Saturday 13 January 2024

Stamping on a photo with CTMH inks.

Hi there, and thanks for stopping by. Happy New Year!

It's been a while since my last blog (September 2023), but hey....New Year, new plans, right?

So today, I'd like to share with you the results from a bit of an experiment I recently did.

Over the last year or so, I've been taking part in a YouTube hop called 'Stamping like it's hot'. 

Each month, those taking part are given a way to use stamps in their projects. This month (January 2024), the challenge was to stamp directly onto a photo. Several of us joined in, and the results varied quite a bit, so please note that these results pertain only to my efforts:-)

Whilst I often use stamps in my projects, I hadn't ever stamped on a photo. If I ever want something extra on a photo, I'm more than likely to add it in Photoshop prior to printing. But I was keen to give the challenge a go, and hopefully learn a bit more about the CTMH inks along the way.

CTMH (Close to my Heart) has four types of ink available in their main catalogue. 


Intense Black Ink

- solvent based, acid free permanent ink. This ink is waterproof, fade resistant, fast drying and archival. It is the recommended option for stamping if you're going to colour the image with markers or paints. 

Pigment based White Daisy

- acid free and fade resistant. Permanent on most papers and can also be used on other porous surfaces.

Only available in white currently. 

Archival Black.

- solvent based, acid free permanent ink. This ink is also waterproof, lightfast, fade-proof, and non-smearing. Recommended for stamping on scrapbook pages and on vellum. 

Normal, regular inks.

- acid free, water based dye inks. Available in a range of colours, this is the ink that we use the most. To be consistent, I used the black option for this experiment.

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Given the descriptions, I initially thought I'd need the Archival Black for stamping on a photo. But I decided to do an experiment with them all, as part of the YouTube challenge.

At this stage, if you'd prefer to watch the video, rather than read on, you can do that here.

But, if you want to read about the experiment, here's what I did.....

I chose a photo that had some whitish sky in the top half, and some green bush in the bottom half. 

I had all four of the above inks available. The three black options, and the white daisy pigment ink, which I thought would look good on the dark bush.

I chose the stamp 'Life is Beautiful', from one of the CTMH stamp sets that was sitting on my desk. 


First up, I stamped with Intense Black.

Outcome: Quite a light, patchy coverage.


Secondly, I went with the white daisy pigment ink on the bottom of the same photo.

Outcome: Reasonably good coverage, although not very even on the glossy surface. It's also a very wet ink, so not ideal for the non-porous photo paper. You can see where I tested how dry it was at the bottom of the 'B'. That was a wee while after I'd stamped it too!    

This ink is ideal for stamping on black cardstock for our layouts.



The third ink, on a second photo, was the normal everyday black ink. 

Outcome: Great coverage. Nice and black, and sharp. I'm surprised, but happy with this result.



Finally, I tried the Archival ink. 

Outcome: Patchy, and similar to the intense black option. 



                           


              

RESULT:

For the YouTube hop, I chose the normal everyday black ink to stamp my message on a bigger version of the photo used in the experiment. Here is the final page with the stamping on the photo. 

NB. It you want some tips on how to stamp a sentence like this, check out the video.


What I learned from this experiment is how important it is to try first if you're unsure what the outcome will be. Particularly as when I watched the videos by the other participants in the hop, they all had different results, and some had good success with the CTMH Archival ink. So, perhaps it is also affected by the type of photo print paper, and the amount of ink on the pad. Perhaps mine needs reinking.

The other thing I found useful from the hop is the benefit of using a Misti, to enable restamping if the first impression isn't as dark as you'd like. Must put a Misti on my Wishlist!

All of the inks available have their specific benefits. and you can check them all out on my website. You can order direct from there, or if you live in New Zealand and are looking for a CTMH distributor, then I'd love to hear from you. 

For international readers, please talk to your local CTMH consultant.

I'd love for you to also join me on Facebook and Instagram, and if you have any thoughts or questions about this blog, please leave a comment below. 

Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now, and happy crafting!

Lynda




Sunday 10 September 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - The Good Life


Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to our 'Good Life' Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Lauren Moore - CTMH Craftings then you're in the right place. 

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.

The CTMH feature collection for September is called 'The Good Life'. 

