Take Your Pick Die Brush Tip - The Maine Stamper

Basic Pattern Decorative Masks: Victorian

July 9, 2020

Decorative Masks Part II

Card made with Basic Pattern Decorative Masks, Victorian style

Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (item #150697) come in a set of 4 masks, sized 6 x 6″ each. They are thin and pliable, plastic in nature and easily cleaned. The enclosed insert lists 5 different methods you can use when you create with these decorative masks: spritz, sponge, trace, emboss and texture.

The variety in the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks is wonderful, and this set has something for everyone. Part I in my mini series on Decorative Masks focused on the Dot Mask, and creating a textured background. To see that post, which contains great information and card making tips, click here.

In Part II of my mini series on Decorative Masks, I have focused on the Victorian Mask and the spritzing technique. I find this technique useful with any mask, and can use it in any color as well. Let me show you the fun of spritzing!

Spritzing Technique

Are you looking for big impact in card making on a low budget? I have news for you: spritzing is the way to go! The Stampin’ Spritzers (item #126185) cost $3 for a set of 2. Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill (in the color of your choice) costs $3.75. All you need now is rubbing alcohol or water, and you have the mixin’s for some wow.

Stampin' Spritzer and Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

The magic mix of spritzer lasts a long time, since a little goes a long way. In fact, I still had some left-over from another project, as can be seen in my blog post, here.

Tips For Mixing And Using The Stampin’ Spritzers:

*Stampin’ Spritzers can be used to spray color saturation on your paper.

*Add 6-8 drops of Ink Refill to the opened spritzer (protective cap pops off and spritzing mechanism/tube screws off) and dilute with rubbing alcohol or water. Rubbing alcohol is preferred to water, since the alcohol base dries quicker. Percentage on rubbing alcohol bottle is not crucial.

*The more liquid, the lighter the overall color. Add more ink or more liquid until you are happy with the result. Experiment!

*Shake your spritzer well before each use to avoid settling or separation. Store your filled spritzer upright.

*Spritz with care! You can use an empty card-board box to place your paper in and spritz away if you are concerned with making a mess. I find that having a great clearance around my work surface ensures that nothing gets an accidental coating of color from over-spray.

*Before using it on your project, you may need to flatten your finished color-spritzed paper. Drying time will vary depending on the liquid choice used and humidity levels in your home.

*Watercolor Paper or Shimmery White Cardstock work nicely with these wet procedures. And don’t rule out Glimmer Paper for extra sparkle.

*The spritzer bottle is easy to clean, just wash with soapy water and rinse. Don’t forget to clean the inner tube and spritzer mechanism too.

Set Up For Spritzing Success

Spritzing can be done with or without a mask. Just like in my previous Decorative Mask post using Embossing Paste, I highly recommend securing your paper and mask to avoid shifting mid-work while spritzing.

I took advantage of a Tombow Removable Adhesive Tape Runner, and secured my cardstock to my graph paper. This kind of tape runner allows temporary holds, and is easily removed without tearing or residue. In fact, when I rub my finger across the removable adhesive, it crumbles away like pencil erasing. Only a very small amount is needed here.

Next, I secured the Basic Pattern Decorative Mask Victorian design in the exact position I wanted it to be. This time I used Painters Tape to hold the mask down. I made sure I did not cover my cardstock with the tape.

Time to spritz! I applied an even coverage over the entire Decorative Mask. The alcohol scent can be strong, and liquid that does not hit the paper will remain on top of the mask. I absorbed the extra fluid by blotting with a paper towel.

By taping down one side of the mask only, I was able to lift the mask once it was dried off, to view my handi-work. I decided to spritz some more in certain areas, and placed the mask back in its original position to do so.

My paper dried quite quickly, and it did not need to be flattened before use.

Just Saying Hello

The light purple of my spritzed masked cardstock needed a strong coordinating hue to back it up, so I chose a Blackberry Bliss card base. To go with the soft pastel-color focal background, I added in Soft Sea Foam green, too.

I trimmed a small piece off of my spritzed paper, and set it aside for another project.

Adjusting the size of the spritzed masked cardstcok

I was looking for a generic, large sentiment for this card, along with a basic die cut. So, I pulled out the stamp set, Tasteful Touches (item #152562) and inked “just saying hello” in Blackberry Bliss.

Tasteful Touches Stamp Set and Blackberry Bliss Ink

Next, I die cut the sentiment using one of my new favorites, the Tasteful Labels Dies (item #152886).

Victorian Flowers

The Many Layered Blossoms Dies (item #153582) provide two large open flower die cuts, which can be used individually or combined. I wanted a lot of my spritzed masked background to show, so I chose the thinner outline of the dies to use.

