Paperie Picks: Distress Stains

Hi everyone! It’s Sara here again and my Paperie Pick this week is Ranger Distress Stains!

Now, I get asked a lot if they’re really necessary if you already have the Distress Inks. I say absolutely yes! Although both lines have the same colours and many of the same properties, they act very differently. For example, I wouldn’t use the inks to colour an entire background, especially if it was 12×12 – you’d be there quite a while!

That being said, it’s true that you have less control with the stains, but they’re *Distress* so they’re not meant to be perfect!

Like the inks, you can layer the stains to build up colour. What you want to keep in mind is that they are fluid so if you’re going to be putting on a lot of layers, watercolour paper is a must, anything else would pill or break down.

My favourite way to use the stains is to just make multicoloured backgrounds. I start with cold pressed watercolor paper, mist with water, and rub my stains over the surface. You’ll notice the colour move around a little and blend with other colours. Since I’m impatient, I dry the surface with a heat tool and spray it with water as I go. This allows the paper to dry but also blends the colours more as well. Then, you can add more layers in the same way until you have the look and colour you want.

You can also make a coloured background in a less haphazard way by running stripes across your paper, misting slightly to blend, and letting it dry. Then, just stamp your image over it.

Another cool technique is stamping with stains. Most of the stains will not work for this since the Distress line is translucent but Picket Fence, because it is white, is an opaque stain. Simply make your background using whatever technique you like, ink your stamp with the Picket Fence stain, and then stamp directly on your background. Depending on the colours of your background, and the paper you used, you may get a bright white image, or one that fades a little into the background. Play and find out what look you like better!

Finally, the stains are fabulous for ink splatters. Just squeeze the sides, then firmly and quickly dab the top on your project. This technique makes fantastic fireworks, funky flowers, suns, and puddle splashes!

There are still more options to do with Stains than I can count – for example, in the card above I pressed some stain onto my craft sheet and then used a paint brush to paint the flower stems. Play and experiment, you’ll discover some great uses on your own!

I show how to do fun techniques like these on my blog every Tuesday – feel free to stop by and take a look at what I’ve got going on over there, and then let me know what you think!

We’d love to see any projects, LO’s, cards, etc. you make with Distress Stains so post them on The Paperie Community page for all of us to admire. The Paperie also has the full collection of Stains right now so it’s even easier to play along!

I can’t wait to see what you create, have a great week doing just that!

S.

Paperie Pick: Rock Candy

Hi Everyone! It’s Cathie, popping by to share my Paperie Pick with you.  This week, I’m talking about Distress Rock Candy Crackle Paint and Distress Rock Candy Stickles. 

First up, Distress Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  Like all of Ranger’s crackle paints, the bottle comes with its own brush so it’s super easy to apply.  You just brush it on your project.  I usually use it on embellishments so I put a blob of Rock Candy on my craft sheet and dip things in the blob.  It’s messier but faster. 

You can put Distress Rock Candy Crackle Paint on just about anything from photos to cardstock but I found it works best on something heavy like chipboard or Grungeboard.  Remember the thicker the paint the bigger the cracks – it’s up to you but if you put too much on your paper it will start to curl as the Rock Candy Crackle Paint dries.  If you try to uncurl the paper the crackle just flakes right off. 

Crackle paint dries in about 15 – 30 minutes but drying time really depends on how thick you’ve put it on your project. I’ve read that you can use a heat tool to speed things up but you’ve got to wait until the cracks start to appear.  Once dry you’ve got a gorgeous glossy finish with fine porcelain-like cracks. 

You can use your foam applicator to apply Distress Ink to your project and then work the ink into the cracks with your fingers.  This really helps the cracks stand out…

Did I mention that Rock Candy Crackle Paint acts as a resist and that you can color it? No? Well, it does and you can.  I didn’t use paint as a colorant because Ranger has the whole Distress line available in crackle paint but I did try some Adirondack Color Wash and it was so easy.  I put a blob of Rock Candy on my craft mat, mixed in a few drops of Red Pepper Color Wash and had a whole new transparent color.  Here’s what it looks like once dry.

