw back into the base. You are ready for the next task!

And...there's a new accessory for the tool...it's a Die Brush Tip (#149655)---I can' wait to put that baby to work!

Order yours today...hit the Shop Now button or click on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store....

Remember:

*If you place an online order and enter this month's Host Code (9EAGCTMM) you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up'! product for each $50 in product that you purchase.

*If you have not received your new Stampin'Up! Annual Catalog and do not have your own demonstrator, email me at sandihartka@sandilovesstamping and we'll see if we can get one to you...ordering begins at 2PM Eastern time on 6/4/19.

Here's the supply list for the products we mentioned today...click on one of the product images and you'll be in my store--order your supplies right now:

Take Your Pick
$10.00

Take Your Pick Putty Refill
$3.50

Paper Snips
$10.00

 

Stampin'Up! Trim Turns Gold - the Midas Touch Trick! It's a fun and easy trick that will turn that really cute Leaf Trim into a shiny gold amazing trim...here's a close up of what it can look like after you perform the Midas Touch Trick!

Fun, right? Below is a card that I trimmed with the golden Leaf Trim...it's really cute in just green but adding that Midas Touch just takes the card to the next level of awesome, right?

It's really easy with the silicone craft pad, Versamark ink, a sponge Dauber, Gold embossing powder and your Heat tool. I"ll give you the step by step directions for the Midas Touch Trick. Following that will be the list of supplies for the the trick and for creating the card too. I'll also provide the measurements for creating the card.

Order your supplies today and remember to use this month's Host code (6AXPWQXE) and you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up! product for each $50 in product that you purchase.

Now for the Midas Touch Trick:

1. Place a strip of Leaf Trim on your silicone craft mat (I used glue dots to hold it down -- you can just roll off the glue dots when you are finished).

2. With a sponge dauber dab Versamark ink on the leaves and stem---you don't need to cover the entire leaf---leaving some green showing really sets off the gold. Sprinkle liberally with Gold embossing powder. Remove strip from mat and heat with Heat Tool until shiny gold.

The trim is now ready to apply to your project! Isn't it quick and easy! Doesn't that just set off those leaves?

Here are the measurements for the card:

5 1/2 X 8 1/2 Crumb Cake cardstock score long side at 4 1/4 (card base)
3 1/2 X 5 1/2 Share What You Love Designer Paper (leaf design)
3 1/8 X 3 1/8 Mint Macaron cardstock
2 7/8 X 2 7/8 Whisper White cardstock
Coloring; Aqua painter with Crumb Cake reinker, Crushed Curry reinker, Old Olive reinker
Stamp set: Animal Outing (this set is retiring from the big catalog June 3)

Here's the supply list for the leaf work and for the card.  Click on the Shop Now button or on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store--order your suppliesnow.

Leaf Ribbon
$8.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue
$4.00

Mini Glue Dots
$5.25

Silicone Craft Sheet
$6.00

Sponge Daubers
$5.00

Versamark Pad
$9.00

Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder
$5.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)
$30.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.50

Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.50

Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper
$27.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75

Animal Outing Wood-Mount Stamp Set
$29.00

Aqua Painters
$17.00

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
$3.75

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
$3.75

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
$3.75

 

I love intricate die cut designs -- so Here's a great glue trick! for working with them.

One of my favorite die cut designs is from the Flourishing Thinlet set:

Gorgeous, right? But gluing them onto your project can be messy and a bit tricky sometimes. Of course, the adhesive sheets are a great solution, but I'm going to show you a quick and easy trick if you don't have those on hand (they are retiring from the big catalog). 

You need a silicone craft pad, a dauber, and the multipurpose liquid glue...that's all.

The silicone craft pads are great to working with any glue....snail, glue dots, dimensionals, glue guns, and liquid glue. Just use the pad under any of your projects that use an adhesive...when finished, just roll any residual glue off the pad with your fingers or with a paper towel...it just rolls off.

I'm going to give you the step by step process that I use below and after that is the list of supply items that you'll need.

Remember when you place your online order to use this month's Host code (6AXPWQXE) and you'll recieve $5 in Stampin'Upp! product for each $50 in product that you purchase.

Here's the quick and easy glue trick:

1. Cut out your die cut with the die cut machine--I recommend the Precision Base plate (Item #139684) and removing the small bits with the Die Brush (item #144262).

2. Lay the die cut face down (lay it upside down) on the silicone craft mat

3. Squirt a puddle of multipurpose liquid glue on the corner of the mat and get a clean dauber

4. Dip the dauber sponge gently into the glue (keep the glue amount small) and then dab it gently on the back of the die cut.  Note: do not drag the glue across the die cut--this will deposit small globs of glue in the corners where it will seep to the front of the die cut.  Just dab it on the back. You do NOT need to cover the entire back of the die cut--go for the outer edges and some spots in the center.

5. Let this dry for a couple of minutes (the less glue you apply the shorter the time to dry). When you can touch the back of the die and it just feels sticky but  no glue comes off on your finger...it is ready. Now apply the die cut to your project....and, if it doesn't get placed precisely where you want it, lift it off carefully and re-apply it to your project.  When  this  glue  dries, it  is  clear  but  remains  tacky....thus the  object  is  removable.

