Hampton Arts Spritz Board

Reported by Susan Reidy

I love chipboard, I love embossed texture and I love mists for scrapbooking and cardmaking. Imagine my delight when I found all three wrapped into one with the Hampton Arts Spritz Board.

The board comes in icons and alphabets, and is essentially 5"x 5" white chipboard with a transparent pattern that "pops" when you add mist, chalk, ink or some other type of coloring medium. As a bonus, they're self-adhesive.

I picked up the icons, which include butterflies, flowers, tags, shapes and other natural elements like a birdhouse and leaf branch. There are 24 in the box.

Here you can see the transparent design on one of butterflies. Some pieces are outlined like this one, while others have an overall pattern. Hampton Arts says they're designed for Smooch Spritz, but work well with other mists and inks.

For my flower below, I used two different colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, lime and turquoise. After spritzing on both my colors, I used a baby wipe to go over the embossed areas. For the most part, the ink came off, but there were a few places where ink absorbed into the chipboard over the embossing.

At 5"x 5" these suckers are big, which is nice if you want to add just one main element to a scrapbook page or card. Not much else is really needed to complete a page.

I also really liked embellishing them beyond adding color. On this flower, I added an acrylic flower in the middle for just a little more depth.

When attaching to my layouts, I found the adhesive already on the back just wasn't strong enough to keep it in place. I added some Scor-Tape to ensure I had a good, strong hold.

Here's my finished layout. Like I said, not much embellishment is needed beyond these shapes.

Next up, I wanted to see how my American Crafts markers would work. Here's another half-colored flower.

Here is one petal freshly colored, before wiping.

And here is the petal after wiping:

I love how the embossed pattern really pops with the markers. Using markers is great if you want to use multiple colors on a more detailed piece, like with this flower where I made the center a different color than the petals. I used this flower to decorate the top of a papier-mâché box. Simple, done and done.

I really wanted to try this birdie. Look at all those pretty embossed flowers.

I decided to try another coloring medium, to really put these Spritz Boards to the test. For the birdie, I used some Jacquard Pinata Color alcohol-based inks. I used yellow and a little bit of orange to highlight some areas. Here is the birdie inked up, but not yet wiped off.

Below, he's been wiped off, again using a baby wipe. I did find the ink soaked into some of the embossed areas and covered up the design. Overall though, you can still see most of the embossing. The boards are sturdy enough to stand up to lots of coloring, whether it's wet or dry. No matter what I threw at it, I never had a piece warp because I added too much coloring medium.

Again, I had fun embellishing him with some bling and flowers.

He, or I guess she, was perfect for my layout about my Easter Chicks.

Up next was some more inking, this time with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads. I thought they would be perfect to make this look like a weathered birdhouse. The ink worked great; no bleeding over the embossed images, plus it was super easy to blend several colors to get the look I wanted.

I added the birdhouse to a card with a glittered Martha Stewart bird. Again, super easy to finish, thanks to the large size of the Spritz Board.

Last but not least, I gave chalk a try. Again, great results with the embossing popping nicely. It was also very easy to blend. I would recommend spraying with some kind of fixative so the chalk doesn't wear off over time.

I added a few embellishments, and now I have a cute Summery tag for a future layout.

I really enjoyed playing with the Spritz Board. I love that you can use so many different coloring media and get great results. Ironically, my least favorite technique to use with them was spritzing. They hold up great to lots of coloring, and they add a lot of punch to a layout without a lot of effort.

Pros:

• Cute designs, with fun embossed patterns.
• Very versatile; several different media can be used to add color, including spray mists, ink pads, alcohol inks, markers and chalk.
• Nice large size makes it easy to use for embellishing a scrapbook page or card.
• Perfect canvas for embellishing beyond just adding color, with bling, flowers, brads, etc.
• Stands up to lots of inking/coloring with no warping.

Cons:

• Some media work better than others. Ironically, the results were the least impressive with spray mist.
• Adhesive on back is really not strong enough to hold the chipboard pieces in place for very long.

