Catherine Pooler Ink Pads: Are They Worth It?

 Hello everyone! I'm back today with a review of the Catherine Pooler ink pads. I recently picked up a few colors and wanted to share my thoughts about them. Hope you all enjoy!

Pro's

- There is a large variety of colors with coordinating groups. This is especially good for layered stamping and ink blending.

- They are extremely juicy so they last for a long time before needing a refill.

- There are re-inkers so you don't have to buy a new ink pad when it becomes dry.

- They work amazing with ink blending.

- The ink stays wet long enough for you to emboss even though it is a dye ink.

Con's

- They stain horribly, especially black. Remember, this doesn't effect how the image comes out, just the appearance of the physical stamp.

-They don't always give the sharpest image. Since they are so juicy the borders of the stamped image aren't always perfect.

- The lids come off very easily.

My Recommendation 

I personally think that these ink pads would be a great addition to your craft room. There is a reason so many crafting youtubers use them and why they're so popular. The con's don't out weigh the pro's for this ink pad. If you've been thinking about getting some dye ink pads, these are the ones I'd get. If you do get them I hope you enjoy them. As always happy crafting. Also happy New Year!

This Card is Floating out of This World

 Hello everyone! Today I'm back with a tutorial. I will be using almost all Altenew supplies for this technique! I really like how this card came out and I hope you do too! (Blogger is also letting me make the images a bigger size without the quality decreasing!)

First off you want to pick out what you want to use to make float above the card base. I decided to use the Book Engravings set from Altenew. While I am using a stamp set, I think this technique would work amazingly with basic die-cut shapes like circles or scrapbooking ephemera. I would love to see your spin on this tutorial!

I will also be using Tim Holtz's black soot Distress Oxide ink pad and a set of Altenew's blue ink cubes. I'm stamping the layered flower in blue but leaving the leaves back and white. Once you stamp them cut them out!

Once you have everything stamped (or decided on the ephemera you're using) decide the layout that you want. I'm using the card front I will be gluing everything on as a reference to ensure that most pieces fit but you do want some to hang off!

Once you are happy with your layout, pop up each piece with foam. I'm using foam tape from dollar tree but you can use whatever brand makes you happy. You also could just glue the flower and leaves as they are, but I personally like the effect when the height is added.

Once you have made everything "levitate" cut off any pieces that hang off of the card base that is 4 x 5.25 inches. If you want to leave the pieces hanging off on the final card just use a bigger envelope when gifting it so it doesn't get damaged.

All that's left to do is back the card front with a piece of blue cardstock and then glue that onto the card base! I really enjoy how the different blues work together and how everything looks floating above the card! You could also add a sentiment but I didn't want to use one so this card could be used for any occasion!

Thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial and will try it out! You can find the supply list below. I would love to see what you make, and as always, happy crafting!

Supply List (None of these links are affiliate links)

Essentials: What I use on every card

- Art Glitter Glue (you may not be able to get this due to temperatures so I also recommend Lawn Fawn's glue)

-Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot

- White Cardstock

Extras: What I Used Specifically on This Card

- Book Engravings Stamp and Die Set

- Altenew Blue Ink Cube Set

Must Get Crafting Items for 2023

Hello everyone, Brennan here! This week I have a list of my favorite crafting items and tools that you must get for 2023. Ok, while you don't need all of them, all of these would be great additions to your craft room!

1. A Misti Stamp Positioner Tool

There are only good things to say for the Misti! It is extremely high quality and the magnet is extremely strong so your paper will stay in place. They come in multiple sizes, all the way up to 12x12. I personally use the one with a stamping area of 6.5x8.5 inches!

2. Distress Oxide Ink Pads

Tim Holtz did it again when he released these ink pads. While they have been around for a long time, they have never gone out of style. They are amazing for ink blending and give off a chalky look. They are a hybrid ink which means they have both pigments and dye.

