I love experimenting with different ways to use standard stamping supplies. Have you ever thought about the very humble acrylic block? If you stamp with cling rubber or clear stamps, you'll definitely have these on hand.
I'm always on the lookout for great stamping tools and I recently treated myself to some new acrylic blocks by Tim Holtz for Advantus. What drew me to them was the myriad of sizes included and the great grid on each block. I find grids on acrylic blocks to be a real lifesave when lining up a sentiment.
When you are placing a clear stamp onto an acrylic block, make sure that the entire sentiment lines up straight on the grid. Sometimes these stamps can bend slightly making for a skewed sentiment. Not fun.
While I was playing with my new blocks, my mind started spinning. Did you know that you can actually use the acylic block to stamp with? This is great if you want a plain square or rectangle background shape in your project.
Looking at the grid on my new blocks, I wondered about coloring in the grid in squares with dye markers. Would it work? I set out to try it. Above you can see the grid squares half colored in with two colors of Memento dye markers. When doing this you'll want to note that you color the side of the block that doesn't have the grid etched in it.
Once they were all colored, I "huffed" on the block to remoisten the block with my breath and then stamped it down.
As you can see, it doesn't give a perfect impression as the dye ink tends to group together a bit but I thought it made a really fun, unique and interesting background.
I'm really loving this new Hero Arts Christmas stamp set for this year. I love stamps that bring me back to the first Christmas. The image and sentiment are stamped in black ink and a tiny rhinestone accents the star.
I couldn't forget the inside of the card and added a little stamping. Like many of the Hero Arts stamp sets, this set comes with lots of beautifully coordinating sentiments so you can match the outside and inside to finish off your design.
Supplies: Cleardesign: Greatest Gift Stamp Set by Hero Arts, Solar White Cardstock by Neenah, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Summery Sky and Lulu Lavender Memento Markers by Tsukineko, Paper Distresser by Tim Holtz, Grid Blocks by Tim Holtz
