Stamps, Paper, Scissors

At last -----The MDS Torn Edge Tutorial!

I am so nice. Really. Today I took the time to create this video to show you how I did this:

And so the adventure began. For one thing, I needed software that would capture video as I worked on my computer. I found some free software called CamStudio that I downloaded and started to play with. My main problem was that the sound was choppy, so I ended up creating a separate recording using the Windows Sound Recorder as I was working in MDS. I then simply substituted the recording for the audio that recorded with the video and synced them up in Windows Movie Maker.

Easy peasy...well, no, this has taken me most of the day, so I wouldn't call it "easy peasy" at all! The things I do...just for you! Add to that that people kept coming downstairs just as I started over again, so that I would have to start over again, only to have yet another person come downstairs....sigh. The nice thing about it was that since it was in MDS, I didn't have to worry about making another set of materials to use and didn't waste any supplies at all!

Anyway, I think it came out pretty good and my voice actually sounds less demented than usual, so I'm fairly pleased with it. Here it is...take notes, there will be a test later:

Hope you enjoyed it! Ta!

Builder Wheels make my socks go up and down

I don't know why, but whenever I think of the term "Builder Wheels" I think of that move Little Man Tate, where Fred reads "his" poem about clipper ships:

"I like clipper ships because they are fast".

Well, *I* like builder wheels because they are fast too! A fast way to get a cool look that before would have been impossiburgible, baby! (And if that doesn't date me, I don't know what does!) Lookie:

Ingredients: Stamps - Birthday Block, Candle Crazy, Birthday & So Many Stars builder wheels; Paper - Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White; Ink - Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive; Other - 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Photo Corner punch, Vintage brads, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker, dimensionals.

I know, GOJUS!!! (YILM!) And because I am so nice, I put together a little photo tutorial to show you how these work:

BUILDER WHEEL TUTORIAL

Here are all the builder wheels and the assorted parts and pieces you need to use them. You need wheels, the jumbo wheel handle, an ink cartridge (the triple cell one in the catalog is the most fun!), and the Wheel Spindle and Spacers.

This is the Wheel Spindle and Spacers.

Ink up the cells in the blank triple cell cartridge using reinkers.

I inked mine up with Melon Mambo, Old Olive, and Pumpkin Pie, but the possibilities are many. I plan on ordering more of these so I can create different combinations.

You start out by putting the ink cartridge with the cover ON and the little handle facing out into the wheel handle until it clicks. If it doesn't click, it isn't in properly.

Then you can start building with your wheels. One...

Two...

Three!

Or, you can put a spacer on the spindle

Put on just one wheel and the second spacer to use only one wheel at a time.

Or you can put on one wheel, then a spacer, then another wheel and stamp a greeting between the two after you are done wheeling.

Or you can put on two wheels, then a spacer, to use two wheels together.

The last thing you do is put the cap on the other side, with the large side IN next to the last wheel or spacer.

Pop the whole shebang into your wheel handle.

Pull the cover off of your ink cartridge.

Push the cartridge handle up towards the wheel. It should press smoothly up against the wheel.

 

Then start rolling the wheel to ink it up. Sometimes there is a slight difference in circumference between the different wheels. So you will have to press very firmly to help the smaller wheels make contact with the ink and the paper.

To roll straight, I find rolling forward to be easier for me and the wheel guide that we sell helps a lot too!

When you are done, pull the handle back on the ink cartridge until it clicks, put the cover on, then roll the wheels on your grid paper to remove the excess ink. Then you can take them out and clean them.

Keep the ink cartridge in the little ziplock bag it comes in to keep it from drying out as fast.

And that's my tutorial on builder wheels. I like builder wheels because they are fast. Builder wheels stamp on cardstock. Builder wheels stamp on envelopes. Builder wheels never stamp on people or animals. Builder wheels are made out of RUBBAH and there are lots of combinations!

Gah! It's like a song stuck in my head! Hope you like the tutorial anyway! Ta!

Gradient Glow Tutorial

I got my swaps back from Controlfreaks and I imagine more than one of them is saying, "How did she do that?!?!?" Well, I'm going to show everyone how I did it!

Did what? Why, this:

Ingredients: (all SU!) Stamps - Nature Silhouettes, Sanded; Paper - Old Olive, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Ink - Old Olive, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Whisper White; Other - Jumbo Pewter eyelet, 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain, rubber brayer, q-tip, sponge wedge.

Well, what's so special about that, you are probably wondering? It's the background behind Bambi's dad.