With a neutral, and natural colour palette, the collection is ideal for many scrapbooking projects around the home, inside and out. It's also ideal for cards, of course, and great to have in your stash as a 'go to' pack for masculine cards, new homes, and lots of other projects I'm sure. 

There is a card making workshop kit, and a scrapbooking workshop kit, both still available, as well as die-cuts, digital art, and a card making stamp set. 



But I've chosen to work with just the paper pack today, and the coordinating cardstock which includes the following colours: 

French Vanilla; Espresso; Mocha; Toffee; Harbour and Mist.

These are the colours recommended to coordinate, and are in the coordinating cardstock pack, but due to the neutral colour palette,  other colours will work too. 


Because there are no hugely patterned papers in this pack, I thought it would work well for some paper weaving. 





I used wider strips than I'd normally use. These were 1 inch wide for all my projects, rather than the usual half inch. I used a 5x7 card, with a French vanilla piece within a mocha frame, and then slanted the strips for a 'not-so-straight' look.

The sentiment and other stamps are from the SOTM for September. I just love the heritage type feel to some of the stamps in that set. 

The gems are the clear sparkles, coloured with the brown marker. 


Then I thought I'd try the same idea with a layout, but ended up with straight lines. I still had a mocha frame, with the smaller, French vanilla cardstock holding the layout together. 
My photos are yet to be printed, but I have sized this layout to fit them, and the story follows us building the fence that divides the front of our property from the back. The fence became essential, when our puppy Grace arrived in 2020!!


The hammer came from the digital artwork in the Hey Handsome pack, and the asterisks from the die cut packs for Dreammaker, and Hope and Kindness. The title uses the 'Marker' alphabet.



There is a process video for this layout on my YouTube channel, so if you're more of a visual person, I'd love you to take a look. 

The Good Life collection is available until 31st October, while stocks last, so talk to your consultant to order your favourite components. If you don't have a consultant, and live in New Zealand, then I'd love to hear from you. Check out the range of Good Life products on my website., and you can order direct from there, if you'd prefer.

Thanks for joining in on the hop. I'd love for you to also join me on Facebook and Instagram.

It'd be great if you left a comment below, before heading off to Doris Taylor Creative Inspirations.
Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now, and happy crafting!

Lynda

Sunday 20 August 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - Memory Lane


Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to our 'Stamping’ Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Lauren Moore - CTMH Craftings,  then you're in the right place. 

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.

This week, we're looking at two of the beautiful 'specials' currently on offer with CTMH. I've chosen to work with 'Memory Lane', but if you follow the links at the bottom of each blog in the hop, you'll see what others have chosen, and have loads of inspiration for your own projects. 


Memory Lane is a co-ordinated set of colourful papers, with co-ordinating cardstock, a stamp set, and embellishments, depending on which bundle you choose. But what really excited me was the little houses....there's a patterned paper of them, and they're also a feature of the stamp set, which I adore!



There is so much on this stamp set that will be useful for all sorts of projects. Scrapbook layouts, yes, but also lots of card making possibilities....birthdays, new home, and just for the fun of it cards. 

Plus, the little houses are so easy to fussy cut too, adding more ways to use them.



Because I loved the little houses so much, I decided to use them for my blog project today. 

When we moved house about four years ago, the firm that did the heavy lifting, and drove the truck, had orange uniforms, so that worked well for my layout, with nectarine being one of the co-ordinating colours for this pack. 

The other colour I used was sage. First up, I used both colours with both the house stamps on the white daisy, where the white would be exposed. With so much to put on the pages, the stamped houses aren't a big feature,  but peek through some of the gaps. 


The house paper provided a good base to have a 6 inch wide strip on each page. I could have gone wider, but wanted to keep the other sheet for future projects! 

To add the scalloped edge, I used the digital artwork from the Cosette collection, and while I was there, I found the word 'Days', and liked the way the cursive writing combined with the squarer thin cut word 'MOVING'. 



The yellow strip under the title is also from the Memory Lane pack, and I feel it links the two pages by going right across the top, under the pictures. 




In the Cosette digital artwork I also cut the nectarine tabbed square to go behind the journaling box. 