My favorite way to use Rock Candy Crackle Paint is a technique I call “shattered stains with a twist”.  This is based on the shattered stains technique where you coat your embellie in Rock Candy and let dry.  I like to put book text on mine before I put down the Rock Candy.  It adds another layer of visual interest but is completely optional.

Once dry, you grab your favorite bottles of Distress Stains or, in this case, spray and simply apply over the top.  (PICTURE 7) The color seeps in between the cracks and colors your project. 

You can layer up the color or (here’s the twist) you can grab your paint dabber (Ranger’s gold, silver and Perfect Pearl are my favorites) and apply that over the top of your shattered stained piece. 

Use a damp cloth or baby wipe to very gently work the paint into the cracks and wipe it from the top of your project.  Paint is opaque so you need to wipe it off or you’ll cover the effect of your staining.  Ta Da!

And here’s what it looks like on my layout using The Paperie’s fantastic April Club Kit, Chevron Chic.

Here’s a close up of the 2 hearts…

Finally, I have to quickly mention, Rock Candy Distress Stickles.  Truly, it is King of Stickles.  And just in case you think I’m being dramatic, I once heard someone say they would swim in a vat of the stuff if they could. Yes, it is that awesome. 

Some like to use Rock Candy Distress Stickles as an accent to highlight an image or add a little vintage sparkle. Not me. Nope, I like to use lots of it. I squeeze a big blob directly on my project and rub it around with my finger.  It also takes 15 – 30 minutes to dry or you can use your heat gun.  Actually, you can use your heat gun to dry any of the Distress Stickles – cool, eh?

Here’s a page I made using the Rock Candy Distress Stickles in an altered book I’m working on.

It’s hard to capture the sparkle with my camera but in real life this page looks like sparkly snow. I love it.

I hope I’ve given you some ideas on how to use Distress Rock Candy Crackle Paint and Distress Rock Candy Stickles.  The Paperie has lots in stock and now that I know I can color it with my sprays, I’ll be picking up a bottle or two and creating a few little pots in my favorite colors.

Don’t forget to post your projects to The Paperie Community page on Facebook. I would love to see what you create.

Cathie

Ps: I’m doing the LOAD or LayOut A Day challenge on my blog.  Yupper, I have a blog.  Come visit me at cathiereed.blogspot.com.

Paperie Pick: Clever Handmade

Hi Everyone, it’s Sara here with another Paperie Pick for you this week – Clever Handmade!

One of the great perks of being part of the amazing Creative Team here at the Paperie is that I occasionally get to play with and introduce new product that’s hitting the shelves. Recently, Chris handed me a fabulous and interesting new company to work with from a designer many of you will remember – Heidi Grace. Well, she’s back with a new name – Heidi Kress (Colorbok Inc. owns the Heidi Grace brand) – and a new company, Clever Handmade.

What I love about this line are the unique items included – single sided shimmer papers with glitter, a great heavy weight piece called embroidery board, and rubons that are meant to be used as stitching templates! Of course, there are the standard cardstock weight double sided patterned papers too.

To make it even better, the 3 lines that The Paperie carries all work brilliantly together! To showcase that, I chose several sheets of paper that included 1 or 2 from each line – Out of This World, Above the Clouds, and In This House– and some red embroidery board. I forgot to take the rubons home with me so I missed out on trying them and had to make my own pattern to stitch on! Don’t be like me, people, buy the rubons and try them out – they are super cute! And on her blog Heidi showed how she used them as pictures to watercolour so they’re not just for embroidery patterns!

I had some fun with my supplies and made a mini album for some of my Instagram pictures.

The embroidery board is “great for base paper, mini albums, and tags, because it is thicker than cardstock, but thinner than chipboard” and since I love to make altered items, it’s a new favorite of mine! As a matter of fact, The Paperie has 7 different sheets in and I think I may to buy them all! Because of the weight, it can be embossed, die cut, hand sewn, machine stitched, misted, and painted, all without causing warping. My one piece of advice is to use a denim needle and go slow if using your sewing machine – trust me, this is the voice of experience speaking, breaking a needle at 1:30am is not fun!

The papers are either a heavyweight, double sided cardstock or a single sided, lighter weight shimmer paper with glitter accents. And, as I previously stated, all three lines coordinate really well which makes colour matching a breeze!