Normally, it's really hard to achieve a subtle gradation if you are not using glossy cardstock. However, you have a hard time getting a solid image to stamp well on glossy cardstock. You usually end up with a place where the ink just refused to transfer to the paper right in the center of the image somewhere. I wanted a subtle gradation of color in the sky, so how could I do that? I knew Bambi's dad would come out looking like a hunter blew a hole right through him! Ack! Ack! Clearly I needed to put on the Jan Tink cap 'o genius and start to thinkin'! (YILM!)

Anyone who has ever tried just using a rubber brayer on Whisper White knows you do not get a smooth look. It's quite rustic...I happen to LOVE that look, but it was too rough for what I wanted to do with this image.

The reason you get a nice gradation with glossy cardstock is that because there is that glossy coating on the paper, the ink doesn't dry as fast, so you have time to work it. You can keep going over and over it until it blends together. With Whisper White, you don't have that time. The ink dries almost as soon as it hits the paper, showing every droplet of ink beading up on your brayer and every single line where the brayer was picked up and put back down agin.

So as I sat and pondered about how to get this look, I suddenly was struck by a notion, tried it out and it worked beautifully. So here it is, folks:

JanTink's Gradient Glow Tutorial

You need: some solid images (not too large...this wouldn't work with a big image), some ink pads, a rubber brayer, a piece of acetate, a Stampamajig (with this set, anyway), Whisper White cardstock cut about 1/2" to 1" larger than your image, and some chocolate.

Yeah, I said chocolate. So what if it's 8 o'clock in the morning? Chocolate is GOOD for you! Think of antioxidants! It also makes you beautiful. Really.

First thing I did with this set was to stamp the tree and grass stamp on Whisper White cardstock. In this tutorial I used Basic Grey, but on my card I used Night of Navy. A nice dark color is all that's required.

Then, because I am such an anal person, I used my Stampamajig. I stamped Bambi's dad in the corner of one sheet, positioning the corner of the sheet inside one "L" of the Stampamajig.

Then I put the stamped image sheet in the corner of the "L" of the Stampamajig and moved it until Bambi's dad was standing on the grass under the tree, just where I wanted to stamp him.

Then I took the sheet away and put the stamp right back where it was when I created the image on the sheet.

Lookie! He's just where I want him!

I celebrated by eating some chocolate. You can too!

Now take your piece of acetate. I get mine from Office Depot...it's in a box called "Write-On Overhead Transparencies" or something like that.  A box will last you a LONG time. Don't get ink jet or laser print transparencies...they have a texture on one side. Good for printing on, but it makes lousy window cards and the like. And they are much more expensive. Save that money for stamps and chocolate.

Open the gradient color inkpad...here it's Pacific Point. Roll the brayer on the ink pad so that half of the brayer gets ink and half does not.

Then roll the brayer on your acetate, working the ink so that it gradually fades from one side to the other...you do this by gradually moving your brayer over to one side as you roll back and forth. Make sure you use a big enough piece of acetate so that your brayer makes a complete revolution plus a little bit past that at least once. Do not roll the ink so the whole brayer is coated...leave part of the brayer NEKKID....er...uninked! The acetate gives you the ability to work your ink the way that you normally would on glossy paper. Isn't that dang clever?!?!? I eat chocolate to thank myself every time I think of it! (YILM!)

Now here comes the tricky bit. Put your brayer down on the cardstock on the side of the image nearest to you, with the darker part of the gradient at the top (if that's where you want it) and the lighter part at the bottom, but not all the way at the bottom. You want there to be some white showing at the bottom.

Now here is the part where I want you to PAY ATTENTION!!! You! Stop talking to your husband a minute...this is important and if you don't listen you will mess up when you try it yourself! Okay? Everyone with me?

Roll your brayer back and forth across the image and do not, I repeat, do NOT pick up the brayer at any time, do NOT roll off the cardstock, keep the brayer on the cardstock at all times! If you pick up the brayer or roll off the cardstock, you will create a line of ink on your brayer that will transfer to your cardstock and look like doodie. DOODIE!!! Oh, my...I need some chocolate, don't you?!?!

But if you do it right, it looks soooooo coooooolll....ooooooooohhhh!

You cut your cardstock bigger than the image just in case you roll off it just a bit...gives you a little wiggle room. You use small images because if you use something larger than the circumference of your brayer can cover, you will not get an even coverage all the way across the cardstock.

Trim the image down and you get this. So cool!!! Bambi's dad would be proud. Eat some chocolate to celebrate!

Well, I'm off to play some more with rubber stamps. You be good, follow directions, wear clean underwear just in case you get in an accident and eat your chocolate. I'll be seein' you! Ta!

Joseph's Coat Inside-Out Tutorial

Well, after many requests, I have finished the tutorial for this technique, but first some background:

I developed this technique 2 years ago and sent it into Pat Huntoon for the Technique Junkies Newsletter. I want to urge you to subscribe to TJ, it is the BEST resource ever for the technique-lovin' stamper! I, personally, have had several techniques published, including this one, and there are many, many more. You get a paper copy in full color, plus you have online tutorials for all the techniques and a great gallery. It's a real bargain.

