Catherine Pooler

Notecards in a Box

Posted on by Lynn Hill

It’s so easy to jump on Facebook and send a quick FB messenger note of thanks to a friend. But, I don’t think the need for a friendly snail mail note will ever disappear completely – unless, of course, the postal service happens to go away. Lord knows I am doing my best to keep the USPS in business with my regular cards and stamp buying endeavors.

My mother-in-law recently mentioned that she needed a small package of stationery so that she could keep in touch with a few people. I was headed to Hallmark and then I realized that it would be more fun for her to have a personalized set of notecards and I set out to make the perfect set for her.

I love getting cardstock that matches my ink colors and at Taylored Expressions it’s an easy task because there are cardstock colors for just about every shade of ink offered on the website. I used toffee ink and matching toffee cardstock for the first three notecards. I love the way toffee looks on crisp white cardstock so I inked the Full of Flowers background on an A2 base and my notecard was all but finished.

I think the cards would have been complete with the very simple background die as the cover. However I wanted to add something to personalize the cards. I recently ordered the Initially L die set specifically for this purpose from Taylored Expressions because I knew it would come in handy for all kinds of projects for my mother-in-law and for myself. We are both “L” girls.

I cut a rectangle strip of toffee and a circle from red pepper cardstock using the smallest circle in the Noteworthy Belly Band die set. Don’t you love that color combination? Then, using the smaller uppercase letter from the Initially L die set I placed an L in the center of the circle. The card was cut down to provide a 1/8″ border when set on top of a toffee base and I think it rounded out the card perfectly.

I made three more cards using cupcake paper and ink with a circle cut from My Favorite Things’ ripe raspberry cardstock.I couldn’t make up my mind whether the card looked best with a cupcake background or with the ripe raspberry so I made a couple using each color. Even after finishing them I couldn’t decide which one I preferred. Just about the time I am ready to say that I prefer the cupcake background my eye goes for the ripe raspberry.

I wanted one set using a red, white, and blue color scheme so I pulled out some Catherine Pooler Rockin’ Red ink and a piece of navy cardstock (I think it was from a discontinued color by MFT). A deep red L finished the card just like I wanted it.

There are so many ways to perfectly align a red rubber background stamp and I always use the Misti stamping platform so that I can reapply ink when (not if, when) it doesn’t completely cover on the first application. I make a ring using purple tape and place it on the back of my cardstock to hold it in place. I remove the foam plate from my Misti and line the paper up using the grid inside the stamping platform. Once the paper is positioned I place the rubber stamp face down on top of the paper and close the Misti door. This will enable you to lift the Misti cover with the stamp adhered. Add ink to the stamp and close the door.

I have found that red rubber stamps need a bit more pressure than the clear stamps, especially when the image is a background. I don’t sweat it. After I close the door I give it a firm press and lift the door. If there are some areas that aren’t fully covered I will close the door again and press in the area that the ink didn’t transfer sufficiently. Sometimes, after I open the door a second time, I find that I need to add another coat of ink to the stamp. If more ink is needed I repeat the process and keep checking the stamped image until it is evenly covered across the stamping area.

When I plan to use a stamp for several cards using different colors of ink I use a Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy to give it a quick clean. I like to get the shammy wet, ring it out, then lay it on the base of the Misti and smooth it out. I then close the Misti door and give it a firm press. If the ink is particularly juicy I will open the door, flip the shammy over, and repeat the process. When I am going to immediately press with a different color I use a dry microfiber cloth to dry the stamp. These cloths work so much better than a paper towel or baby wipe because they are lint free. They can be bought on Amazon in sets of 24 and they last “forever”. If there will be a time lapse before stamping in a different color I leave the Misti door open and allow the stamp to air dry.

To really clean stamps, both red rubber and clear stamps, I use Taylored Expressions Stamper’s Spritz. This stuff works better than any stamp cleaner I have used in the past. It comes in a spritz bottle and is available in a refill bottle that’s pourable. To be honest, I don’t even have a spritz bottle. They were out of stock when I decided to try it so I just bought a refill. To use the liquid, I pour a bit onto one of my microfiber cloths and rub it across the stamp I need to clean. It works like a charm.

