Clearly iStamp

A Tutorial Showing How to Save Time, Paper, and Ink When Using Digital Papers!

Hi Everyone!

True :D here!

I know you are used to seeing coloring tutorials from me but I thought I would switch it up a bit and show you something new!

I have just recently started creating digital paper sets and wanted to share some tips on conserving time, paper and ink when using them.

For today's tutorial, I will be using my Tangy Trio Leaves digital papers. It is just  $3.50 for either 12x12 or 8.5x11 formats.

I am using the 8.5x11 format because it scales perfectly to fit A2 (4 1/4" x5 1/2") cards.

If you prefer square cards the 12x12 might work best for you. Of course you can crop either one! :)

Here is what the paper stack looks like... 

I actually created this stack to coordinate with all of the new Tangy Trio products that Clear Dollar Stamps is now carrying. You can find cardstock, Copics, Tombow markers, and ribbon to match!  

      

  Talk about easy coordination! :)

Of course you could use my paper tips with any image, stamped or digi but I will be using my "Praying Mantis Eyes" digi for this dimension. It is available for just $3.50.

First I opened up my MS Word program. You can use what ever program you use for digis and do the same thing. Instead of printing whole sheets of the different papers I "pre-layered" them with the program. Since my card bases are 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", I scaled my leaf base paper down to 4" x 5 1/4". I then layered some other papers on top of them leaving a boarder of the leaf paper showing around the edges. I did 3 sets like this so I can have room for 3 images and sentiments to create 3 card fronts from 1 sheet of white cardstock.

Size your images and sentiments to the correct size for the look you want. (You may need to "bring image to front" and click "posistion" then "in front of text" to be able to move your papers and images around where you want them in Word).

You then can cut it all apart. Since you already sized the papers, there is zero waste! :)

While you are at it, go ahead and cut a standard piece of cardstock in half and score to form you card base.

I adhered my image and sentiment to a piece of scrap colored cardstock then trimmed them leaving a small border.

You could glue it all together on the card base as is and have a cute card or you could do as I did and add some stitching. (faux stitching with a pen or marker looks great too)

I used double sided foam tape on the image and sentiment to give the card some dimension.

Before placing them on my card front, I ran a piece of pretty ribbon across the card front and attached to the back. 

Here is a True :D tip:  Totally compleate your card front on layered cards before you attach to the card base, so you can hide ribbon ends, brads or other elements you don't want visable on the inside of your cards.

Then attach the sentiment, image, and a bow or what ever other embelishments you would like.

Attach the card front to the card base and you are done!

You still have 2 other cards you can create with the same sheet of card stck too!

I added some green half pearls to my card too.

Here are a couple of other digtal paper stacks that I created this month. Again, both are available for instant download in either 12":x12" or 8 1/2"x11" formats.

They can be found in MY DIGITAL SECTION of Clear Dollar Stamps.

Thanks so much for dropping by again today!

I would love to hear what you think about my papers, tutorial, and/or card.

All comments or questions are welcome!

 

Thanks and hugs,

True :D

Color me easy notecards

Hey friends, welcome to another Tuesday Tutorial.  Today, I've got something that everyone needs to have on hand and yet still have fun making.  For me, notecards are soemthing that I consider to be a must havce for sending notes to school, but if you don't have little ones in school, these are still so conventient to have made up for all sorts of reasons.

Because these notecards are essentially a "throw away", I don't want to expend tons of energy, but I do want them to look nice and to enjoy myself while I'm creating. So, I kept things very simple but still got some fun techniques in there too... some embossing and coloring to boot!

I started with with 4x4 base notecards in Cottonball White.  I find that these are the best size to actually "write" notes in... not too much space and not too little space, but just right.

Ripe Olive - 3 3/4" x 3 3/4"

Fresh Papaya - 3 1/4" x 2 3/4"

Wild Ginger - 3" x 2 1/2"

Because it is fall, I decided to go with the set called Autumn Blessings.  The pumkin is a great image to color, but I didn't want to spend the time coloring it the way I would "normally" do so.  Here is what I did instead.

I used Versamark ink and stamped the pumpkin image onto the Wild Ginger Cardstock.

Then I covered it with gold embossing powder.

Tap excess and get that heat gun out.  Apply the heat directly on one area until you see the powder melt.  Then move on to the next area.  You can burn your embossing powder and the result will look like very flat and dull.

