Let's Play!

Got a minute? Feel like playing with inks & stamping tools?
Last night at bedtime I felt like playing, so I raced up to the studio and pulled out just a handful of supplies. You know I'm still playing around with all the goodies Clearsnap sent me, so in the photos you'll see Vivid inks and the Terrific Tips & Tools. These green handles are just like the black ones we've used for years in direct-to-paper techniques. But now they come with foam stamps in lots of clever shapes.

Here's what you'll need:
an assortment of inks (I used dye-based)
white cardstock
sponges (or if you have the Colorbox stylus tool & tips, use those)
stamps

I love circles & dots, so if you don't have these particular tools, you can certainly use other things. The tiny Orchid dots are made with a pencil eraser. Use plastic screw on bottle caps: the top makes a dot and the end that screws on the bottle makes a circle. If you've got plastic or paper cups, those make circles. I save mine from Crystal Light drink mix and individual cups of diced peaches. Try the top of your pen or a push pin or thumb tack. How about the end of a straw for a tiny circle?
Just ink the different shapes with different colors and stamp. It's that easy. I wanted to make pages for a new journal, so I'm working on quarter sheets of white cardstock. After I've played around and made lots of pages I'll bind them with my Bind-It-All and create my own journal. But if you don't have one of those, simply punch a hole in the top corner and buy an O-ring at the office supply store. They come in fabulous colors now and in different sizes. You can even find them at AC Moore where they sell the DMC floss.
If you're making a card, you can stamp with any color you choose. When you're ready to add a sentiment, either stamp it on the inside, or stamp it on a separate piece of white cardstock and layer onto the outside of the card. If you like to journal on your pages in straight lines, I'd suggest using light colors of ink. But if you're willing to journal around your shapes, then use your favorite inks. Can't you just imagine the fun of stamping all those circles and dots and then journaling in the round?

If you've got large sheets or rolls of white paper, or even butcher paper, you can make great wrapping paper. If you've got kids, put them to work this weekend and see what they come up with for you. Or if you just want to wrap a small box, even regular copy paper will work. Visit the craft store and you'll find plain white boxes near the cake decorating aisle. They're flat and perfect for stamping. After they're stamped, fold on the scored lines and you've created a unique gift box. If you buy the ones with a waxy finish, you may need to use a permanent ink instead of the water-based dye inks, so plan to experiment. And don't forget about plain white tissue paper! If you're stamping the outer box and paper, be sure to stamp the tissue paper too! And stamp extra sheets to have on hand the next time you're packing a gift in a bag. Ooh, and what about lunch bags! Everyone knows I have 183 Halloween stamps, but if you don't have any, use this technique with black & orange ink to create little treat bags. Fill them with candy, tie with orange & black curling ribbon, and hand them out on Halloween. Stamp your circle in orange and add a face to your jack-o-lantern with a black marker. How cute is that?

I'll tell you now that I've already created more art for tomorrow's posting, so be sure to come back for a visit. (Let's hope I can wait til then to post it.)