supplies: (ranger) craft sheet, cut n’ dry felt, distress reinkers/forest moss/peeled paint/vintage photo/walnut stain, distress ink/stormy sky/weathered wood/walnut stain/fired brick/aged mahogany/pumice stone/frayed burlap, archival ink/jet black, heat tool, ink blending tool, enamel accents, mini mister, matte multi-medium, clear embossing powder, #8 manila tag; (idea-ology) adornments, baubles, jump rings, trimmings; (tonic) scissors; (stamps) winter sketchbook stamp set, holiday wishes stamp set, fabulous flourishes stamp set, urban tapestry stamp set
(step 1): select the stamp you want to make a “custom” stamp pad for as well as a sheet of cut n’ dry felt. *it’s very important to use cut n’ dry felt and not foam for this.
(step 2): ink image with jet black archival ink. *if you don’t have archival, any permanent/waterproof ink will work, but it has to be permanent.
(step 3): stamp image on to the fabric side of the cut n’ dry squaring up the block of your stamp with the edges of the cut n’ dry. be sure to press firmly as you’re stamping on a squishy surface. DO NOT LIFT YOUR STAMP OFF YET!
(step 4): while stamp is still in place, draw around the outline of the wood block with a pen.
(step 5): remove stamp revealing your image.
(step 6): clean you stamp off in whatever stamp cleaning “ritual” you practice. it’s just a dry towel for me, maybe a mist of water every now and then but not a drop of stamp cleaner…sorry, don’t get me started. i simply don’t want to waste time scrubbing a stamp only to use it again, and besides i don’t like the residue stamp cleaners leave on my stamps. okay, enough said…moving on…
*if you’re using a cling mounted stamp, there is no need to use so much cut n’ dry. just make sure your image fits.
(step 7): cut on the marked likes using a sharp pair of scissors – this stuff is pretty thick.
(step 8): gather up the colors of distress reinkers of your choice. *normally you can use any type of dye reinker, but for this technique – distress reinkers are needed.
(step 9): begin coloring directly over your stamped image with various colors of reinkers. i prefer to work from light to dark colors by gently squeezing the dropper of the reinker to apply ink to the image. it’s important to color ON the lines for this!
(step 10): continue inking with various colors of reinkers. *tip: i like to always use 2 tones of a color when i’m doing this.
(step 11): continue inking the entire image until colored. you’ll notice the inks will start to wick out in the fabric of the cut n’ dry – don’t worry. the coolest thing of this product is when colors meet up against each other they won’t cross contaminate. cut n’ dry felt is the most amazing product!
(step 12): now it’s time to stamp and since we’ve cut our cut n’ dry to the same size of the wood block, it’s simply a matter of stacking them up.
(step 13): tap the stamp several times to make sure it’s inked up – it should look shiny.
(step 14): stamp the image on to your surface.
(step 15): lift stamp and check it out – everything is colored and shaded – amazing!
*you can simply reink your stamp and stamp it over and over again and each time it’s colored perfectly. you can actually get about 40+ stampings from this pad before you need to reink it.
*to store your custom stamp pad, simply put it into a zip-loc bag and it will last for months. be sure to attach a stamped image to the outside so you know what image it is later.
(step 16): now this is the coolest part…you can apply clear embossing powder over the image after you’ve stamped it. yes – distress ink is an embossable dye, always has been. that’s why we needed to use distress reinkers for this one.
(step 17): remove the excess embossing powder from the image.
(step 18): heat emboss the image with heat tool. *tip: if you hold the paper off of the table when you’re heating it, this will allow the heat to pass through the paper and emboss your image in half the time. try it!
(step 19): once your image is completely embossed it will look as if every detail is covered with glossy accents, but even better because it’s already dry and ready to go. (looks wet doesn’t it?)
(step 20): ink the tag with distress ink using an ink blending tool. here i used stormy sky and weathered wood for a wintery sky look. since your image is embossed it will resist any color you apply over it. see it just gets better and better! finish off the edges with walnut stain.
(step 21): step the sheet music with pumice stone to create a background image.
(step 22): ink happy holidays stamp with fired brick distress ink.
(step 23): apply aged mahogany distress ink to various areas of the image to add some shadow. *by working light to dark you don’t have to worry about contaminating your distress pads.
(step 24): stamp on to tag. i really like the different shades of red to give this depth.
(step 25): stamp the large flourish with frayed burlap over the tag to create another shadow image.
(step 26): stamp the splatter stamp with walnut stain to create a speckled edge.
(step 27): apply matte multi-medium to back of the bird adornment charm. *i love matte multi-medium as an adhesive for my embellishments since it holds everything, and i mean everything, and it doesn’t leave any shine if you’re a sloppy gluer like i tend to be…
(step 28): adhere to the tag and let dry.
(step 29): stain custom trimmings by misting with water and then swipe distress pad over to tint. let dry.
(step 30): attach trimmings to tag.
(step 31): attach baubles to large jump ring and attach to ribbon.
(step 32): prime enamel accents on craft sheet to establish flow.
(step 33): apply dots to centers of letters and let dry. that’s it!
*in the details: i love the textures this tag has with the enameled pinecone image, the metal bird charm, and the dimensional shine of the enamel accents – it all comes together on this one!
remember the ticket i used on yesterday’s tag? well it was created following the same technique:
first i cut some tickets from 12″x12″ manila cardstock using my ticket strip die. *yes, they make manila cardstock just like the tags in 8 1/2″x11″ and 12″x12″ so you can cut it any shape or size.
then i inked my christmas ticket stamp on my custom cut n’ dry felt stamp pad i created for that particular stamp, and to line it up with the ticket strip, i placed the stamp image side up on my table and pressed the ticket on to the stamp.
i embossed all of the tickets at once since the distress ink will stay wet for 5-10 minutes allowing you plenty of time to stamp them all and then emboss them all.
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like i said, i really do think this technique is so cool…so cool that i couldn’t stop creating after the tag was done. i just had to share more inspiration and ideas with you. i know, i know, but when the voices in my head start shouting the “how’bout’s” i tend to listen (you know…how about this? how about that?). check out these other ways to use a cut n’ dry felt custom stamp pad that will have you stamping everything in sight…
(water misting): ink stamp on custom stamp pad and mist stamp with water from mini mister.
(water misting): stamp image on to watercolor paper – the image will look very wet, no worries.
(water misting): dry image with heat tool and as you dry the inks will wick into the paper.
(water misting): this is the effect you get, the image looks watercolored and it’s so very simple!
(watercolor): for a different watercolor effect, ink stamp on custom stamp pad and stamp on watercolor paper. brush over image with a water brush to move and blend the color.
(watercolor): distress is reactive with water so it blends beautifully. add a few flicks of the wet brush for droplets of ink in the background and dry with heat tool.
*how about making a plain stationary set using store bought cardstock and envelopes turing the ordinary…
*into custom stationary extraordinary!
now if you’re thinking that this cool technique is just for the holidays – guess again. check out this custom pad i did for one of my favorite stamp images…
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