Stacklets

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!

Easter Wrap Up – Spring Cards Galore

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Sorry to be late posting to my blog this week but you know how people get busy and then time gets away! However, I didn’t want to let Easter get by without one last post of some really cute cards that made their way out of my mailbox and into the hands of some of my mini friends this week (**ALERT** I have heard reports that some have received theirs while others in the same households are still empty handed. That seems to be the way of the postal services these days. I hear their machines – both human and mechanical – are overworked and in under abundance).

I won’t give a lot of details for this week’s cards, mostly just pictures, but I did want to give a couple of little tips that I have found make my card assembly much easier.

Adding lettering to the front of a card using a word die looks really nice but can be a frustration when trying to line it up properly. I have found that cutting cardstock letters from the die then placing the negative of the word in the location I want it on my card makes this task an easy and frustration free endeavor. Run the letters through a Xyron 150 sticker maker, remove them from the backing, then place them back into the negative. Give the inserted letters a good rub to make sure they are fully adhered. Then, lift the negative away and your word will be aligned neatly on the front of your card.

My second tip is a perfect way to add artwork to an A2 card. Place the A2 card into the corner of your Misti. Add adhesive to the artwork and align it with the edges of the Misti. No more crooked card alignment.

When raising a panel on your cards for effect, how many 3D foam squares or strips is too much? some people place a sheet of foam over the entire back of their panel and others just make a rim around the four sides. I love using foam strips and have found that the 1/8-inch strips are perfect for this job. I surround the outer edges of my panel then make an X in through the center. Finally, fill in any large areas that might find themselves sinking if they become pressed in during the mailing process. Finally, if a card needs extra protection add a foam card cushion inside the envelope. This keeps the mail processing machinery from damaging your artwork or tearing the envelope open. But, be sure to add extra postage if you use one of these handy little pieces of foam because the extra depth will signal the USPS that your card is too thick for the minimum payment. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click the link for Card Cushions in the supplies list below for a visual.

And now for my last Easter cards of the season – Check the supply list if you are interested in any of the tools I used – And if you have questions about a specific card, please add a message below and I’ll be sure to respond.

  • TE – Oh Hoppy Day
  • MFT – Over the Moon for Ewe
  • TE – Cap It Off Alpha
  • TE – Iconic Wishes Sparrow
  • TE – Be Joyful Sentiments
  • TE – Bunch O’ Bunnies
  • Avery Elle – Sending Hugs

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.

Oh Hoppy Day Card:

Over the Moon For Ewe Card:

Cap It Off Alpha Card:

Iconic Wishes Sparrow Card:

Be Joyful Sentiments Card:

Bunch O’ Bunnies Card:

Sending Hugs Card:

Miscellaneous Tools Used:

** MFT Items that have been discontinued are often available from FranticStamper.com, Doodlebugswa.com, and Scrapbookpal.com. When possible I provide links to directly to MFT.

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.

Thanks for checking out my post. I hope you have had a nice Easter holiday and that you were able to share it with loved ones whether from a distance or fully vaccinated and in person. Please come back next week when I will have another new card to share with you.

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.

As usual, I would love for you to share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you liked what you saw today and would like to be sure to catch all of my posts, scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to my blog via email. I also try to post regularly to Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and occasionally on Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess). 

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!

Faux Watercolor Technique

Posted on by Lynn Hill

In the early days of America, and probably before, farmers used small notebooks to keep track of their crops and the day-to-day activities on their farms. The fact that many farmers didn’t read made the images they drew in their notebooks an important and valuable asset for their homestead. The small drawings of seedlings, pests on the land, and random marks reminded them of what they could expect from year to year. These were some of the early field notes. Of course naturists, scientists, and researchers still use small notebooks to record their observations of whatever they are studying. And, traditional Field Notes have become popular

Taylored Expressions recently aroused a love of Field Notes with a fun kit of card making tools titled just that, Field Notes. Florals are often a favorite of card making enthusiasts but I will have to admit I haven’t been much of a fan because I just can’t seem to make them consistently nice. But this line of stamps intrigued me and once again I decided to give florals a try.

I bought most of the items from the Field Notes (Set 1) line and started out by mimicking a card that was shared on the Fans of TE Facebook page (thanks Teresa Dolan for the outstanding idea). 

Daniel Smith Watercolors

For my first card (the “copy”) I used Daniel Smith Watercolors (cobalt teal blue, spa green, burnt umber, and Aussie red gold) to watercolor the flower. I cut the flower using the Sketchbook Florals die and created a background using the Frayed Edge masking stencil and snippets from the Field Notes sentiment set. I propped the flower up using Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam strips and splashed the project with walnut ink before adhering it to an A2 background and card. And, don’t forget to generate interest in the contents for your recipient by adding a sneak peek of the artwork to the envelope. 

Don’t forget to decorate your envelope with a sneak peek of what is inside!

My second card was also created using Field Notes elements but I decided to use my new favorite and chose a mini slim side-fold card. I enjoyed using watercolors for the first card and decided to switch it up just a bit  but still used a watercolor technique (some call it faux watercolor). I used only two colors to create the flowers (Marvy LePlume II markers in #4 green and #20 magenta). I placed the stamp in my Misti and colored the flower portion of the stamp with magenta ink. After stamping the image onto Stonehenge warm white paper I colored the stamp with green ink covering the stem, leaves, and the center portion of the stem all the way up the stamp. 

Card #2 was created using a Faux Watercolor Technique

For the faux watercolor technique, I used a wet paintbrush to pull the ink from the edges of the image being careful not to mix the green too far onto the buds of the flowers. To highlight the lighter magenta color I began at the top of each bud with the wet paintbrush and pulled the color down to meet the darker magenta that had had been created when the magenta and green had mixed.

I die cut the flowers and then cut my background pieces using patterned paper and the largest of the Petite Scallop Mini Slim Stacklets dies for the base and a rectangle cut from the Stonehenge paper using the Stitched Mini Slim Stacklets. I cut two small tags from the Sketchbook Florals set and stamped the white one with a Sketchbook Florals sentiment.

Field Notes and Sketchbook Florals

I splashed walnut ink on the Stonehenge rectangle and the flowers. After letting them dry I then assembled the card onto a mini slim side-fold base, first attaching the sentiment tags with a very small button brad and finally adding some Stampin’ Up All The Trimmings embellishments to the card.

I have to admit, I have never been a fan of floral cards. That’s partly because I find it difficult to make florals look nice. That all changed with this stamp set and I would highly recommend trying the Field Notes products. Better yet, check out the new Field Notes #2 Kit! (I don’t get any kickback for any of the links that are included on this post, I just like the products and wanted to make it easy for you to check them out and/or buy them too).