*** Beware: The Stamper’s Spritz will remove the wood finish from furniture if you don’t wipe it up after a spill. I would say, “Don’t ask me how I know this,” but am hoping you won’t make the same mistake as me so I’ll fess up. I opened the bottle one day and a little bit of liquid ran down the side of my bottle. I didn’t think it was a big deal so I screwed the lid on the bottle and went about my business. When I came back the next morning I started cleaning my desk so I could begin a new project and when I lifted the bottle there was a ring on my BRAND NEW DESK. Being honest here, I got tears in my eyes. I would’ve been more upset if it had been on my kitchen table or another surface that is always visible but, that said, I still love the product but am very careful when I use it.

To finish my cards, I purchased a set of pre-folded A2 notecards and attached the card fronts to them. This finished project included ten really nice note cards that I slipped in a clear card box along with the envelopes and a set of stamps. A belly band gave the box a pretty visual and these cards would make a nice gift for someone who enjoys sending snail mail. I know my mother-in-law will empty her box in no time. When she starts running low I can make just make more cards to add to the box. They would also work well as a note to accompany a mailed gift.

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting.

I am visible on Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and I hope that you will scroll to the bottom of the page and click to subscribe.

When I first started card making I had a difficult time finding a cardstock with the quality I wanted. I discovered My Favorite Things and was so pleased that I began using their cardstock exclusively. When Covid hit and it was difficult to get just about everything, MFT began reworking their cardstock and are just now beginning to get restocked with new colors. In the meantime, I found Taylored Expressions’ cardstock and love it just as much as I always loved My Favorite Things paper. I would also recommend Gina K. Designs’ cardstock if you want quality paper. If you are looking for the perfect high-quality cardstock for your cards and paper projects I would recommend Taylored Expressions. There are 53 colors of cardstock available and 51 colors of matching ink. What cardstock do you use and is there are reason you prefer one brand over another?

Until next week, happy crafting!

Quick and Easy Die Cut Duplicates

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! As an Irish-blooded lassie I couldn’t welcome you to my blog post any other way today. My mother’s maiden name was O’Neil and her mother’s maiden name was McStravick. A few years back my brother and I were looking through some old pictures and papers of Mama’s and we found my great-great grandfather’s naturalization papers from 1916 and the U.S. Passport he received six years later. He was born in 1855 in Ireland and arrived in America via Ellis Island. The O’Neil side came to America by way of Belfast and Ellis Island as well. Yep, official Irish here – and family proud.

I pray the luck of the Irish is with you today!

For my project this week I thought it would be fun to make cards for several of my mini friends for the Easter season. While doing so, I realized I should share my easy way to cut multiple pennants (from Taylored Expressions Pennant Parade) without having to line up and tape each die before cutting over and over again. We’ll get to that as we come to it.

I wanted these cards to be in primary colors so I chose card bases and scalloped backgrounds using the TE Bold paper pack. I selected coordinating Buffalo Plaid Brights 6×6 paper from My Favorite Things to provide the visual background for each card.

Each child’s name was cut from bold colors using the Taylored Expressions Cap It Off Alpha set. They were cut a second time using white cardstock to provide the outlines. I selected one letter in each name to be replaced with a Bunch O’ Bunnies silhouette and a puffy pom-pom tail. 

I am constantly writing notes to myself so I am always searching for a great paper desk pad. I generally use My Favorite Things’s grid pads but they have recently discontinued them. I ordered both Simon Says Stamp and Taylored Expressions grid paper pads to test them out. The Taylored Expressions pad is officially my favorite now because it not only has a grid for measuring and aligning, but it also has alignment windows to help line up and center A2 cards (horizontally and vertically) and a 6-inch square alignment window, too.

I cut each buffalo plaid sheet with a stitched rectangle die then aligned them on the grid paper using the A2 lines. I used a piece of vellum folded in half to help create a straight line for my lettering. The vellum was aligned and taped across the plaid paper ¼ inch from the bottom. I didn’t have to measure it, I lined it up with one of the grid lines that just happened to be ¼ inch from the bottom of the paper. 

