I was stumped. Why does bad embossing happen to good people? So I posed my question to the experts on the OSA yahoo group I belong to and they had some ideas why all of a sudden my embossing powder might be giving me grief:

1. Old powder. This could definitely be a culprit, I have picked up EP at yard sales and on clearance and honestly my powder stash is likely to be between 5-15 years old. I heard-tell that EP is only good for 2 years BUT I think it has to do with the metals oxidizing and tarnishing in the metallic powders. I really don’t think plain clear or colored powder would be affected.
2. Overheating the embossing powder. I think this might be the problem. If you ever do the “faux batik” technique you emboss a design, color the paper then iron off the embossing powder. That is what this reminds me of. I wear out my heat guns after a few years because I use them daily. Also I noticed a little paper scorching the other day and I was using the gun as I always had.
3. Moisture in air/paper. My dehumidifier had been kicking on a lot this week, it has been very damp and I craft in my basement. Could the damp paper be soaking in the ink/powder?

BTW I have a quick tip, If you are trying to punch a shape from paper (or use deco scissors) and the paper wants to snag or is getting stuck in the punch blast the paper with the heat gun for a few seconds to remove any moisture and it will punch perfectly. If your punch is jammed shut with paper stuck inside place in the freezer for a few moments and it will release. Don’t just randomly jab sharp objects at the bottom of the punch hoping to dislodge the paper, you will only end up injuring yourself…don’t ask me how I know that.

Have a great Memorial Day (in the US) and be sure to check back this week, I have lots of fun projects planned, from calligraphy to Father’s Day to fun summer projects with the kids, check it out! Til then happy crafting!

If you want to learn how I made this card and stamped with the watercolor crayons check out this video. You might want to click on the fullscreen button to see more detail. Please note, I moved my water bucket out of the way but I still dipped my crayon on the water each time I colored with it. I just didn’t think it was fun looking at my nasty water bucket for the entire video

I used the sketch at Oriental stamp Art to make my card. BTW, if you want to join a wonderfully supportive stamping group and you happen to like Asian art you should check out the Oriental Stamp Art Yahoo Group. I love the window, it is a fun touch, I love how it reveals a surprise on the inside. I stamped and blended with my watercolor crayons and then stitched a layer of vellum over the inside panel, filled it with glitter and stitched the rest up. I used double stick tape to adhere the panel to the inside of my card so the stitches wouldn’t show.

I hope you enjoyed the video and you will see what you can do with the supplies you already have:)

BUT, if you are itching to spend some money you can check out the 50% off sale I have in my shop now through Saturday (nice segue huh?) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Inking up a rubber stamp. Both the background paper and focal butterfly were stamped by using the dauber to color the rubber before stamping-I used 3 colors on the stamp lightest to darkest. You can spritz between colors to get a lighter image:

And you can use the daubers to color clay embellishments. The big butterfly was made with my homemade clay and a Martha Stewart mold, I let it dry and “painted” it with my daubers. I love the look! The small butterfly was made with Martha’s clay, I tinted it before molding it, I don’t care for that look as much.

Ans since it is WOYWW {Wednesday} here is a look at my workdesk:

But here is a secret, I cleaned it up and organized it after that! My work-desk is clean….no, really it is! Oh and that reminds me {shameless plug} my new article on cheap and crafty storage is out in the July issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts so snag your copy now!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

I like that I can print a sheet of pictures out and cut them apart and quickly dash out some journaling and use up some stickers I bought BDC (BDC-before die cutter) and have a moment recorded. OK, that sounds just like project life…huh, how about that…please disregard this post BTW check out how I drew on a white button with a Sharpie to make a baseball, I am amused with that

Well, that’s all for today. Jon me tomorrow for WOYWW and some more stain dauber fun, until then happy crafting!

The tips on my homemade daubers are a little less than a half inch wide so coloring in the blocks on the embossed design was a snap! I also dyed the seam binding with the homemade stain!

Have a great Monday and til next time happy crafting!

The only thing you need to get to make the stain is the bingo-dauber top bottles. If you play bingo you might be able to reuse actual bingo daubers but I don’t so I found this set of 12 dauber top bottles at Oriental Trading Company for $7.50, they are good quality and refillable! I also got their mini mister bottles that are wonderful and half the price of the ranger ones. I just did not want to recommend either of them until I had the chance to use them but they both get 2 big thumbs up from me!

