Stamps: Explanation needed

[adrianka]

So, I've been eyeing this product: Papertrey Tree Trimming Trio.

But I admit I'm lost. How are these used? What will I need to make them work? I'm a total n00b when it comes to stamps.

[heathergw]

the cheapest route would be just ink and scissors and cardstock...

if you have a manual die cutter you can get the die that goes with it to cut the tree shape... and if you want your "balls" to be perfect circles you can use a 1/2" circle punch and then stamp the little circles stamps inside them.

[ColleenSwerb]

I love love LOVE that set.

All Papertrey stamps are acrylic, which means they are clear and floppy. You store them in a cd case. So you would need an acrylic block to mount the stamp on in order to use it. That and some ink and you're good to go though. You don't need anything special other than a clear acrylic block to mount it on (they make ones with grids on them so it's easy to line things up when you're looking through the block).

The circle holes in the tree fit the other circle elements included in the set. They're meant to be like christmas tree ornaments.

[heathergw]

I think with Papertrey stamps you have to have an acrylic block to stick the stamps to for stamping, they don't come pre-mounted.

[heathergw]

LOL, Col beat me to it.

[adrianka]

Thanks, guys. I'm such a n00b that I have no inkling (sorry for the pun) about ink either. I can get whatever I can find in a hobby shop? Or something specific required?

I think I totally need those stamps, because I totally have use for them. *le sigh*

Let's not mention that I never ever wanted to use stamps.

[heathergw]

yeah, you can get ink in a hobby shop and probably the acrylic blocks... you'll do great, just practice the stamping technique on some scratch paper until you get the hang of it... on the right hand side of that page click on "view idea gallery" that will give you a pretty good idea about how they work too... not to mention some nice eye candy

[adrianka]

Haha, I had already checked the gallery. Wanted to make a use for my button collection and had this idea for Christmas cards and then I found a postcard using one of those stamps on Pinterest. Oh well.

[heathergw]

yeah, I really like the ones using the buttons... and now you have me wanting that set too

[adrianka]

Oh, another question - do inks usually work on any colour of cardstock? I mean, is a lighter ink visible when stamped on a darker paper?

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by heathergw

yeah, I really like the ones using the buttons... and now you have me wanting that set too

Glad to be of service! *runs and hides*

[ColleenSwerb]

I've wanted that set since it came out. I love it.

It depends on the kind of light ink. I'm a mess when it comes to the types of ink and what you're supposed to use when. I have a ton of PTI colors and just use those for the most part, lol. Their white and cream work pretty well on darker colored papers, but it's not always a solid image, kwim? The cardstock color kinda bleeds through sometimes. But they also just came out with a new ink format, so they might have fixed some of that. I have all the old inks, none of the new ones. I guess they are going to take their time release the new ones (I haven't caught up in my google reader on their stuff yet, LOL!).

[adrianka]

For most inks I get the "currently unavailable" message, so I'll have a look at local stores first and let's see what happens then. Shipping to Europe is 30 USD so I deffo need to get stuff for more than that (heh), while keeping it low enough so that I don't pay customs fees. What a nice dilemna.

[heathergw]

I'd love to see the picture from pinterest... is that the look you're looking for? Because there are different kinds of inks so you'll want to get the right ink for the look you're trying to get.

and yeah, that's my one beef with Papertrey, they never have what I want in stock and so I have to check every few weeks LOL.

[adrianka]

Thanks for all the input. :-)

This is the one from Pinterest. I'd rather take it as a inspiration basis than try making the same thing. If I go for it and get the hang of it, I'd say I'd love to make loads of variations on this one, and maybe implement some ideas I get on the go.

Maybe it won't work at all, but I hope it will!

[heathergw]

it looks like the Papertry inks are dye inks

there are two primary inks that stampers use

dye ink which is water based and dries quickly and is flat w/o any texture, there is permanent and not permanent... the permanent inks would be for if you wanted to use copic markers and stuff like that... but if you just want to stamp it, this would be the way to go.

pigment ink which is thicker and takes a bit longer to dry but you can do additional things with it like using embossing powders and stuff like that and there is a texture to the ink when it dries.

this is just info for you in case you need to buy ink at your local hobby store

[tettletop20]

goodness, why o why did i click on that link to the stamps? gorgeous stamps! oh my!

[adrianka]

Heather, thanks so much. I actually plan to go to two local stores this week anyway (and I have a 120 EUR coupon of sorts in one of them, which pretty much rocks), so I need to go there prepared. :-)

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by tettletop20

goodness, why o why did i click on that link to the stamps? gorgeous stamps! oh my!

Right? I truly, deeply never wanted to go into stamps and inks... But those tree stamps did it for me.

On the other hand, I can distinctly remember the time when I said that I would never do hybrid. :-)

[Yvette]

Papertrey is one of my favorite places to shop! I have had good luck with the dye inks by Memento as well as the Jenny Bowlin inks by Ranger. I do have a shipment of the new papertrey inks on it's way to me, but they have only just (15th) released the new formula, and only in a few colors.

[Andrea Gourley]

I have that set and it is lovely You need to be careful of their postage as it goes up as you buy more (and is ridiculously high anyway)

Papertrey are just introducing a new type of ink, they released the first 4 colours last week so if the others are out of stock then this might be why.

I used that stamp set by stamping, cutting out and then filling the 'spaces' with buttons, acrylic jewels, small punched out circles etc.

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by Geordie Girl

I have that set and it is lovely You need to be careful of their postage as it goes up as you buy more (and is ridiculously high anyway)

Papertrey are just introducing a new type of ink, they released the first 4 colours last week so if the others are out of stock then this might be why.

I used that stamp set by stamping, cutting out and then filling the 'spaces' with buttons, acrylic jewels, small punched out circles etc.

