Joan's Garden Thursday Challenge 12

Good Morning!  Joan is very busy preparing for her workshop this week so she asked me to prepare a sample card for her Joan's Gardens Thursday Challenge 12.  The challenge this week is  to use: striped paper; pearls or brads; piercing; Fall colors and a stamped Fall image.  You can read the complete challenge on Joan's Blog.

The stamp set used for this card is from the JustRite "Autumn Blessings" set.  The image was stamped three times and colored with Copic markers.  The bow and corn were cut out as one piece and just the bow cut from the third one so they could be layered with dimensionals.  The image was cut out with Nestabilities and sponged prior to taking it out of the die.  The Nestabilities Label Ten die was used to cut out the striped background from the Graphic 45 "Halloween in Wonderland" paper.

The Cuttlebug  Heritage embossing folder was used to emboss the background.  There are four embossing folders in this Cuttlebug embossing folder package.   A sponge dauber was used to add color to the raised portion of the embossing.  Two strips cut from the same Graphic 45 dp was added along each side to coordinate with the design behind the stamped image.  Bronze pearls were added to complete the card.

This card is also being submitted for the Treehouse Thursday Challenge #064 - Fall Colors - Neva

Grunge Paper Tag

Well the Thursday Challenge #11 at Joan's Garden is about to close but I finally got a tag made and so I'm going to post it.  I didn't have any chip board or grunge paper but yesterday I received an order with grunge paper.  The requirements for the challenge are to create a tag and use something heavier than card stock.  Joan used Grunge paper but you can use Chip Board if you don't have Grunge paper. The colors need to be old and vintage looking. You can add metal, cork, flowers or anything you have in your stash.

I started out with a manila tag and used the Tim Holtz technique to smear three Distressed inks on the Teflon pad, and spritz with water, then swirl your tag around to add color.  The tag was dried with an embossing heat gun.  I used the Heartfelt Creations "Vintage word Background" to stamp words in black in on the tag.

The Heartfelt Creations butterfly from the "Posy Patch Garden Delights" set was stamped on Grunge paper, and cut out with the matching die.  It was colored using green and gold inks.  The colors don't show very well in the photo.  It was attached with dimensionals to the tag.  A layered flower was added below the butterfly.  A mixture of ribbons was added through the hole in the top of the tag. 

This is my first time playing with the Distressed inks and the Grunge paper, but I plan to do a lot more with both of them.  Have you used the Grunge paper yet?  It is really a fun product because it bends so easily yet doesn't tear and you can color it any color you want.  Joan now sells the Distressed inks and Grunge paper in her store.  She also carries all the Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies that I used on this project.

Tomorrow I will be posting a sample card for the next Joan's Gardens Thursday Challenge.  Be sure to check back.

Christmas Wishlist

Yesterday my Internet was down all day so I didn't get a card posted.  This morning I "whacked" the top of my index finger really hard on a decorative post in my house and it is painful to try and move that finger or even use my hand.  I have been really busy so maybe this is a sign to slow down. 

My card today is made with some new products from Joan's Gardens.  I think the style is vintage which is much different from my normal style, but I am having fun learning this technique.  The stamp is "'Tis the Season" by Kaiser Craft.  The two background papers are also from Kaiser Craft from the "Be Merry Collection"  6" paper pad.  The santa image was stamped using black Memento ink on ivory card stock.  To antique the design, I rubbed "Scatttered Straw" Tim Holtz Distress Ink over the top.  The design was cut out with a Nestability and the edges embossed.  A sponge dauber was used to sponge dark brown ink around the edges.  A paper piercer was used to poke three holes around the curved corners.  This was mounted to a piece of ruby red card stock that was distressed. 

A piece of ruby red card stock was layered onto the ivory card. Two different pieces of the design paper were added on top, and a border created with a Martha Stewart punch, placed across the steam.  A piece of antique trim was added at the bottom.   The stamped design was added at an angle on dimensionals.  A button from the Webster's Pages "Sparklers" was added on the design.  Three Martha Stewart snowflakes were punch out and antiqued with the same ink as used on the design.  Since the brown button had a big rhinestone in it, I added one to the middle of each snowflake. 

