Wizard of Oz, anyone?

I have actually been sick as well as in all day training this week, so I have come home and straight to bed. Thus, no new cards to post about today, but I need to get started on Mom's calendar.

However, I did promise to slowly put up the cube decorations, so today's post is another one of them! The ribbon was actually sourced off a bag of Christmas goodies from last year. So let this be a tip to you - if you're feeling frugal, all those ribbons and bows off gifts can go to good use!

Strangely enough this reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, but I have no idea why. My favorite part about this one, other than the stockings sticking out is that I created a lattice with the border stamp that turned out really well! And finally, thanks to Carla for sourcing this amazing tip for stamping (from fancyMelissa) - so amazing that I just had to repost it here too.

Michaels:
* Cardstock from "Gems" set
* Cardstock from "Primary" set
* Gold Brads

CTMH:
* Wicked (August 2011 Stamp of the Month)

It's National Stamping Month!!

Didn't we have one of these already? Nope... well, we celebrated National Scrapbooking Month recently but it definetly was not the same as National Stamping Month - and with it of course we have to celebrate with stamps. Right?



To celebrate, you could get the following cute-as-a-button and totally versatile double-stamp set. The first of it's kind from CTMH.



All you have to do is spend $82 CAD on your order anywhere from August 15th to Sept. 30th and this double set is yours free which is valued at $39.90! Just think only $55.00 qualifies you for a $5.50 D size stamp and if you get your order in before the end of August you can end up with two more sets for the price of $5.50 - Wicked and Typeface Letters! What an amazing deal!

Seasoning Stamps

While perusing the web, I realized that this particular topic, albeit important, isn't easily found with a Google search.

When new stamps first arrive, I usually get the inclination that I want to play with them - RIGHT AWAY. Except, I always find that my initial stamp images look terrible :( but that is because I didn't season them properly. Once seasoned, and with the right ink loading technique - tap tap, twist twist, tap tap - my problem was solved.



1. Attach the stamp to the appropriate MyAcrylix block
2. Rub stamp on Bamboo or any other light colored ink pad and stamp on scrap paper several times, with the images getting lighter and lighter until you are out of ink.
3. Repeat this process until you get a full crisp image when you stamp. You're done!

This only is required for brand-new stamps. This is due to the fact that at the factory they have a protective coating on them that is not ink friendly. As you season the stamp, you'll wear this protective coating off = better stamp results.

Happy stamping!