I die cut the flowers in Purple Posy CS, so they would not compete with my light purple background.

Many Layered Blossoms Dies and Take Your Pick Tool — The Take Your Pick Tool (item #144107) and Take Your Pick Die Brush Tip (item #149655) are great for getting all the fine die cuts removed quickly and easily. Here, I chose to keep some of the cut-aways intact.

I love to add some greenery to my flower cards, but the Many Layered Blossoms Dies do not provide any leaves. Instead, I took small scraps of Soft Sea Foam CS and die cut just the leafy outer areas of the bolder die image.

Stampin’ Up! brought in a new version of Adhesive Sheets (item #152334), and I was so happy to use them on the smaller die cut flowers. This double sided sticky paper works wonders where glue or tape are impossible. Simply remove adhesive on one side, attach to cardstock, die cut, and you have an “instant sticker”.

Small die cuts from Many Layered Blossoms Dies and Adhesive Sheets — I mistakenly thought the small flower dies would combine together to make two-toned flowers. The thinner flower dies are meant to go on the outer flowers of the large flower die.

Award Winning Ribbon

All this ribbon and not one is in the color I am looking for today. But, I have a super simple solution to make white ribbon the right ribbon!

Did you know that you could color white ribbon with any color of Stampin’ Blends and create the shade you want? My favorite ribbon to do this with is the 1/4″ Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon (item #151326).

Coloring the Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon with Stampin' Blends

I chose the light Soft Sea Foam Stampin’ Blend, which was the color of ribbon I was looking for. I placed the ribbon on my Silicone Craft Sheet (item #127853, also great for use with glue and tape) and used the broad tip brush to swipe color along the ribbon. The ribbon soaks up the color and dries quickly.

Layering on the card front — I used Tear & Tape Adhesive (item #138995) to secure my ribbon and the ends of the leaves. My sentiment die cut will cover this area on the finished card.

A Little Hello

Remember that small piece of spritzed masked cardstock I cut away for another project? It was perfect for a mini card.

Mini’s are easy to make: cut a piece of cardstock 3 x 6″ and score at 3″ for a 3 x 3″ card. The mini cards fit the 3 x 3″ Envelopes (item #145829) for big impact.

Mini Card with Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set — Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set (item #151331) is no longer offered as a wood mount option. Yours will come in cling (red rubber) stamps.

As you can see, spritzing with the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks is easy and versatile, and another great way to incorporate masks into your projects. If you need any of the supplies I used in my cards today, head over to my online store, https://juliemakson.stampinup.net.

Cards made with Basic Pattern Decorative Masks

There are lots of options and uses left to explore with Decorative Masks, and I will continue to cover them in my ongoing mini series. Be sure to check back in, to see what I come up with next!

2020-2022 In Color Welcome

May 29, 2020

New 2020-2022 In Colors Revealed

Every year, with the new Annual Catalog, Stampin’ Up! releases a set of five new In Colors into the color family realm. Anticipation builds months before, as we wonder what colors will be available for the next two years.

I have the excitement of a child opening a new box of crayons to see what color draws my eye first. And this year did not disappoint! The new 2020-2022 In Colors are truly fantastic!

This year we gladly welcome the following 2020-2022 In Colors: Cinnamon Cider, a delicious warm brown, just as the name implies. Just Jade, a washed green that evokes sea glass. Bumblebee, a divine golden yellow. Magenta Madness, the brightest fuchsia pink you can imagine. And Misty Moonlight, a perfect blue jean blue.

Celebrate With The 2020-2022 In Colors!

I couldn’t wait to work with the new 2020-2022 In Colors, so with some cardstock and designer series paper in hand, I went to work on my first card creations to showcase these fantastic colors.

The new stamp set, Celebrate Sunflowers, and the coordinating Sunflower Dies, helped me to bring my design to life. I wanted to be sure to make at least one card base in every 2020-2022 In Color, while mixing in the remaining colors as well.

In Color Designer

The card recipe is simple and I repeated it 8 times, each with a different result by changing up the coordinating 2020-2022 In Colors used. Certain portions remained constant, however. You will note on each card the following details:

-The card base and 4 x 4″ (top) DSP are the same In Color.

-The bottom 1/2 x 4″ DSP is the same In Color used for the 3 1/4″ square framing the stamped sunflower, and the die cut sunflower.

While changing things up, there remains some continuity.

In Color Card Assembly

These fun 2020-2022 In Color Cards were so easy to make in a large batch. Once I knew what size pieces I wanted to use and how the card lay-out would be, it was just a matter of playing with color combinations in a dry fit style. Kind of like trying on new clothes and mixing them with other things in your wardrobe!

