Many people do not have the slightest clue as to how easy it is to make a card for someone, whether it is for a graduation ceremony, a wedding, a birthday or simply a thank you card. In many cases people prefer to go to the stores and purchase these cards, in the hope that the recipient will be satisfied with the results. The truth is that if some effort is put into making someone a unique thing, the other person is bound to appreciate more when he or she receives the card.
Card making may seem to be time consuming, and thus relegated to the artists of the day. Nevertheless, one of the major advantages of taking time off and constructing a card is the fact that it will give you the chance to make exactly what you feel should be made. You will have the chance to write your own message. The stamping technique allows you to construct sentences on a stamp and paste the message on the card, making it as authentic as they can come. One is allowed to play around with color and design, according to his desire, thus come up with a card that one feels is suited for a situation.

Another advantage of making the card using the stamping technique is the fact that it is cheaper to do so. The materials necessary are extremely cheap. Most of the resources come from cut-outs, printed material and old and forgotten places. Whenever one sees an attractive piece from any source, he might want to keep it just, in case he will use it later on while making a stamp. Other materials such as ribbon can be bought or acquired through other means. All in all, making wedding cards is way cheaper than buying from the store.
It is quite easy to come up with such a card. All that one requires is the right materials, sticking equipment and a bit of creativity. There are online sources and other resources that will make someone get a few ideas on how to get started. Materials will more often than not include manila or hard paper, colored pads, stamps with the necessary writings and the sticking equipment (either glue or gum). The process, depending on the complexity, should not take more than 15minutes for a person with experience.
Nevertheless, a lot of practice is needed to achieve quality results. There are times that the task may become messy, thus it is important to do some practice first, before one engages the real task ahead. When one is confident enough, he or she can start working on the actual card. Care should be taken, though, that there are no unnecessary spills, dirt or unfinished areas within the card’s outlook.
At the end, the one receiving the card will be convinced that some thought was put into the presentation, more than just picking a card from the stores. People tend to appreciate them more, and the message gets home more when this is done.

Do you have an event, announcement, celebration, or holiday coming up and looking for a unique way to deliver the message? By following these simple directions you can make Scratch and Sniff stamps at home! These little creations make add a fun, personalized touch to any homemade craft. Once you have all the supplies listed below you are ready to begin.

Supplies:

Embossing Paper
Clear Embossing Powder
Sugar-Free Scented Powder
Stamp
Heat Gun
Versamark

Scratch and Sniff cards take no more than a few minutes to complete and add spunk to any project. First, you will need to make the scented mixture. It will consist of 1 part sugar-free flavor and 1.5 parts clear embossing powder. The scent can be anything as long as it is sugar-free. Be careful, if the scent contains sugar then the heat will burn the mixture and alter the aroma. While any sugar-free powder mixture works wonderfully, Kool-Aide and Jell-O products are a popular option. Mix your clear embossing powder thoroughly with whatever scent you have chosen.Once your scented powder mixture is ready, find your Versamark stamp and embossing paper. Depending on the image selected, you may want to use the matching color of embossing paper. For example, to make a cupcake, pink paper can be scented with strawberry flavoring to represent the icing on top while the bottom half may be brown and scented with a chocolate mixture. Of course this is entirely personal preference, so be creative!

Using the Versamark inkpad, stamp your chosen image clearly onto the blank sheet of embossing paper. Stamps and different color inkpads can be purchased at any arts and crafts store. Immediately sprinkle the powder mixture onto the stamped area. The powder should stick to the Versamark ink. Make sure the ink is still wet when the powder is sprinkled over it so the scent maintains its potency.

From there, take a heat gun to heat up the stamp and the powder mixture on top of it. The image will appear as the ink dries and the powder scent fuses onto it. Be careful not to touch the image before it dries to avoid burning yourself or smudging the image. It should only take the stamp a few seconds to dry and the scent to set.

Using standard scissors or a craft knife, cut out the images however you like and, voila, you have a scratch and sniff creation!
This little creations can be as plain or extravagant, big or small, unique or traditional as you like. Simply select the inspiration and look you are aiming for and gather the appropriate materials. Elegant wedding invitations can have a sophisticated vanilla or lavender scent to them while birthday cards may have the smell of strawberry cupcakes! With few materials and little cleanup, this project is also a perfect arts and crafts project for the whole family as long as the heat gun is left in the control of a responsible operator.

Pines & Poinsettias Christmas Card, user floridaflynn shows you how to make a personalized Christmas card in a step by step process.
The card that is made in the video is very elaborate and uses bows and ribbons, along with standard greetings that come with the kit she is showing. Yet with a little creativity, you can personalize what you exactly want to say with your printer, either before or after the creation process, so the card comes from your heart.
Using card stock paper bought from her supply house, Stampin’ Up, the demonstrator uses a machine called the Big Shot and embosses clear plates to transfer the textured embossed Snow burst pattern to red paper, so that tiny snowflakes appear all over the stock. On top of that Holly berry buttons and paper (in red and wild Wasabi) are placed in strategic locations on the red paper. The stamping kit chosen here is Pines & Poinsettias. After cutting out ovals, again using the Big Shot, the stamps are colored with markers, mostly red. Breathing on the stamps to moisten them, the patterns are then transferred to the ovals she cut out. These are in turn placed in a visible place on the Holly berry paper utilizing two-way glue. Should you wish to avoid a few items used in the video, you may find similar items and try out the tricks taught on those materials.

