My Favorite Ink Pad Storage Unit

 Hi everyone! I love to highlight storage items that have helped me in my craft room because it may help you too! I got this wonderful distress ink organizer from Etsy and it is absolutely amazing. Typically I list the pros and cons of items, but I don't have any cons! It is extremely sturdy, good quality materials, and is cheaper than other options from companies like Stamp-n-Storage! Even with taxes and shipping, it is about ten dollars less than Stamp-n-storage. Best of all, you're supporting a one-person business that runs out of the owner's garage! 

I do have to warn you that stock is limited, so if you want one you should get it ASAP! Hope you enjoyed this post and find it helpful! Happy crafting! 

HERE IS THE LINK (NOT AN AFFILIATE)

Brutus Monroe Stick and Stamp Mat: Is it Worth It?

Hi everyone! I'm back with another product review, this time the Brutus Monroe Stick and Stamp mat. First off I would like to say that I purchased this with my own money. This is an unbiased, and honest review (like all of mine)! I have been eyeing this product for a while but for some reason never picked it up. It's not that much money, but I never thought I needed it. Keep reading to see if that changed!

Here is the Stick and Stamp Mat still in its packaging! I bought it for 6.77 from Vanessa at Butterfly Reflections Ink! 

Here is the blend I made on it! I think it came out really good and the mat worked! However, the back of it didn't create any friction with my craft mat so I had to tape it down, but that isn't a huge problem for me, especially if I'm making cards in bulk! I also washed it with just water and almost all the ink came off, but it did leave a little stain. The stickiness did come back completely after it dried so you can wash it, just with water and a little soap!

Pros

- Very cheap compared to other crafty tools

- Small and easy to store

- Very easy to clean 

- Adheres well to paper 

- Prevents fingerprints on ink-blended surfaces 

Cons (I'm Nitpicking at This Point)

- You have to use some sort of tape to adhere the mat to your crafting surface 

- Ink will slightly stain the mat (but this won't affect its performance)

Final Verdict?

You should absolutely buy this product if you do a lot of ink blending! All of the pros heavily outweigh the cons. I am so happy that I won't be getting any fingerprints on my ink-blended creations anymore, I wish I bought it sooner! A little tip is to bend the mat when peeling away your creation so the creation doesn't get bent! I do that all the time with my Cricut cutting mats and that tip applies here too! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or DM me on Instagram! I hope you enjoyed this review! Happy crafting everyone!

Click Here to Purchase the Stick and Stamp Mat (Not Affiliate)

Save Your Scraps: How you can use Your Scraps in Cardmaking

 Hi everyone! As I was creating some card fronts, I was shocked by the amount of paper I was wasting. Those little scraps add up and cardstock isn't cheap. Today, I want to show you how you can use your scraps to make a new card! Also, if you haven't checked out my second guest design with Newton's Nook, you can find that here! Lets get started!

The first step in creating this card is making the strips out of your scraps. Mine were "pre-made" from cutting card fronts! The ones I used are a half an inch wide by 11 inches long, but you can use any size you'd like!

Once you have made your strips, then you need to select your ink pads to use. I used my Catherine Pooler ink pads, which are my favorite, in the colors Flirty Fuchsia, Pucker Up, and Glam. Then I used a technique called swinking. This is where you swipe ink pad across paper to color it! I realized after the fact that the colors I chose look like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland!

As you can see above, some ink is wasted on your mat. You could spray a little water down and create a mixed media background with the ink! Then, once all of your strips are colored, start glueing them to your card base. You can do them in whatever pattern you like, but I just alternated the colors. 

 

Then I trimmed off the excess, and added a border with some reflective gold cardstock. I also cut out my "hello" die from Cathy Zielske. Once everything was assembled, I glued it onto my card base which finished the card!

Thanks for reading!

Thank you so much for reading! This is my fourth month of consistently posting on my blog and I keep doing it because I love inspiring others! If you make a card with this technique, I would love to see it! You can find a supply list below and as always, happy crafting!

Supply List (No Links are Affiliate)

- Flirty Fuchsia ink pad

- Pucker Up ink pad

- Glam ink pad

- Hello die cut

Same Stamp, Two Different Outcomes! A Collab With Michelle Ruelle AKA Stamparuecreations

 Hi everyone! I'm so excited to have my crafting bestie Michelle on my blog with me for this post! We decided to use the same exact flower stamp, but create two totally different cards with it! Hers is a much more classic vibe while mine is a little funky, but both are amazing! I will prefice you that there won't be a supply list this week because so many amazing products were used, but we will mention all the products we use in the directions! Here are her social media link! If you don't follow Michelle already, you should. She does amazing work for senior citizens, donating over 5,000 cards in 2022! Not to mention how amazingly talented she is!

Instagram 

Stamp-A-Rue Creations Website

Facebook

Card 1; A Classic Card by Michelle 

First, Michelle stamped the Meadow Flower stamp from Technique Tuesday (which has been retired due to Technique Tuesday's closing) in black ink from VersaMark. She then colored the flower with the Copic colors Y00, Y04, and Y08. She then colored in the leaves, also with Copic markers, in the colors G21 and G24. After all the coloring was complete, she restamped the stamp with the same ink and applied gold embossing powder. I personally think this was an amazing touch! It makes it look so elegant!

She then started working on that wonderful background! She applied Catherine Pooler ink in the color Bellini through the trellis stencil from Altenew. After that was complete, she sprayed a gold spray to add a mixed media affect to the card! She then stamped the "Hooray" sentiment from the Meadow Flower stamp set and also embossed it in gold embossing powder. 

Once that front panel was complete, she glued down the flower and added a gold border to the panel! She then added some pattern paper from the Pink & Main Dragonfly Dream paper pack to add the finishing touch! She glued everything to her card base to finish off the card. This card came out absolutely beautiful! All of the touches of gold complete the card in my opinion!

Card 2; A Funky Mixed Media Card by Brennan

The first thing I did was put some ink from three different ink pads onto my glass mat and mixed them with a little water. I used two Catherine Pooler ink pads in the colors Garden Party and Cummerbund and an Altenew ink cube in the color raspberry. I then put some of that liquid onto my paint brush and lightly tapped it over the card front to get the splatter effect! 

I then stamped the Meadow Flower stamp onto the card front also in VersaFine ink. It's kinda funny that we both used Catherine Pooler ink pads and the VersaFine ink pad! I then applied clear embossing powder to the flower and melted it with my heat gun. With that being done, the card is almost complete! I added a small black border to the card front and then glued that to my card base!

Thank you for Reading

Thank you all so much for reading! Michelle and I both hope that we inspired you in some way, shape, or form. We wanted to share how you can use the same stamp and create two extremely different cards and I think we accomplished that! Once again, if you haven't followed Michelle yet you really should! Have a nice day and as always, happy crafting!