What’s that Wednesday

This week I wanted to talk about the Scor Pal. I think this is the best scoring tool I have ever used. I always ran into the problem of not getting a good fold when I used my scoring blade on my cutter. Either the score wasn’t deep enough or somehow it would end up crooked. It was very frustrating. I was very happy when I tried out the Scor Pal at a crop. Ahhhhhh scoring bliss!

The Scor Pal is basically a plastic board with grooves in it. The top and sides are raised so you can push the paper right into the corner and get an accurate measurement. The top portion also has a ruler along it that coincides with the grooves. The grooves are spaced every half inch from ½” to 11 ½” with special grooves at 4 ¼” (your basic A2 card fold). It also has a few other grooves at commonly used measurements and places you would score to make different projects. It also comes with a bone folder and a convenient spot to store your bone folder in the upper right corner. I got a kick out of how the bone folder clicks in and springs out when you push the button to release it (oh the little things that amuse me). I always get a crisp, accurate fold when I use my Scor Pal.

The Scor Pal retails for $39.95, but always check for stores that have or accept coupons when shopping.

Make sure you check out the ScorPal site for more info. They also have many tutorials for projects you can make with your Scor Pal.

Happy Crafting,
Kimmy

What's that Wednesday

Sorry for not posting anything last night. It took me longer than expected to get everything done,packed and ready for my trip. Now if work wouldn't get in the way of fun I would be all set - ha ha ha. Well on with the important stuff.

This week I wanted to talk about one of my absolute favorite parts of stamping COLORING! And my favorite way to color is with Prismacolor Pencils. These are another pricey tool to have but well worth it for those of you who love to color. I love how smooth the color goes on and that they can easily be blended many ways. My favorite is using Gamsol or mineral spirits. I originally started with OMS (odorless mineral spirits) that were just sitting in my garage and I will say they worked very nicely but still had a but of an odor. The Gamsol is actually odorless (to me anyways). I got mine from Angela's Happy Stamper in Virginia, but it can be found at many LSS and online stores. I know Inky Antics and Gina K sell it in their online stores just to name a couple. You also need blending stumps for this process. You can find these at your local crafting store. They are actually just paper sticks that you dip into the Gamsol and use to pull the color around they come in different sizes and firmness. Try a few to see which work best for you. I prefer the Taiwanese over the Chinese ones because they are softer.

To blend using Gamsol I usually will color just the outer edges of my image and blend inward with my Gamsol. (I think we may need a tutorial in the next few days). This gives a very nice look. You can then add color to darken areas and keep blending as you go. It's actually very easy and there are several ways to blend - that's just the way I like to do it best.

You can also try the colorless blended pencil. When I use this I apply my different colors starting with the lightest first and use the colorless blended pencil at the very end. ( now I am really thinking pictures would have been a good idea). The same concept works for just blending colors as you go. I haven't tried this yet but heard it works. You start with the lightest color and just keep on adding and layering colors until you get the look you like.

While typing this I convinced myself a tutorial is in order. I am going to be at my parents this week and my Mom has been wanting to learn how I color too so maybe I'll give her a little class and snap some photos for you all. I'll post something Saturday so come check it out. If you have Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, and blending stumps bring them along.

Now if you don't have Prismacolor pencils I started out with some Crayola colored pencils and Odorless Mineral Spirits and got a similar effect. It's not as smooth and you don't have as many colors to chose from but to give it a try it's a much cheaper version. I know there are many other pencils out there that people love, but I haven't tried any, so I can't compare. I also haven't done much with Copic markers yet, I am still debating about starting down that road. I am sure I will get hooked and I know those could get really expensive. I have played a little with Bic and Prismacolor markers, but I am no expert.

Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see reviewed on my What's that Wednesday - I can always use ideas! Thanks for stopping by!

Make sure you check back Saturday to see how I like to color! And Friday is our 10 minutes or less card reveal.

Happy Crafting!
Kimmy

What's That Wednesday

Sorry today's post is a little late. I had some Internet issues.

This weeks "What's That Wednesday" is all about border punches. Border punches are another one of my favorite tools. As of right now I only own a few by Fiskars and Martha Stewart. I think they are a great way to add a little something to your projects and they are so versatile. One of the most wonderful things about border punches is you determine the size. You can make them as long or as short as you need. Another great thing is the price. They normally run around $15 and with a 40% off coupon at Michaels or Joann's you are out of there for under $10.

A quick tip I have learned with Fiskars and Martha Stewart border punches:

they take off 1/4" when you punch with them

It took some trial and error to figure this out. I measure alot to try to create equal borders so this is one of those things I needed to find out. (must be the old engineering student me)

I must give some praise to Fiskars. I bought a embossing border punch before Christmas and it would not punch right. It also was extremely difficult to punch. I emailed them and they were so helpful. With just a few emails back and forth I had a new on shipped to me free of charge. It arrived in a couple weeks and works great. I highly recomend them for their products and customer service.

I hope you found this helpful and informative. If there's anything you would like to see reviewed let me know and I'll try my best.
Stay tuned for tomorrows creation.

Happy Crafting,
Kimmy

What's That Wednesday?

This week's What's That Wednesday I am going to continue my discussion of the Cuttlebug. I am a huge fan of the Nestabilities and found a wonderful project to use with the Cuttlebug and your Nesties - it's the Sizzix Crease Mat. This mat allows you to cut and emboss using the Nesties in one run through the Cuttlebug.

Normally you would have to cut the paper with your die, leave the paper in the die, get your "embossing mat" and run the whole thing back through the Cuttlebug. With the crease mat it's all done at once. How wonderful! Here is a picture of how I set mine up:


As you can see the recipe U used was :
A plate
shim
crease mat
paper
die
C plate

Here is a picture of how the embossed piece looks:

I forgot to get an embossing mat when I purchased my Nesties and was very eager to emboss and cut with them. I found the embossing mat at Cut @ Home for $8.99 and if you are a VIP member you get a 40% off coupon every month. I found my Sizzix Crease mat at Michaels for $8.99 and I used one of my 50% coupons. I wasn't sure how well it was going to work so I made sure I didn't spend too much money. When you get the Crease Mat you will have to cut about 1/4" off of one of the sides so that it will fit in your Cuttlebug. I have used it on many of my projects already and am LOVING IT!!! I am pretty sure you could find this item anywhere that sells Sizzix products so check around - especially places where you can use a coupon:)

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any items you would like to see reviewed please let me know.

Happy Crafting,
Kimmy