The Details
Where did it come from
Papercraft Inspirations Issue 171
When did I get it
6th October 2017
When did I try it
19th October 2017
First quick impression
I really like the idea of the interchangeable stamps all fitting into the Embossing Folder. Forgive me if I am wrong but I don’t think I have seen this idea before. The range of stamps is great and can easily cover a wide age range. The fireplace could easily work for my parents in their 80s and Santa or the little boy is perfect for young children or indulgent grandparents alike. I really hope the kit lives up to my imagination! Let’s get cracking and find out.
Testing the Stamps
To test out new stamps I always use my Tim Holtz Stamping Platform. I know there are other platforms available but when I came to the point that I knew I needed one I did a load of research into the different features of them all and decided this was the right one for me. You can read my post about it. Why did I need one? With the Fibromyalgia (not to mention a bonus gift of some Arthritis in my hands) I could no longer rely on my hands to get a clean even print with stamps. I was increasingly finding I was not getting good results, even with the Rocker Blockers which always guaranteed this before. The benefit of a stamping platform is that for whatever reason you do not get a clean impression you can simply re-ink and go again and you are guaranteed to be exactly in the same spot. Even the best eyes can be slightly off and then you risk shadowing.
I also always use Archival Ink to test stamps that come as free gifts with magazines. They are usually made from a different material to the one used by a lot of the major brands which means that if you use a dye based ink like Memento the ink can pool on the stamp and give a really bad impression. You can see exactly what I mean in this test of a fairy stamp. Archival Ink does not pool like this and I get to really test the stamp properly.
Stamp Verdict
As we can see the stamps behaved very nicely, I think it is becoming the exception rather than a regular occurrence that I have problematic ones this is great news if I do not need to test them all each time. Once I had tested the stamps I ran the Embossing Folder through my Gemini using the rest of the piece of Linda’s Card (Creative Crafting World) that I had stamped the images on. At that point, I fully visualized the card as I wanted it to be.
Colouring in the Images
The first step was to get colouring. I used my Spectrum Noir Markers on the Embossing Folder, this was actually spread over two days of activity as I am in a bit of a mini Fibro Flare-Up at the moment. The pointing of the walls took ages as did the brickwork itself as I was using two shades. Once I had completed the Embossed Image I turned to the window stamps and chose which to use. I decided to get a bit of contrast and coloured this with Spectrum Noir ColourBlend Pencils which I blended with a selection of Paper Stumps and the Spectrum Noir Blending Solution. All the colours I used came from the Essentials and Primaries Collections. I cut the window out by hand and fastened it into the space provided in the Embossed Image with some Hunkydory Sticky Mitts Glue. Here is how things looked at that point:
Creating the Card
On the third day, I did the rest of the work. This involved using a Nuvo Gold (506) marker on the Merry Christmas at the top of the Embossed design. and red and green glitter gel pens on the ribbon and holly ornamentation outline. I then used my Cutterpillar Pro to cut the image down and then used the 1/16 side of my Perfect Layers to create a Gold Mirror card outline. I was tempted to just using my Craft Artist Pro to print out some background paper but then I remembered that I had quite a lot of Christmas 8″ x 8″ papers so would no doubt have something suitable already. I think the paper I chose was from a Papermania Collection set probably about a decade ago… as I was using a 7″ x 7″ card blank (I know not an 8″ one!) I cut the paper down on the Cutterpillar to 16 cm square and some Gold Mirri Card to 16.5 cm square. I remembered to use the Hunkydory 8″ x 8″ Gold Mirri Card rather than cut up some A4. The embellishments added once the layers were all fastened together with Collall All Purpose Glue were to put some green gems from the Habico Signature Collection (from Hunkydory) into two corners, in rows of three. I line these up using a long pencil in the holes of a Layer Perfect Tool. Rather than trying to peel the background stickiness off with the gems I just removed the gems themselves and dotted some Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue onto the pencil marks with a cocktail stick. My Crystal Tanto tool was perfect for picking up the gems and adding them accurately to the glue dots. I genuinely don’t know how I managed without this! The final touch was to add some Tonic Nuvo Glitter Accents onto the snow. Here is the finished card:
The Verdict of the Christmas Window Kit
I really like this. I think it is fair to say that outside of the Hunkydory ones this is one of the cards I have produced recently that I am most proud of. I am already thinking about using the other window inserts to create different looks. Although it may take a while to complete them. So with regard to the minimising project, this collection is very firmly staying in my stash.
If you are decluttering your craft stash I would love to know how you are getting along. I’ll confess although I am happy with the decluttering progress I need to work on the next stage of actually removing the things from the house. Baby steps are better than no steps though :).
Until next time,
Gentle Hugs,
Susan
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