VersaMagic is magic!

Confused as to which ink to use on your next project?  Are you new to stamping and need advice on ink?  Let me introduce you to VersaMagic.  This ink, manufactured by Tsukineko, is a great choice. It's a chalk pigment ink that dries to a smooth, soft look on any color cardstock, even black.  Here are the benefits:

• Ink dries to a matte finish, looking just like chalk pastels, and will add extra depth to your artwork.
• Pigment ink dries slowly enough to emboss, if you don't prefer the pastel chalk finish.
• Perfect for use on glossy cardstock and vellum, as well as smooth and textured cardstock. 
• Great for stenciling and stippling, the ink pad is wet enough to use with a brush or sponge.
• It's available in full-sized ink pads or in sets of four Dew Drops (as shown), both with raised ink surfaces, so you can ink any size stamp.  The smaller sizes are great if you're on a budget or if you have limited storage space, plus the colors are coordinated for you for variety.
• Re-inkers are also available, so you can refill your ink pad over and over.

Have you tried this ink?  What was your experience?  Do you have another favorite ink to share?  I'd love to hear your comments.

New blog

Are you a closet quilter or seamstress?  Be sure to check out my newest blog, Quilting with Alison, for inspiration and ideas.  I hope to add some products reviews here, too.

Using enlargements in your scrapbook layouts

My husband is the photographer in our family.  I love to use my scrapbooks to showcase his work. I've found that using 8x10 or 5x7 enlargements on my 12x12 scrapbook pages is aneasy way to do this.  In addition to the samples in this entry, you can see some more here and here.

Enlargements can be of any content you choose.  I like close-ups the best, since you can capture so much emotion and expression in your photos this way, and keep record of your subject's moods, thoughts and feelings.  When I'm feeling behind on my photos, I'll grab the camera (or give it to my husband), and then immediately ask each child the same question and jot down their answers.  Some examples:

• What do you want for Christmas?
• If you could only keep five of your toys, which would they be?
• What do you like to do the most when you're at Grandma's house?

I've also just jotted down the top five "in" things that each of the kids are into currently.  It's a great way to rememberdetails, and the kids have fun looking back and remembering what they said.

Most digital photos require some color correction.  I use a Mac, so I tend to use the most simple software to do this.  iPhoto is a great choice.  Mostly, you want to reduce the range of the colors to the minimum and still maintain the integrity of the picture. Most auto-levels settings are good at this.  If I'm feeling a little sneaky, I will match the colors of a photo to the scrapbooking papers I am using.  (You must have a color printer calibrated screen to do this effectively, however.)

On planning your layout, keep in mind you may only be able to fit one photo per page.  Spice it up a little with some fun embellishments--some of my favorites are chipboard letters or sewing on the layout.  Have fun with it--make it art.

Here is a list of supplies I used on my examples:

Mulberry Meadow

Bella Flor (retired)

Mia's Cottage

Tab paper punch

Chipboard letters

Brads

Tag punch

Quilted cards

The first project of my blog combines quilting with rubber stamped cards.  I'm using the new Miss Moxie Soar With It™ cardstock set by The Angel Company™, Chicken Scratch stamp set, Green 3 cardstock by Die Cuts with a View, Blue Violets Monochromatic cardstock by Bazzill Basics, copper eyelets, green grosgrain ribbon, thread and a sewing machine.

To mimic a quilt, you'll want to combine dark, medium and light shades of cardstock with large, small and medium scale designs. Most of TAC™ cardstock kits include all the shades and sizes of these motives, so you don't have to do much thinking or planning.  If you find your design doesn't seem to work, try replacing one of the larger scale designs with solid textured cardstock.

A couple of important things to note when using your sewing machine with paper:  

1. Change your stitch length to a longer length than you would use on fabric.  You don't want to put too many holes in the cardstock.
2. I recommend a straight or zigzag stitch when sewing on paper.  You can use any fancy stitch, of course, but the ones that have the fewest reverse movements usually work best.
3. Loosen your tension slightly so the bobbin thread doesn't show through on the top of your project.
4. Be sure to change your needle when you're done sewing on paper.  If you're only sewing a few items, dedicate that needle to paper.  (It dulls the blade more quickly than fabric.)
5. I use an edge stitch foot for my work when I want precise lines.  You can line it up next to your paper and it will sew an even line for you.

I love using my sewing machine for paper crafts.  If you can't leave your machine set up, start a paper craft file for projects that require sewing.  Once you have time, you can do all your sewing at once (like I save up ironing!).  But I bet that once you try this technique, you'll love it and will want to make space for your machine, too.  Or maybe you need to buy a special half-size machine, just for your paper crafting!  Who am I to judge?  (I bought my kids a cheap-o machine so they would stay away from mine!)
Enjoy, and let me know if you try this technique, and whether you found my advice helpful.  I'd love to hear from you.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog.

I'm hoping to provide weekly project ideas, rubber stamping and scrapbook tips and challenges, and other artistic information all related to my TAC™ business.  I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your comments.

Thanks for visiting!