For my fellow TJ'ers, I did make sure it was okay with Pat to publish another tutorial on this technique and she said "go right ahead! I don't own them!" As long as I'm using my own pics and words, it is okay with Pat.

So without further ado:

You need:

• a piece of light colored cardstock
• three to five different colors of ink (some lighter than others)
• a background stamp and a stamp or stamps that are solid in nature (rather than line art)
• Versamark Pad
• an Embossing Buddy
• Clear embossing powder, preferably not detail
• Embossing heat tool
• a rubber brayer
• sponge wedges
• paper towel
• Chocolate

Start by inking up the background stamp...but don't pay any attention to the fact that I actually started out by inking this up with Purely Pomegranate because I almost immediately realized that I hadn't meant to grab that color, but Groovy Guava instead. Just pretend that I am inking it with Groovy Guava, despite the fact that the Groovy Guava pad is lying there closed. It's an illusion.

Lay your light colored cardstock on top of the background stamp (note how the Groovy Guava pad is now open...now this is reality, remember!)

Flip your grid paper over and rub the back of the cardstock to transfer the image.

Peel up the cardstock and admire your creation for a bit. Have some chocolate! Wait...where is the chocolate?!?!? There was a bag of Hershey kisses down here just the other day! Where is it?!?!? I didn't eat them all...did I?

Check the waste basket...nope...no bag in there! Where are they?!?!?

I careen around my stamping haven looking for chocolate, but it is nowhere to be found...hmmm...now thinking dark thoughts about children and even DH! Where did they take the chocolate?!?!?!?

What? Oh! You want to get back to the tutorial! Okay!

Sponge some color on top of the piece you just stamped. Not dark colors, just adding a little variety to your background.

Like this!

Use your embossing buddy to get rid of any residual dampness from the ink. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Otherwise you will get embossing powder sticking all over. Don't have an embossing buddy? Use some baby powder or cornstarch...messier, but it will work.

Using Versamark ink, stamp your images on top of the prepared piece. You can't see what you've stamped very easily, so be careful not to overlap...I tilt the cardstock and check for the shine of the ink.

Pour clear embossing powder on top of the stamped piece, making sure to cover the whole thing to get all the images coated.

Heat the embossing powder until it melts and becomes clear. Don't overheat, or it will look like doodie.

Like this! Cool eh?? This would be a great time for some chocolate!

Oh...that's right...where did that go?

No Hershey bag in that wastebasket either. Where did the chocolate go?!?!?

I'm not finding it!!!! Rats!!!

Oh, yeah...the tutorial!

Take your darker colors and start brayering. Unlike the original Joseph's Coat technique, I am not using glossy cardstock and I'm not trying to completly cover the cardstock. Instead I'm making a kind of raggedly plaid look. I brayer rectangles and squares of color that overlap.Make sure you clean your brayer in between colors, or instead of having Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, and Close to Cocoa Pads you're going to end up with three Groovy to Get Close to Pomegranate Drinking Cocoa pads...and you don't want that color because it would be better named Muddy Muck instead!

I like three colors, including the one you stamped the background to begin with.

So I keep adding chunks of color to my cardstock until I'm dang happy with what i have.

Then I dampen a piece of paper towel with a bit of Stampin' Mist.

I buff off the excess ink on the embossed images.

I take my darkest color and add a little more of it behind the images to make the details pop out.

OOOOOHHHHH PURDY!!!!!!

Then, of course, you trim and cut and stamp and fuss and fuss and fuss until you get:

Ingredients: Stamps - Fabulous Flowers, Paisley; Cardstock - Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Soft Sky; Ink - Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Versamark; Other - 3/16" corner rounder, ticket corner punch, scallop circle punch, vintage brads, dimensionals, chocolate chip marker, Crystal Clear EP

A detail:

Yes, I know!!!! It's GOJUS!!!! And when you think I did it without benefit of chocolate, why that just makes it even MORE amazing!!!

"But Jan!" you say, "How is this different from Emerging Color? Danged if I know, other than my technique uses a background stamp and Emerging Color does not. Oh yeah and they deepen the background color more so the "seams" don't show as much. All I know is that my technique came first, dang it! And I have no CHOCOLATE!!!

Anyway, here are some other cards done with this technique:

This card started it all. My original inspiration was a Stampington stamp that showed a flower with type in it. I thought, "How can I mimic that with our stamps?" And the rest is HISTORY!

Here is where I really started getting a better idea of how cool this would look if I let the seams show some more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started adding more color with these!