Dry fit for 2020-2022 In Color Cards — Playing with 2020-2022 In Color designs.

Thanks A Bunch, Stamparatus

There was not a lot of room to add an additional paper sentiment, so I found the words “Thanks a bunch” from the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set the perfect fit to stamp directly onto the DSP.

I took advantage of my Stamparatus for the sentiment stamping, and it paid off big time! Because I needed to ink and stamp @4 times to get the words dark enough to be seen on the patterned paper, the Stamparatus lined up my stamp perfectly every time.

I lined up the DSP using the grid paper to mark the exact placement, held the DSP in place with the included magnet, and repeatedly inked and stamped my sentiment. Perfect stamping every time, and a breeze to change paper in between…just re-align the new paper on the grid marks!

Stamparatus in open position — Here the Stamparatus is open, with the clear plate holding the stamp off to the side. Notice I have the Memento Ink cover under the clear plate. This helps to hold the plate at a better angle while I re-ink my stamp. This sentiment is not dark enough yet, it needs a couple more applications of stamping.

In Color Sunflowers

The sunflowers are the main focus on my card (did you think the main focus was the new 2020-2022 In Colors, if so you are not wrong there, either!).

Because the new In Color Ink Pads were not available for pre-order (but coming soon: June 3, 2020), I stamped the sunflower using Memento Black Ink on a 3″ square of Whisper White Cardstock. Some of the petals overflow the paper. Notice the adorable petal bend in the stamped image, there is some depth created with it that I love!

Stamping Sunflower from Celebrate Sunflower Stamp Set

To add the touch of In Color I desired, I die cut the sunflower image in 2020-2022 In Color cardstock variety.

Sunflower Die and Magenta Madness Cardstock

After die cutting with my Big Shot, I used my Take Your Pick Die Brush and the foam pad to clean up the bits and pieces that were loose but needed help completely removing. There were a lot of confetti pieces of paper left behind!

Foam Pad for Take Your Pick Die Brush — Colorful paper bits are extra fun in the craft room! These could be saved for shaker cards or other projects as well.

In Color, Altogether

Once my card parts and pieces were trimmed, stamped and die cut, it was time to assemble. I simply adhered everything flat, and there are no embellishments on this card, so it is easily mailed.

The die cut sunflowers in the 2020-2022 In Colors do have a floating effect. The only place to adhere them to the card was in the center of each. This provides interest without added bulk.

The inside of my cards needed a little love. I like to add a white insert when using a color card base. Then I stamp a little something in the inner corner as well. For these cards, I used the smaller sunflower stamp and Memento Ink.

2020-2022 In Color Card, inside stamping

In Color Sunflowers, You Pick

These 2020-2022 In Color sunflower cards are as cheerful as real sunflowers. It is hard to pick just one as my favorite. Here are some comparisons of similar yet different results in my card making:

2020-2022 In Color Magentat Madness Cards — Both of these card bases feature Magenta Madness. The use of the additional 2020-2022 In Colors made them look so different from each other!

2020-2022 In Color Cinnamon Cider cards — These card bases are made with Cinnamon Cider. Again, alike and yet different with a change of colors to compliment!

2020-2022 In Color Bumblebee cards — Here, I feature the In Color Bumblebee as the base. Yet one looks masculine and one looks feminine by changing accent colors.

2020-2022 In Colors Misty Moonlight and Just Jade cards — My last two cards are in Misty Moonlight and Just Jade. Of all the new 2020-2022 In Colors, the Misty Moonlight DSP was the most difficult to stamp a saying on for visibility purpose.

2020-2022 In Colors Coming Soon To You!

As I write this post and create these sample cards, it is almost time to be able to order from the new 2020-2021 Annual Catalog. On June 3, 2020, the new In Colors and papers (as well as the sunflower stamp set and coordinating dies) will be available in my online store, https://juliemakson.stampinup.net. Be sure to shop early, items are predicted to back-order quickly.

If you are an In Color fan, or just really love this set of colors, consider joining my 2020-2022 Online In Color Club. As a member, you will build your 2020-2022 In Color supplies from July thru November, paying an easy installment monthly. Each month we will explore one of the In Colors in depth, as you receive your In Color products, as well as bonus gifts from me! For more info and to sign up, click here.

The best news regarding the fabulous new 2020-2022 In Colors is that we have the next 2 years to enjoy them. I hope my samples have inspired you to do just that!

Take Your Pick Tool

May 27, 2020

Those tiny sequins and small embellishments can be trouble for many. Our fumbling fingers don’t always work. But where there is a paper-crafter, there is a tool! And pick up style tools are popular in many shapes and forms.

