Mounting the Holy Triptych stamp set

At Stampin' Up!'s Convention in July, Jen Bailey mentioned using the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to mount two-step stamp sets. I filed that away in my head (I thought) and promptly forgot about it.

Fellow demonstrator and SUDSOL member, Maggie Fellow, didn't forget. She posted a tutorial yesterday on her blog demonstrating the technique using the two-step stamp set Heartfelt Thanks. Then she wondered if anyone had tried using Jen's mounting technique for the beautiful holiday stamp set, Holy Triptych.

So I did. (Ain't sharing grand??!)

Mount the tag image normally.

Stamp the tag image. Do not lift the stamp back up immediately – carefully fit the positioner into place at the top left of the wood block before moving the block away.

Pull the block away without moving the positioner.

Strip off the paper covering from the unmounted Holy Family rubber, exposing the adhesive. Place the piece rubber side down to fit as you want it to inside the stamped tag image. (Be careful not to move the positioner.)

Tip: Use a pencil to nudge the rubber into place.

Holding on to the positioner with one hand, place the Holy Family wood block on top of the adhesive-topped rubber, bringing the wood block to fit snugly against the positioner. Press down firmly when it is in place to adhere the rubber.

Now you can turn the block over and see where the rubber is placed on the block. Attach the label on the other side. Repeat the process with the remaining two figure images. The mounting is complete.

When you’re ready to stamp your images, start by stamping the tag image. Bring the positioner into place before removing the tag image wood block. Without moving the positioner, ink up the figure image and stamp it by aligning with the positioner. It fits!

A Sneak Peek

Here's a little peek at the tutorial coming your way this weekend. These stars are fun, fast and festive! (How's that for alliteration?)

Made from double-sided designer paper, you can decorate a whole tree with these babies!

More to come....

We have a winner...or two...or three....or.....

Let's give a big round of virtual applause to the 1000th Stamp Journey visitor....Ms. Allison of Calgary, Alberta!

I'm originally from Canada, so it pleases me that Allison lives in the same town as my brother. :-)

And because I live in the gracious South, it also pleases me to announce that I'm sending blog candy to...

• Ms. Cheryl of Sun Prairie, WI
• Ms. Krystie of Bellvue, WA
• Ms. Phyllis of Goodville, PA

Thank you to all of you who left comments or emailed me congratulations. This was fun!

Are you visitor 1000?

The very next person who visits will be my 1000th visitor since I started this blog 29 days ago. Wow! I'm impressed...and grateful!

So the next person who logs in and sends me an email stating this exact phrase "I am your 1000th visitor. May I have some blog candy, please?" will get a small gift from me.

Remember to include your full name and address so I can send you some goodies!

World Card Making Day Celebration Oct. 6

Join me and my favorite fellow demonstrators for FREE giveaways, door prizes, make-'n-takes, refreshments, demonstrations, and displays to inspire the paper artist in you. Enjoy special sale prices on new and used Stampin' Up! stamp and scrapbooking products.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6/07

Time: Anytime between 1 - 6 p.m.

Where: Rivermoore Clubhouse
4720 Meadow Park Lane, Suwanee GA, 30024
Click here for a map.

Cost: Free!

Contact if you have need directions: 678-467-1330 (Kathleen's cell phone)

No children under 12, please.

More Fun and Fast Notes

A few more samples using Fun and Fast Notes -- there's a stamp for nearly every occasion!




Mini notes are not the only possibility for this stamp set...




These images make great focal points, too.

One of the nice things about mounting your own stamps is you get to determine exactly how the stamp goes together. My personal preference is to cut away the words appearing at the bottom of the image and mount those words on the end of the block.

Total control -- YES!

All of you out there reading this, wave at me if you're a bit of a control freak, too....c'mon....I know you're out there. Ah, I see Joy and Mikelle and Missy... Kate, Donna, Daryl, Shel, Andrea... [waving back]

Fun and Fast Notes

I love to watercolor, and the Fun and Fast Notes set gives me plenty of opportunities to get out my beloved watercolor crayons and aqua painter.







This stamp set is such a good value -- eight images just crying out to be watercolored. The words below each image can be cut away and mounted on the end of each wood block to give you even more flexibility.






The watercolor crayons are my personal fav way to color...but they're certainly not the only way to go. You can use watercolor pencils, blenders, artist brushes, markers, reinkers, and stamp pads. So many choices!

Sharing Christmas In My Heart

This card started out as an exercise in "faux cracked glass." But the more I played with it, the more I found myself wanting to do the real cracked glass technique. So I did!

The main image is from the stamp set, "Sleigh Bells Ring" and includes a lovely old-fashioned winter scene, plus a great holly leaf stamp and the sentiment "Welcome Christmas into your heart." I stamped it in Timber Brown Stazon ink and used the ticket corner punch on the piece before I embossed it with Glassy Glaze powder and cracked it.

The base is Barely Banana cardstock, very lightly treated to the Weathered background stamp in Barely Banana classic ink. The Ivory wide grosgrain ribbon is lightly stamped in Bravo Burgundy classic ink (using the holly image) and threaded through a buckle from a Hodgepodge Hardware kit in aged copper...and it's just one of many, many classy pieces that come in this kit.

The tag is stamped, then punched out and edged using a dauber.

The Sleigh Bells Ring stamp set would work great for tags and holiday scrapbook pages, too! In fact...I think I'll go make a tag now. LOL!

Chocolate Snowflake

I just received the new Designer Wrapping Paper from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Collection, and just had to play with it. The sheen of the wrapping paper is so pretty!

Of course you can wrap gifts with it -- and I certainly will -- but I was curious to see what else I could come up with...this paper is so sturdy that I was easily able to use my corner rounder to create a scalloped edge, and to put it through a crimper. Two HUGE rolls come in a great storage box that is just begging to be prettied up. :-)

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Blizzard Designer Wrapping Paper
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Ice Rhinestone Brad, Paper Piercing tool, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Daubers, Circle punches, Crimper

Fall into Autumn

Cooler temperatures here in the deep South have me looking forward to the changing of the leaves that's to come. So far, the only leaves that have "changed" are the ones that are falling off because of the extended drought we've had this summer.

The sample above uses a stamp set that is not only appropriately called "Autumn Fest" but is also part of the Fall Frenzy promotion. You can get this stamp set at 30% off with a purchase of only $30...but you have to place your order by September 28th to qualify for this special!

The sentiment "love you" is one of the images in the Short and Sweet stamp set.

Mmmm....crisp air, falling leaves....hot chocolate, anyone?