This might surprise you, but I really enjoyed using my Copics to color directly on the colored cardstock. This allowed me to be imprecise and easy.

I grabbed my Fresh Papaya(YR31), Ripe Olive(YG95), and Hot Cocoa (E29) Copic Markers.  I started with the Fresh Papaya and followed the pumpkin lines.  I only outlined and didn't color it in.  The marker will fade slightly as it seeps into the cardstock.

You can see where it has faded on the left side of the image.

Follow with your other colors.  I started with my Hot Cocoa (E29).

Then follow up with the Ripe Olive (YG95). Remember, I'm not filling in line to line.  I'm just adding color to spots on the leaves and stems.  This is supposed to fast and easy.

Just put all your layers together.  I added a great sentiment from the set All Around Sentiments... perfect for those notes to school or a greeting to a friend or co-worker.

So there you go!  You can still have your fun with time to spare.  As always thank you so much for stopping by and visiting us here at Clearly iStamp.

Remember, there are 2 challenges happening right now... a great way to play and maybe win a prize or two! Click on the links below for all the details.

Clearly Inspired Challenge

Show us your Clear Dollar Stamps digi work

Fast and Furious... cards as gifts

Hey friends, its Katie here with a couple of card gift ideas.  I am primarily a card maker these days and being one, I love to gift cards to friends and family.  I truly feel that for those of our friends and family that don't necessarily make cards and yes even those that we know that do, having cards in our possession gets us to send those cards out.

The purpose of these 2 sets of cards that I created was to a) gift them, b) make them easy to mail, and c) to create them fast and furious (lol).

I think its important to  note that many of our friends don't realize that cards can have their own issues when it comes to mailing.  Bulky, overweight, and/or square cards will always require extra postage,  so make sure to let your recipient know that it may require extra postage or that they might not even be able to mail them at all depending on the dimensions.

So, here we go...  The first set here are 3x3 cards with no envelopes.  The purpose of these cards are small gift cards to accompany a purchased gift.  I based my theme on birthdays for children so I used some very bright background paper from Basic Grey's Lime Ricky 6x6 pad and then created my focal image using a new release for December called Candle Trio.  I then encased all the cards in a clear plastic holder.  Clear Dollar Stamps has a large variety of sizes of clear containers and card holders (keep on scrolling down).  These containers ship flat and are so easy to store. They are perfect to keep on hand for cards, candy, or any gift that will fit inside.

These cards are 3"x3" --- NOT MAILABLE.  Start with a piece of cardstock measure 3"x6" and score in half.  I measured the Basic Grey paper at 2 7/8" square.

I then stamped my Candle Trio image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink 6 times on a piece of Neenah Solar White  Cardstock.

Then its time to color.  As you can see, I stamped a "test" sample and this is what I used to put colors together to see if I liked the way they worked together.  No rhyme or reason here... just my plain old eyes and my personal judgment.

Here are the colors I used and I listed the foundation color first and the highlight color second.

Purple - BV17, BV08 * Orange - YR16, YR68 * Lime Green - YG03,YG23

I colored each candle once with the marker and then took the second marker and just highlighted the lines.  I did each candle to completion before moving on to the next candle.

For the flame I used R37 and YR07.  I went dark first (red) and then just colored the whole flame with the yellow.

 

Then I grabbed a square punch and punched out all my images.

 

Since my punch was 1 3/8", I then used my paper cutter to cut mats measuring 1 5/8" square. I then put the cards together.  I only created 6 cards, but as you can see there is a lot of room in the plastic holder after I squished it down.  LOTS AND LOTS of room for more.

 

Add some pretty ribbon and you have a very cute, very fast, gift for anyone.  I also am showing a great way to used these little cards.  Just punch, add some twine and tie around your gift bag or gift.

How about some thank you cards.  One thing that we all need after Christmas are thank you cards.  For these, I created standard A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") cards.

Again, I used another cute new release stamp for December called Ladybug Flower.  I paired it with a classic set called Words of Gratitude.  Again, I went fast and furious (lol).

Same process as the first gift set.  Easy coloring. For these smaller images, I find it easier to lay a bit of darker color first and then add my lighter color which is actually the opposite of what I do for larger images.  Its just what I do, I did the same process for my green leaves.

 

The colors I used were: (ladybug) R29, (flower) YR07, Y38, (leaves) G28, G07, (center of flower) E49, E77

I used the same size punch as above and created 2 mats for these cards.

