The Sunset House

*Yawn* I just woke up at 1pm! NyQuil really knocks a person out. Hubs gave me a cold (a really bad one), so rather than spread the germies around at my office, I took a sick day. It’s nice to be home, but not so fun breathing out of one nostril.

I made a holiday card over the weekend with the most adorable holiday stamp set. I thought I’d be done with my holiday cards by now, but I have a ways to go! Now that we’re married, Hubs says we get to mail out holiday cards with cheesy newsletters, updating everyone on our annual happenings. Hubs is a cheesy guy and he really likes that stuff. We’re such stereotypical boring married people now!

Card Recipe (all supplies SU unless noted): Deer Friends stamp set (hostess set), SU card stock in riding hood red and whisper white, Bazzil textured cardstock in blue, ribbon in riding hood red, ink colors in baja breeze, old olive, riding hood red, chocolate chip, 1 3/8 circle punch

So, some readers have been leaving comments wondering, what the heck is a Gocco? I’m sure the people who hopped over to my blog from Weddingbee already know what a Gocco is. However, in the stamping world, Gocco isn’t in our vocabulary. Gocco is used for mass producing and has nothing to do with rubber, while stamps are… well, not so great with the mass producing thing. I’ll explain a little bit about the Gocco and share some links where you can find more info.

The Gocco is basically an at-home screen printing machine for paper. It can be used to print on fabrics also, but most people use it for paper goods, like stationery and wedding invitations. Using screens that are carbon sensitive, a design printed with a laser printer or photocopier (or any machine that uses carbon to print), plus two Gocco flash bulbs (like the kind that were once used with old school cameras), a Gocco owner can burn a pattern into a screen. Then, ink is applied to the screen, the screen is installed back into the print machine, and the design is ready to be stamped onto paper. Sounds confusing? It’s really not. Gocco can be intimidating at first, but I found it was incredibly easy to use. I’m planning to make more prints soon, so I’ll post a video in the future.

I’m thinking about creating some designs to sell on Etsy. I’ve been so busy, the poor shop has been empty. Gocco will probably be easier than rubber stamping for mass producing inventory to sell.

For my first Gocco project, I made a stash of flat 4 bar thank you notes. I created a design with the motif that my brother and future sister in law will be using in their 2009 wedding. They generously bought me the Gocco machine because I’ll be helping them with their invitations, so I wanted to do a practice design using their wedding element. I only wasted one screen during the burning process. Not bad for my first time!

For the cherry blossom print, I used two screens: One for the pink ink and one for the brown. If the colored areas had not been so close together, I would’ve been able to do everything on one screen and separate the colors using ink blocking material.

Here, you can see the ink smooshed around.

And here’s my first lovely print. I ran these cards through the printer twice (one time for each color). The ink dries pretty quickly and I was able to finish the project in only a few hours.

The prints above are waiting to dry before I proceed with round two. With Gocco, you can make hundreds of prints using the same screen. It’s a handy little tool for mass producing.

When I printed with the second screen, I learned that the foam blocking material saves a lot of wasted ink. It prevents the ink from spreading around and forces the screen to print evenly. I’m glad I’m learning all this before I print my brother’s invitations.

The finished card! Jesse + Stina (<–brother + FSIL), if you’re reading this, I saved a stack of these little cards for you guys! You can send them to your early wedding gift givers.

For those new to Gocco, you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about the printer right here: http://www.weddingbee.com/tag/gocco/ and here: http://www.diylife.com/2007/12/14/diy-definitions-print-gocco/

Unfortunately, as I mentioned yesterday, Riso stopped making supplies for the little machine. I’ve been buying boxes of bulbs here and there and I’ve built up a nice little stash for myself, but I could definitely use more. It’s too bad, because this machine is really awesome!

My poor neglected stamps. I’ve been giving them so much attention up until this past weekend. I broke in my Gocco for the very first time, and I am officially addicted to this little machine! Seriously, I am in love. If I had this baby last year before our wedding, I would’ve Gocco-ed everything in sight. I probably would’ve said my vows in a Gocco-ed wedding dress. Now that I’ve discovered how awesome, fun, and easy it is to Gocco, it makes me even more sad to know that Riso stopped manufacturing supplies. I hope someone invents Gocco alternatives soon!

I didn’t have time to upload pictures today, but hopefully soon! Here’s to a short Monday (and rest of rest of the week too). Weekends are so short, aren’t they? *Sign.* I live for my craft-filled Saturdays and Sundays.

Just a quickie post for today!

Here’s yet another card from one of my favorite birthday sets that I’ve used a million times over. This time, I used the scalloped circle punch to align with the celebrate you stamp. I just love when things coordinate. Fun stuff!

Card Recipe (all supplies stampin up unless noted):Party Hearty stamp set, card stock in bashful blue, pumpkin pie, and old olive, designer paper in summer picnic, whisper white 1/4 in ribbon, Heidi Swapp flower, button from Walmart

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I did it. I bought another die cutting machine.

I thought I had all that I needed in my Cuttlebug. And then, I met the Big Shot and promptly fell in love. When I ordered this machine, it was back ordered and I had to wait a month for it to ship! There’s still a long waiting list for it, I believe. However, it was totally worth the wait. I still adore my Cuttlebug and I use it for many things. But, the Cuttlebug only cuts through paper, while the Big Shot cuts through 30 different materials, including chipboard, felt, and thin sheets of metal and wood! So. Cool. I’ve been wanting to make my own chipboard dies for ages. Now, I can make my own felt flowers and embellishments too. I’m also excited that SU came out with exclusive dies for the Big Shot (including the Top Notes die below). I’m hoping they come out with some dies that match stamp sets soon!