You can head over to my blog on Monday and find some more pictures and details about how I put the album together.

Stop by The Paperie this weekend and check out Clever Handmade – I think you’ll fall in love with the company! And there’s other new stuff out on the floor too, like baker’s twine, The Crafter’s Workshop templates, and the new Club Kit which launches on Saturday – it’s my favourite so far!

Have a wonderful weekend, I hope you get some happy crafting time in!

S.

April 2012 Classes & Events

Wednesday, April 11th – Sara’s Rainbow Tag Layout
Thursday, April 12th – Kids Class: Mini Album
Sunday, April 15th – Designer Duo Class
Friday, April 20th – Monthly Crop Night
Tuesday, April 24th – Hero Arts Studio Calico Card Class
Sunday, April 29th – Sara’s Yearlong Album (FULL)

Appointments available for Introduction to Scrapbooking

Rainbow Tag Layout – Wednesday, April 11th (6:30pm)
Join Sara for a fun and bright Rainbow layout to get you out of those end of Winter blues! This class is good for both beginner and experienced scrapbookers. Sara will show you how to use mists, Distress Inks, Distress Stains, and how to make your own tags, resulting in a beautiful layout showcasing whomever you consider the rainbow in your day! Go home with a finished layout, new techniques and ideas, and 2 awesome sets of alphabet stickers! Check out the colourful photo below.
Members: $25.00
Non-Members: $50.00

Kids Class: Mini Album – Thursday, April 12th (9am-4pm)
The Paperie is so pleased to introduce our first Scrapbooking Workshop for Kids & Teens, debuting with a fun all-day class during the Easter Holidays, on Thursday, April 12th. Paperie Design Team Member Krista Wells will host a fun-filled day, showing the kiddos how to create an entire handmade “Smash Book” from start to finish. A teacher by trade, Krista will spend the morning teaching participants how to make a mini scrapbook from scratch. After lunch they’ll spend the afternoon adding their pictures and embellishments. There will be fun techniques taught, such as stamping and embossing! Suitable for ages 8 and up, drop off the kids at 9am and pick them up at 4pm. A pizza lunch will be provided at noon, but you may want to pack an additional snack (NO peanut products please). All product, supplies and tools are included in the cost of this workshop. Just bring photographs to the class, and be prepared to have fun! We’ll post a sneak peek of the project next week.
Price: $50 per child

Designer Duo – Sunday, April 15th (10am)
We’re excited to offer a first time event – two for one instructors! Come join Sara and Cathie for our first Designer Duo class where they will each teach a project using the same products. You’ll go home with your two completed projects, an American Crafts stamp set, October Afternoon letter stickers and a host of new ideas! These two designers have very different styles so come see what great things they come up with! Space is limited for this class so sign up early to avoid disappointment.
Members: $35.00
Non-Members: $70.00

Crop Night – Friday, April 20th (6pm-Midnight)
Want to get some scrappin’ done? Need some new ideas? Well this night is for you to spend some quality time with your scrapbook! All of the distractions of home are left behind as you spend up to 5 hours scrapbooking with other scrapbookers. You have unlimited use of all of our die-cut machines, punches, scissors and access to countless idea books. (Get your Paperie Crop Card – attend 2 Crops and get your 3rd Crop free!)
Members: $5.00
Non-Members: $10.00

Hero Arts Studio Calico Card Class – Tuesday, April 24th (6:30pm)
Sara has some awesome techniques to share with you in this fun class where you will play with ONE stamp set to create three one-of-a-kind cards. And the best part? You get to go home with the stamps at the end of the night! We LOVE the Calico Borders stamp set and we know you will too. We’ll have extra ideas to inspire you, so bring your camera along!
Members: $30.00
Non-Members: $60.00

TGIF: Hero Arts Make’n’Take – Friday, April 27th (12-1pm)
Join us for our monthly lunch time make’n’take showing off the versatility of one sketch! We’ll show you how to make three different cards with ONE sketch in a flash. Pre-registration is required for this make’n’take, but you can call us right up until 11am on March 9th. Skip Hallmark and make your own cards to really wow the lucky recipients!
Price: $12.00 for everyone!
If you don’t have time to make all three cards, you can make your favourite card for just $5!

