Like traditional rubber stamps, clear hobby stamps allow you to create beautiful designs even if you don’t consider yourself artistic. However, have you ever purchased a clear stamp that just didn’t perform right? Recently I decided to try some cute Disney clear stamps purchased from another company and available at the local WalMart. I was very disappointed with the quality of the stamp as well as the image produced. The stamps, though clear were hardly tacky, hard to peel off the carrier and did not produce a clean crisp image. Once I was done with the stamp, it was hard to get it to stick back onto the carrier sheet. To get a decent image I tried rubbing a vinyl eraser over the design. It helped a little, but the ink still was not uniform and evenly placed.

Purchasing quality clear stamps can be tricky online as you are unable to handle the product before purchasing. Unless, the website tells you, you have no way to gauge how tacky and flexible the product you are interested in will actually be. To make it easier for you to get the quality you are looking for  Clearly Rubber Stamping has made it a priority to carry ONLY the best quality clear stamps on the market. You will always find flexible stamps that are naturally tacky and easy to position. They can even be bent or flexed to take on a slightly different shape. They are soft and pliable and if dirt inhibits the self stick feature, simply wash them in water to restore tackiness. Crisp, clean images will appear on your craft projects and delight you with the ease of being artistic using your quality clear hobby stamps.

Happy Stamping to All
http://www.clearlyrubberstamping.com

With Christmas quickly appearing on the horizon, it is time to start planning Christmas crafts, make Christmas cards, and plan for spectacular Christmas scrapbook pages. This is all possible and easy with a quick visit to the Christmas Scrapbook Themes page which not only provides ideas for cards and scrapbooks, but also give ideas for photos to take at and around Christmas time, Christmas scrapbook page titles and even a cute Christmas ornament that looks great but is easy to make with clear hobby rubber stamps. Don’t let Christmas catch you unprepared, plan your crafty ideas today.

Recently I decided that it was time to put together a weekly menu and thereby take away the stress of deciding each day what to cook. When I saw a planner at a friends house I immediately set out to make one. Naturally, I found a way to enhance it with rubber stamps.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER

Supplies Needed:

• Certificate size photo frame (8 1/2″ x 11″)
• Coordinating scrapbook papers at least 3 colors.
• Border clear Stamps
• Stamping Inks
• Embossing powder if desired
• Dry erase marker
• Glue
• Chalks
• Print out of the Days of the Week

Begin by laying out papers in your choice of colors and patterns. It is recommended that you place a striped paper at the bottom. Once you have decided how you want your papers arranged, cut them so that they fit in your frame. Now personalize your striped paper with your border clear stamps. Add stitching – either stamped or authentic – as desired.

Cut out the days of the week to measure approximately 4″ x 8″. Ink the edges if desired and mat in a solid color.

Using the provided templates, or by drawing your own, make a bag of flour, mixing bowl and oven mitt.

Chalk the edges of the flour sack, write the word ‘Flour’ on it and then draw in dotted lines around the edge. Glue onto a light background, ink the edges of the background square and mat in the same solid color as the days of the week.  Finished frame will measure approximately 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″

Create a rolling pin with a rectangle of light colored paper and two pieces of brown for the handles. Chalk as desired and place across the bottom of the flour sack.

For the mixing bowl, trace the bowl in the mat color and emboss a gold band across as indicated by the template. Use a heart rubber stamp to emboss a red heart onto the band. For the contents of the bowl, simply cut from a light colored paper a bumpy mound. Chalk the edges and in the middle to give shape and definition. Cut a narrow piece of brown cardstock for a spoon handle. Cut a strip into the mound and insert the spoon handle. Glue all the pieces together and mat with a coordinating color.

For the oven mitt, trace the template onto pattern paper. Cut out and stamp  the cuff with a border stamp. Embellish with embossing or as desired.  Mount on light colored paper and mat with solid color. The finished frame will measure about 2 1/2″ x 2 3/4″

Secure all the pieces together and place in the picture frame. You can now write on the glass with a dry erase marker the menu for each night of the week.

Some of the most fun I have is decorating my own coordinating background papers for my scrapbooking and card making projects. It is really very simple and easy to do.

• Choose your coordinating rubber stamp or stamps
• Choose an ink color
• Follow the instructions in Making Decorative Background Paper for Scrapbooking and Card Making Projects
• Paper can easily be embellish with glitter or embossing techniques.
• Use your paper as you would any purchased pattern paper.

Making your own background paper will always produce the perfect colors and depth for your own personal projects because you put it all together. Everything matches and contrasts just like you want it to.