It's a great technique! Have fun with it and link up in your comments so I can see what you've done!

And now, I will retire to look for my chocolate. If you want to send some, just let me know...the weather is now conducive and it probably won't melt.

It is time for a new tutorial!

And no, it is not the Pretty Princess card. I know that some of you are waiting patiently and I do plan on getting to it! But first, some showing off! Here's my swap for my upline's meeting:

Ingredients: Stamps - Season of Joy, Canvas, Punch Pals; Paper - Soft Sky, Whisper White, Blue Bayou; Ink - Soft Sky, Whisper White, Blue Bayou; Other - Stretchy Silver Cord, Paper Piercing Kit, Sponge wedge, dimensionals, white gel pen

If you look closely, you'll see that the main image is stamped twice, for a shadow effect:

Okay, you can say it now: JAN, You ARE A GENIUS! THAT IS GOJUS!!!!

Thank you...thank you very much...

And now without further ado:

The BIB CARD TUTORIAL

What the heck is a Bib Card, you ask? Well, it is a card of my own design! I have been intrigued by samples of tent cards I have gotten. A tent card is pretty much a card that has an additional large element that protrudes above the top fold. I've never made one myself. I was looking at these and thinking...how interesting it would be if the top element was not just stuck on the front, but folded out of the card in some way. So after some experimentation, this is what I came up with:

Ingredients: Stamps - Punch Pals, Canvas; Paper - Handsome Hunter, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White; Ink - Handsome Hunter, Purely Pomegranate, Sage Shadow, So Saffron; Other - Vintage Brads, Hodgepodge Hardware Antique Brass, Coluzzle, Scallop Circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Grosgrain

As you can see, the front of the card has a resemblance to a baby's bib, hence the name. Got nothin' to do with babies (unless you want to make it so!) This is it open:

This is the card I taught our group to do Thursday night and I think they enjoyed themselves! Now it's your turn!

You need a Coluzzle (the orginal) round template, a paper trimmer with a scoring blade.

The card base is 4 1/4" x 9". The mat is 3 3/4" x 4". The focal image piece is 2 5/8" x 3 3/8" (though you can vary that if you wish.

Place the cardstock on your trimmer so that you are scoring at 4 1/2" from the left edge (half). Score 1 1/8" from each edge. When you are done it will look like this:

Now you will place your Coluzzle template on the cardfront. Center the template over the scored lines, so that the breaks in the circle are over the lines and the center of the template is in the center of the card.

Cut half a circle using the third circle from the center.

When you are finished you will have this:

Using the Coluzzle knife or your scissors, complete the half circle up to the score lines (there should be slight spaces):

Now fold the card at the score lines and you will have your card base:

Now you need to cut your mat so that it will mirror the circular opening at the top.

Open the card back up and put it face up. Dry fit the mat on top of the card, leaving an even margin all the way around and sliding it under the circular tab:

Take a pen and draw a line around the tab on the mat:

It will look like this:

Place the Coluzzle on top of the mat, lining the 3rd circle up with the drawn line:

Now, cut a half circle out using the 4th circle on the template.

This is what it will look like:

Now you can decorate at will. I had fun and made this one with my tutorial pieces:

Ingredients: Stamps - Snowburst, Snow Jumbo Wheel, Circle of Friendship, Canvas; Paper - Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky, Shimmery White, Brushed Silver; Ink - Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou; Other - Scallop Circle punch, Ticket Corner punch, 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1" circle punch, slit punch, sponge wedge, silver eyelet, Soft Sky Double-Stitched grosgrain, Coluzzle, dimensionals, Circle Ice Rhinestone brad, Snow Blossom Punch.

Isn't it BEAUTIMOUS!!!! (YILM!) I kinda went nutso with all the punches. In fact, at the end I had not used the ticket corner punch yet. But I kept lookin' at it and lookin' at it, thinking I just should not add one more punch, but it HAD TO BE PUNCHED! The whole card just looked WRONG, so I had to carefully pry the corners up and punch them. And the lower left corner was impossible to punch, so I VERY carefully cut the corner to look like the ticket corner punch. Yes, I am A-N-A-L and I am PROUD!

I was very careful to design this sucker so that it would fit in a standard envelope, because I do not like cards that have to be mailed in an envelope that doesn't exist in our catalog. So you don't need anything special to send it in! Aren't I wonderful? Do you love me? I need love, especially after taking three children to the pediatrician and listening to a couple of them cry and whinge when they were getting their shots (and let's just say it wasn't the two youngest ones!) I had already done all this stampin' before I left so I was nice and relaxed, but by the time we were done, my jaw felt like someone had attached a winch to it and pulled it as tight as it would go. And now I've been slaving over this blog for hours, getting this tutorial just right...oh, the work I do for you!