Have you tried the Hampton Arts Spritz Board? What's your favorite way to add color and embellish?

Disclosure

YUDU tips, tricks and a review

Reported by Christian Tamez

My first memory of screen printing would be at summer camp, years ago. We all got to make t-shirts with the camp logo on them. I remember that the screen printing machine was huge, and that I just somehow knew that screen printing was a kind of special thing to be doing yourself. Flash forward to the future, I had just been introduced to the wonderful machine that is the Cricut Expression and I was looking into what else Provo Craft had to offer, immediately the YUDU screen printer caught my eye.

Being able to personalize textiles is a huge thing for me; I love being able to customize anything I can get my hands on. With the YUDU you can create your own screens, with your own designs, to use for printing. With some care the screens are reusable, allowing you to create as many or as few screen printings as you want.
The machine itself serves as an all-in-one screening station; you can dry and hold up to two screens in a holding compartment in the lower part of the YUDU. The top has a lightboard with two different light settings, one being used to expose screens to whatever design you have chosen, and the other being a less bright light allowing you to properly place your designs, before you “burn” them into the screen.




Included with the YUDU is a 110 mesh screen, 110 meaning per square inch there are 110 threads creating the openings for your ink to flow. Also available are 220 mesh and new 40 mesh screens. The 220 is used for screen printing on paper, the higher number of threads allows for greater detail. Personally I find that I prefer to use the 220 mesh screens for all of my screen printing. The 40 mesh is a new screen designed for use specifically with the YUDU glue and new foil and glitter textiles out. To use the mesh you take an emulsion sheet, and adhere it with water. The emulsion sheet is photosensitive and this part should be done in a darker room, and only when you have placed your design and are ready to burn it into your screen.

The first project I wanted to share has to do with personalizing cardboard boxes and fabric squares for my honey. I took a sharpie and drew a honey bee design, scanned it into my computer and printed it on one of the transparency sheets. The first tip I have is to print out the design twice on two separate pieces of transparency paper and then tape the designs together. It’s very important to not let any light through any of the areas you’re trying to burn into your screen. Just using one transparency you run the risk of exposing an area just enough to not let any ink pass through, rendering your screen useless. Even though the emulsion will still wash off and you may see your design, there could be an almost invisible film inhibiting any ink from coming through. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.




I always try and burn as many images into an emulsion sheet as possible, so I can use different areas of the screen for different projects and cut down on my need for new emulsion sheets. I usually keep my platten covered with parchment paper, this way I'm able to print a test print of my design and see where it's going to be placed when it's printed. To make it so that I’m able to position my item to be printed on, I draw around something either a template or cut out matched to the exact size, this way I get a pretty good idea of where my print is going to end up.






Once you start screening, it’s a good idea to be set up to print all of your projects. The actual printing process is very fast, and you don’t want any ink to lodge in your screen. The ink dries faster than you might think, I ruined one of my screens by stepping away for just a few minutes to answer the phone, when I came back I immediately washed the screen but to no avail, gold ink all lodged in. Which is why it’s a good idea to try and burn multiple images into your screen, I just moved on to another area of my screen to continue my project.





My second project had much more detail in it, a series of cartoons I drew, and wanted to put on a tote bag. The 220 mesh would be necessary in a project with fine lines like this. The main trick with this one was printing out the images twice and layering the transparency sheets so no light would get through the fine lines, not too difficult and it made all the difference. I also was determined to use glow in the dark YUDU ink, when I screened the image using just the glow ink, I wasn’t happy with the quality of the print. I mixed in some white ink, just to make the print stand out more, on the dark fabric. I was happy to find out that the white ink being added still allowed the glow ink to glow.




When you’re all finished with your project, if you haven’t destroyed your screen through the rigors of numerous printings, you can either store it for later use or use the emulsion remover to remove all of your design and leave you with a screen ready to be designed with again. I really like my YUDU, I don’t use it as much as I thought I would, but when I do need it, I’m glad I have it.