Sara’s Yearlong Album Class – Sunday, April 29th (10am-3pm) FULL
Our most popular class to date, we have 20 participants who pre-registered and will be working on an entire album spanning the whole year, from February until December. We highly encourage you to sign up for Sara’s other classes if you’re missing out on the Yearlong Album – you’re sure to have fun and learn a lot. Contact us right away if you’d like to reserve a basic kit of the products used in this class, including the American Crafts 8.5×11 Powder Blue Modern D-Ring Album, Year.o.graphy papers and stickers from Simple Stories, and more!

Introduction to Scrapbooking – by appointment
Call ahead to make an appointment for a one-on-one Introduction to Scrapbooking (we can also accommodate groups). We will focus on how to get started, introduce you to the basic tools, and show how to use and care for your tools. We will take you on a tour of our store, passing along lots of helpful advice and discuss popular scrapbooking terms. You will also learn how to use the tools in our fully stocked workshop and create a basic Scrapbook Layout.
Price: $12.00 per person
(Children under 12 are $5 when accompanied by a registered participant).

We kindly request that you respect our SCENT-FREE Policy in our store and at all Classes and Crops as many customers and staff are severely allergic. This includes perfumes, lotions, hairsprays and other strong scents. Soliciting, vending, and advertising are prohibited at our classes and events. If you have a severe allergy and are attending a class, we would be happy to notify the other class participants. ALL classes must be paid at time of Registration. For full class policies click here.

Paperie Picks: Tissue Tape

Welcome to a new feature here on the Paperie Blog where Paperie Design Team Members/Instructors Cathie Reed and Sara Case Strickland will take turns blogging here for us each week for the next few months! It’s great to be busy, but the one downside is that our staff members are not able to blog as much as we’d like these days. We decided to enlist some help from our creative team members to add some great content to our blog! We hope you enjoy this new feature!!

Cathie’s Paperie Pick: Tissue Tape

Hi Everyone! It’s Cathie taking over the blog today to talk about a product that I love, love, love for this week’s Paperie Picks.

This week, I have to talk about Tim Holtz Tissue Tape. If you know me, you know I’m a fan of Tim Holtz’s products and tissue tape is one of my favourites. It adds dimension and visual interest to your layout or project without adding bulk. Awesome!

Tissue tape is like washi tape but with Tim’s unique signature twist it’s so much more. There are 2 rolls of tissue tape per pack and there are 6 sets. You can see them all HERE. My favourite set is Journey Man. One roll is coloured and that’s what keeps me reaching for it again and again.

You can also colour your tissue tape to suit your page or project. You can use almost anything – just grab whatever you have handy. Here’s a sample chart I made using inks, sprays, a copic, and some acrylic paint. It was a bit messy but so easy to change the colour of the tissue tape.

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You can also use tissue tape as an adhesive or as an embellishment. Here, I folded a piece in half and then punched out a heart.

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You can see the heart used here…

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My favourite way to use tissue tape is to layer it up and create a major focal point…

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I also love using it to mat a photo…

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I’m always surprised how much tape is actually on a roll. I know it’s not endless but 16 yards of tissue tape is a lot of tape. I use it on almost every page I make.

One you start using tissue tape you’ll understand why I love it so much. Lucky for you, The Paperie has lots in stock right now – including Journey Man. Don’t forget to post your projects to The Paperie Community Facebook page. I would love to see what you create.

C

PS! I have a blog! That’s right – a blog. Come visit me at cathiereed.blogspot.com

Paperie Picks – Alphabet Punch

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It’s been awhile since we’ve posted a Paperie Pick but we just had to take a moment to share our latest favourite product. This marvelous Martha Stewart Alphabet Punch set is the bees knees! The cute little letters are such a sweet size and they coordinate perfectly with one of our newest AccuCut dies, the 12″ Pennant Border.

Paper Punches this size usually retail for $17.99 each but you can pick up this set of punches for just $32.99 – call The Paperie to reserve yours! 726-5323.