This card will also work very well with the fold on the side rather than the top. I was so hepped up after making the first one, that I whipped out a new set, some different colors and worked without any lunch (I'm just making you feel guilty with all these sacrifices I make for you, aren't I?) to make this:

Ingredients: Stamps - Priceless, Think Happy Thoughts, Swirly Jumbo Wheel; Paper - Basic Grey, Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie; Ink - Taken with Teal, Purely Pomegranate, Pumpkin Pie; Other - Ticket Corner Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware, Vintage brad, Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, dimensional, sponge wedge.

I'm on a roll! Another GOJUS card! You can't help but love me now, 'cause you know I'm lovin' myself! Y'all come back now, hyeah!

Paper Tole Tutorial

Well, I seemed to have struck a chord with many of you yesterday! Unanimously, it seems that everyone would rather I would stamp than clean! Hee hee...well, I didn't end up stamping much and I did end up getting some cleaning done. The video/DVD cabinet was a mess, so I spent some time straightening that up, cleaning out my magazine basket and my end table, which was piled with magazines, papers, books and crud. Everything looks pretty tidy now. By the time I was done with that, I was too tired to do anything. I knew I should have stuck to my instincts and stamped FIRST. Ah well. By the time I got downstairs to stamp, everything I did looked like doody.

And what makes it worse is this: my husband came home from work on Thursday and I showed him the now neat and tidy video/dvd cabinet. Did he say, "Hey, great job, darling!" or "Wow! You are so awesome!!!" or even "Looks good!"? No, he did not! He said, "Why did you have to do that?" As in, why didn't I get the kids to do it? Duh! They aren't capable! When I tell them to clean up the videos/dvds, the open the cabinet and throw them in higgledy-piggledy. Much better to do it myself. That way I could get rid of some of them too. Men. Barf.

So yesterday, I redeemed myself. I made cookies during the day, avoided cleaning and cooking dinner, and then last night I was able to go down and stamp. And since Linda was asking about the paper tole part of the card, I decided to make a new tutorial, just so you can see how really nice I am all over again!

Dah dah dah dah!!!!

The Great Paper Tole Tutorial

First thing is, what is paper tole? It is the process of making a dimensional picture out of several copies of the same image. People do this with printed images as well, but stampers have an advantage in that they can stamp as many copies as they want! After you create the base image, you cut portions out of other copies (usually one or two) of the same image. These are mounted on dimensionals to pop them out from the base image.

So the first thing you need is an image, some ink pads for stamping or coloring, a pair of sharp detail scissors, and several pieces of cardstock that are the same color, plus some dimensionals or pop dots.

Stamp several copies of the image (this one is from the set Gossamer Wings).

I did one base image and two copies, using Very Vanilla cardstock with Basic Brown ink.

If you are using a line art image, color it in with the medium of your choice. Here, because it's easy and quick, I'm using my aquapainter and my ink pads.

I colored all of the base image, including the background, but for the copies, I only colored the parts I intended to cut out and pop up.

Then I cut out the parts of the copies that I wanted to pop above the base image.

Here are the parts I decided to use, plus the base image. The whole flowers will be the first layer above the base, the flower center and petal edge the second layer.

I put dimensionals on the first layer of images.

And I peeled the dimensional backings off and placed the cut out images directly over the same image on the base.

Then I placed the smaller pieces in the second layer, trimming pieces from the edge of the dimensional sheet to fit.

Here is the finished piece.

And since I am now as addicted to shadow box cards as I was to donut cards there for a while,  naturally I had to make the finished piece into this shadow box card. I highlighted the images with a white gel pen. Colors: Certainly Celery, Always Apricot, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Old Olive. I used the Giga Scalloped Circle punch from Marvy over a circle I had cut out with my Coluzzle to make the cute frame. The greeting is from Sincere Salutations, punched out with the Keytag Punch. Lisa asked if these cards will fit in an envelope...yes they will...the whole thing squorshes fairly flat and can be resucitated by the recipient. But that means...gasp!...that we actually have to send these cards to PEOPLE? Erm...that's the part I have problems with!

I like this one even better than the first one (yes, I love myself!) AND I managed to make two cards in a row without using any of the In Colors...I'm trying to wean myself off them, but it's hard, oh it's soooo hard! Remember when we were all so stinkin' excited over Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal? They were strange at first, but I got to playing with them and they became some of my favorite colors! Then when those new In Colors came along, I just tossed those old new colors to the side to play with the new stuff...yes, I am a COLOR HO! There's nothing wrong with those old new colors, now is there? Once we were so excited about them and we'll be excited with the 6 new In Colors that come out in July! Right?

NOOOO! Cool Caribbean forever! (Housework, whenever!)