After adding a few journaling strips to tell the rest of the story, a sticker, and some orange dots, the layout was complete. 




I will have pages to do either side of this one, to document the preparations before the move, and of course the moving into our current home. So that left-over house paper will be put to good use!

The finished two pages look like this:




The 'Memory Lane' range is currently available under the 'promotions' tab on my website. But only until the end of August or while stocks last. If you have a consultant, then contact them to order yours. But if you don't have a consultant and live in New Zealand, I'd love for you to get in touch, or place an order through 
my website.

You can also join me on Facebook and Instagram if you'd like to see more of my projects.

I'd love it if you left a comment below, before heading off to Doris Taylor - Creative Inspirations. Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now, and happy crafting!

Lynda

Thursday 20 July 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - Stamping


Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to our 'Stamping’ Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Doris Taylor - Creative Inspirations, then you're in the right place. 

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.

Every two months CTMH releases a new catalogue, chock full of new papers and stamp sets. Plus a stamp of the month, for every month. There is so much to chose from, we are spoilt for choice, which would normally make it hard to decide what to focus on, when the blog topic is 'stamping'...lol. But I had no trouble deciding.





The stamp set I am working with for this blog is called 'Perched Budgies'. It comes as both a stamp set on its own, or combined with thin cuts. 






It seems this month that all the stars have aligned!


Not only is this stamp set ideal for some photos I needed to get in the album, but as a member of the Facebook group, Creative Scrapbooker Magazine's Sketchy Group, the challenge sketch for this month was also perfect for my photos.

I love the sketches in this group, and try to complete the one they share each  month.


But wait, there's more!

I'm also a member of the CDT Creatives Membership group. This is run by a group of incredibly talented CTMH makers, and whilst there is a small fee each month, the things I have learnt since joining have been nothing less than awesome. Each month they provide tutorials, tips and tricks, and also a challenge. In June, our challenge was to use our stamps to make some custom design paper. Knowing I wanted to document some photos of  budgies, it was a no-brainer as to which stamp set I would use.





I used periwinkle ink, and combined a few stamps from the 'perched budgie' set, but added a couple of other smaller ones from different collections to fill in some gaps. 




Just a note about the photos. My cousin Julie, breeds budgies. Each time I visit, it's always good to check out the budgies, and look at their amazing colour range. 

On my most recent visit in August 2023, I was lucky enough to be allowed to spend an hour or two in the aviary with the birds, and my camera. 

Here's what I came up with when I combined a few of the photos, with the sketch from Jennifer Edwardson, and the custom design paper, stamped with the 'perched budgies'. 


The 'Perched Budgies' are in the current seasonal catalogue, which is valid until the end of August 2023. They'll then be available online while stocks last. So contact your consultant to order yours. 

If you don't have a consultant and live in New Zealand, please contact me, or place an order through my website.

You can also join me on Facebook and Instagram if you'd like to see more of my projects.

I'd love it if you left a comment below, before heading off to Maz Wood - aMAZing Creations.  
Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now. 

Happy crafting. 

Lynda






Monday 10 July 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog - Cape Cod


Hello, and welcome to our 'Cape Cod' Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Danielle Edwards - ScrappyChicks, then you're in the right place.

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.

Even though it is pouring with rain outside, and the fire is keeping us warm and dry indoors, we're off to the beach this month with the Cape Cod suite of papers! 

An absolutely adorable range, including all the regular options.....

The paper pack, with or without stickers.



The card making stamp set, and/or the scrapbooking stamp set. The scrapbooking stamp set has the option of thin cuts too. 


The scrapbooking workshop kit, with or without protectors.


The digital Artwork.


And of course, the card making workshop, which has some gorgeous thin cuts and an exclusive stamp set. This was the pack that first excited me, and so far, I have only purchased that and the paper pack (including stickers). I often find that those two products work really well together, with most paper ranges.

However, now that I've seen what ideas other people have come up with, I can see I'm going to want all the other components too!

But today, I have just the one layout to show you from my combination of the card making kit and papers.


This layout documents a boat trip my husband and I enjoyed with my cousin and his wife. They're relatives, but also friends, who were visiting from Australia, and we spent some time together up in the Bay of Islands, in Northland, New Zealand. On this particular day, we journeyed out, on choppy seas, to the Hole in the Rock. The skipper wasn't sure we could get through the hole in the rock, but he manoeuvred the boat expertly, so we could. 