Here's a video I made shortly after I got my YUDU, it's the first time I ever used the thing, and it was easy enough for me to make a video out of it. I hope it explains things for you!




Pros:

• Completely customizable – you decide what design you want to make, and with a fairly wide array of inks you can make almost any color

• Fast – Once you have your screen ready to use for printing, the actual printing process takes seconds, the ink sets pretty quickly

• Washable – Did you make a mistake? Wash it out, the ink is only permanent after being heat set, so go ahead wash your item and try again!

Cons:

• Expensive – The emulsion sheets are very expensive and you only get two to a pack. Buy extras because accidents can and do happen with the emulsion sheets. All of the YUDU textiles are pricy.

• Inks had varied consistencies, some were chunky and some were runny

• If you step away from screening the ink can dry and lodge itself into the screen.

• The emulsion can be damaged when wet, take care not to damage your design when washing.

Do you have a YUDU? Are you screen printing with another cool tool? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Disclosure

Black Ink Comparison

Reported by Heather Strenzwilk

In the past few years we have seen Copic, Big Brush and Memento markers become popular for coloring stamped images. Do certain markers work better with certain inks? Which inks are the darkest and blackest? And most importantly: Is there an ink which is really black that doesn't smear when colored with markers?

In 2008 Craft Critique's Technical Editor, Dana Vitek, did a very detailed comparison of black inks called, "The MOTHER of all black ink tests...". As a follow-up to Dana's well-researched comparison, I have created a similar but simpler test to compare some of the newer black inks. All of the inks (except one) used in the test are part of my stash of art supplies. The exception was the Jet Black StazOn ink (and cleaner) which belonged to a friend.

Methodology:
I printed the testing matrix on Georgia Pacific white cardstock and Stampin' Up Whisper White cardstock. I stamped each type of ink four times on each sheet of cardstock (three for testing and one as a control). I started with the StazOn ink and afterward cleaned the stamp with StazOn cleaner. For the remainder of the testing, I used Ultra Clean Stamp Cleaner before changing ink sources. All of the ink air dried for approximately 14 hours before I tried coloring over the image with markers (I didn't plan to wait 14 hours but life happened). After coloring each image with marker, I scribbled it on scrap paper to remove any black ink transferred to the marker tip.

Cardstock:
Stampin' Up Whisper White
Georgia Pacific White

Markers:
Copic Y11 Pale Yellow
Faber Castell Big Brush Light Yellow Glaze 104
Tsukineko MementoPear Tart PM-703

Inks:


Below are my results (click on the photos to make them larger).


It is important to note that Copic markers which are meant to be blended, so by design Copic over Copic will blend (aka smear). However, Memento over Memento and Big Brush over Big Brush did not smear.

Biggest Surprise- The Nick Bantock ink did not smear with Copic or Memento markers but there was some smearing with Big Brush markers. This ink was also very easy to clean off the stamp and did not stain. Secondly, the Stazon did not smear but the stamped images feathered and the black didn't seem as dark as some of the other inks.

Overall- Stazon, Memento and Big Brush did not have any issues with smearing. Memento images were slightly crisper than Big Brush. I'm not sure if I had been comparing a black Memento marker to Big Brush if the results would stay the same.

Bottom Line- If I had to pick one ink that stamped crisply, had a rich black color and didn't smear when colored with markers, I would choose Memento based on my results.

What brand of black ink do you use with markers? Please share your thoughts with our readers.

Disclosure

Event Review: The Scrapbook Expo

Reported by Maria Del Pinto

The Scrapbook Expo has several shows across the country; each one features a fun crop event where folks get together and crop the day and night away.

For those who have never attended a crop, here is how some of the crops work.  Each person rents a table workspace and brings all of their supplies and pictures that they may need to work on their projects.  

The point of this type of event is to create the opportunity for an individual to work in a very creative atmosphere with other folks who share their enthusiasm to create memorable pages.  The shared creative ideas are a lot of fun, and people often make new friends at these types of events.

