More Collaborative Work

After seeing Claybykim's fairy portals, I found a thread on Etsy about collaborative work between Etsians. Although we've not worked on projects together with other artisans, we've loved seeing what people have created using our stamps. I've tagged past relevant posts with "collaboration", so that they can all be viewed together on one page.

And then I found some more pieces I had missed - click on the images for the listings (some have sold).

More clay items from adornyourself:

And the quilted stamped "Celtic butterflies" are by cobaltquilter.

Embossing Velvet: Video Instructions

I just found this instructional video for embossing velvet. Seeing things visually can make step-by-step instructions easier to follow, so take a look.

Here are a few notes I have on the video:

1. The velvet is heavily saturated in this video. I think this amount can be fine if you are using lighter-weight velvets or velvets that already have a "crinkled" look, as the velvet used in the video does. If you are using a heavier velvet, however, this amount of water can cause shiny spots, as well as make the resulting images less crisp. Also, the more saturated the fabric, the longer you need to hold the iron to the velvet in order for it to dry - if you plan on using a stamp to make a number of impressions, there is a greater chance that you will heat any mounting adhesives, which can cause the stamp and/or mounting cushion to slip. I recommend using as little water as is necessary to cover the stamp, just to be safe.
2. Again, I try to err on the "safe side" - I wouldn't emboss velvet (especially expensive velvet) with an iron surface with this many large steam holes. It makes it harder to control image quality.
3. While you do want to minimize chances that the velvet could move relative to the stamp, if you have a smooth iron surface that can glide across the fabric you should be able move the iron a bit horizontally. If you are unsure, do err on the conservative side and lift the iron up each time you want to shift its placement.

I know - the video makes it seem so much quicker and easier than all that! Take my slant with a grain of salt. I approach velvet embossing as a business crafter, producing large numbers of items using different types of velvets, stamps, irons, water spritzers, etc.. I have tried to hone things so that I can get the most uniform and predictable results as possible, time and time again. In typing out instructions to pass on to others, I want to convey all the issues I've come across so that others who may do large amounts of embossing can find as much relevant information as possible. If you are simply looking for a fun afternoon project, you may decide to be a little more loose with the details. (But please, still do take a look at the safety precautions I give about some types of velvet content.)

Click here for the written instructions up on our site.

Cheers!

Featured on Instructables

We just posted a velvet embossing tutorial (based on the one we have on our own site) on Instructables yesterday, and received notice this morning that it was featured. Nice!


Emboss Velvet with Rubber Stamps and a Household Iron - More cool how to projects

Poke around some more on the Instructables site - some very interesting things there.

Ceramic Celtic knotwork buttons

Click on the images to see the listings for them.

More wonderful stamped clay objects from Willow Tree Designs (adornyourself is her username on Etsy). She used the small triskele stamp from our Fish & Celtic Knotwork stamp sheet.

I just found the listing for these buttons, but they have already sold. She does welcome custom orders, however, and may post more again...

Fairy and flora stamp sheet, stamping, and a lost credit card

Finished this up just in time last week, sent it off to be pressed into rubber, got it back, and then made a few stamped pieces for a magazine submission deadline for stamped fairy/elf art. Phew!

I have posted larger images on Flickr and have also posted the sheet for sale on the Etsy shop. I am also offering small sets of images from the sheet.

I had bookplates on the brain while putting the designs together - hence the little phrases and the stamped images I created. The sheet also includes smaller versions of some of the designs from our last stamp sheet - the Mucha-inspired berries as well as the leaf design based on the hand-carved stamp I recently retired.

Although these stamps are deep etch, they were not specifically designed for use with velvet embossing, as our other stamps were. These stamps are smaller, more detailed and not "reverse value", although they may suit some people's velvet embossing purposes and are certainly safe and deep enough to use.

I've actually never done much paper stamping. When I received the raw rubber sheets, I was in Boston on business and visiting my family. I went searching around Arlington, Cambridge and Boston on Friday with my friend Susan to find cling mount sheets, ink, and other items for stamping.

I didn't find ANY cling mount foam. That was a bit of a surprise. I thought that it was more readily available in brick and mortar stores. It served as a lesson to me that I should get some to offer on my shop so that people who purchase the uncut unmounted sheets can throw cling mount in the cart as well.

I went to Art Beat and Playtime in Arlington - love these places. No luck with cling mount. Then on to Paper Source by Porter Square in Cambridge - my friend Susan has been telling me about this place for years and how easy it is to drop loads of money there. Exactly why I never set foot in the place before last week. Gorgeous papers, a nice stamp collection, inks, cards, journals, etc. I tried very hard to hold myself back. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I picked up a copy of the May/June issue of RubberStampMadness, some embossing powder and a lovely flower stamp (used in the card art below) and olive branch stamp (used in the green card art at top).

Then we tried Spark, also near Porter Square. The women working there were a little too busy with lunch to pay us much mind, but it was just as well, as they didn't have anything I needed, stamp-wise. They did have lovely beads and fiber art materials, though.

Then we went in search of Michaels crafts to see if they had cling mount. We ended up at an AC Moore instead. Still no cling mount, but I did get an embossing tool and some adhesive-backed felt, at least, which would act as a cushion for the stamps. I should have picked up an acrylic stamp block, as mine were sitting at home in upstate NY...

I dropped Susan off and headed to a gas station in my rental car. While I was waiting for the tank to be filled I absent-mindedly played with my credit card and it slipped down alongside the window, into the door. Gone. I couldn't stop laughing at myself. The gas station attendant seemed to think I was a bit insane and gave me a lollipop when I told him what had happened. I called the company to let them know that I had lost the card and they asked if I wanted them to check to see if there had been any suspicious activity - um, no... no one is going to get their hands on that card again until or unless that rental car is completely demolished and the door ripped open.

I stamped on Saturday... I was reminded again and again that I should have gotten an acrylic block. And it was very clear that I don't have much experience stamping on paper. Heat embossing was fun and very satisfying. I colored in some of the pieces with markers and/or colored pencils as I watched a "Top Chef" marathon.

Now I am home again and thinking of future designs...

Cheers!

Celtic Butterflies

Etsy textile artist Cobaltquilter has been trying out fabric stamping and just sent me these images made using our Celtic knotwork stamps. She says that she will be working on some prayer flags.