Here’s the first card I made with the Big Shot:

Card Recipe (all supplies Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted): Big Shot Top Notes die, Upsy Daisy (111710), Frames with a Flourish (111041), and Flight of the Butterfly (111564) stamp sets, card stock/ink in kraft, old olive, pixie pink, and pink passion, hemp twine and pink rhinestone from Michaels

And here’s a close up of the Big Shot.

*Sigh.* I heart you.

This weekend, I’m going to put the stamp sets away and break in the Gocco. I’ve been meaning to make a set of printed thank you cards for one of my friends. Wish me luck on my first Gocco run!

Today, I’m going to talk about mounting unmounted rubber stamps. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while because I know many people have ordered Stampin’ Up stamps already, so I apologize for the delay! Better late than never, right?

First, let me break down the components of a rubber stamp:

1. Die - The rubber part of the stamp where ink is applied
2. Foam Cushion - The padding between the die and the wood
3. Mount - The wood block that the foam is attached to
4. Index - The sticker used to identify the stamp

So, as I mentioned before, Stampin’ Up stamps come unmounted. The rubber and the foam are already adhered together, while the wood block and sticker come separate.

Some stamps come die cut, so you can simply pop them out of the rubber frame. Stampin’ Up is moving towards having all their sets die cut. Soon, we won’t need to cut the extra rubber by hand (hooray!). Even with die cut stamps, sometimes I still cut the rubber a little closer to keep the excess rubber from accidentally inking and messing up my stamped image. The less extra rubber, the more likely I’ll get a clean stamped image.

For the stamps that are not die cut (sets that were carried over from previous catalogs), before mounting the stamps onto the wood, you’ll want to cut the excess rubber away. Take a pair of sharp scissors (SU rubber scissors work the best) and snip the excess rubber away from the stamp using straight cuts (not curved!). The reason we cut in straight lines is to ensure that the rubber and foam backing are  lined up correctly. This gives the rubber die stability and will help the images come out bold and crisp.

Snip snip, in nice, straight lines.

Don’t worry if the cuts look messy. It doesn’t affect the image quality.

It’s ok to used a slightly curved cut if there is no other way to cut close to the stamp (like inside the moon image above). Just leave a few extra millimeters of space from the image.

Once you’re done cutting, adhere the rubber to the wood, remembering that the images is mirrored from the sticker.

Now, I’m going to show you a neat trick on how to get your rubber image and your sticker to line up exactly on your stamp. (Feel free to skip the following steps if you’re not anal retentive like me.) First, take the stamp that you just mounted and your Stamp-a-ma-jig tool (stamp positioner), then stamp the image onto the plastic imaging sheet that comes with the tool.

You’ll have the imaging sheet with your stamped image aligned perfectly to the corner.

Next, flip the stamped sheet upside down so that the inked side is touching the table and the dry side is facing up. Take a small piece of double sided tape (or removable adhesive like the one I’m using above) and stick the adhesive onto the sheet.

Take your image sticker and turn it upside down so that the sticky side is facing up. Line the sticker up exactly with the stamped image and lower it until it sticks to the piece of tape on the imaging sheet.

Now, take the stamp positioner and line it up with the corner of the imaging sheet.

Take your wood block with the rubber stamp, turn it upside down so that the rubber is facing up, and  slowly lower the stamp onto the sticker.

Voila! A perfectly aligned stamp. Of course, you don’t have to go through all these steps if you don’t want to. Stamping is not an exact science, so it’s perfectly fine to approximate stamp placement.

After all the stamps are mounted on their respective wood blocks, the only thing that is left is to label the plastic box that comes with the stamp set. Included on the index sticker sheet, there’s a slim line label with the set name.

Remove the label from the sticker sheet and adhere it to the box. The label also notes the number of stamps in the set, so you will know if you’re missing a stamp.

And that, my friends, is how to mount a stamp. Of course, you don’t have to mount a stamp in the center of the wood block like I do. I just like to center mount because I can apply even pressure when I stamp. Some people like to mount their stamps along the bottom or corners of the wood block so that they can line up the image easily when they stamp. That’s the beauty of mounting your own stamps. It’s all up to you!

Does getting older always equal getting busier? As I’ve been growing in age, my time has become more and more valuable to me. Recently, I feel like I never have any down time; there’s always something pending on my to-do list. In the past, I’d refuse pay for convenience because I thought it was a waste of money. Now, my time is money. I’d gladly pay more for gas if the station is en route to my workplace. I find myself ordering take-out more often because cooking takes so much time.  Gone are the days when I’d visit three Ross stores to find the perfect pair of black pumps on sale. Now, I’ll shop online and even pay extra to have merchandise shipped to my door. What is it about getting older and feeling pressed for time? I admit, lack of time is one of the reasons I’m afraid to have kids. I want kids for sure, but I know that once those suckers pop out, I’ll have even less time for myself than I do now. Scary.

In any case, I must love blogging, because I always find time to post a little something as often as I can.

How do you guys find ways to manage your time and relieve the business of life?

Card Recipe (all supplies Stampin’ Up unless noted): Upsy Daisy (111710) and Frames with a Flourish (111041) stamp sets, ink and card stock in chocolate chip, kiwi kiss, bashful blue, and whisper white, designer paper in summer picnic (111355), stampin’ dimensionals, Fiskars scalloped border punch, PTI ribbon in spring moss