Making Stamp Ephemera Using Tim Hotz Stamps

I had so much fun making these vintage looking postage stamps! I looked up vintage stamps online to get an idea of colors but there was a huge range, so pretty much any ink color will do. I chose mostly muted colors with a few exceptions. The Tim Holtz/Sizzix Postale die set comes with three dies to make postage edges. These matched most, but not all, of the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamp Collector set. I fussy cut around the others with a good pair of detail scissors.

These stamps are perfect for junk journals, cards, and even decorating envelopes. Please do not use them as postage, but they are perfect for hand delivering; you can even "cancel" them yourself if you have one of the many postage themed stamp sets out there (for example, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Correspondence - see the Supplies section below for more recommendations).

Copyright Notice: ©Mary Dimercurio Prasad. All rights reserved. Any illegal reproduction of this content, including images, will result in immediate legal action.

Disclaimer:  Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at the bottom of this blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

Making the Stamps

1. Antique several sheets of high quality/premium printer paper (e.g. Hammermill Premium). I do not use cardstock for this; paper makes them feel and look more like real stamps. I antique the paper by pressing various colors of Distress Inks on a craft mat or Glass Media Mat, spraying lots of water, then dragging the paper through it. Start with a light color such as Antique Linen to cover the entire sheet. Dry with a heat tool or let air dry before continuing. If you want darker paper, use less water or use something like Vintage Photo but start with more water unless you want very dark results. To add texture, press various light brown inks (maybe 2 or 3 colors) onto craft mat again, spray with water, break up ink by running your fingers through it, then tap paper in it, moving it to different areas. I recommend starting with light colors and more water first. Dry between layers with a heat tool. Tim Holtz shows how to do this in many of his videos when creating backgrounds. Make a lot of sheets if you want many colors.

2. For optimum efficiency, I recommend mounting the entire unweeded stamp onto a stamp platform (e.g. Tim Holtz or Misti). If you have already separated the stamps, you'll need to move each stamp onto the stamp platform - be sure to leave enough room between each to cut apart and die cut later. Ink up and stamp onto antiqued paper. I recommend using VersaFine Clair inks. They have the crispest results. Note: you should use a heat tool to set the ink as it tends to dry slowly. I also used Ranger Archival Ink and Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink to fill in colors I didn't have in VF Clair. Clean stamps with Stamp Shammy and water.

3. Cut stamp images apart, leaving room for die cutting. Fussy cut around any that don't fit in one of the dies with a good pair of detail scissors. Using a die cutting machine and Postale Dies, die cut the rest of the stamps. I like to do this in front of the TV or while listening to a podcast.

4. Optional; Use an ink blending tool and dome foam to ink edges of stamps with a brown Distress Ink.

Supplies

• Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamp Collector CMS338
• Tim Holtz/Sizzix Postale Dies 665927
• Distress Inks (for example: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy)
• VersaFine Clair Inks, many colors
• Ranger Archival Ink or Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink, many colors
• Stamp Platform (Tim Holtz, Misti)
• High Quality Printer Paper (I recommend a premium paper like Hammermill Premium)
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy to clean stamps
• Craft Mat or Glass Media Mat
• Sizzix Sidekick, Big Shot, or other die cutting machine
• Detail Scissors
• Tim Holtz Blending Tools, Domed Foam Applicator
• Heat Tool
• Stamps sets to hand cancel your postage: Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous sets - Correspondence CMS225, Tidbits CMS488, Holiday Postmarks CMS323

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Use Scrap Strips to Make Ephemera Using Stamps and Washi

I have a hard time throwing away scraps, including strips. I even keep strips that I cut off the ends of patterned paper - you know, the white strip at the top, sometimes with a hole? Some come with a pattern that's found on the reverse side - I even keep those!

I'm working with cream and white scraps here but you could do this with light colored scraps too. If the color is too dark, the stamping or washi tape may not show up well. Use these strips to decorate cards, junk journals, scrapbooks, envelopes (I'd recommend using thinner cardstock or paper scraps for envelopes), decor, and more.

Copyright Notice: ©Mary Dimercurio Prasad. All rights reserved. Any illegal reproduction of this content, including images, will result in immediate legal action.

Disclaimer:  Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at the bottom of this blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

Making the Strips

1. Gather up your cream or white cardstock scrap strips and/or cut some strips from larger scraps or full sheets. You may also use light colored cardstock strip scraps.