Each letter was assembled with a white outline and then fed them through the Xyron Create-a-Sticker 150 machine. I actually used glue on two of the cards but decided the mess was more than I was interested in dealing with so I thought I would give the Xyron a try. Whew! That made my job ten times easier and much quicker too. I didn’t have any trouble with the letters coming apart after the adhesive was applied. 

After attaching the letters and bunny I tied a bow at both ends of a piece of 1mm burlap string. I used trial and error to decide my string length. I tied the bow on the loose end and then tied the second bow on the spool end of the string…retying until the length was not too long or too short to create a banner for my pennants.

I needed at least 25 pennant pieces because I wanted to make five cards with five pennants each. I almost dreaded the repetition until I realized I could make a template to make my project much easier.

I will explain the process I used to stamp and cut the templates but if you want to scroll down to the video you can actually see the process and maybe understand it a little better.

I used the Misti stamping platform to align five pennant stamps in a row. Using similar bold colors as those used for the names, I applied ink to the stamps in one color, adjusted the cardstock in the Misti, and repeated the process with another color until I had six rows of pennants in six different colors (Catherine Pooler Premium Dye Ink – Rockin Red, Orange Twist, Limoncello, Grass Skirt, Fiesta Blue, and Queen For A Day).

I then stamped one more row of the pennants on a separate card to create my cutting template. The Pennant Parade pennant dies come in a set of three so I aligned the three dies on the first three pennant stamps, cut them out, and then aligned two dies on the remaining pennants and cut them. 

Having a template really sped my cutting process. I was able to align the template on a stamped row of images and tape it in place. I then slid the dies on top of the template where they locked in place once they were in proper alignment. I cut three of the pennants at a time in each color and then repeated the process with the final two pennants in each color.

Sometimes a visual makes things easier so I have attached a video I made while stamping the pennants, making the template, and then cutting the pennants from cardstock.

Before I took the stamps from the Misti door I stamped a few more rows of various colors of pennants and placed them in an envelope with my template. Once you have removed the stamps from the Misti door it would be nearly impossible to replace the stamps in the same pattern. By going ahead and inking the extra stamps makes it possible for me to reuse my cutting template in the future.

Once the pennants were cut I was able to adhere them to the card using 3D Foam squares. I tucked the string behind the pennants and assembled the cards. My mini friends always enjoy getting mail and I know they will love these bright and cheerful cards when they arrive.

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

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Last week I was lamenting about not being able to find any purple tape in the “old” style. I asked around this week and hear that the new style is not currently available either. I hope that means they are reformulating it back to the original style!! Today’s question has to do with the Pennant Parade dies. Does anyone else wonder why the dies don’t come in a five pack since all of the Pennant Parade stamps come in sets of five? I guess I’ll just have to order a second set of the dies to that I can get the best use out of the templates I make. Thanks for stopping by today, and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you!

“Messing” With Infusions Coloured Stains

Posted on by Lynn Hill

While we were snowed in last week here in Oklahoma I used the time to experiment with some of the unusual items I have in my crafting stash. A while back I bought several bottles of Infusions Coloured Stains by Paper Artsy (a stamping/crafting company based in France) because I saw someone using them and was intrigued.

Of course, like lots of crafty things we buy, when they arrived I couldn’t remember where the exact video was that caused me to want the product in the first place. They have been sitting on my desk for months awaiting my curiosity to cause me to pick them up and give something a try.

Infusions Coloured Stains – By Paper Artsy

These stains are powder form and come in small plastic bottles. They are a water soluble pigment dye mixed with a walnut stain that dissolves as it mixes with any liquid.

To dispense the colors it is recommended that you poke a hole in the cap and sprinkle the amount you want on your paper. The only problem with that is once you poke a hole in the lid the pigment has the opportunity to be a spill risk anywhere and everywhere the bottle sits (or topples). Several sites recommend placing a piece of Scotch tape over the hole but I know that would be a fail for me too.

So far, I have simply used the tap-on-the-side-of-the-bottle method to sprinkle a bit of the powder on the surface I wish to colorize. This keeps my lid intact and I think it will be neater in the long run…At least for me.