The postage is downright outrageous. But it truly seems like the possibilities are endless with this set, which is reason enough for me to think about it. I love variations, and it looks like there are so many implied with filling out those spaces.

[adrianka]

I'm going to continue my stupid questions.

So I need ink. What exactly is meant by that? In my mind, ink is a liquid in a bottle. A cushion of sorts is needed to soak the liquid in. I think. If so, do those cushions come automatically? From what I've seen is seems to be the case (like, you don't buy a bottle of ink but rather a case including the cushion soaked with ink already), but please remember I know NOTHING AT ALL about stamping. Meaning nothing at all.

[*Celeste*]

ink is a stamp pad in this case. i too really like the Jenni Bowlin inks. You can buy re-inkers for some brands (jenni bowlin, ranger, etc.) that would be a little bottle of ink that allows you to re-ink the stamp pad.

[adrianka]

Thanks, Celeste. I had the impression it might be so, but it's nice to actually know. So now all I have to do is to look for stamp pads in the local hobby stores and hope for the best. And order the Papertrey stamps, hehe.

[adrianka]

So. My trip to the local hobby shop wasn't that successful.

All they had were these and some kind of pigment ink I forget the name of. From reading what they were for it seemed to me that they're not that great for what I have in mind. I won't mention the price, too. My next try will be tomorrow in Trier (Germany), if the results are similar, I suppose I have to do online shopping, eh.

What I want to stamp is cardstock, and from Heather wrote I understood I need dye inks for that. Correct me if I'm wrong. :-)

[adrianka]

So, my fave EBay store has these:

StazOn

Memento

Now I'm thinking about it, I'm still not sure whether I need dye ink or pigment ink. Oh I hate feeling this stupid! :-)

[adrianka]

So, my fave EBay store has these:

StazOn

Memento

Now I'm thinking about it, I'm still not sure whether I need dye ink or pigment ink (I think it's dye ink). Oh I hate feeling this stupid! :-)

[heathergw]

you can use pigment dye... just takes longer to dry

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by heathergw

you can use pigment dye... just takes longer to dry

As long as it dries, it's fine with me. I wasn't really sure about cardstock.

[heathergw]

yeah, it will try just takes a bit longer

[adrianka]

Cool. Can't wait to start. Will take some time, though, since my Papertrey order hasn't been done yet and it won't ship in a day, obviously. Still, a nice thing to look forward to.

[TeriBeary]

I would recommend Memento. Staz-On is great but more for stamping on pourous surfaces like ceramic, glass, etc. Staz-On stains very easily and can make your stamps a mess, but it is useful I use Memento because it dries quickly and works well with Copics. I *LOVE* the PTI cardstock for stamping. I usually don't use lighter colours of ink on dark cardstock unless it's silver or white. Start out with basics for ink and build from there. I used to be a Stampin' Up demo and LOVE their products too. Great quality and selection. I'm sure you could order from a demo. PTI is fabulous as well - love it! Just need more money to spend there

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by TeriBeary

I would recommend Memento. Staz-On is great but more for stamping on pourous surfaces like ceramic, glass, etc. Staz-On stains very easily and can make your stamps a mess, but it is useful I use Memento because it dries quickly and works well with Copics. I *LOVE* the PTI cardstock for stamping. I usually don't use lighter colours of ink on dark cardstock unless it's silver or white. Start out with basics for ink and build from there. I used to be a Stampin' Up demo and LOVE their products too. Great quality and selection. I'm sure you could order from a demo. PTI is fabulous as well - love it! Just need more money to spend there

Thank you a lot. I have already chosen Memento based on online research, but it's good if a real person can confirm the choice. I went to Trier today to look at the choice in their hobby shop and they only carry pigment inks, so I'm definitely going the eBay route. No Stampin' Up demos here, I'm in Luxembourg.

Thanks again for your input.

[adrianka]

Well. I think this was the first and last time I ordered from Papertrey. Not only is their postage outrageous, but when I tried to change my order they said they don't do it. Which is OK with me, but to claim that they don't change orders because they ship them so fast and then to find out that 3 days later they still haven't shipped it is pretty impressive indeed. What a fab service, thank you very much. OK, I'm grumpy today, but still. Most EBay sellers are nicer.

[heathergw]

can I ask how you know they haven't shipped it yet? because the two times I've ordered from them, I've actually gotten the product a day or two before the shipping notice... which always made me laugh and roll my eyes at the same time.

[Andrea Gourley]

Their customer service isn't the best - shame 'cos their products are fabulous

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by heathergw

can I ask how you know they haven't shipped it yet? because the two times I've ordered from them, I've actually gotten the product a day or two before the shipping notice... which always made me laugh and roll my eyes at the same time.

Well, from the tracker. I admit I have no idea how reliable they are in the US, the Luxembourgish one is totally reliable, so I assumed the same about the USPS one.

Originally Posted by Geordie Girl

Their customer service isn't the best - shame 'cos their products are fabulous

Yes, exactly. Plus the postage is not something I can do repeatedly. Well, it's MY fault if I forgot to put something in the basket, but there's no way I'm paying another 29 USD in postage for a 7 USD product.

I might add I did my order on Sunday, and they don't work on Sundays, so it really escapes me why it's impossible to change an order. It's their right to have a policy, but it's a weird policy IMHO.

Whatever. As I mentioned I'm grumpy these days - the point is, hopefully sometimes in November those stamps are going to arrive and I'll be having fun with them. :-)

[adrianka]

After almost two weeks my order is in... Chicago. I very much hoped I could start with the cards in mid-November, but I'm starting to be doubtful... Let's hope it can arrive in time for me to actually make some cards this year. :-)

This is sure full of suspense!