2. See photo for examples. Use thin washi tapes to line edges of thicker strips. Use thicker washi tapes either by themselves or with stamps depending on the thickness of the strip and the desired look. See Supplies, below, for some of the Tim Holtz Design Tapes I used.

3. Optional: use a blending tool with sanding disk on a small cutting mat to sand off some of the surface of the washi tape. Use a soft cloth, such as a microfiber cloth, to wipe off and pick up any dust before handling. Sanding makes the tape look less shiny, makes it adhere better, and gives it an aged look. Note: I use the back side of my cutting mat so I won't sand off the lines on the front. You may want to use a dedicated mat for sanding.

4. Stamp between washi tape or stamp above/below as desired. I used VersaFine Clair Inks for their crispness. Look for small stamps to fit the space. If a stamp has two lines and you want to stamp in one line, you may either ink one half at a time or mask off one line at a time (e.g. use a Post-it to cover half while inking then remove before stamping). If you get ink in an undesired area, I recommend using a Stamp Shammy to clean off ink; I fold and use a small edge or corner for accuracy. Stamp Shammies are also excellent for cleaning your stamps before putting them away.

5. Use blending tool with a domed foam applicator and brown Distress Oxide Ink or brown Distress Ink to ink edges of each strip. I used Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink. You may want to do this on a Craft Mat or Glass Media Mat.

Hints: See the photo above; each square is 1/2". If your stamping was crooked, try stamping over with a darker ink, maybe using a seal type stamp. You may also trim down the area and separate areas by stamp. For example, I stamped "Handle With Care" twice but they were crooked so I cut around them and inked the edges to use separately. I stamped the red stripes (above the blue and red arrows) but left too much of a gap between the stamps so I added a black Air Mail seal over that area to hide the gaps. If you have very small scraps, fit very small stamps or washi (the red "Air Mail" with stripes is one stamp).

For a more distressed look, bend strip in different directions, each time sanding and/or inking the bent edge before flattening back out - see top strip with "Special Delivery" stamped down the middle and black washi tape at top. The music strip is just washi alone - the strip was very thin, I even had to trim it down to fit the paper.

Supplies

• Cardstock - Cream or White
• Various Washi Tapes - Tim Holtz Design Tape (e.g. Postal, Vintage, Collector, Trims)
• Thin Washi Tapes
• Tim Holtz Ranger Sanding Disks (for Mini Ink Blending Tool)
• Small Cutting Mat
• Microfiber Cloth
• Stampers Anonymous Stamps:
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Field Notes CMS396
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Correspondence CMS225
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Holiday Postmarks CMS323
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tidbits CMS488
• Optional: Post-it Notes
• Recommended: Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy to clean stamps
• Tim Holtz Blending Tools, Domed Foam Applicator
• Brown Distress Oxide Ink (I used Vintage Photo) or Brown Distress Ink
• VersaFine Clair Inks (e.g. Nocturne, Tulip Red, Paradise)
• Craft Mat or Glass Media Mat

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Use Scraps to Make Vintage Labels - Tip to Prevent Ink Beading

Use your cream and white scraps to create lots of labels in different colors. Grunge them up for a more vintage look. Add adhesive to the back using a Xyron Creative Station, Xyron Creative Station Lite, Xyron 250 Create-A-Sticker, or Xyron 150 Create-A-Sticker if you would like to make them into stickers. I listed these in order of price (high to low), which also corresponds to size. The largest Creative Station will accept paper/cardstock up to 9 inches wide (e.g. US letter) and may also be used with 5 inch cartridges. The Creative Station Lite will accept 5" and 3" cartridges. The 250 has a 2.5" opening, and the smallest 150 has a 1.5" opening. All are refillable, but the larger machines (former two) offer more and varied cartridges, such as lamination and magnet, whereas the latter two are just for making stickers. Note: the largest Vintage Labels will not fit in the smallest sticker maker.

Labels can be used in many ways. You can stamp on them with words or numbers for a more traditional look, or stamp them with images for something different. Use rub-ons or vellum stickers on them. Use them on cards, in scrapbooks, or junk journals. Write on them to label folders, storage bins, etc. Make tabs out of them by either folding one in half or putting two of the same size/type back to back on a page or other edge so that part sticks out.

Copyright Notice: ©Mary Dimercurio Prasad. All rights reserved. Any illegal reproduction of this content, including images, will result in immediate legal action.