Isn't that quick and easy? I recommend washing the dauber immediately under tap water so you an use it again. Just  roll off any remaining glue on your mat with your fingers or a paper towell.

Here's the Supply List: Order what you need right now:

Flourish Thinlits Dies
$29.00

Silicone Craft Sheet
$6.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue
$4.00

Sponge Daubers
$5.00

 

Today I'm going to show you and Easy Trick Picking Up Stampin'Up! Mini Dimensionals! I don't know about you but sometimes those little mini dimensionals are a bit tricky to grab especially if your hands are large like mine. Those little minis are just perfect for some spots and I love using them but sometimes they are somewhat of a challenge to grab, place, and remove the topping!

I was watching some of my stampers hard at work when I saw one of them grab the Take a Pick tool with the piercing tool attachment and attack a mini dimensional. (Thanks to Mary Volpe for this awesome tip!) She was so quick that I almost missed it...so I watched again and, sure enough, in no time she picked it up, placed it, removed the topping and disposed of it. Wow--that was awesome!.

I'm going to describe exactly what she did and show you pictures so you can use this wonderful trick next time you are working with those mini dimensionals.   Below that is the short list of supplies you'll need...

Remember
*Click on Shop Now button or on one of the product images below to order your supplies now. 

*If you place your order online and use this month's host code (6AXPWQXE) you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up! product for each $50 in product that you  purchase.

*The retiring list is in effect....remember stamps are guaranteed until May 24th--all other products on the retiring list are only available while supplies last....some products are already out of stock. If you have questions about what is out of stock phone me at 410 836 8016 or email: sandilovesstamping.com, The retiring lists are available for download here Download AC 18-19 Retiring List_US and here Download OCC 19 Retiring List_US

*Everything is Rosey product medley is available until 5/31 or until supplies run out..the brochure is available here Download 04.01.19_FLYER_Q2_OOP_US

Mini Dimensional Trick

*Grab your Take a Pick tool and attach the piercing tool

Here's a pad of mini-dimensionals

Take your piercing tool and spear through one mini-dimensionals--go for it--give it a good jab

Then with a sideways move, remove the mini from the pad (by pulling sideways you'll remove the mini from the remaining dimensionals quickly

Adhere the dimensional to your project, then with the tip of the piercing tool lift up the edge of the topper (paper topping)

Pierce the topping and dispose in the trash...
This whole process takes only a few seconds! Try it out!

Here are the supplies you'll need: Order yours now by clicking on one of the product images below and you'll be in my store.

Take Your Pick
$10.00

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
$4.00

 

Today I'm going to show you a Clever Handy Storage Solution for Die Cuts! But first I want to give credit where it is due--one of my stampers, Jackie Silvestri, has passed this wonderful tip to me and suggested I might like to share it with all of you...so thanks very much to Jackie for her cleverness and her willingness to share with us.

Do you ever prepare some dies cuts and then find you don't need them...they are the wrong size or the wrong color?  But, hey, those are great cuts that you can use later....do you do what I've been doing---just toss them in a box to sort through later? And, if you are like me....I forget what's in the box or am too lazy to sort through a couple of hundred cuts to see if there's one in there I want to use. 

Here's a great way to store them and keep them organized---they'll be just where you need them when you want them....Jackie uses the Clear translucent envelopes in the Stampin'Up! catalog (item #102619)...I'm going to walk you through this clever solution so you can put it into use today! (One of the best parts is there's no labeling involved--I hate labeling stuff!)

Here are some extra die cuts I had left over from a project (note I'm using a 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 piece of red cardstock so that you can better see the die cuts---this isn't necessary if you are doing this yourself)

They coordinate with this stamp set (Meant to Be in the Occasions 2019 mini catalog)

I slip these die cuts into a clear translucent envelope

Peel off the seal covering

Adhere the seal to the inside cover of the coordinating stamp case (note: I put the envelope opening to the back side so the die cuts won't spill out if I drop the case or something)

Then when I need to access the die cuts I just flip the envelope up reach in and pull out what I need and flip the envelope down again--the opening remains to the back to protect against pieces (especially small ones) from falling out.

Isn't this a clever easy quick solution...no more searching through the scrap box, no more wondering if you had any leftovers, the are right there in the coordinating stamp set box ready for use!

If this was a helpful hint for you, leave me a message below. If you have a helpful hint email me at [email protected] and I may share it with our other stampers---share the wealth!

Remember that the Retiring Lists are published and stamp sets are guaranteed until 5/24, but all other items are only available as long as supplies last...order now before it's too late! Below are the current lists for you to download

Download AC 18-19 Retiring List_US

Download OCC 19 Retiring List_US

When you place an online order and use this month's Host code 6ZXPWQWE you'll receive $5 in Stampin'Up! product from me for each $50 in product that you purchase.  Order those retiring products now before the supply ends...once they are discontinued...they are gone forever!

Supplies:

Clear Medium Envelopes
$5.50

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