 

Here are the cards put together.  If you notice, I used a couple of different "thank you" sentiments as well a couple of different arrangements with them. 

And the finishing touch is again, the perfect clear container and a simple but gorgeous ribbon wrap.  The to: and from: sentiment is from Patchpal Messages, but there are a ton to choose from at Clear Dollar Stamps.

I have 6 envelopes and 6 cards in the clear container and there is lots of room.  If you keep your cards relatively embellishment free you could easily squeeze in 12-15 cards and envelopes.

Hey, don't worry, there is plenty of time to order supplies and still get your cards made!  Remember, this month's Stamp of the Month is yours for FREE with only $30 minimum order.  Its super cute so don't miss out.  

Happy Holidays and we'll see you for Sneak Peeks at the end of the month!  So mark your calendars.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Card Basics - Mats and rulers

Hi friends, its Katie here to welcome you to another Friday.  Today I'm attempting to give you my take on the ruler/measurement and how I usually mat my stamped images.  This is what I do and of course if you do something else that works for you we'd love to read about it.

There are cutting tools out there that help you create perfect mats, but I have no experience with them and just knowing that there are systems out there is the extent of my knowledge.  I use either nestabilites, a straight blade (exacto knife) and ruler, my paper cutter, or often times a combination of all of them.

So basically, I start with 2 ways of stamping my image. 

• I either just stamp and use a nestability to cut it out
• I cut a piece either square or rectangle to a specific measurement and work especially hard to make sure my image is even and straight. 

The image below is one that I cut with my rectangle nestability so I know that it is nice and straight and even.  Often, I don't use the next nestability size, but cut my own mat with a ruler and blade.

I find a piece of cardstock that is cut straight and I match up the top and side edge, that way I'm only responsible for cutting 2 straight edges.

I also use a metal ruler - upside down.  I can't nick the edge and it gives me the straightest cut.  I have a 12" and a 6".  The 6" works perfect for cards and they are readily available just about everywhere.

I completely eye-ball this and I might not have the exact perfect measurement, but I can guarantee that my cuts are smooth and clean.

 

Now here is the trick though.  You can see that I've placed my index finger on the image.  I've already started my cut and as soon as I get about 1/4 to 1/2 way down I hold on to the piece being cut away.  This is to ensure that the cut stays straight and the pieces stay together.  If you don't do this then that very last section will shift on you.

To me from the picture it appears that my left side is slightly wider, but I think its the picture and even if it is, once its on the card it will be barely noticeable.

 

One more mat to cut and I do it the same way.  It doesn't have to be the same distance as the first mat either.

 

If I need to trim off just a little bit, same thing.... I just eye ball it and slice away.

 

If it happens to be crooked, then this ruler works wonders to keep a straight edge but vary the width of the cut if necessary.

Now here is the other method I use to cut my images. 

I will cut a piece of cardstock to a specified measurement.  It doesn't matter what it is as long as its a specific measurement.  I do this so then I can create my mats to a specific size larger than my image.

But lets start with the ruler and measurement.

I must admit that when I start getting down there to the little lines, I do the counting to make sure I've got the right one because it is easy to get flubbed up.

Its key to count whatever line you are looking at.  For example, we'll start with the hardest which is the 1/16th increment.  When you are counting 1/16's you will count every single line tall and short starting at the 1st smallest line and counting all the way until you get to 16 out of 16 and you've just counted 1".

For the 1/8" marks you only count those lines and the ones that are longer, same for the 1/4" lines - only those and the longer lines.

 

Another thing to remember when you are matting is that if you have a basic piece that measures 4 1/4" x 3 3/8" if you increase your measurement by 1/4" on both length and width your border will actually only be 1/8" wider on all 4 sides.

The piece below was cut 1/8" larger.  So if my piece measures 4 x 4 then my mat would measure 4 1/8 x 4 1/8, but my border would be a scant 1/16".

This first card (in picture below) was matted with the straight edge and knife, but I used my paper cutter to create the orange and pink layers.  I decreased each mat by a 1/4".

• Card measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
• Orange layer measures 4" x 5 1/4"
• Pink layer measures 3 3/4" x 5"

When you are creating simple and very clean cards matting is a great way to go.

 

My next card uses very similar measurements, but in 1/8" increments and I used a patterned piece instead.  Again, when going for simple and very clean cards less is more.

 

Change up your matting dimensions to get different looks.  Have fun, but keep it simple to start.