Putting this layout together was fun. From arranging the papers that all work together so well, to making and arranging the seashells along the bottom of the left hand page.


The title was completed with two sets of thin cut letters. With the lighter Periwinkle, on top of the darker Bluebird, it creates a shadowed effect, which I think works well with the layout, and helps it to stand out against the white background.



Even the embellishments fit well with the colour palette and the theme. In case you hadn't already figured it out, I love everything about the Cape Cod range.😆 

There is a process video of this layout on my YouTube channel, which you can view here. 

I believe the card making workshop kits are now sold out, but the rest of the range is till available  until the end of August, or while stocks last. You can see the range in the July/August catalogue or on the website. 

If you don't have a consultant and live in New Zealand, I'd love to hear from you. Alternatively, you can place an order through my website.

You can also join me on Facebook and Instagram, and of course YouTube if you'd like to see more of my projects.

I'd love it if you left a comment below, before heading off to Doris Taylor - Creative Inspirations.

Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now. 

Happy crafting. 

Lynda


Sunday 25 June 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog - Hello Darlin'



Hello, and welcome to our 'Hello Darlin’ Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Doris Taylor - Creative Inspirations, then you're in the right place.

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.


We're nearly at the end of this month, so many of you will no doubt already have at least one pack of the Hello Darlin papers, and other bits and pieces from the range.

When I first saw it in the catalogue, it came across as quite a bold red, white and blue combo. We had the Kings coronation still ahead of us at that time, but unfortunately I didn't end up with any photos that would use the paper.


However.....I now have very little of the paper pack left, due to finding so many things that were suited to this colour scheme. I've also really enjoyed the digital artwork with this set. In particular the flower clusters that I've done with both cardstock and vellum.

Here's some examples of my projects with this beautiful range.

My first dive into the packet was coupled with using the 'The future is bright' stamp and thin cuts. 


The layout celebrates the graduation of one of the Assistance Dogs in New Zealand. ADNZ is a charitable organisation that raises, trains and pairs dogs with people in the community who need the help to do everyday things. The dogs are incredibly clever and each is trained to do whatever the person they're matched with needs. 



This dog is Ranger, and as he graduated, he was off to join his young charge. With Ranger by his side, the young man involved is now able to go to the supermarket, and many other places of interest that he wasn't previously able to. 

There is a process video here, if you'd like to watch it.

The video was done for a topic called 'Schools Out' 😀

A few weeks later, I completed the companion page with a process video. 


Whilst I used some red on the page for Ranger, it was only to reflect his scarf (there's a story there!), but the brand colour of ADNZ is dark blue.

So I simply cut the red stripe out of the stripes for this page. 

Using the blue stars on the left hand side links it to the left page, so the double page layout celebrates the three dogs that all graduated on the same day.


The other layout I have done with this paper pack is documenting my time in the Girls Brigade when I was a kid. The colours are perfect, as our uniform was red, white and blue. It was a fun page to put together, and I am particularly happy with the flower clusters, made with the cricut, using the Hello Darlin digital artwork. 



Of course, this  paper is ideal for cards too. I didn't get the card making kit, but have lots of off cuts that I can use to make some special cards. 




I've made a start with this gate fold card. 
The red star paper is the background to the embossed white daisy. 
The flowers along the bottom add a colourful touch, and that is repeated on the inside, making a frame for note writing. 





I also found that the flourish layer stamp set (D2109) has some delightful little rosebud stamps that work really well with this range. I've stamped three on the inside underneath the writing spot.   
There are still workshop and card making kits available in this range, along with PML cards, embellishments, and of course the digital artwork. 

If you don't have a consultant and live in New Zealand, I'd love to hear from you. Alternatively, you can place an order through my website.

You can also join me on Facebook and Instagram, and of course YouTube if you'd like to see more of my projects.

I'd love it if you left a comment below, before heading off to Danielle Edwards - Scrappychicks.

Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now. 

Happy crafting. 