Paperie Picks – Inkssentials Stamp Cleaner

 

Ranger Inkssentials Stamp Cleaner

It’s been awhile since we posted a Paperie Pick, but I thought it was high-time we got back into posting some of our “Favourite things” here at the Paperie. My  newest addiction is this BUBBLE GUM SCENTED Inkssentials stamp cleaner from Ranger.  This scented water based cleaner is child safe and comes in a 4oz spray bottle for easy cleanup of hands and stamps stained with regular dye and pigment inks. And it smells terrific! It reminds me of being a kid again, blowing bubbles in the backseat of my parents Dodge Diplomat (you can see that old beauty HERE).

Paperie Picks – Scor-Tape

It’s been awhile since we posted one of our Paperie Picks, but we’re back today to do just that. If you haven’t visited The Paperie lately then you might not know what our latest, greatest, most favourite adhesive is…

Scor-Tape!

We’ve been using it on all of our projects for the last year or more, but it seems that this sticky stuff is still a mystery to some so I thought I could shed some light on just how great this tape is.

As it says right on the front of the package, Scor-Tape is perfect for:

• Cards
• Boxes
• Glitter
• Embossing
• Scrapbooking
• Foils
• Ribbon
• Origami
• Iris Folding
• Micro Beads
• and more!

Yes, it’s true – you can sprinkle some embossing powder over a strip of Scor-Tape and create an embossed border or line on your projects. My favourite application (other than simply sticking things together) is to use Scor-Tape with glitter. I stick down a piece at the bottom of my wintery scene to create a glittery snowbank, or create a border around my cards for a glittery pop. We have even discovered that Scor-Tape works BETTER than red-line tape or Terrifically Tacky tape for sticking boxes together.

Check out this FANTASTIC review of Scor-Tape by Craft Critique with even more great information.

Paperie Picks – 1″ Square Punch

Today we have another Paperie Pick, chosen by Meshell who loves the EK Successs Paper Shapers 1″ Square punch. You may ask why, specifically, the 1 inch square? Well the answer is simple – INCHIES! A popular card making craze in the last year, these 1×1″ squares of art are a great way to do minimal work with maximum impact. You can make them as simple or as complex as you want and we have some links below to show you a few different ways to use inchies… 

Hero Artist Shari Carroll first introduced us to the concept of inchies, and if you click on the following link, then follow each link throughout the week (Monday through Friday) you’ll see even more great ideas - including a video on their Wednesday post demonstrating some cool techniques.

http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/2008/06/24/tuesday-inchies/

Also, check out all of these great “Inchie Cards” submitted to the Hero Arts Flickr website – there’s tons of great inspiration to be found! Most of these cards were submitted for Shari’s Inchie Challenge back in June.

http://flickr.com/groups/heroarts/pool/tags/inchies/

Tuesday’s Tidbits – Paperie Picks

Today we have a Paperie Pick for you, and it will come as no surprise to many of you who have attended classes here at the Paperie – Meghan has chosen VersaColor Pinecone Ink cubes.

These versatile little cubes of ink are not only fantastic for stamping a nice dark brown image, but they add the perfect finishing touch to a card or layout by simply rubbing the ink along the edge of the paper, as seen in our card below. This technique is called “inking the edges” and it’s a great way to add dimension to a project and is also ideal for antiquing a heritage page.

Tidbit: Did you know that you can also emboss VersaColor Ink cubes? They are a slow-drying pigment ink and emboss beautifully with clear or sparkly embossing powders. Choose from their selection of 76 colours to get the perfect match everytime you emboss.

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Tip: Emboss an image using just VersaMark and clear embossing powder for a glossy watermark effect. Add some gemstones for a soft, elegant touch.

Featured on this card is the Hero Arts Pop Stems and Happy Everything Messages, Pinecone Ink, VersaMark, Clear Embossing Powder, Linen Distressed Stickles and Hero Arts gemstones. Also used was Oasis Green Bazzill and Kraft cardstock. This card is the perfect pick-me up for a good friend, mother, father, etc. or switch out the sentiment for a Wedding, Birthday or Thank You Card.