How do you know which one is right for you? Or even where to start? I will cover some of the basics to help you get the right tool in your hands to help you pick up those little project decorations. And maybe assist you in keeping them off the floor, where the vacuum finds them days later!

Helping Hands

Of course the first tool at your disposal, as you work, is your own hands. And more importantly, your fingers. Some of my fellow crafters swear that long fingernails are helpful, while others say they just get in the way.

It is really hard to get a good grasp on the tiny embellishments and sequins, let alone position them properly onto our paper. Why do they make cute things so small?

So, even though hands and fingers work some of the time, there are better ways to go. And tools are the answer!

Scissors Vs. Tweezers

Take your pick of tools: scissors or tweezers — Both scissors and tweezers can be useful pick up tools.

The battle over scissors and tweezers as top pick up tool is a tough one. They both essentially do the same work when used for small embellishments.

When you hold either of them in your hand, you approach your chosen item and then close the tweezers or scissors under and around the embellishment to scoop it up. While it is still in play on the tool, you position the embellishment onto your project and ease it into place.

Scissors

The best thing about using scissors as your pick up tool is that you already should have them in your craft area. Obviously they are useful in many ways!

Sometimes it can be hard to get the right grip on an embellishment using the scissors. The hold requires fingers and thumbs to complete, plus some dexterity. And practice.

Things I Use Scissors For

Cutting paper
Opening packages

Tweezers

This is another item you probably already have somewhere in your home, if not particularly in the craft room. So they would be a good choice for a pick-up tool in a bind or on a budget.

Tweezers need a different grip from scissors, but again there is a motion needed for opening and closing. With the tweezers, you have a little more ease of grabbing hold of small items and moving them around as needed.

Things I Use Tweezers For

Removing splinters
Playing Hasbro Game, Operation

Placement Tools

I find it interesting that when there is a need, there is a product. Therefore, placement tools were invented. And crafters bought them and there was much rejoicing.

QuickStik

The first placement tool I bought is called the QuickStik. It is sold by a company called We R Memory Keepers. There are 2 functions to this tool. One end has a sticky putty substance that grabs small items, and the other has a hard plastic spatula that scoops things up quickly and easily.

While I rarely use the putty end, I love the hard plastic spatula. Could it be wider? Yes. The important thing is that it is firm, unwavering. I compliment it on the solid nature of its existence.

Take Your Pick Tool

After I had owned and loved my QuickStik for some time, Stampin’ Up joined the pick up tool game and offered a new tool. This one is called the Take Your Pick Tool. It is the jack-knife of pick up tools!

The Pros of the Take Your Pick Tool

Like the QuickStik, the Take Your Pick Tool is handy for scooping up small embellishments with the spatula end. And it has a putty end as well. In fact, the Take Your Pick Tool comes with 2 of the putty ends, so you have a replacement right away! (Of course, additional refill packs are available if needed).

But wait…there’s more!

I did mention the jack-knife like resemblance, right? This tool also has a paper piercer (known as a pokey tool), small and large stylus (for scoring), and protective end caps. Sold separately is the Take Your Pick Die Brush (with 2 foam pads), that also easily attaches to the tool. This is useful for cleaning small paper stuck in your dies and on die cut paper itself.

So with a quick change of attachments, you have the ability to do 6 different jobs with one tool. One tool. And super useful, as space in the craft room is typically limited (here I speak for myself as I have a tremendous amount of supplies!).

The Cons Of The Take Your Pick Tool

If I could change 1 thing about the Take Your Pick Tool, it would be the metal spatula end. I like that it is wider than the Quickstik, but I don’t like that it is flimsier. It has some give and bend to it that I am not necessarily a fan of.

And while I really appreciate that there are so many attachments to this tool, they have to be kept somewhere. Yes, they are small and easily inter-changed. But I am the type of person who bought 2 of these tools, just so I can keep all my job functions at the ready. Immediate gratification!

Take Your Pick Tool with Take Your Pick Die Brush Attachment — Both of my Take Your Pick Tools have various job functions covered. I can easily switch the large stylus to the small, and the spatula to the paper piercer. The die brush and putty ends of each remain constant in place.

Your Job, Your Tool

As you can see, there are many options to use when picking a tool to help you place those tiny embellishments. I am sure if you look around your kitchen or regular tool box, you can come up with ingenious everyday items to aid in your crafty work.

But if you want to use the Take Your Pick Tool, item # 144107, in your craft room, you can find it in my online store, https://juliemakson.stampinup.net. Be sure to add this handy item to your next order, and craft like a pro!