What do you think?  Did I create a vintage Christmas card?

Joan has lots of fun new products in her store now.  Hope you go over and check them out.

Give Thanks for Simple Blessings

I think Fall is just around the corner.  This week the JustRite Friday Challenge #032  is to work with the above color combination. 

Edit:  I started working on this challenge on Saturday and created two cards.  I decided to post the pumpkin card on Saturday and this one on Sunday deciding this one should be used for the challenge.  When I went to the JustRite Challenge to post my card, I was wowed that Regina Mangum had already posted a scrapbook page using the same flowers in a similar grouping.  I did not see her page before I created my card. 

 I used two JustRite stamp sets to complete my card:  "Plant A Little Love" and "Autumn Blessings".  I stamped the flower image five times with brown ink then colored with Copic markers.  Sharon has some suggested Copic colors to use listed on the JustRite Blog.  I had the exact Olive Green but my pumpkin was slightly different.  I cut all the images out then sponged the edges with chocolate chip ink.  I really like the shading this gave to the edge of the flowers.  The center of the flowers were colored with a rust color then bronze Stickles applied to the center of the flowers.   

The embossed frame is one of the new Cuttlebug cut and emboss folders called "Brocade Window".  A piece of ivory card stock was embossed using this folder.  The greeting is from the Autumn Blessings stamp set and was embossed using vanilla embossing powder.  It was  attached behind the embossed ivory frame.  The flowers were arranged along the bottom of the frame using dimensionals.  I cut between the flower petals and some of the leaves so I could intertwine them all together.  Three BossKut Corner Scrolls were cut out of chocolate chip card stock. Two were placed on the upper corners.  The third scroll was cut apart and arranged below the flowers.  Ivory colored pearls were added to the center of the scrolls.  

Supplies:  The JustRite stamps, pearls and the Cuttlebug embossing folder can be purchased from  Joan's Gardens.

Today is Joan's birthday and I want to send her Happy Birthday Wishes. 

Be Thankful for the Little Things

 

We are having a cool breezy day so decided to make an autumn card today.  I just bought a beautiful "huge" mum plant for my front porch and it got me in the mood to pull out autumn things to decorate.  It's a little too early but I can start on my autumn cards.

The JustRite "Autumn Blessings" stamp set was used.  The background paper is from the "Graphic 45 Halloween in Wonderland" paper pad.  It has little pumpkins all over it.  The pumpkin design and border were stamped on ivory card stock and sponged prior to taking it out of the oval Nestie.  It was layered onto an oval of mustard cs.  Each layer is on dimensionals. 

I was going to add a bow, but wanted to do something different so punched out a Martha Stewart fence and sponged it with some brown ink.  It was layered across the bottom.  Some oak leaves were punched, scored, and sponged and just scattered around the bottom of the card.  Two Cuttlebug corners were cut and added to the top.

Supplies:  The Graphic 49 dp, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch and JustRite stamps can all be purchased from Joan's Gardens.  The little leaf punch is something I have had for a very long time and it doesn't have a brand name.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Get Well Soon JustRite Bird

One of the new JustRite stamps sets I just received is  "Backyard Birds". There are four birds and four borders in this new set.  This card is created with that set.  A piece of brown striped designer paper was attached to ivory card stock.  The bird was stamped twice so I could cut out one of the birds to attach it with dimensionals.  The design was colored with Copic markers.  The autumn leaf border was also in this set.  It was stamped with black Memento ink and the leaves colored with Copics, then it was cut out with a scallop Nestie.  Shading behind the bird and on the border was done by blending chalks.  Each piece is layered with dimensionals.  A piece of ribbon from Gina K Designs was added across the bottom with ScorTape.  The greeting is from MTME and was cut out with the Spellbinder "Fancy Tags".  It was also chalked prior to taking it out of the die.  Cuttlebug corners were punched.  A remnant from one of the corners was added under the greeting, then pearls added to complete the card.