 3.  Any Die-Cuts From Waffle Flower

Waffle Flower Crafts makes amazing die cuts! They are extremely high quality and you get the perfect cut every time! I personally use their nesting die cuts the most, but all of them are great.

Thank you guys for reading this post! I personally use and love all of these items I recommended and if you buy them I hope you do too! You'll find below a list of the products and where to find them

Supply List:

- Misti Stamping Tool

- Distress Oxide

- Waffle Flower Die-Cuts

Two of my Favorite Crafting Storage Ideas

 Hi everyone! This week I thought I would change things up and make a post about storage. As crafters, most of us buy more craft supplies than our room can fit! In this post, I'm going to try to help you solve that problem!

This first craft storage item that I love is a rolling cart. I personally store some pastes, alcohol markers, and stamps! When you're at your desk you can pull it up right next to you. This means you don't even have to get up to grab a different stamp set or some Nuvo paste! My cart also has some extra like a ribbon holder and a peg board. I'll link mine below! A person who does planning could store their stickers or a scrapbooker could store all their ephemera, the possibilities are endless!

I also really like using magnet sheets for die-cut storage. They allow you to use space that typically wouldn't be usable! This is a great option for people who have smaller craft rooms or who have run out of space in general. I use printable magnet sheets, they weren't too expensive and work well! 

I hope that everyone enjoyed this post. While it isn't a tutorial,  I still think it can be extremely helpful! I hope that everyone has a great day! Happy crafting, or should I say happy organizing!

Items in This Post (None of these are affiliates)

- Rolling Cart

- Magnet Sheets

Elevating Cards with Perfect Pearls

 Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be here again today to share another amazing technique. I recently picked up some perfect pearls and I want to show you how you can step your cad up with them. We're also going to use a little ink blending and stamping too!

Ignore my messy mat for starters. But the messier the mat, the more well-loved! First I'm taking a card front (4 x 5 1/4 inches) and adding an inch of tape on each side. This is where we'll be doing the ink blending.

I will be using Tim Holtz's Distress Oxides in the colors Faded Jeans and Uncharted Mariner. As you can see, my ink blending didn't come out the best but that's ok! The perfect pearls will save my ink blending and make the card look even better!

I will be using this fluffy paintbrush and some perfect pearls in the color perfect pearl. Dip the brush into the pearls and apply to the paper liberally. You can blow off any excess, we just want to ensure that the inked portion of the card front is fully covered!

 

This is something like how yours should look! It looks pearlfect (see what I did there) Next we're going to stamp the flower I'm using on this card! I'm using this lilac from Technique Tuesday, but unfortunately, they have recently decided to close down. I will link another one of my favorite florals below instead of this one. Apologies for that.

                    

I will be using copic markers G07 and V17 for this card. However, I'm not shading so truly any coloring medium would work! Once you color in your flower, die-cut it out. I do have a coordinating die for this flower but fussy cutting would work too!

 

Then you should glue the flower onto the card front at this point! If you want to, you can add a sentiment too! I will be adding get well soon to my card.

Once you do that, decide if you're going to add a border or not, I went with a black one. All you have to do is glue the card front to the card base and you're done! I hope y'all enjoyed this tutorial! If you want to buy anything I used, almost all the supplies are linked below! I really like how using the perfect pearls came out, it gives the card such a great shine. Happy crafting everyone!

Supply List (None of these links are affiliate links)

Essentials: What I use on every card

- Art Glitter Glue (you may not be able to get this due to temperatures so I also recommend Lawn Fawn's glue)

-Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot

- White Cardstock

Extras: What I Used Specifically on This Card

- Coloring medium of your choosing

- Get Well Soon Stamp Set

- Different Lilac Stamp (This one is from Newton's nook and I love it! I've used it in a ton of cards and it has a coordinating die!)

- Perfect Pearls

- Pixie Tape

- Tim Holtz's Distress Oxide in Faded Jeans and Uncharted Mariner