Thumped Thanks

Recently I created this card using the "thumping" technique.  This is a technique that I had heard about for some time, but hadn't ever tried.  I absolutely loved how simple it was!  

                                

I will certainly be using this technique again, especially with this stamp set, called                       "Seasonally Scattered". 

If you'd like to recreate the stamped image on this card, you will need a Crumb Cake ink pad (or other light color), markers to "thump" with (I used Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, and Cherry Cobbler), and Very Vanilla cardstock to stamp the image on. 

 Once your stamp is inked, flip it over and uncap your first marker.  Using the brush end, tap the marker in random areas over the stamp.  Repeat the same process with each color.  

 When you are finished "thumping" each marker color, pick your stamp up, cup it in your hands and breathe your warm, moist air onto it to re-moisten the earliest colors. (This method of re-moistening ink is called "huffing").  Flip it over and stamp it onto the vanilla card stock.

Here is a close up of the stamped image.  You can see the various colors in detail.  

Have you ever made a card using the "thumping" method?  If not, I hope you'll be willing to try it out!   

Split Diagonal-Pieced Background Tutorial

Last night, I was attempting a cut on a piece of the Typeset DSP to create a slanted newsprint card for my upcoming Stamp-A-Stack.  I had done the cuts once before following this tutorial, and on that occasion, I was VERY happy with the end result.

Being very wise and able to retain loads of information at the drop of a hat a bit cocky, I decided that I didn't need to open the tutorial again, and I could remember exactly how to cut the paper a second time.  By the time I had made the 2nd cut, I knew I had ruined a perfectly good piece of Designer Series Paper  I would need to modify my original plans and create something original out of the pieces that I had sitting on my desk.  

This was my end result:

Honestly, the first time I did it, I made it with a bunch of diagonally cut pieces of random sizes and made a collage-type background.  I knew however, that I wouldn't be able to teach others to do that simply, and I didn't want a difficult technique that would take a long time to recreate.  As I sat contemplating how to replicate it easily, the idea came to me to start with a 1"x 4.25" piece of DSP.  

I situated the paper diagonally on the track where the cutting blade runs, making sure the top left hand corner was on the top of the track and the bottom right hand corner was on the bottom of the track….like so: 

I made sure to bring my cutting blade down from the top, and sliced all the way through the piece of DSP as pictured below. 

I then lined these pieces up with about a 1/4" in between each piece of DSP.  You will need 4 pieces of the 1"x 4.25"pieces of DSP and you will need to play with the space in between the pieces before you glue them down.  

I tell those who craft with me that there are no mistakes in paper-crafting…that each "mistake" is simply an opportunity to be a bit more creative and find a way to make something that you are happy with.  In this particular case, I'm more than happy with my end result, even if it started out as a failed attempt at another technique.  :D

Crafting Truths

There are some basic truths about crafting I have discovered are my reality over the course of the past 7 years.
*No matter how large of a space I have in the beginning, I almost always end up crafting in a tiny space with things piled all around me.
*There are always more ideas that I want to spend time creating than there is time for me to create.
*Spending time looking at ideas and surfing the net cuts into the small amount of time I actually have to create.
*I have boxes full of half-finished projects I will finish "someday".
*Scraps are irksome .  They multiply to the point where I wonder if they are related to rabbits.
*As exasperating as scraps can be, sometimes I find the ideal piece left over from a project that completes what I am working on perfectly.
*Creativity feeds my spirit…it strengthens me.  I have allowed it to help me overcome a shy, reserved nature and become more outgoing and friendly…(truly…if you were to ask people who knew me even into my early 30's, they could affirm that I struggled to be social and reach out to others).
*Each of us have different talents and gifts, but often, the more you do something the better you get at it.

That last bit being said, I have to take you back to the very first two cards that I created for a Stampin' Up! workshop.  :D  I remember on the second card especially, taking the measurements of the picture of it in Stampin' Success (our demonstrator magazine) and mathematically trying to figure out the exact measurements of that design in that size.  I got completely confused and finally gave up and just guesstimated the measurements (never realizing I'd do PLENTY more of that in the future).

Tomorrow I'll jump into more current projects and start giving you inspiration and ideas for your own personal creative journey.  

Until then, happy creating!

The Beginning

In a world where we are over-run with information and pictures and such, why would I feel compelled to start yet another paper-crafting blog? It's certainly been done before, on many, many levels…and I have this problem with consistency. Why this blog and why now?

For me, writing (thus blogging) has always been a wonderful release for me. Writing was a passion far back into my childhood. It is something that I work to develop and spend some of my other *extra* time dabbling in creating short, historical fiction pieces based on true stories of those I know about and love. My personal blog (which I kept up quite religiously until the evolution of Facebook) was named Some Semblance of Order and from the beginning, I felt that blog title captured a portion of my life…a snapshot of a chaotic life with 8 children and all of the challenges and responsibilities that having such a family will bring.

Some Semblance of Stamping then just seemed like a natural spin-off from that blog…and my goal is to provide you with the same type of candor and reality that being a paper-crafter with EIGHT children brings to MY life. I'm passionate about what I make, and even more than creating, my love of sharing with others is what drives me to reach out to you, a broader audience and ask you to join me on this adventure. Will you come along as I create Some Semblance of Stamping?