Wiper Card Instructions

Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts. I'm feeling a lot better today with a good night's sleep under my belt. Dinner is in the crock-pot, all is right with the world...

Since I'm trying to take it easy and sitting in front of a computer is what I consider "easy", I decided to make a tutorial/template for you, my faithful readers. I failed to realize I would need to find supplies, take more pictures, etc. so it was a lot more effort that I thought, but it's a start. So, since the Wiper Card seems to be a hot item in SCS and here, that's where I started. I hope to do templates/instructions for the other cards in my Surprise, Surprise class, but one thing at a time, be patient with this poor old sick broken-down stamper!

This is the card, remember?

You need:
2 pieces of cardstock - 4 1/4” x 8 1/2” (card front and back)
1 piece of cardstock - 1 1/2” x 3 1/4” (pop-up)
Additional cardstock for decorating front of the card

1. Score the card front and back 1 1/2” and 3” from one end. Stamp as desired

2. Measure 1 1/2” from small end of pop-up on the left side, makr. Score diagonally from lower right to mark on left side. Stamp as desired. Fold at score line, trim off the very tip of the fold (on the right side).

3. Turn the card back so that the score lines are on the right side and the card front so that the lines are on the left side.

4. Put adhesive on the triangle below the score line of the pop-up piece. Adhere so that the top of the score on the pop up is about 1/8” below the top of the card and the pop-up is between the 1 1/2” score line and the 3” score line.

5. Fold the card front on the score lines, (1 1/2” fold is a valley fold, 3” fold is a mountain fold) folding the pop up down as you do so, so that the pop up piece is now parallel to the top of the card front. Fold the back of the card on the score lines as well in the same manner. Make sure they are well-folded; the card works better with crisp folds.

6. Adhere the front of the card to the back by placing adhesive on the areas between the edge and the 1 1/2” score line on each and placing them back to back.

7. When you pull the left and right edges apart, your pop up should swing up into view, much like the motion of a windshield wiper, which is why it is called a wiper card!

Now, if you want to have your very own copy of these instructions, I have made a template which you can download here:

Download wipercard.pdf (492.9K)

But you can also find it on my brand new list of templates over there on the right...chock full of great things (yes, I love myself) that will keep you busy and off my back about those other templates are complete! Do you love me? I hope so!

Punchy Plates Tutorial

Okay, okay, I made a card for a swap and then I realized if I were to show it to you that there would be questions about how I did what I did (I've already got requests for tutorials/templates from my last post that I haven't gotten to and I wouldn't want to get behind!) So I have decided that since I am SO NICE (yes, I love myself) and because you guys always want EVERYTHING, that I would make a new tutuorial called (drumroll and trumpet fanfare....)

THE PUNCHY PLATES TUTORIAL

"Why 'Punchy Plates'?," you ask, "What kind of WACKY name is that?"

Well, I thought that what I got from this was a sort of book plate or decorate name plate like you might get on someone's office door. And since I use punches (my favorite tools...at least, lately), hence the "punchy" part...got nothing to do with the fact that I don't get enough sleep...

ANYWAY...

Here's the card in question:

This is the way you can make a matching "plate" for under pieces made by two different punches: the Keytag Punch and the Word Window punch. As far as I know, I am the only human on the face of the planet who has figured this out (yes, I love myself). Once I got done patting myself on the back for my own cleverness, I realized that in order to receive the adulation that is my due, that I had to share it with you, my loyal readers. Please feel free to comment...I know I turned on the moderation (due to one very nasty person), but that doesn't mean I don't want YOU to comment, 'kay?

Here we go:

JanTink's Punchy Plates Tutorial

The first thing you need is the KeyTag punch and the 1 1/4" circle punch. Punch out the piece you want to make a plate for using the Key Tag punch, then cut a 1 3/16" strip of cardstock to make the plate.

Turn the 1 1/4" circle punch over and carefully insert the 1 3/16" strip of paper into the punch so that one end goes in between the two cutting surfaces. Punch one end of the paper and you will get a circular end on the strip.

Position the KeyTag piece on top of the strip so that there is about 1/4" of the punched end of the strip sticking out past the KeyTag piece. Adhere. Trim the other end down with scissors to about 1/2" past the other end of the KeyTag piece.

Turn the punch over again and insert the non-punched end of the strip in between the two cutting surfaces until the amount that is exposed is equal to the amount on the other end. Punch.

Tada! Then it's just a matter of adding brads to make it look like a plate or just leaving it as is.

If you want to make a plate for a piece punched with the Word Window punch, it works the same way.

You need the Word Window Punch and the 1/2" circle punch. Punch out the piece using the Word Window Punch and cut a strip of cardstock 7/16" wide to make the plate.