Disclaimer:  Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at the bottom of this blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

Making the Labels

1. Gather your white card stock and cream card stock scraps. Of course you may also use full sheets but this is a great way to use up your scraps! If pieces (or sheets) are too big for your die cutting plates, you may want to cut them down to fit first. This is especially important if using a Sidekick. Note: I show how to use scrap strips in a different post.

2. Before inking your Vintage Label dies, you need to condition them or the ink will bead up, giving you poor results. See photo below. The labels on the left were inked and die cut before conditioning the dies. The labels on the right were done after (same ink, same dies). To condition the dies, use toothpaste on a cotton swab to scrub well over the raised surface of each die where ink will go. I did this back and forth around each die about a dozen or more times. A little surface metal will come off - you should see this as you rub the toothpaste. This is how it conditions the surface; it roughs up the surface on a micro level, giving the ink a place to sit without beading up. This should only have to be done once, although if not enough of the surface is roughed up, this process may need to be repeated.

3. Have die cutting plates ready. One plate will be the cutting side; set this aside for the moment. Place the non-cutting side nearby so you can easily transfer inked dies to this plate when ready. Choose Vintage Label dies (or die) to fit a scrap piece of white or cream cardstock. Place these dies cutting side up on a sheet of scrap paper - I use scrap copy/cartridge/printer paper. Tap Ranger Archival Ink (or Distress Archival Ink) over surface until the flat raised areas are well covered. If the ink is still beading up too much, you may have to repeat conditioning. Be sure your ink pad is not too dry or you may not get enough ink to transfer on to the die. Once inked, carefully lift paper and slide dies onto plate, still cutting side up. You may need to slide them around in a configuration that will work with your piece of cardstock. Place cardstock carefully over dies then place cutting plate on top. Be sure nothing shifts. You may have to hold the plates in both hands as you start to feed them into your die cutting machine. If you find they move too much, you could try using washi or painters tape to temporarily tape paper to the bottom plate before placing the cutting plate on top.

Note: If you want to change ink colors, I recommend using isopropyl alcohol to clean dies. I don't recommend using stamp cleaner as any oil residue left behind may prevent ink from sticking.

4. Optional: after die cutting, ink edges of labels with Distress Ink or Distress Oxide Ink. I used Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink on an ink blender tool with domed foam. Note that if you do not ink the edges, some of the color of the Archival Ink that got on the blade may show a little. Adding inking around the edges helps hide this.

5. Optional: if you want to create sticker labels, put labels through a Xyron Creative Station or Sticker Maker (see other models listed in supplies, below). If you are doing multiples, you may cut them apart or leave them on the larger sheet until you want to use them. Note: you may add the adhesive to the cardstock before die cutting but I find that this wastes more adhesive and makes one side of the cardstock really slick, possibly making it more difficult when feeding into the die cutting machine.

Supplies

• Tim Holtz Sizzix Vintage Labels 665929
• Toothpaste, Cotton Swabs
• Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink
• Ranger Archival Ink
• Cardstock - Cream or White
• Tim Holtz Blending Tools, Domed Foam Applicator
• Brown Distress Oxide Ink (I used Vintage Photo) or Brown Distress Ink
• Sizzix Sidekick, Big Shot, or other die cutting machine
• Optional: Xyron Creative Station (9" and 5" cartridges), Xyron Creative Station Lite (5" and 3" cartridges), Xyron 250 Create-A-Sticker (2.5", refills), or Xyron 150 Create-A-Sticker (1.5", refills)

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Tim Holtz, Grunge Labels, and a Lot of Inky Fun

I've been creating my own ephemera, and other grungy items, for use at a later date. In this post I'm showing how I made sticker labels. This is a great way to use your stamp stash. I even pulled out a few holiday sets with stamps that could be used generically. Most of the stamps I used are still available, but a few are long out of print, including ones where I no longer have the original packaging (this was before I had a blog!). I have two butterfly/moth stamps, one from an old Sizzix set with four figures vertically on it, but the other, with three figures horizontally, was a single in my collection. It looks like Stampers Anonymous but I have no idea where I got it, or if it was part of a set or not. However I have seen similar butterfly/moths in other current Stampers Anonymous sets.

To isolate the single figures (butterfly or moth), I masked parts of the stamp using Post-it Notes or just inked carefully (using a stamp shammy if I got some where I didn't want it). For the small labels (photo further below), I used a stamp platform and home-made positioner from clear recycled plastic packaging.