Cherish the Memories

 This project was created for the JustRite Friday Challenge.  This challenge is to create something back-to-school related.  I couldn't think of anything to make then thought about my friend, who is a teacher, and what she might like to have.  She loves to jot down memorable things that happen during the school year and refer back to them.  I think it is such a great idea, so I decided to make her a "pretty" journal for her to record these memories in. 

The front of the journal was covered with a piece of Graphic 45 design paper.  It is one of my favorite.  It was backed with a piece of dark green card stock to frame the pretty roses.  A piece of crocheted lace was added down the middle. 

The JustRite "Baroque Nested Frames" were white embossed on Kraft card stock and layered with dimensionals.  The verse is from the JustRite "Cherish the Memories" set.  It was also white embossed, cut out, and attached with dimensioinals.  I wanted to put the school year on the front so used the JustRite smallest "Baroque Nested Frame" on the clear stamping block and added the numbers from the JustRite "Special Occasions, 50 point font set".  This frame matches the crochet trim very well, doesn't it. 

I needed to add a little more dimension and elegance to the front of the journal, so I made some peach colored vellum roses and added them along with a few vellum leaves.  To complete the journal, I added a few pearls. 

The products I used are all available from Joan's Gardens.

Thanks for visiting again today. 

Plant A Little Sunshine Daisies

Today I worked with another new stamp set I purchased from Joan's Gardens.  This is the Heartfelt Creations "Daisy Patch Bouquet".  Isn't it pretty.  I used brown Vivid ink to stamp the design then stamped the largest flower again from the Daisy Patch single flowers.  The single flower was cut out with the matching die.  The flowers were colored with pigment ink using sponge daubers.  A Martha Stewart border was punched to go around the design.  The bottom half of the daisy panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug dotted Swiss embossing folder to give a little texture to the background.  The extra flower was attached with dimensionals and brown beads added to the center of all the flowers. 

A greeting was stamped using the JustRite "Seeds of Kindness" stamp set and cut out with a circle scalloped Nestability. A little color was added with a Copic marker and each scallop was pierced.  

To complete the card a gingham bow was added and well as some Cuttlebug corners.  Plus, can't forget the butterfly.  

I love working with the Heartfelt Creations stamps because they have so much detail and it is so much fun to be able to add dimension by using the matching dies to add extra

flowers or leaves.  

Tomorrow I will be going to the grand opening of a new Hobby Lobby that is opening up over in the Spokane Valley.  It is the first one in the Spokane area.  My "stamping" granddaughter is going with me and we plan to meet Patti Nelson (from Idaho) there.  I have known Patti for several years now, through blogging, and I am excited to meet her. I can't promise I will have time to post a card tomorrow, but if not, I will have one for you Tuesday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Winter Wonderland

Today I have a fun Christmas card.  As soon as I saw the JustRite "Whimsical Christmas" stamp set, this card came to mind with this cute little guy.  I used the Cuttlebug "Winter House" embossing folder and the Cuttlebug snowflake border.  I don't think it shows in the photo, but I tore three layers of card stock and layered them to resemble snow drifts below the houses, then added some Polar White Flower Soft to them.  A small amount of Flower Soft was added to the roofs of the houses too.  Glitter was added to the snowflakes on the side border.  The Winter Wonderland border and one of the snowflakes, also from the Whimsical Christmas set, were white embossed.  The little bird was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers then cut out.  The stamp includes some cute whimsical swirls around him but for this card I cut them off.

Have a great weekend. 

Heartfelt Creations Diecut

I want to thank all of you who left such nice comments about the card I posted yesterday.  This card was also posted in my SCS gallery.   This morning I woke up to a lot of questions about the die cut I used on it.  This die comes in the Heartfelt Creations package with the "Perfect Petals" dies.  Here is the description:

HCD 704 Perfect Petals Diecut is a custom Heartfelt Creations Diecut manufactured by Spellbinders. This set of dies coordinates with our Perfect Petals Collection. There are 7 Diecuts in this set.

