Firm Foam Ink Pads

Aren't I just way, way behind everyone in getting new information to you? There's already heaps of information and reviews regarding the new firm foam ink pads that you can "google" or "bing" for, but I will tell you anyway.

With the introduction of the 2012-2013 annual catalogue, SU made a very big change to their Classic Stampin' Pads.  To improve your stamping experience, SU has introduced firm foam pads.

In a Nutshell:
I love the new firm foam ink pads primarily because I'm loving the crisper stamped images I am achieving plus I am able to heat emboss my images without using VersaMark when I quickly sprinkle embossing powders before the ink dries on the images. The reason for the crisper images and ability to heat emboss is because more ink is transferred from ink pad to rubber stamp and to card stock. Hence, this leads to a small downside - you will need to re-ink your firm foam pad sooner than you did with the old felt pads especially with your frequent use colours, eg. Christmas colours in the next couple of months so it's best that you refills handy when you are on a stamping spree :-)


Below is the official information provided, but please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

"...We know you're going to love these new Stampin' Pads - just look at all the exciting benefits listed below:

• Provide better ink coverage for your stamps!
• Light-tap stamping produces flawless images!

In addition, our new Stampin' Pads

• Create wonderfully solid images. The Firm Foam releases more ink onto your rubber stamp than the felt pads. When using the Firm Foam pad, your stamp will get an even, solid covering of ink that you may not have been able to achieve with the felt pads. Please note: if you are using the ink pad frequently you may need to re-ink your Firm Foam pad more often. We recommend that you purchase a refill at the time of your ink pad purchase.
• Have a crisply printed, glossy label on the top of the pad that is easier to read and that will not fade or chip off!
• Come with colour name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French and German)--just choose your language, peel it off the back and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!
• Use the same patented flip-top case design that stores the inking surface upside down, so the pad surface stays moist!
• Are available in all colours, including our exclusive In Colors!

Please note: Five ink colours have undergone formula changes to improve functionality and colour stability with the new firm foam pads. These colours are

• Basic Black
• Basic Gray
• Marina Mist
• Perfect Plum
• Tempting Turquoise

All five colours of the reformulated inks have been fully tested and approved. While using the new ink formula in the old Stampin' Pads is fine, we do not recommend using the old ink formula in the new firm foam pads in the five colours listed above.

We do not recommend using the Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad on Whisper White or Very Vanilla Card Stock. Instead, we recommend you use the StazOn Ink Pad."


Additional features:

• The firm foam is nice and flat and will not become wavy - no more dip in the middle of the pad;
• The firm foam material does not imprint on the stamp images like the felt pad sometimes did. However, because the firm foam material is a foam base material, the stamp image can momentarily leave an imprint on the pad, which can transfer to a second stamped image. By inking your stamp on different areas of the pad or waiting momentarily for the ink to rise back to the top, you can easily avoid this situation.
• The firm foam material is soft and has a nice bounce to it. It's not hard like the felt is - light-tap stamping produces crisp, complete coverage on both line and solid stamps - a huge difference is noticeable with solid stamps
• The ink lay-down (how the ink is absorbed into the card stock) is even, not blotchy, and dries quickly. It has an increased opacity and stamps solid images beautifully.
• The pads are juicier and are designed to stay that way longer. 
• They come with colour name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French and German) - just choose your language, peel it off the back and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!

The new pads are available in all SU colours including this year's new In Colours: Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit. Primrose Petals and Raspberry Ripple.

The New Stampin’ Up! 2012 - 2013 Annual Catalogue is Here!

Happy Spring and Happy New Catalogues Time. The new Stampin’ Up! 2012 - 2013 Annual Catalogue time has finally arrived! It is sophisticated, clean looking and the photographic illustrations are fantastic. There are many new stamp sets to choose from along with the introduction of the new Firm Foam Ink Pads. I love the new ink pads and I will rave about it in my next post. However, I think that the best improvement is the price reduction of almost all the items in this catalogue compared to last year's catalogue.

In conjunction with the new annual catalogue, Stampin’ Up! has also launched a Holiday Catalogue that brings you an abundance of Christmas, Hanukkah, Halloween and Harvest goodies. Click on the images to view either of the 2 catalogues.

Hence, what better reason than to have a party for you to try out all of these wonderful and new products. If you haven’t saved the date yet, do so and here are the details.

See you at the Catalogue Launch Party

Apothecary Pyramage

Months and months ago, I borrowed some card making magazines from our local library and one of them contained lots of cards which were made up in layers of the same image. I had never seen this technique before. They were made from down loadable images or purchased kits. I noted it down as one of my "to try out one day" list but it just seemed to be too difficult to incorporate it with stamped images and trimming/cutting layers of the same image to match. When Stampin' Up! debuted the Labels Collection Framelits and the coordinating Apothecary Art stamp set in the 2012 Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue, I was immediately struck with how easily I could attempt this technique. However, the magazine failed to mention what this technique was called but my internet research was fruitful and I believe that it's called "pyramage".