Paperie Picks – File Set

Basic Grey Precision File Set

This week’s Paperie Pick comes from Meshell, who has chosen the Basic Grey Precision File Set. Ideal for distressing chipboard, plastic, paper and metal – each file features a rubber coated grip for comfort and ease of use. Included in the set are 6 files for every big or little thing you might want to sand.  They are especially good for using on chipboard letters when you adhere paper to them - the smaller files can get into every little nook and cranny.

Stop by The Paperie for a demonstration of this handy tool set. We are always happy to demonstrate any techniques you’d like to see, or tools if we have them on hand.

Paperie Picks – Doodlebug Flock

Doodlebug Flock

Multi-pack

This week’s Paperie Pick comes from Meghan, who has chosen the Doodlebug Flock. I love the variety pack which includes all of the Doodlebug colours – the white is great for making clouds, the green works well for leaves, brown and black is cute for animals, etc. You can flock just about anything, as we’ll be demonstrating in our upcoming Birthday Card Class on January 27th. 

My two favourite methods for applying Flock are the Sakura Quickie Glue pen and the Zig Glue – I just use them like I would use a marker to colour in my image, then press the flock down into the glue and leave it for a few minutes before shaking off the excess.

Another great method of applying Flock is by using the A Muse Heat & Stick Powder. You stamp your image with Versamark and apply the Heat & Stick Powder (the same way you would apply embossing powder) then heat it up until it becomes tacky. Apply your flock and you’re done! On a pre-stamped image you can do detailing with the Versamark Pen and then use the Heat & Stick Powder as well.

Paperie Picks – Zip-n-Flip Organizers

Zip-n-Flip Embellishment Organizers

Our first Paperie Pick of 2009 has been chosen by Chris, who has picked the Zip-n-Flip Embellishment Organizers by Cropper Hopper. We were first turned on to these by Marg, one of our savvy customers who discovered that they are the PERFECT fit for the Hero Arts Clear Design stamp sets! They also fit other Clear stamp sets from A Muse, Basic Grey, Kaiser Crafts, Inkadinkado and more.

Each package has two sheets of 8 resealable storage pockets and we have discovered that each pocket can hold two stamp sets – that’s enough storage for 32 stamp sets! Cropper Hopper also sells Medium Zip-n-Flip Organizers which are a perfect fit for the smaller Hero Arts SparkleClear stamp sets, gemstones, etc.

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Also available from Cropper Hopper is a soft cover 3-ring binder to store your Zip-n-Flip organizers. This is such a great organizational system because it allows you to keep all of your stamps in one spot and easily flip through to find the ones you need.

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Paperie Picks – Alphabet Stamps

This week’s Paperie Pick comes from Janna and the spotlight is on Alphabet Stamps! These are a great investment for Scrapbookers and Card Makers alike because you can keep using and reusing them and they never wear out! Acrylic stamps are especially user-friendly because you can line them up on your block and see exactly where you’re stamping them.

By changing the colour of the ink you can change the whole look of the word you’ve stamped and coordinate your letters to match any colour scheme you can dream up. Some alphabet sets (such as the Gel-a-tins Golly Gee Big Letters) can be coloured in, stamped on patterned paper and cut out, or stamped on cardstock, cut out and popped up with foam tape for eye-catching titles.

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For this double-page layout we have stamped the Gel-a-tins Golly Gee Big letters on green floral patterned paper and cut them out. Also featured on this layout are corner flourish stamps from the Fancy Pants 12×12 Pollen Dust Stamp set.

Paperie Picks – Gemstones

Hero Arts Gemstones

This week our Paperie Pick comes from another special guest, Paperie Member Lori who has been busy here in our workshop all day making Christmas Cards.  Often we will look at our projects and think they need a little finishing touch and Lori says “bling is just the thing” to add some pizazz to your cards or layouts, especially during this festive time year.

Most gemstones come in a row on a line of adhesive and you just need to use a craft knife or scissors to cut them apart to use them individually on your project. You can also use them right in a row, and sometimes they’ll even come in shapes like circles, stars, flourishes, etc.

Check out the card below which was made for us by Rae Lynn (another Paperie Member) last year – of course we kept it because it’s just SO beautiful - love those trees cut out of Basic Grey patterned paper! As you can see, she used gemstones on top of the trees, as well as a tiny gemstone over the “i” in the sentiment.

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