Each day of the crop part of the show has a different theme.  In the one I recently attended,  Friday was a fun “Old West Crop Party” theme.  There prizes for creativity, enthusiasm and more.  The show also offered attendees of the crop event some great equipment like die cut machines, paper trimmers, scrapbook software (compliments of Kodak), cricut machines, and more for croppers to use during the crop.

They even had pre-packaged scrapbooking kits that scrappers could order to make during the event.

The Expo also offered a broad selection of classes in digital scrapbooking and media.

On the show floor, there were many “Make & Take” opportunities for attendees to participate in. the projects were varied and had a wide range of appeal.

There were also plenty of free Technique Demonstrations to watch throughout the show, one of which was at the JudiKins booth.

Judy was on hand to demonstrate her technique of combining cool stamps with other products to create fun mini works of art. My favorite stamp was her new “Galaxy Spiral Stamp” which is from her retro collection.

For this project, she combined dye-based inks, glitters, and

Diamond Glaze to create a fun effect on glass and plastic.  The soda can lid (project on the right in the picture below) is stamped, then the color is heat set before adding the diamond glass (which is allowed to air dry).

The JudiKins booth featured a vast assortment of new rubber stamp images.  Here is a sampling of some of the new images 

and the sample card project.  She has more project ideas , directions, and instructional videos on her website.

The next booth to catch my eye was the Button Farm.  I just loved their wall of products, which included 7 Gypsies,Tim Holtz, and some very interesting curios. 

They also offered pre-packaged altered album kits.  All the supplies need to complete the project are in the kit.  They offered some fun designs.  I like the fact that I would not need to hunt out various unique products on my own to finish the kit like the one below.  For those who do not have time to plan a project, the complete step-by-step directions are always included in these kits.

My next stop was the Little Windows Brilliant Photo Jewelry booth.  Their display of photo jewelry just made you want to stop and look closer.  

Their fun jewelry making kit includes an epoxy resin that is not toxic and does not have the usual strong odor that most epoxies have.  Plus, it is created to work well with photo prints.

Here is a sampling of the different types of pieces you can make with this product using a variety of techniques.

Quick Quotes had a fun "Make & Take" that featured their flip flop shoe book.  This kit features a real pair of flip flops as the album cover.  Then the pages are attached in accordion style.  This is a very fun and cute kit.

They also had a fun display from their Club Q which offers crafters a choice of either a page kit or an altered art kit.

Technique Tuesday, featured ideas and kits that were geared towards toward the busy crafter.  They had page layout kits, chip board, clear stamps, and more.

Another booth that caught my eye was the Charity Wings.Org booth.  They were hosting a fund raiser “Make &Take”  event at the show, where they were making cute cards to raise money for charity.

Charity Wings is a non profit organization (California Non-Profit Org. 501(c)(3)) that empowers creative people who want to make a difference in other peoples lives and help raise funds for various charities and organizations (this show raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society).

I enjoyed the wide selection of "Make & Takes" mini workshops,

scrapbooking classes, and digital media imaging workshops.

This show offered an abundance of paper craft supplies.  The selection of embellishments was more tempting that you can imagine.  They also had basic rubber stamping supplies, chip board books, altered art supplies, stencils, embossing powders, glitters, adhesives, and incredible deals on patterned paper.

It turned out to be a great mix of altered art, stamping, and scrapbooking combined.  One of the things that really stood out at this show is that the "Tim Holtz" line is extremely popular and people are finding lots of creative ways to use the products.  I also noticed the pre-packaged scrapbooking and altered art kits were widely available.  No matter what your experience level is, there was a kit to suit your needs.   For more information on upcoming workshops, 2011 show schedule, discount coupons, or vendors,  I would recommend checking the Scrapbook Expo show website.

Have you attended any scrapbooking shows?  What was your favorite project or workshop? We would love to hear your thoughts on these type of shows?

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