A product called Dimensionals was used to make the greeting stick out from the card, using minute bits of foam which tends to give the card a three dimensional look. For the front of the card, Ms Flynn used a stock greeting “Merry Christmas” which came with the stamping set. From there she tied wasabi ribbon in a bow to the front of the arrangement. From there a red button was sewed near the bow, using a special twine and needle specific to that purpose. Again the two way glue was utilized to place the arrangement onto the standard card stock, again using the wasabi color in keeping with the holiday colors. The demonstrator again used a stock greeting for the inside of her card. It was more or less generic but before transferring, using commercial software, simply run the card through your ink jet printer and the inside of your card can say what you want. Some software will also transfer professional looking photos to the interior of your card. Extend the planes of your imagination and make your ideas roll over them; you’ll have embedded a fantastic design on the paper.

From there Ms Flynn uses a two way pen, drawing on the poinsettias she transferred earlier to the front of the card. After the ink dried she sprinkled glitter on the front for a finished professional look. She admits the card she demonstrated is labor intensive and only for those near and dear. Yet the same ideas can be adapted for simpler, less intricate cards quite handily. Therefore the small business person could also very easily make a very good profit from just a little craft know how.

Selling just to your friends and family could well expand into a major business prospect via word of mouth and Christmas is not the only greeting card season.

Based On the You Tube video, by Brandi Mackenzie

In this article, I am going to show you how to make a personalized birthday card in a step by step process. If you wish to stick to the steps carried out in the video, you can decorate the card with stamping techniques and all the products she utilizes on the video. Needless to say all the products are readily available from various supply houses that specialize in card making and rubber stamping. The description for the video suggests the cards can be made from home and that they can. But the small business person could also very easily make a very good profit from just a little craft know how. Selling locally to friends and family could well expand into a major business prospect via word of mouth.

Start by selecting a rubber stamp set specifically made for a birthday card. There are also various shades of ink, for whatever vibrant colors you wish your designs to come in. Unlike olden times, with ink pads and sloppy bottles of ink, the modern ink pads she used a technique called Versamark. With simple blotting, you will be able to transfer the image to the piece of card stock, as shown in the video. The card stock itself can be purchased at discount stores like Wal Mart (mostly in white), or again it can be bought in bulk from the card supply companies, where it can be obtained in various colors.

If you wish to make your selections visible on the stock, you could use a special hole punch to cut them out. Cut the images to 1 ¾ inches by making use of a hole cutter of that size. For a raised look you could use a basic circle cutter though.

The personalized designs should be then ready to transfer to a blank card. The card she used in the video was gold and blue, which had used a special painting technique specifically for the cards. The two images she selected were then placed upon the card using two-way glue. The neat thing about this glue is that is although it dries quickly, it is not instantaneous, like say super glue. Therefore if you don’t like the placement of your images, you can adjust them without ruining the integrity of your card. Also she used an option called dimensionals, which again made the icons stick out from the card just a wee bit. They simply use tiny bits of foam which tend to give the card a three dimensional look.

It evidently takes a good bit of practice and a great deal of coordination to accomplish but with a little bit of trial and error it seems even the clumsiest person could make a professionally designed birthday card. It will no doubt be the highlight of your special person’s one day a year when he or she is the king or queen. You will be thanked profusely that you thought enough about them to put an obvious labor of love into a gift for them, probably much more so than one picked up off the shelf on your way home from work, almost like an afterthought. Maybe the next question will be “Can you do one for me?”

Materials:-
- Stampin Pastels
- VersaMark Ink
- Sponge Dobers (one for each color)
- Stamp (Flower)
- Card/Paper

Feel like an artist after doing this.
A quick and easy way to use your imagination
The Stampin Pastel’s are applied using a number of tecniques. They come with que tip appliers, how ever sponge dobers are the prefernce, because they fit on to your finger and can be used as a paint brush (an extension of your finger)
Chose a stamp, a flower maybe
Dab the stamp on the VersaMark Ink pad, and then onto the card/peper you have selected.

Now I use my own imagination with the colors
Choose a color
A quick dab on the flower using th esponge dobers, don;t rub this will smear it.
Use some green for the leaves and stems
Use Pink for the flowers
When you are finihed just take the card/paper and give it a flick to get the remaining powder off.

You now have a very delicate flower design on your car/paper.
It only took a minute to do.

Enjoy

Stamping and Embossing
Presenter:- Fran Bricken

Web Site :- www.ExpertVillage.com
eMail :- Info@ExperVillage.com
Materials:-
Embossing ink pad (clear)
Embossing powder (your choice a sto the type)
White Card
Rubber Stamp
Tray
Heat Gun.

