Stamp Happens » Product Review

Product Review: Rubber Scissors

Posted on 30-09-2009 | By: Tonya

Tags: rubber, scissors, stamp happens, stampin up, tim holtz kushgrip scissors

Someone (and I can’t remember who!) told me I should buy a pair of Tim Holtz scissors to cut my rubber stamps. I wondered how these scissors compare to the ones I have from Stampin’ Up! since the SU! ones are the only ones I’ve used.

I’ve always been very pleased with Stampin’ Up! products and recognize that they have been the industry leader for a long time. But stampers, times are changing. Other companies are starting to bring some good competition and it’s exciting!!

So, I thought I’d give these Tim Holtz scissors a shot and see how they compare.

I have to say, the very first thing I noticed was the plastic case for the Tim Holtz scissors blades.

I love having these little cases! My paper snips (SU!) have a case and I love the added protection it has. The blades are protected and so is my skin!!!

I also noticed pretty quickly that part of the handles are “squishy”. This is the “Kushgrip” part.

Kushgrip is a soft, tactile, rubber like material which molds over the scissors to provide a comfortable, non-slip grip. The benefit of Kushgrip is evident after cutting a lot of rubber! I admit that more than once, I’ve gotten injured after cutting a lot of rubber. I’m excited to see if these handles will be easier on my hands.

I used the Tim Holtz Kushgrips to cut some rubber that I am mounting. Because the mounting didn’t come with the rubber, it is really messy when you start cutting. I knew this would be the worst possible situation to try out the scissors. So I did.

I loved them!!! Who knew?? OME, there was a huge difference in the two pairs of scissors! What is the difference? The blades!

The SU! scissors have smooth blades as pictured above. Whereas the TH Kushgrips are serrated!!

Be sure so enlarge each picture so you can see the difference.

The little teeth on these scissors make the biggest difference! I encourage you to buy a pair of your own today!

Buy Here

Love it? Hate it? Shimmerz Product Reviews

Posted on 24-09-2009 | By: Tonya

Category : Product Review, SH Shop

Tags: Product Review, shimmerz, stamp happens, stamp sistahs

Today, several of the Stamp Sistahs are reviewing Shimmerz and Blingz.

If you haven’t tried Shimmerz or it’s blingier sister Blingz yet, I invite you to take a look at all the reviews. Even if you have, I still encourage you to look at the reviews because you might learn some new ways to use it! Or some tips!!

All of the reviews are the honest opinions of the team. Some love it, some like it, and some hate it. So go find out who’s who!!

Sr. Design Team Reviewers:

Beth

Jen

Stamp Sistah Reviewers:

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Jacquie, Family and Crafting

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

The Sistahs did such a good job reviewing the products, that I’m not going to do a complete review for you. I’m just going to tell you which Shimmerz I like the best and show you a close up shot of the Shimmerz; which, is also a sneak peek of my project I will be posting tomorrow!!

My favorite Shimmerz is Angel Wings. I used it on the moon in this picture. The sparkle you see in the dress and hat are not from Shimmerz (those are Spicas!). The Angel Wings Shimmerz truly adds a subtle shimmery, not blingy look to your images. It is also translucent enough to go over any color without effect it too much. I you look, you can still see where I’ve colored and shaded my moon.

Grab some Shimmerz, stampers! And if you do, be sure to leave me a link so I can see your projects! And if you want to give your opinions on this product, please feel free!!

Morning Glory Custom Marker Card

Posted on 08-07-2009 | By: Tonya

Category : Cards, Coloring Techniques, Custom Markers, Product Review, SH Shop, Stampin' Up! Stamps

Tags: crafts, Custom Markers, handmade, robins nest dew drops, stampin up, stickles

Here is the card I made with the morning glory (Morning Soft, Stampin’ Up! retired) I stamped and colored on Monday’s post. Remember I used Cut-N-Dry Nibs to color the Morning Glories since I didn’t have an In Color marker. I was able to use a droplet of ink from a reinker to create a custom marker.

I added Icicle Stickles to the petals for a little dazzle. I used my normal Stampin’ Write Markers for the greenery.

And finally, I used Robin’s Nest Dew Drops for a final touch of bling. Do you like?

Inking Your Stamps

Posted on 01-07-2009 | By: Tonya

Category : Instructions, Product Review

Tags: help, ink, stampin up, stazon ink, whisper white

Deidre asked me this today:

SO I have a question regarding Staz On. When I use it I often get splotchy images where the ink hasn’t taken well or it is sticky when I apply to the paper. I really have to ink it up and look at it to make sure I am going to get a good image….it is so much work! I have reinked and more. Do you think it is because my staz on is old? Should I just get a new pad? Does anyone else have this problem???

