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Showing posts from May, 2021

Come Make a Stamp Chuckie With Me!

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Have you used a Stamp Chuckie with your MISTI or Stamp Platform? You may be asking...."What is a stamp chuckie?"  I am sure a few of my friends are reading this blog right now about to text me and ask me if I've gone crazy and if I've started to imagine new products for stamping. Nope, I have not and yes this is really a thing.   Now, a stamp chuckie is used with a MISTI or stamp platform and instead of using your hand to rub the door of the stamp platform you use the handheld apparatus to smoosh the door down.  It gives you more pressure than your palm.   I'll show you! This is my handmade chuckie or helper for my stamp platform. Supply List to make your own  Candle or Jar lid Gorilla Glue or E6000 CTMH ink refill ModPodge Circle Furniture moving pad it is made of a yankee candle lid, I took the plastic pc off the lid, colored the lid by painting it with ModPodge and I mixed a few drops of a Close to My Heart ink refill in it to make it look like sea glass.  I th

Come Prime Your Stamps With Me!

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 Prime your stamps with me! Do you ever get a brand new set of clear stamps and they do not stamp well? its not you, or your stamps, or your ink.  During the manufacturing process of clear stamps a thin layer of something is applied to the surface of the stamp.  Sometimes that causes a stamp to stamp a blotchy image the first few times you use it. I am going to show you a few ways to prime your stamps so that you do not have this issue. It is best to get into the habit of priming your stamps the first time you use them.   There are a few ways to prime your stamp.  Try them all and see which way you like? Lets prime those stamps! 1. Versamark I saw this tip from Jennifer McGuire and it really is a cool trick.  Check her out on YouTube as she is a wealth of knowledge. You can stamp once with a Versamark ink pad and your stamp should stamp clearer. Simply stamp on a scratch piece of paper, wipe off the excess versamark with your hand and it should be primed.   The left side was primed wit

Come Craft Distress Oxides With Me!

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Come Craft Distress Oxides With Me!  For Mother's day my husband always asks what I want.  It is almost always a crafty item that I've been wanting but something I wouldn't just go out and buy.  When my kid moves out and becomes her own person I probably won't buy things for myself anymore LOL its just something we do.  I do the same for Father's day and he gets something he wants.  Its really just an excuse to buy things.  His is never "crafty" LOL This year I chose Distress Inks because I love them but buying a ton of them would be expensive.  I bought mine at Joann mostly because they had a door buster for 50% off.  I also bought some colors on Amazon, at Michaels, and you can also find some of them at my Close To My Heart website for purchase. Home | Close To My Heart You can check out my organizing distress oxides for an idea on how I personally organize mine but this blog is going to be about using them.   Its so easy!  They blend so nicely you canno

Store Your Distress Oxide Inks with Me!

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Organize Distress Oxides With Me!  I've recently purchased a lot of Distress Oxide Inks.  Close to My Heart does have a selection of them available on my shop: Distress Oxide™ Ink Pads | Close To My Heart   The big box stores have them as well but if you are my VIP you get credit on your purchases! I love them! I've been learning a lot from YouTube and have I love the storage solution I have. I found this old wooden cassette tape holder at Goodwill, painted it teal, and I use it for my ink pads. As you can see I again ran out of room but I am a hoarder so I just cannot help it, I love ink! I found a document online that has all the colors and names of each Distress Oxide.  I printed this out on label paper and had my Cameo cut out stickers.  I applied them upside down because I want to store my inks upside down. I have been told that you do not need to store them upside down but I just do. You can get your own copy here:   Organize Your Ranger Products (rangerink.com) They have

3D Print with ME!

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 Come 3d Print With ME! I am not a great 3d printer person.  In fact I've only had it for a little over a year and its not a fancy one.  I just wanted to try it out.  I'll list the model below so that you can look it up if you would like. Not long ago I bought one of those huge tape runners from Goodwill and I was so excited it was less than 1.00.   It was missing the inside piece that holds the tape on but it still works.  I checked on www.thingiverse.com and found a model someone posted and printed it.  It works perfectly now!  Yay! I 3d printed the yellow pc that holds the old tape on when it is used.   I then decided I just wanted to print some fun stuff so I printed the following items since I had everything fired up. A beetle cookie cutter Some peace signs I may use as earrings ' These peace signs were super small so I'm going to use them as scrapbook embellishments or I may use a couple as stud earrings. This is something you put over a coffee cup and sprinkle po

Distress Inks

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 Come use Distress Inks with me! The other day I found myself at Michaels and thought to myself, I need a present for myself.  I had just watched a youtube about it from Betz Golden and wanted to try it out on a card I had made. I decided I needed some distress ink.  Instead of full size I remembered one of my friends had some small inks in a container.  I found them!  I got these colors and this tin to store them in. I was looking for something to put on the back of this bus card.  It has shimmer but you really cannot see it and I wanted it to pop. I used the spiced marmalade and mustard seed to get the look below.  The background was made by smooshing the ink pads directly onto the card and moving them around a little.  I also sprayed it with a bit of water and rubbed it with a tissue to get get a more mixed look.  I really love how it turned out and will be making more cards with that fun tie dye background look. The next card I decided to make is for a friends birthday.  She has a