 You can purchase this set, and many other Heartfelt Creations sets, from Joan's Gardens.  There are also a lot of samples of beautiful cards using this die cut on Joan's blog.  Isn't it beautiful.  Joan also has a preview on her blog of some of the new Heartfelt Creations stamps that will be released later this month.

Thanks again for all the nice comments about the card I made using Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies.

Joan's Garden Challenge 10

It's time for a new challenge over at Joan's Gardens.  This week the challenge is to make a purple and green card, using a strip of patterned paper. Some kind of butterfly embellishment is required too.

The card I made above was made using some of my new Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies. All these can be seen on Joan's Blog here.  I decided to try something different this time.  Instead of stamping my flowers on card stock, I stamped them on design paper.  I wanted to see if I could get them to shape a little easier, and they do.  I think I got carried away stamping and cutting out flowers but it is amazing how quick and easy you can do it with these wonderful stamps and dies.  For those of you who tell me you hate to cut out images, these are perfect for you.  Well they are perfect for everyone because literally in seconds you can cut out each flower. You know how I love to make dimensional flowers so cutting out many layers is so quick and easy.   You place the die on top of the stamped flower and place the Spellbinder die over it and run it through your die cutting machine.  On an earlier post I showed you how to make a template to do this.

I cut out two of the lacy background dies from the Heartfelt Creations  "Perfect Petals" die cuts and attached them together (you can see that in the middle on each side).  This die cut makes the most beautiful background for just about anything.  I then cut out an oval Nestability and embossed it and placed over the center so I would have a solid background for the flowers.  I stamped the smallest flower, from the "Daisy Patch Flowers PreCut set", on purple dp and cut them all out with the matching Daisy Patch die cut set.  I have layered them four deep and added a black rhinestone in the center of each flower. The smallest leaf, from the "Elegant Single Leaves PreCut set", was stamped on green card stock and also cut out with matching dies.  These were tucked (and glued) around the flowers.

For the background, a piece of Basic Grey design paper was used on the left side.  A piece of lavender card stock was embossed with a new embossing folder I just received from Joan's Garden's called "Heritage".  This is another set that has four embossing folders in it.  It has an empty oval space in the center where I placed my Heartfelt Creations design.  A Martha Stewart punched border was placed between the design paper and the embossed cs.  To finish off the card a yellow butterfly and bow were added.

This is another very easy challenge so hope you will participate. 

Rose Tutorial

I finally got this tutorial completed.  I have had lots of you asking for a tutorial on how I made the roses out of card stock so I have tried to take a lot of pictures to show you how I did it.  First I will give you information about how I made the card above. I used the JustRite stamp set "Baroque Nested Frames" for the greeting.  This stamp set is so beautiful.  I placed both the large and small Baroque Frames in the clear stamp block and white embossed them.  The greeting was stamped separately and cut out then attached with dimensionals.  The beautiful background is from a brand new set of Cuttlebug embossing folders I just received from Joan's Gardens.  It is a set of 4 embossing plates -- two large and two regular size, all different.  It is called "Sentimentals".  The roses I made were placed on the top of the card and a pretty piece of lace on the bottom.

Before I start the tutorial, I want to show you a picture of a card stock rose and a vellum rose.  The card stock rose is a lot more time consuming to make.  My favorite is the vellum rose because it is really quick and easy to make and I personally think much more delicate - like a real rose.

I used three size punched flowers for this rose.  You can use any punches you may have that are varied in size.  The smallest flower really isn't necessary but I have included it in this tutorial in case you have a tiny flower punch and want to use it.

This is the smallest punched flower.  In order to be able to work with the card stock, you must make the paper more pliable so you can shape it.  I used a stylus to "scribble" all over it to weaken the fibers. 

This is the medium size flower.  You have to weaken the fibers again and since this flower does not have separate petals, you need to cut down, between each petal, towards the center to make it easier to shape.

This is the largest flower and the fibers were also weakened on it.