Check out the glorious mess I made while creating these labels.

Copyright Notice: ©Mary Dimercurio Prasad. All rights reserved. Any illegal reproduction of this content, including images, will result in immediate legal action.

Disclaimer:  Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at the bottom of this blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

Making the Labels

1. Start with a large sticker sheet (I'll discuss the small labels further below). Use an ink blending brush or blending tool (preferably with a domed applicator) to cover the page with Old Paper Distress Ink or other light ink that will give the paper an aged look. I used a blending brush first then dabbed and blended heavier areas using a blending tool and domed foam.

2. On a craft mat or plastic packaging, spray Distress Stain one color at a time, mixing with some water if desired (I wanted the colors to be lighter so I did add water). I used Speckled Egg, Antique Linen, and Vintage Photo. Break up ink by running your fingers or other tool through it. I used the end of a paint brush. Dab stickers into the droplets, creating splatters over the labels - quickly dry with heat tool. If you do not dry between dabs, the stains may interact with each other and/or bleed; this happened to me with Speckled Egg, creating undesirable color rings and bleeds.

3. Stamp! Note: more specific supplies are listed at the bottom of the post. Use butterflies, moths, other bugs, mushrooms, numbers, signatures, labels, seals, text for background, etc. I mostly used Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous stamps but also used a variety of my other stamps. It was fun digging through my stash for little treasures! On some labels, I first stamped background text using Distress Oxide Vintage Photo, on others I didn't. I wanted a variety of looks. Sometimes I stamped words or numbers up the sides of labels. When using my larger stamps, I often masked off the label edges using Post-it Notes, although you can allow stamps to go over two labels if you like that look (I only did this with a label stamp; I then stamped numbers inside each half). I also used Post-it Notes to mask parts of a stamp I didn't want inked or I used a corner of the ink pad to selectively ink the stamp, removing any excess with a stamp shammy. For most of the stamping I used either VersaFine or VersaFine Clair ink to get the cleanest images but when I wanted the stamp to fade more into the background, I used Distress Oxide Vintage Photo. Note: VersaFine ink is being replaced by VersaFine Clair ink. I still have some of the older VersaFine ink pads - I will replace them as they wear out.

To create the smaller labels (above), I used similar techniques. I didn't add the splats though; I may go back and add them later but for now I've left them off. I used a stamp platform (e.g. Tim Holtz, Misti) with a positioner I made using recycled plastic packaging. I cut the packaging to fit the platform. I put the top of a label sheet near the bottom of the stamp platform, up against the side, then lined up the stamps on a row of labels and picked them up with the door of the stamp platform. I did 4 at a time since there are 4 labels in each row, changing them out once in a while.

I put the plastic packaging in the top corner of the positioner, inked up the stamps and stamped on the packaging, being careful not to touch the images once stamped. I aligned the labels underneath to make sure the images were centered; if not, I repositioned the stamp, wiped off the ink from the positioner, and tried again. Once aligned, remove the positioner (careful not to touch the inked images), re-inked the stamps, then stamped.

To do the next row, replace the positioner and move up the labels so they align. You can change colors of ink as desired. When replacing a stamp, you will have to clean its image from the positioner and re-stamp it. Use masking and other techniques as mentioned above as desired.

Here's a look at the finished large sheet of labels. There's another close up at the bottom of this post.

Supplies

• Avery Address Labels 1 x 2-5/8" (e.g. 5160, 8160)
• Avery Labels 1/2 x 3/4" 5418
• Tim Holtz/Ranger Ink Blending Tool, Domed Foam
• Ink Blending Brush
• Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks (Old Paper, Walnut Stain)
• Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Oxide Inks (Vintage Photo)
• Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stains (Speckled Egg, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)
• Heat Tool
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Field Notes CMS396
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Correspondence CMS225
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tiny Toadstools CMS377
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Examination CMS412
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Rest in Peace CMS435
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Mini Worn Text THJ007
• Hero Arts Bold Prints Cling Stamp Novel Prose CG839
• Tim Holtz Sizzix French Flight 659884
• VersaFine Clair Inks (Nocturne)
• VersaFine Inks (Majestic Blue, Satin Red) - use VersaFine Clair Inks instead, newer version
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy
• Post-it Notes
• Stamp Platform (e.g. Tim Holtz, Misti)

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