Let me warn you, the keyword when using these stains is moderation. A little goes a LONG way. Believe me, I learned that quickly! Oh, and you might want to wear some rubber gloves if you don’t want to be stuck with color drenched fingers for a veritable lifetime.

For these experiments I knew my paper would be getting very wet so I used a few scraps of Stonehenge warm white and Canson cold press watercolor paper (140 lb).

Before I even decided what type of card I might try making, I decided to play with the stains and see what happened when I got them wet. First, I painted a piece of watercolor paper with Matte Mod Podge, sprinkled bits of Are You Cerise stain, then used my flat paintbrush to brush the color into the Mod Podge. I sprinkled some of the Lemoncello stain beside the previous color and blended the two then repeated the same steps with a couple of other colors. This technique created a nice wood grain look.

Four different techniques using Infusions Coloured Stain

The second attempt was created by sprinkling a small amount of two colors (Are you Cerise and Lemoncello) on the paper and then spritzing the paper with water. This method makes it easy to have mirror image copies of the same paper because a second piece of paper is smooshed (a highly technical term) on top of the color sprinkled wet paper.

Lightly sprinkle paper, sprinkle with water, then “smoosh” a second piece of paper on top

Next, I sprinkled Are You Cerise on a piece of paper, spritzed it with water, dried it a bit with a heat tool, and then placed Simon Says Stamp’s In the Round stencil on top. I rubbed the top of the stencil with a paper towel to remove some of the color and was left with a slight coloration/discoloration pattern.

Finally, the piece I love the most was created when I sprinkled a generous amount of pigment onto my paper (Black Knight, Green Man, and Lemoncello). I spritzed it with water galore and then sprinkled a bit more of the pigment on the paper. I then placed Picket Fence’s Current of Fish stencil on top of the very watery paper.

The surface of the stencil was then rubbed with a dry paper towel…And another dry paper towel, repeating until it appeared that most of the water had been squished from beneath the stencil and sopped from the surface. I removed the stencil, lightly blotted the remaining water, and then dried with a heat tool.

Two pieces of paper were made using this technique to see if it could be repeated or if the look was a fluke. Both pieces were similar but very different. I really like the dark, dark colors.

The paper is beautiful but the stencil was a sopping mess! Nothing soap and water can’t fix.

I was satisfied that I had a paper I really liked so I decided to create a card using the “fish” paper. I wanted to keep the colors dark because I felt it created a deep ocean appearance.

I moved the rectangle die around on the paper until I found the perfect cut for my card.

I then began selecting and coloring my card elements. I found a cute set of military stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop on a destash group a few weeks ago and thought the submarine was a perfect fit for my deep ocean theme.

The submarine also set the color scheme for my sentiment which I created using Y17, Y15, Y13, and Y11 Copic markers. I fussy cut the submarine since Sweet Stamp Shop (a now defunct company) did not create dies for their stamps. The yellow submarine not only gave the card a little brightness but it was also the perfect image for a young boy I know that loves the song Yellow Submarine.

I stamped each element using Catherine Pooler’s Twilight Ink and then colored the whale (My Favorite Things Fish You Were Here) using Copic cool grays (C7, C5, C3, and C1) with a final pass over the entire image with B000. Doesn’t every whale need just a touch of blue?

I filled out the card with a small school of fish colored with Copic E71 and adhered water bubbles using Tombow’s Mono Aqua glue with Studio Katia’s clear drops. The fish background was elevated using Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam strips. I think both cards turned out really cute.

I hope you enjoyed my “messing” around. If you have used Infusions Coloured Stains I would love to look at your samples. Just leave me a message and let me know your Instagram/Facebook/Blog link so I can take a look!

If you would like to see some other cards using my Infusions Coloured Stains paper creations, please visit my Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and my Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess).

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

** MFT Fish You Were Here has been discontinued by My Favorite Things so a link directly to MFT’s website was not available.

Be sure to come back to my blog next week when I hope to invite Spring to arrive with a cute card using one of my favorite My Favorite Things springtime stamps. Better yet, let me remind you to return by clicking the link to subscribe to my blog. You’ll never miss any of my posts since you will receive an email each week when I create new blog entries. Thanks for stopping by!