Then insert the end of the 7/16" strip into the bottom of the 1/2" punch between the two cutting surfaces. Punch.

Place the Word Window punched piece on top, leaving 1/4" at the end of the strip exposed. Adhere.

Insert the opposite end into the 1/2" circle punch, leaving an equal amount of cardstock exposed. Punch.

Tada!

So get out those punches and get punchy!

Alligator clips and a new tutorial!

Who knew? Who knew that my casual little mention of alligator clips last time would provoke such a furor of speculation? Over on Splitcoaststampers, there's a whole thread in the demo area about it. I'm amazed and gratified. And yeah, it was FUN teasing you all...hee hee.

So this is it...tada! Or maybe I should say, "Voila!"

"But Jan," you say, "what is that?!?!?!?"

It's a recipe holder....see?

The idea came about because I was thinkign of including something in the class with the recipe box (the one I showed you in a previous post) that could be made along with it. I thought of a recipe holder and googled "recipe holder" and came up with a number of different options. One company sells some that are pretty much like this with flowers on them. I saw it and said, "I can make one of those!" And the rest is history.

This is made with armature wire that you can find in the fine arts area of Michael's. Look for their extremely tiny metal working section and that's where you'll find it. It's quite easy to bend and manipulate. I used a little SU! glitter jar to create the circle at the top. Then I put the end of the wire through the hole in the alligator clip and crimped it back. The chef piece is cardstock that's been double laminated. When I trimmed the laminate around the chef, I left a little tab at the top and bottom, punched two holes in it and folded it to the back. That is what attaches Mr. Chef to the wire...it's threaded through the holes in the laminate tabs.

After I made it, I decided I wouldn't include it in the class, but I still think it's a nifty project and makes a nice gift for the cook in your family. The holder keeps your recipe card off the counter so it won't get messy and it's easy to see.

I worked on this this weekend so I could get it done and out of the way. Here's the dividers for my box:

And here's the recipe cards I made. My students will get three sheets of Sahara Sand, allowing them to stamp 12 recipe cards. They will be able to color them at home, or if they have enough time, at my class.

Here's a close-up:

I know you're going to ask me...what did I color them with? Prismacolor pencils. "But Jan," you say, "that doesn't look like colored pencil to me!!!" Well, it is. I've been using Prismacolors for a looooonnngg time and have found a nice way of getting them to look like paint. I don't use Gamsol. I just use the pencils. And since I know you guys, you want EVERYTHING, and being I'm so nice (yes, I love myself), I decided, out of the goodness of my heart, to make a new tutorial, just for you! Here it is:

JanTink's Ink-redible Painterly Pencils Tutorial

First of all, you'll need the following:

• Prismacolor Pencils - don't be cheap, now. Yes, you can get good results with SU!'s Pure Color pencils...they just don't have as many purty colors. And you need at least a white pencil, if not several very light colors. A good set of Prismacolors will last for YEARS...the only ones I have to replace are the white and cream colors because I use them the most. Don't buy Verithin because they are not at all the same. Do I wish that Shelli Gardner (may she live forever) would put these in the SU! catalog? Oh, yes, I do wish, but I don't see it happening any time soon. Wah.
• A mid-toned neutral cardstock, like kraft, Sahara Sand, or Creamy Caramel. You can use colors like any of the Soft Subtles...I just like the look of the light brown behind the colors...it makes them pop.
• A stamp set that needs to be colored in...ie. line-art.
• If you wish, a blending pencil like Lyra's Splender. This is a pencil that has no color itself; it only helps to blend your other pencil colors together. If you're looking for a very smooth look, get one of these and play with it and see how you like it. I didn't use it for this tutorial.

Step 1

Stamp your image on your mid-toned cardstock using dark ink like Basic Black or Brown or a color like Elegant Eggplant. Stop laughing! I should have cropped out the sticker sheet up there on top that tells you that I mounted this stamp just to make the tutorial. No, don't ask me how long that set has sat without being mounted...I ain't gonna say!!!

Step 2

Select the area of the image you are going to color first (in this case, the cute piggie.) Then choose three or four colors: a) your mid-tone in the color you want, b) your dark tone - a shade darker than the mid-tone, c) your light tone usually a very light neutral, in this case white, and d) if this is the part of the image you want to pop the most, choose a second dark tone from the color that is directly opposite what you are using on the color wheel. In this case, I'm using peach shades, which are a variant of orange, so I chose a dull blue...that helps to make shadows that recede, making your image more dimensional.

Step 3

Basecoat the image with your mid-tone pencil. Don't feel like you have to lay down a lot of color...just a basic coat.