Lynda













Tuesday 20 June 2023

CTMH Australasian Blog - Silhouettes




Hello, and welcome to our 'Silhouettes’ Australasian 'Blog Hop'. If you've arrived here from Lauren Moore - CTMH Craftings, then you're in the right place. 

If you've landed here by accident, then welcome to the fun! Please join in by following the link at the bottom of this blog.

As you may have guessed from the title, todays blog is all about Silhouettes.

The definition of a silhouette is: the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.

The first thing that comes to mind is a sunset or sunrise, as you look into the bright sun. When I use the camera in these situations, I've found that it's good to have a clearly discernible shape as a silhouette. For example, a person standing still can come out as a bit of a dark blob, but if you get them to do a star jump, the shape it creates has far more interest in the resulting photo. 

Another tip - if the person you're photographing has their arms folded, it will add nothing to an image, but if you get them to put their hands on their hips, it helps create more shape. 

This month CTMH has a 'stamp of the month' called Botanical Shadows. 

There are two main scenes, plus some branches and some words. Whilst it can be used with any colour ink to provide some nice looks, it also lends itself quite well to making silhouettes. I've concentrated on cards for this blog, and have done a bit of experimentation with different papers, inks and some acetate.


First up though, I'll share some basic silhouettes incorporated into black and white cards.In one, I've added a little red (candy apple), to add some colour. 


The two with black card backgrounds have been embossed through the cuttlebug, with one of the CTMH embossing folders. 


The red heart on the slimline card comes from the flourish stamp set in the current core catalogue. 


I really challenged myself with this stamp set. I was really keen to get a card or two with reflections. So, after doing some research, discovered it's possible by using some acetate to transfer the image to the bottom section. I initially tried the distress watercolour paper, but the image didn't transfer well at all with using the acetate. It was much easier to transfer on normal white daisy cardstock. My attempts are all recorded on video, so I'll try and get a video together that shows the process. In the end I did end up with a couple I'm happy with.....

This one was using our normal inks on white daisy card stock.

I stamped with archival black first, directly onto the card stock. Then I stamped the same image onto acetate, and turned it so it was a mirror image of the first stamp. Pressing down on the acetate to transfer the image in the right place worked pretty well in this instance. 

Once it was all dry, I then coloured with the inks using the mini blending tool. 


I also stamped another one the same, and coloured it with distress oxide inks (as I love the way they blend), but due to them being more opaque inks, the ink stayed on top of the trees, making them look a bit chalky. That one went in the bin!




This card was my next attempt with the distress oxide inks, which I sponged on first, and then stamped over the top. 

Again, it is using white daisy cardstock. 





There was a lot of inking and stamping (and the odd frustrated comment) that went in to getting these two reflection cards. But like all good paper crafters, I try not to throw too much away...lol. 

So my failed reflection attempts were trimmed down, and repurposed to make the following cards.


Slimline with a black background, and Sundance cardstock. The stamp comes from the 'Always near' set in the current seasonal catalogue. 

The inking on this card was with our inks, using the mini blending tool. 




This card was prepared on watercolour paper with the textured side up. The colour was added with our watercolour pencils and blended with the water brush. 

The sentiment is also from the 'Always Near' set. 

Because the original sample had to be cut to get rid of a failed reflection, I've added a strip of black below and above, along with a piece of melon at the top. 






Inked on watercolour paper, and backed with the Sundance paper from the dreammaker coordinating paper pack. 













And finally.....

a small card that is the size of half a slimline card. 







The stamp of the month is available for purchase on it's own, but if you have a qualifying purchase of $88.00 (NZD) it can be yours for $10.00. 

If you're a VIP, its free with the same qualifying purchase. 

If you want to know more about becoming a VIP, get in touch. It's well worth it!

If you don't have a consultant and live in New Zealand, I'd love to hear from you. Alternatively, you can place an order through my website.

You can also join me on Facebook and Instagram if you'd like to see more of my projects.

I'd love it if you left a comment below, before heading off to Danielle Edwards - Scrappychicks.

Thanks for reading. 

Cheers for now. 

Happy crafting. 

Lynda

Stamping on a photo with CTMH inks.

Hi there, and thanks for stopping by. Happy New Year! It's been a while since my last blog (September 2023), but hey....New Year, new pl...