The homemade stain is so easy to make and you can use the supplies you already have. Simply fill the bottle 2/3 full of water then I added some cheap student grade watercolor paint in it. I used a whole tube per bottle but the paint was cheap: $7 for all 12 paint colors. Try the Reeves brand, they have it at AC Moore. But you could also use reinker, gouache, liquid watercolors or even fabric dye! I actually used a bit of reinker to adjust the colors a wee bit. I will say that the student watercolor paint will not stain your hands like reinkers do!

You can see how vibrant the stain is I made. Since I used a tube of cheap watercolor in each bottle the color is semi-opaque (cheap watercolors are more opaque than artist grade due to the chalk filler they use but still, the paint will not fade as dye or ink is wont to do.) If you want a more transparent stain stick to reinkers or dye. I love how you can scribble on the color like I did under the sentiment or smack down the tip on the paper for a starburst effect like I did on the background paper. Yep, I got good and inky today! 

You can also use this to dye fabric, ribbon, crochet flowers…you name it! I have some other cards I’ve been working on with these stains and I’ll share them with you later, til then happy crafting!

FYI-a little info about me, I do not check gauge, I do not rip out stitches, I just keep on trucking..er..knitting. Forward progress only!  

So I was thrilled when I found a one-size-fits-all shrug pattern on the Lion Brand site for free! Feel free to knit along with me if you like! We can keep each other honest ha ha, no UFO’s here! There are no fancy stitches and I think my 6 balls of yarn will be just enough to complete it. If not, well, it will be a sweet baby blanket LOL!

See that yarn, isn’t it a lovely color, it is super soft too!

Anyway, I wanted to make a little notebook to jot pattern ideas down in so I covered a mini composition book with pretty paper and did some stamping and viola!

I was thrilled to find that a ruler rubber stamp I owned was standard scale so I made up a few bookmarks to share with the girls in my knitting group. They can write their names in the “Hand knit by” space:

On the back of the bookmarks I stamped a name/date line so they can record the name of a project and when they started/finished the piece. It will feel nice to see a list of completed projects while the bookmark keeps their place in their pattern book. Most of the girls in my knitting group are beginners so seeing a list of completed projects is a real confidence boost and they will be quite talented by the time they have 3 projects under their belt! Also since he ruler is to scale they can check gauge (ahem…theroretly for me of course ha ha…) or just measure a cuff or whatnot.

Here is a list of the stamps I used:

Name/Date, Hand Knit By (Stampin Up!), Ruler (Pink Persimmon from the “Hello Vintage Girl” set), Button card and Buttons (Papertrey Ink), Other Knitting Sets by (TPC Studios-I got them at JoAnns for 40% off and I think they are still on sale!)  BTW you might wonder what’s up with the thank you card…well, rather than file away the scraps on my desk I made a card…no big whoop.

Thanks for stopping by. If you want to attempt this project with me let me know by leaving a comment. I really recommend the patterns over at the Lion Brand Yarn website. I have knit and crocheted a few of them and they have all turned out well and they are free! You do need to register but it only take s a second and I have never gotten spam from them and I’ve used the patterns for years, check it out! Til next time happy crafting!

Lilacs are so easy to paint too! Here is a quick video showing you how to paint them in watercolor. You can even your children’s watercolor paints (The Prang brand is really good but any will work) if that is all you have. You will also need some watercolor paper, a #6 round (or the brush that comes with the kids’ set) and a 1/2″ flat (for the leaves) as well as a little salt (table salt will work just fine) and you will be painting lilacs in 10 minutes!

Wasn’t that easy? Hmmm, it’s like the staples “easy button” for painting!  I like to mount these small paintings on greeting cards. It takes the pressure off knowing that every painting doesn’t need to go in a frame. Woulden’t it be special to receive a hand painted card? Oops, I just realized that I forgot to sign it!

If you enjoyed this free video tutorial please check out the beginner watercolor painting packets I have for sale at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff. You get easy to follow step by step instruction with lots of photos all for $3 each! The birch trees kit is on sale for $1 so you can try with little risk.

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Stamp Credits: The schematic blueprint stamp is by Technique Tuesday, the 3 men is by Tim Holtz and the “Much Obliged” is by Inkadinkado.

Tip: Ink up the embossing folder before embossing for a letterpress look as I did for the gear panel at the bottom of the card.

Allrightie, I think I need to make something pink and frilly now:) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

And then all you do is adhere it to a card front, or maybe in a frame! Mom still likes to keep all of our artwork doesn’t she? If you like this watercolor painting project be sure to give these tutorials at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff a look:

If you have any ideas about what you would like to see in a panting kit just leave a comment! I am planning more kits in the future and I’d love your input. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!