This shows me forming the smallest flower by pressing it all the way down into the soft rubber mat (just like you do the vellum flowers). 

This is shaping the middle size flower.  You notice it doesn't go down into the mat as far but it does form its shape by doing this.  You can use your fingers to help press the petals close to the stylus.

This is the largest flower being shaped.

In this picture I have placed some liquid glue down in the medium size flower and I'm placing the smallest flower into the center.

With each layer you add glue to the flower you are adding and press it down into the foam mat to shape the flower.  You can add two or three flowers from the medium size flower.

Here I am adding several layers of the largest flower.  You add glue to the center of each new flower and place the shaped flower down in it and press it firmly into the soft rubber mat.  After you have added all your layers, you can take you fingers and slightly curl the bottom petals down to resemble a rose. 

Hope this tutorial helps.  If you make the flowers, please link back to my blog so I can see your beautiful flowers. 

I also want to answer lots of questions that I get about the vellum I use for the vellum flowers.  I purchase this from Joan's Gardens.  It comes in a pad and has 10 different colors of high quality vellum.  Once you get started making the vellum flowers, you are going to love having all the colors that come in this pad.  I also have had disappointed people tell me they try to color white vellum and it doesn't look as pretty as my flowers.  I tried doing this at first, but coloring on vellum does not give you the bright, beautiful colors as when you purchase it already colored.  Hope this answers your questions about the vellum.

In case you haven't seen it, the link to my vellum flower tutorial is listed on my sidebar.

Have fun making your flowers!

Enjoy

This card is for the Annabelle Bling Sketch Challenge.  My friend Sue Walsh is on the design team and has asked for more people to participate in this challenge.  I need a card to go with an apple cake I am giving to someone, so I used the pretty apple stamp from the JustRite "Autumn Blessings" stamp set.  To create the frame I used a stamp from the JustRite "Victorian Nested Frames & Borders" set.  The apple stamp comes in an oval set, but I like to trim around my stamps so it fit perfectly in the Nested Frame.  The design was colored with colored pencils and OMS.  It was matted with burgundy card stock and placed on the Basic Grey design paper.  A black border was created with a Martha Stewart punch.

I  used just one of the words from another one of the stamps in the JustRite "Autumn Blessings".  The stamp says "Enjoy the Days of Autumn" but I only wanted the "Enjoy" so cut it out and attached it to my design.  I hope they enjoy the apple cake. 

For the bling on my card I used black rhinestones.  A bow was added to complete the card.  All the products used for this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Hope you will go over and participate in the AnnaBelle Bling Sketch Challenge.

I want to wish Sue's husband a speedy recovery.  Sue left a note on her blog that he had an accident and is in the hospital. 

Miss You

Isn't this a beautiful teapot and cup!  This is one of the Heartfelt Creations stamps available from Joan's Gardens.  The name of it is "Teacup/Border".  There is also a cute little border to put on the inside of your card.  Joan used this stamp for one of her challenge cards and you can see her beautiful card here. 

The  lavender card stock was embossed with a new Cuttlebug embossing folder I received recently from Joan's Gardens.  It is called "Scrollwork".  I think I must have chosen this embossing folder because maybe it reminds me of steam when used with this stamp but it will make a beautiful border for so many things.  It was attached to a piece of MS design paper. 

The teapot was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with colored pencils and OMS.  I outlined the teapot and cup with blue to give it some depth.  It was cut out and attached with dimensionals. 

The greeting is from the JustRite stamp set "Just A Note".  It was cut out with a petite circle Nestability and sponged prior to taking it out of the die.  Each scallop was pierced.  A flower and some pearls were added to the top to complete the card.

All the products used on this card were purchased from Joan's Gardens.  Have you checked out all the new Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies that Joan is taking preorders for?  I can hardly wait for these to come in so I can start working on cards with an Autumn theme.  