With your Embossing Ink Pad, dab the rubber stamp thoroughly (for large stamps do them upside down), ensuring you have the whole thing covered.
You will know when it is done because it will have a shiny look about it.

Place it on the paper, press firmly and rubb the whole surface of the stamp to ensure that the whole rubber stamp is on the paper

Rubb the whole back of the stamp with your thumb

Now you have what appears to be a a blank piece of card.
Now place the card in a tray (or on a piece of carboard).

Sprinkle more that enough embossing powerder of the stamp image (more is better)
Lift the card up and give it a tap on the bottom of the tray.
You now have your image on the card.

Now with your heat gun, set the embossing powder, place it close to the ink, it will start to get darker.

Presenter Brandi Mackenzie – Embossing
Materials:-
- Stampin Up Stamp Set – Party Hardy Cup Cake
- Versa Mark
- Clear Embossing Powder
- Sugar free Scent (cool aide?)

Using a cupcape making a scratch and sniff, the kids will ove it, and its fun to make.
Take anything that has a smell and is SUGAR FREE, it has to be sugar free as we don’t want the smell of burnt sugar on our card.
Mix the Sugar free mix (1 part) to the clear embossing powder (1.5 parts). mix it very well
Use a cupcake Versa Mark onto some card, this is going to be the top of the cupcake.
Take the mixture and pour it on the card.
Tap off the excess (save this if you like, mark it as having a smell to it, so you don;t forget)
Use a heat gun and watch the embossing powder start to melt, the color and smell starts to come out.
Stamp the bottom half in brown on a white paper.
Cut out the top and put it over the top of the cup cake.

I do hope that this will bring enjoyment and excitement to you and your kids lives.

Making Homemade Foam Stamps

Turning a personal design into a homemade foam stamp, will give your scrapbooks and collages an enviable edge. With craft foam, you can make one-of-a-kind stamps for yourself and your friends. Craft foam comes in 6″ x 4″ to 12″ x 18″ sheets. And, 2mm to 6mm thicknesses. Most foam sheets come with an adhesive back to help you stick them to surfaces. The only disadvantage with foam stamps is that they can’t be used to make intricate designs.

Homemade foam stamps are easy to make. Find a design to turn into a stamp. Make a high contrast copy of the design. Transfer the design to the back of the foam sheet with graphite paper. Cut along the lines of the design with scissors. Peel the backing off the foam pieces and stick them to a square of cardboard or plastic.

Craft foam also comes in pre-cut shapes. You can select from alphabets, geometric shapes, animals, stars, and other pre-cut shapes. Most of the pre-cut shapes have adhesive on the back, others, you will have to glue them to a plastic square. Your foam stamps will work with either ink of paint.

Foam stamps can be used to make batik scrapbook paper. Coat the stamp with a layer of rubber cement. Press the stamp onto the paper. Use a misting bottle to spray paint on the paper. The areas protected by the stamp’s shape will resist the color. You can use a foam stamp in a variety of creative ways.

Rubber stamp craft tips

Crafting with rubber stamps is one of the most versatile creative tools available. Right now rubber stamping is popular in scrap booking. Rubber stamps can be found at any craft store and at online stores.

Use the internet to glean ideas of how to use your rubber stamps, as many sites have tutorials.

Following is a neat way to make a greeting card.

You can create different and unusual greeting cards for any occasion, putting on your personal touch. Using a black ink pad, stamp on a piece of plain paper, white or colored. Color in the design, or leave it plain. Rip carefully around the design so that it is a little ragged, for effect. Fold a piece of 8.5 X 11 piece of card stock in half, creating your card. Use any number of materials to create a background for your stamped piece. Glue the background piece on to the outside of the folded cardstock, and then glue the stamped piece on top of that. You have created a very different “stacked” card. You can use rubber stamps for the message inside the card, or you can hand write your own message.

Ink up and stamp different designs on plain brown or white paper bags and you have a gift bag! You can do the same thing on white tissue paper, or white gift wrap. Just use your imagination.

Rubber stamps are here to stay, and if you are a crafter, you will want to collect as many as you can.

Rubber Stamp Craft Art

In the world of crafts rubber stamps are an interesting thing to use and collect. Rubber stamps come and different shapes and variations to their uses.

The rubber stamps can come on different variations of woods. They can be found on woods such as maple and pine. These woods have a nice finish to them.

Many people will collect stamps as a hobby as well. Some of these stamps will not even be used and instead just collected. Collectors can sell these rubber stamps to certain to people who are looking for particular stamps.

Rubber stamp craft art is more then just collecting the actual stampers. This can also include the ink and other accessories that go with rubber stampers.

People of all ages collect rubber stampers. They have been around for a long time. In the old days stampers were used on a regular basis. Checked were often stamped from rubber stamps. Important documents for loans and notary worthy papers are stamped by rubber stampers to make them legal and legit.

Any type of symbol or theme can be imprinted on a rubber stamp to be used. Then the ones people like the best can be used on a regular basis. They make a unique and lasting impression on paper and any other surface where the stamps are used on. So as you can see rubber stamps are much more then just a collectors hobby. They can have many uses in the world of yesterday and today. They will be collected for a long time to come.