Thanks for hanging with us here at Clearly iStamp and I hope you have a great Friday and a great weekend.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

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Items used that can be found at Clear Dollar Stamps:

Carnation Flower of the Month Series

Yard Yabber Stamp Set (happy birthday sentiment)

Scor-pal

Tombow Markers (earth set)

Cosmo Cricket (boyfriend)

WaterbrushVersamark

Gold Embossing Powder

ATG tape

Cardstock

Other items used: watercolor paper, heat gun, CTMH cardstock, PTI cardstock,

Some CARD basics - The Size

Hi friends!  Its Katie here today to welcome you to another glorious week and another happy Tuesday.  I hope you had a great weekend.  With today's post, I wanted to go over something that is very basic to the cardmaker which is the card itself.  What size do I make my cards?  Can I mail them?  How much does it cost?  Do I cut my own?  Do I buy pre-cut?

Well basically, the answer is you can make your card sizes whatever you want, but there are some limitations and I'll tell you why in a moment.  If you buy cards at your stationary store or at the craft stores then you are set because all the work is done for you, but if you want to cut your own then I've got some basics to share with you.

Generally, the easiest and quickest with no waste comes from your standard piece of 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock.  There are a couple of ways to cut and fold the cardstock depending on how you want your card to look.  The cards that you get from this size cardstock are known as A2 sized cards and envelopes for this size card are easy to find at your craft store or stationary store.  These are also known as 5 Bar.  envelopes as well.

I've labeled the cards with a common way of describing the layout of the card.

Now, if you cut in basically the opposite way from the above picture this is what you'll get (below), but same size cards and same size envelopes will result.

You can also start with a 12 x12 piece of cardstock for the least amount of waste as well.  But, your envelopes can be a bit harder to find and you might have to go online to do so.  But are still out there.

• For your 6x6 card you would just cut 2 pieces that measure 6 x 12 (2 cards per sheet)
• For your 5x5 card you would cut 2" off 2 sides of your 12x12 and then cut 2 pieces measuring 5x10 ( 2 cards per sheet)
• For your 4x4 card you would cut 4" off one side and cut 3 pieces measuring 4x8.  Then cut that extra piece down to 4x8 (4 cards per sheet)
• For your 3x3 card you would cut your cardstock into 2 pieces measuring 6x12 and then cut each section into pieces measuring 3x6 (8 cards per sheet) *** these aren't mailable unless you put them in a larger sized envelope, but they make super cute little note/gift cards
• For your 4x6 card you would cut your cardstock into 3 pieces measuring 4x12 (3 cards per sheet)

These are some of the basic sizes and since I had all these cards cut I thought I would share what they looked like if they were stamped on.  Even though the sizes vary, they are all so easy to stamp with just one stamp set.  I decided to use one of my favorite called Soil of Prayer.  This set is perfect because it has a variety images in a variety of sizes.

Here are the set of cards I created using this very stamp set.  As you can see it doesn't really matter the size of the cards, you can still get a great design all of of them.  I went with fall type colors since it definitely feels like fall in Washington State.  If you are interested in some basics about Random Stamping or creating your own stamped backgrounds click HERE.

 

I also wanted to add a little bit of tidbit information about mailing your cards.  I read questions all the time about thicknesses, weight, and size concerning the cards that we want to mail through the USPS. 

I got this great sturdy plastic tool at my local post office.  I try to do as much mailing as I possibly can from home so this is a great tool.  Plus I have my own scale at home too.  If you don't have a postal scale you can use a cooking scale as well and then I put in my information right on the USPS website.

See that slot in the middle right?  If you envelope fits through there then you are good and won't need to pay for a surcharge, unless your card is over the 1 oz weight.  

Plus this neat little tool has all the dimensions that you need for the sizes of cards that you can mail and what will need surcharges.

Unfortunately, it does appear that each and every postal office seems to have their own policies so I can't help your there. (I'll share a little anecdote with you)

I was sent something in the mail from a post office from across the country and it was clear that the postage had been figured out by machine at the post office.  Well, my postman was kind enough to pay for the extra charge that apparently the post office from afar had somehow miscalculated. 

It is important to note though that all square envelopes always require an extra charge.

 

 

I touched on some basics, but there are other sizes of cards and envelopes that are out there ready for purchase and of course you can really make whatever size you'd like.

Thanks for coming to visit and spending some time with us.  I hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.