JustRite Inspiration Challenge

This is the JustRite Inspiration Photo

It is time for another JustRite Friday Challenge. You may use the photo above for inspiration of a color theme or combo, general overall feeling or even as layout inspiration.  When I first saw this picture I immediately thought about using the colors in the burgundy pillow with the yellow flower.  These are not colors I normally use but this was a challenge and thought would be fun. 

I found a piece of Basic Grey design paper that I thought would make a great background. The red is a little deeper tone but everything else matches well.   There is a big yellow mum in the design so chose the mum from the JustRite "Beautiful Blossoms" stamp set.  The border I chose from this set has flourishes on it to go with the dp.  The image was stamped three times and colored with Copic markers.  I found a great video called "Karen's Spellbinders die and JustRite Stamps alignment tips" on the JustRite Stampers blog on how to line up your Spellbinder dies to get a perfect cut and I had to try it on this card.  If you haven't checked out these videos you should because there is so much great info. 

One of the images I stamped was cut out with the technique shown on the JustRite video.  The second image I cut around the entire flower design, and on the third one I just cut out the largest flower.  I wanted to create layers with this flower to make it my focal point.  A Nestabilities Label Ten die was used for the yellow background.  I sponged around the cut out design to help blend it into the yellow cs.  Some Martha Stewart punched ferns were glued down behind the flowers.  I didn't have pearls to match my dp so I used a Copic Marker to color white pearls. 

I have a lot of dimension with the floral piece so decided to take a strip of the design paper and pleat it. There is a ruffle around that pillow so this is what gave me this inspiration.   I used the ScorPal to score lines every fourth inch then did an according fold.  A took a piece of yellow card stock and scored long lines on it (sadly they don't show up now) then placed a piece of ScorTape down the middle.  I placed the pleated dp on top and used a scoring tool to press down between each pleat so it would stick.  A silk bow was added with some additional leaves. 

 

My DH just washed all the windows on the house and I need to go put some things back in place that have been pulled out.  We had such a wet and windy Spring and the windows sure got dirty.  Nice to have them clean again!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

Christmas Tag

This week the Caardvarks Challenge is to Create a NEW Holiday gift tag or mini card that incorporates stamping! 

The body of my tag is a  manila shipping tag.  I covered it with a piece of design paper from the Basic Grey`"Eskimo Kisses" paper pad.  I had a piece of mesh that I cut to the same size as the tag.  It was run through a sticker machine then placed on top of the design paper.  I like the texture it gives the tag.  I cut a piece of burgundy card stock to attached to the back of the tag to give it a more completed finish. 

The Cardinal is one of the stamps in the JustRite "Christmas Treasures" stamp set.  I stamped it twice and colored both with Copic markers.  The bird and the two sections of holly were cut out of one of the images so they could be attached with dimensionals over the design.  The birdhouse was cut out with an oval Nestability and sponged with yellow ink prior to taking it out of the die.  Holes were punched in each scallop.  The design was then attached with dimensionals onto the tag.  A narrow strip of burgundy card stock was placed at the top of the design paper then a narrow piece of lace attached with ScorTape along the bottom edge.  The poinsettia was attached with dimensionals then yellow rhinestones placed in the center.   The tag had a hole in the top of it but I had covered it up with the mesh and the burgundy card stock placed on the back.  It was punch out again with a 1/4" punch so I could attach ribbon through it.  I still needed to have my "To and From" so used a tag from the JustRite "From Our House" set.  It was colored, cut out around the design, and also backed with burgundy card stock.  A small hole was punched in one corner and it was attached with ribbon.  There is a glue dot dimensional under the left side of it to hold it in place.

I always make my Christmas tags so this is the first one compelted.  I love all the dimensional on it. 

Thanks again for stopping by.  Have a great weekend.

Get Well Soon

This is a card I made to send to my friend that just had surgery.  It almost qualifies for the Joan's Gardens challenge this week.  Have you been over to check it out?  Here is all you have to do:  Make a pink and white card this week, and be sure you have 4 corners punched preferably with a Martha Stewart Punch.  This is an easy one so hope you create a card and enter the challenge so you have a chance to win a nice prize.