So, here's my pyramage version - hand stamped, coloured and layered. I was very pleased with the results and hope that the photos do it justice. All items used in this card will return in the 2012 - 2013 Annual Catalogue (formerly called Idea Book & Catalogue or IB & C) but I am sad to say goodbye to my favourite background stamp set, Baroque Motifs which will be retiring at the end of this month.

project recipe
stamps: Apothecary Art (W127506, C125527), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (W119185, C120024), Baroque Motifs (W116340)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Early Espresso (119670), Pretty in Pink (101301); Stampin' Write Markers - Pretty in Pink (100045), Regal Rose (105108), Lucky Limeade (123002); Jet Black StazOn (101406)
card stock: Early Espresso (121686), Lucky Limeade (124388), Whisper White (106549)
tools: Big Shot (113439), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976), Adorning Accents Embossing Folders (125601)
added pizzazz: Crystal Effects (101055), Pretty in Pink Stampin' Pastels (120962), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

 

cardessence tips

• stamp your image 4 times with black StazOn and run it through the Big Shot with the Labels Collection Framelits in 4 different sizes;
• colour the flowers, leaves and banner borders with your markers;
• use the Pretty in Pink pastel for the main part of the banner;
• apply Crystal Effects to the flowers and set aside to dry;
• whilst matching the layers, adhere with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I love the Apothecary Art stamp set and Labels Collection Framelits. There are so many ways that you can use these two items either individually or together for gorgeous paper crafting creations, this easy pyramage technique is just the tip of the iceberg. I highly recommend them as additions to your card making and scrap booking repertoire.

happy stamping

 

Melbourne Heartfelt Stampin' Event 2012

Regional Events are now called Heartfelt Stampin' Events in Australia. The whole structure of this event has been revamped. There were 4 classes to attend and a Product Playground where one could play with Stampin' Up! products to one's heart's content. There were also 2 demonstration booths to gather around where you can watch demonstrators showcase particular techniques.  Also, instead of swapping cards, we were encouraged to produce only one to pin on Share Boards.

I loved every minute of it especially the Product Playground. I spent way......... too much time there that I kept missing my classes. Fortunately, the classes were repeated and I could jump in on the ones I missed. Next time, I'm going to attend all my classes in the morning and devote the whole afternoon to the Product Playground and catching up with other people who attended. The whole event ran from 10am - 5pm.

For today's post, I'm going to share with you my Share Board contribution. I used the Mixed Bunch set which debuted in the 2012 Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue. This set will return in this year's new 2012-2013 Idea Book & Catalogue, so please treat this as a Sneak Peak of what's in store for you.

project recipe
stamps: Mixed Bunch (WM 127516, CM 125537), Sincere Salutations (WM 116416), Season of Joy (WM 113023)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Marina Mist (119668), Lucky Limeade (122935), Calypso Coral (122939); Stampin' Write Markers - Daffodil Delight (119677), Calypso Coral (123002)

card stock: Calypso Coral (124391), Marina Mist (121682) Whisper White (106549)

tools: Big Shot (113439), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Adorning Accents Edgelits (125595), Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (125601), Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (123130, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (119976), Bird Builder Punch (117191), XL Oval Punch (119859)

 

cardessence tips

• stamp two Mixed Bunch flowers in Calypso Coral on Whisper White card stock first;
• then use your Daffodil Delight marker to pick up Calypso Coral ink from the ink pad and start colouring your flower from the centre outwards - you will get a colour graduation from CC to DD in an even blend of colours;
• cut your flowers out, turn it over and colour in the reverse side with your Calypso Coral marker;
• quill one flower with the CC side facing you and use your bone folder to curl alternate petals of the 2nd flower upwards and downwards;
• adhere these 2 flowers together with the stamped sides facing each other;
• use your Bird Builder punch to punch out shaped leaves - you may wish to score leaf veins and sponge them to give them some interest and depth;

I hope that you like my contribution and that you will try the marker technique that I've used. Do remember that it will only work with a lighter colour marker to pick up a darker colour. I haven't had any issues with colour contamination (as yet). Have fun.

Retiring List 2012

The hugely anticipated Retiring List is here. Hundreds of stamps and accessories from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue are retiring. This is your last chance to get them before they're gone. All products are only available while supplies last, so be sure to get your orders in early! With many items discounted some will sell out fast.

The 2010-2012 In Colours are retiring, so all ink pads, cardstock, re-inkers and accessories will not be available when the new 2012-2013 IB&C begins on September 1st. If you have these colours be sure to grab the re-inkers at 25% off its RRP.

The photos on your right are examples of retiring stamp sets: Autumn Days, Cottage Garden, Season of Joy, Loads of Love, Dasher and Fine Flourish. Click HERE to see the Retiring List.


When you look at the Retiring Accessories list, you’ll note that all of our Classic Stampin’ Pads are listed and most of them discounted. With the introduction of the 2012-2013 IB&C, we have made a very big change to our ink pads. We are introducing: firm foam pads! They will change your stamping experience for the better.  We know you're going to love these new Stampin' Pads - just look at all the exciting benefits listed below:

• Provide better ink coverage for your stamps!
• Light-tap stamping produces flawless images!

In addition, our new Stampin' Pads.

• Create wonderfully solid images. The Firm Foam releases more ink onto your rubber stamp than the felt pads. When using the Firm Foam pad, your stamp will get an even, solid covering of ink that you may not have been able to achieve with the felt pads. Please note: if you are using the ink pad frequently you may need to re-ink your Firm Foam pad more often. We recommend that you purchase a refill at the time of your ink pad purchase.
• Have a crisply printed, glossy label on the top of the pad that is easier to read and that will not fade or chip off!
• Come with colour name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French and German)--just choose your language, peel it off the back and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!
• Use the same patented flip-top case design that stores the inking surface upside down, so the pad surface stays moist!
• Are available in all colours, including our exclusive In Colours!

So, if there are some colours you would like to purchase in the current ink pad style you can stretch your dollar further.  This includes ink spots and the already discounted ink set bundles. Also note, most of our Stampin' Write markers will NOT be able to be purchased individually after Aug 30th (just full sets), so grab the colours you want now.

In order to have the best opportunity to order your items before they sell out, all orders up to $120 will be shipped directly to you for a flat rate of $5.95.  Orders above $120 will be 5% shipping.  Any items out of stock at the time of ordering will not be charged for.

Feel free to email ME if you would like more information on the upcoming changes and to place your orders.