What a great question!! Actually, the question is so great, that I couldn’t just respond to Deidre alone. I had to share my experience with everyone.

There is absolutely nothing worse that gooey, gloppy, sticky ink that gets everywhere! I avoid this by doing one simple thing…

I ink my stamps upside down!

Seriously, I find this solves the problem 95% of the time. Let’s look…

A lot of people lay their stamps down onto the ink pad as shown on the left. That is how I stamped the “Oh Hoppy Day” sentiment on the right.

A lot of times, stamps that are inked in this manner get too much ink on them. And not in the right spots!! The extra gloppy ink can look like this:

See how the ink pools around certain spots? Not every image will do this. But when they do…yuck.

Then, when you put the image on your paper (I’ve used Stampin’ Up! Whisper White here), it gets smudgy.

Now, here are two notes.

I find this to happen most often with Stampin’ Up! Whisper White because of its smooth finish. That is why I chose to use it here.
There seems to be a “slicker” side on Whisper White. I tend to notice the “stick” sound when I stamp on it. The other side doesn’t seem to do this. I’m not sure how to tell the difference.

Now let’s look at the image I stamped doing the “upside down” technique.

I pat the ink pad onto the stamp making sure every area is covered. I don’t push hard. I just pat it over until the image is completely covered.

See the difference between the two images? No pooling or extra gloppy ink on this one!

And here is my sentiment when stamped this way:

See how much clearer the bottom is?

Now, I said this cures 95% of problems. If you try this and it doesn’t work, I would spend the extra money for a new pad. I’d also try a different paper.

I really love PaperTrey Ink’s white paper. I’ve tried a few other white card stocks and by far, PTI’s rocks my world.

And one last thing…you should check out Deidre’s blog. She’s got some extremely cute projects on there!

Battle of the Black Inks: Using Stampin’ Up! Whisper White

Posted on 30-06-2009 | By: Tonya

Category : Product Review

Tags: brilliance, stampin up, stazon, versafine

Last week, Amy left me this comment:

I’m glad you specified the paper you used. Each company tends to formulate their inks to work best with their paper. I know that Stampin’ Up has ink designed to work with their ultra smooth cardstock and real rubber stamps while Close to My Heart makes ink that works better with acrylic stamps and their type of paper.

And you know, Amy has a great point! So I wanted to share with you the same inks on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White paper. I don’t have CTMH so I can’t show you that.

Now, before I go on, I feel compelled to explain a little about Whisper White for those who haven’t used it. Whisper White has an ultra smooth finish to it that makes it a little different than other papers. The finish effects the way different inks absorb into it. For this reason, it is very important that you test your inks on your paper first.

In fact, I recommend that you make yourself an artist book or folder. Inside, you can keep swatches of paper and ink samples like you’ve seen me make this past two weeks. Make sure you write which paper and ink you are using. Make any notes you want. Then, later, you’ll have it to refer to when you need it! This works great for Copic color combinations too. And ink combinations, and…and…and… (you get the idea!)

One more note. Dye inks absorb into paper better than pigment inks. Pigment inks are designed to sit on top of the paper. Keep this in mind with the Stampin’ Up! Whisper White. You’ll notice how the pigment inks are a little harder to work with on this ultra smooth finish.

Let’s look closely:

This is StazOn.

When I use Whisper White, I always use StazOn. I get a clean crisp image the first time I stamp!

StazOn is a solvent ink designed for use on non-porous surfaces. It works really well on paper!

StazOn gets my vote for the best ink to use on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White.

The first column in the next two pictures is Brilliance. There are some light smudges in the picture. Brilliance is a pigment ink so this really isn’t surprising. If you even slightly rock your stamp, you’ll smear the ink.

The second column is Versafine. It really smeared on my first attempt!!

So, I decided to try again…more carefully this time…

On the second try, the Brilliance did a good job. I just have to be very careful when I stamp. The trick is not pushing too hard.

The Versafine was much better too using this same technique. However, when I was writing, I got my hand in the ink and smeared it. This is a perfect example of the pigment ink needing to be heat set or given longer time to dry. Aside from my mistake with the Versafine, it is a good ink if you are patient. Same with the Brilliance.

Here, we are only looking at the right column which is Stampin’ Up! Basic Black ink.

The Stampin’ Up! ink really did a great job. I’m not sure why or how I tend to skip spots with my SU black ink, but I do. However, the lines are crisp and clean.