My card does not qualify for the challenge because I didn't punch the 4 corners with a Martha Stewart Punch.  I used one of the Heartfelt Creations stamps called "Posy Patch Swirls" for my base design.  I love the flourishes that are on so many of their stamps.  Instead of using the HFC die cut flowers on this one I attached some of my vellum flowers.  I love the flourish behind the flowers.  The stamp (which includes flowers that are below my vellum flowers) was stamped using VersaMark ink and then was white embossed.  The vellum flowers and leaves were attached with glue dots.

The background piece was embossed with the Cuttlebug dotted Swiss embossing folder.  A Martha Stewart punched border was added down each side.  To cover the seam I added a narrow strip of darker pink card stock and added pearls.  The greeting is from MTME.

Have you seen all the new Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies Joan has added to her blog today?  Oh my gosh, I want them all.  It was hard to make a decision on which ones to order right away,  but I placed my order with Joan, and as soon as they arrive I will start making samples for you to see.  I will be posting a tutorial on how to color the leaves with multiple colors so they look realistic.  You can see all these new Heartfelt Creations stamps here.  Joan is taking pre-orders now and the stamps will be in later this month.

All products used on this card were purchased from Joan's Gardens except the greeting stamp which is from My Time Made Easy.

Inking JustRite Stamps Tutorial

I am going to give you a little info about this card then give you a tutorial below.  The stamp set used is the JustRite "Baroque Nested Frames & Occasions"  set.  The design paper is from the Making Memories "Wedding" paper pad. The roses were made out of card stock the same way I make my vellum flowers.  Have to tell you that making them out of vellum is much easier.  The layers of the JustRite stamps were each attached on dimensionals.

I have had a few questions about inking up JustRite stamps.  Here is an email I received yesterday and I thought I would do a tutorial to answer these questions. 

"I noticed you use JustRite stamps at times, and not always with the frames around them. I bought several myself and just got the Groovy Snowmen. But I am having all kinds of problems trying to use any of the sentiments alone without the frames, and even sometimes with the frames! I have tried inking putting the stamp on the pads and using the pads on the stamps! But I seem to get ink on the stamps AND the writing both. So then I CANNOT get a clear, crisp image! Can you give me any hints?"

There is a wealth of information on the JustRite Stampers blog but I will attempt to answer this question with the way I do it.  After reading my tutorial, I encourage to go over and check out all the info on the JustRite blog.

Here are some pictures of how I ink my stamps:

First, here is a picture of the supplies I am using for the card above.  I am using the new clear stamping blocks and stamps from the "Baroque Nested Frames & Occasions" stamp set.  The ink I prefer to use when inking my JustRite stamps is the "Memento Dew Drop" ink pads.  I like these little pads because it is easier to ink smaller areas without getting ink everywhere. 

This shows how I tap the ink pad around the frame.

When it comes to stamping the sentiment, you can see that the ink has smeared on the outside edges.  You can take a baby wipe and clean around the edges for a clean edge but there is an easier way.

I like to trim around my JustRite stamps just like you do with many different stamps you purchase to use on acrylic blocks.  The rubber is thin and very easy to cut.  What I love about the JustRite stamps is they fit in the grooves of the stamper and you always can get the stamp aligned perfectly straight on the block.  With these new clear stampers, it also makes it so easy to line it up within the frame because you can see right where you are placing it.  This is also important when you want to mix and match your stamps with different JustRite borders, which I do a lot.

 In the email above,  she was having problems with getting ink on the snowman set.  Here you can see how I trimmed around the image. 

Here are the three stamped pieces I used on my card.

I hope this tutorial helps those of you having a problem inking up your stamps.  I really encourage you to visit the JustRite Blog for lots of tips, videos, challenges and inspiration.  I have had several people comment that they think I work for JustRite -- I don't work for them but I am a huge fan of all their products.

Well I am off to make jam today.  Have a wonderful day and please let me know if this tutorial helps.  I love to read your comments.  This card is a Thank You to all of you who read my blog.