Step 4

Decide where the light is coming from. Some stamp images don't indicate it, though some do, so look carefully...crosshatching usually will tell you that's where the artitst who designed the image meant for the shadows to go. For me, I like the light to come from the right. On here, the artist agrees, since she or he put just a little crosshatching on the left side of the snout. Then using your dark tone, color the areas where there will be shadows based on where the light is coming from. If the light is coming from the right, the shadows will be on the left and vice versa. Put the color down fairly heavily.

Step 5

Now, take your lightest tone and really lay it on. Scrub it on over the top of the mid and the dark tone. It will blend them together, creating that very painterly look. Be careful NOT to cover the black lines of the image; white Prismacolor is very opaque and it's easy to lose the details if you put too much on. Skirt around those.

Step 6

Now, retouch using your mid-tone, and dark tone. Adding the white will flatten it out a bit, so you may have to add more of the colors you just covered. Just go back and forth between the light and other tones until you achieve a balance that is pleasing. This is the point to add your opposite dark tone, just to the edges of the shadows, blending it in nicely. If you've covered a black line, try adding just a thin line of your darkest tone. Sometimes that will bring the dark line back up.

And here it is, completely colored in. You can add texture with your pencils, like I did on the wooden bed. I always like to put a little color behind the lettering...makes it look more like an integrated part of the image. I left it a little rough looking because I like it that way, but if I wanted to smooth this out more, I'd pick up my Splender and go at it.

There is a small difference when you are adding light areas like white. I usually basecoat using the white, then use light blue for shadows (light purple is nice too). Grey doesn't always work...it's okay for metal objects, but when you are coloring fabrics that are white or snow, blue or purple makes better shadows. Then I hit it again with white, coloring very hard on the highlights. Putting down a lot of color, so that it looks waxy and hides the cardstock is the key to getting painterly looks with pencils.

And here's the finished card. Your Painterly Pencil image is going go be so visually stunning that you don't need much embellishment. And forget about sending this to someone who you don't really like. Save it for someone who is worthy of it. If that turns out to be YOU, I certainly will not tell!

JanTink's Fabulous Punch Trick Tutorial

I felt kind of like I had to put some sort of tutorial up here, since so far all you have seen is me showing off my work (which I love to do!) and what I buy. Since I have a number of techniques and tricks I have developed, I figured the least I could do was try to show some of them to you, my loyal readers.

But first let me answer a question from Dawn, who asks how to mail a 4" x 4" or 4.25" x 4.25" card: just put it in a regular envelope. We don't make square envelopes in that size and even if we did, you can't mail them...according to the USPS, letters have to be at least 5" in length and 3.5" high. The card will rattle around a bit, but oh well...it will ge there!

So my tutorial is about my little trick using sticky notes (notice my careful skirting around a copyrighted name) to place your punch for 100% accuracy. This is important when you are creating window cards; obviously, if you are punching out something and using the punched piece, it does not matter so much. But if you are interested in the hole the punch makes rather than the positive shape, you want to be as accurate as you can.

In addition, Stampin' Up! tells us not to punch through two layers of cardstock; otherwise we put our punches in danger of breaking. But if you want more than one layer on your cardfront, and the hole needs to go through both, you need to be VERY accurate in placing your punch on both layers so that they line up.

So what you see here is my card, the layer I'm going to put on the front, the Tag Punch and some sticky notes.

Step 1) Punch out a piece of sticky note, making sure to get part of the sticky portion of the note within the punched shape. If you find that your punch does not work well on such thin paper, stick the note to another piece of paper and punch through both of them.

Here is the punched out sticky note.

Step 2) Place the punched sticky note shape on the topmost layer of your card, right where you want the window to be.

Step 3) Turn over your punch and slide it over the cardstock, lining up the punched shape within the window on the bottom. Punch.

Here is the hole I made, just where I want it! But wait...there's more!

Step 4) Place the layer on your card where you want it to be. You can use some temporary adhesive to keep it from moving.

Step 5) Put the punched out sticky note on the card through the hole in the first layer and lining up with it.

Step 6) Pull off the top layer, leaving the sticky note in place on the card.

Step 7) Again, turn the punch over, center over the sticky note shape and punch.

Here is the window in the card.

Layering the top layer over the bottom, the windows will line up exactly right!

And here's my card:

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. I developed this trick the first year I was a demonstrator and have submitted it to Stampin' Up! long ago, but I have yet to see it make Stampin' Success!

Here's another card I made this week. I joined a Christmas card swap run by Vicky Maduzia for "practical" Christmas cards....yes, I, the queen of OVERDONE! I managed to tamp my desire for more elaborateness down and made this:

Yes, I know it doesn't look simple, but it really is. Only one color of cardstock, only two colors of ink. I was able to whip out 25 of these in just a few hours...considering I was going down to the wire on mailing them in by the deadline, it was a good thing!