Advantages to making your own pattern paper

• All your elements complement each other
• You don’t have to decorate more paper than you need for the project which saves paper for other ideas
• Colors in your background paper will definitely match the stamping you are doing for sentiments or other key elements
• No one else will ever have the same look in their background paper because only you designed it.
• Your background paper can develop and enhance the theme you want

Scrapbooks are so easy to personalize in any style you choose. Alphabet rubber stamps make this even easier and more fun. New this week is the Monogram Alphabet Clear Hobby Stamp set featuring flowing text and delicate borders that can help you design your scrapbooks suited to your personality and style.

Shipping is one of those things that can turn a person off an online order faster than anything else. Though it is a necessary expense, the cost of shipping can significantly increase the cost of small orders and yes, even larger ones.

Because clear hobby rubber stamps are light and small, Clearly Rubber Stamping has recently been able to reduced overall shipping costs. Depending on your location you will now save between 20% and 40% on shipping your orders.

As before, $50 orders get 50% off shipping; $100 orders are shipped FREE with the Small Packet – Surface mail option. However, since shipping is now cheaper, the half price shipping is now extremely reasonable.

For small orders on only one or two products you can ship by light packet and save yourself a few dollars.

I have a friend that makes a lot of beautiful cards with paper stitching techniques. As a result I have fiddled with it a little. Recently I decided to make up one of my own designs using one of my favorite clear stamps the Sympathy Rose.

Here is how it turned out.If you are unfamiliar with paper stitching, it is really quite simple. It is similar to the string art we used to do in the 70’s.

First punch the holes with a needle or pin along your design. Using an image, I simply punched holes along the edges of the design at evenly spaced intervals. Be careful not to get them too close together or they will merge together when you are stitching.

Next choose a colored thread. If you have metallic threads they are really pretty to use. Thread a small needle and insert it into the first hole on the back side of the design. Secure the end of the string with a small piece of tape.

If you were working a circle, you would next choose how many holes to skip, for example 10. Now put your threaded needle through the tenth hole from where you came up. Keep working around the circle always working 10 spaces apart until you have completed the design. You should end up with something like the circles in this design:

Here is another design I worked from a stamp image from the All Year Clear Stamp Set.

When your thread runs out simply tape the end down on the back and start a new strand. It’s fun and easy. Try a few of your own designs and see how you like it.

Happy Stamping & Stitching!

This is a fun card to make with the tree trunk popping out as you open the card. Additional bees and flowers are the finishing touch.

1. Cut card from ivory cardstock so that the finished card is 4″ x 4″. Cut your yellow pattern paper to the same size.
2. Fold ivory cardstock in half. Fold yellow pattern paper in half with the pattern on the outside.
3. Decorate the outside of your card as desired.
4. Cut from the woodgrain paper a 2″ width that is 4″ long. Fold this paper in half the long way with the wood grain to the outside.
5. Place the woodgrain on the fold of the yellow pattern paper. Fold the yellow pattern paper back over the woodgrain paper on both sides. This creates the pop-out section of your card.
6. Glue the yellow patter paper in place on the inside of your card. Do not apply adhesive to the fold out in the center.
7. Cut a branch from brown cardstock. Cut a slit in the fold of the wood grain paper and insert the end of the branch. On the back of the paper secure the branch with a piece of tape.
8. Glue the wood grain paper to the yellow pattern paper where it folds out.
9. Using the Mini Bee clear rubber stamps, stamp a couple of bees inside your card. Stamp a few flowers onto cardstock, cut them out and adhere to the branch on the tree. Add a few leaves made the same as the flowers and adhere as desired.

The focus this week has been to put together and make available new scrapbook layouts for your scrapbooking hobby. Each layout is unique and has been originally designed just for you. Enhance each design using your clear stamps on backgrounds, foregrounds and embellishments. The possibilities for creativity are endless. With each completed page you get that feeling of accomplishment that makes all the time it takes worth it in the end.  As of today there are now 15 total scrapbook layouts never before seen with more coming!

Check it out at http://www.clearlyrubberstamping.com/scrapbooking-layouts

I love rubber stamping with my clear stamps. Since I am always looking for new ideas, I am usually trying new things all the time. A couple days ago I decided to enhance my paper scrapbooking flowers with rubber stamps. I had a cute clear rubber stamp set called Big Blooms that hosted the precise design I wanted to add.

I simply chose a darker color that complemented the flower and stamped a smaller flower upon it. Once attached with a brad the effect was complete. Try it out. You’ll love it.

Happy Stamping!