Soft Spring – Preparing New Photopolymer Stamps – Top Tip Tuesday. Have you seen the new Host Stamp Sets from Stampin’ Up! yet, there are some fantastic options. And these led me to a couple of Top Tips today. Firstly, do remember that you can only get these sets with your Stampin’ Rewards. But, they are also subsidised, so the Soft Spring set would cost £15 if you could buy it. With Stampin’ Rewards it is just £9!!

I needed a card for a Friend whose Birthday was yesterday. She spent her childhood in Penzance and this has influenced her a lot. Many of the colours that she chooses to wear reflect the colours of the flowers that grow around there. I used these colours in her card. Melon Mambo, Gorgeous Grape and Granny Apple Green inks are front and centre. I added her favourite Teal by using Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay. I stamped the outline images in Sahara Sand, but stamped off once.

And here is the second Top Tip. When you use a photopolymer stamp for the first time, you may find that it doesn’t stamp well. Take a look at these two images. Can you see the difference? The stamp on the right was ‘prepared’ first, the stamp on the left wasn’t, so has not held the ink well. It is always helpful to understand why these things happen. So, part of the manufacturing process involves a ‘film’ being added to the mould used to make the stamps. This helps the stamps release from the mould, but the residue doesn’t hold ink well. So, let’s sort that out. It is really simple and there are a few ways to do this.

I find the easiest way to sort this out is to get a good white eraser and just rub it across the new stamp set. I do this on all the stamps so I know the are ready to go, even if I am not using them straight away. An alternative is to rub the stamp on the back of your hand. This seems to work better than using your fingers. Or, you can give all the stamps a really good clean before you start. But, for me, the white eraser is the quickest and most effective option.

I hope you like the card. If you watch the video you will see that I had to use a certain amount of guess work to line up the stamps properly. But this set is one of those that work if you are in about the right place! I love these, they make it so easy to craft. Now I need to rush to get the card in the post. I am not sure if I will catch it, so this may end up arriving late, again!

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Dimensions

Standard A6 Cardbase
First Mat – 5-5/8 x 3-7/8” (14.25 x 9.75cm)
Second Mat – 5-1/2 x 3-3/4” (14 x 9.5cm)

Nail Varnish Colours

Today’s Nail Colours are Mermaid Parade and Ocean Ever After by Nails Inc. PLEASE NOTE, I get no commission from Nails Inc if you choose to shop from them using this link.