Angie's Cards: September 2015

It is going to take a while to get all my 2015 Christmas cards downloaded from my camera and posted here. But here are a few AND the two stamp presses I made to help speed things along!

The first one was made with an Olfa quilting ruler I bought cheap at a thrift store. On the second, I used Optix Acrylic, it isn't as strong as other types and did crack a little while drilling the holes but who cares, I've had this for several years and can't buy anything else locally.

Since I used flathead machine screws rather than glu e to attach, I had to put two layers of foamy sheets on the bottom half under the screws and nuts to keep from scratching my table, first sheet had holes punched where nut would be. I used my WRMK foamy sheet mat under it as I'm stamping, to keep it level and since I have to press really hard on my name/location stamp on back. Mousepad would work as well. UPDATE: I am NOW using the thick packing foam stuff frequently found in tablet and laptop cases to cover the entire bottom.

I used my WRMK mini mat that I got in a WRMK tool set. It and the super strong magnetic ruler that came with it are all you really need. I made a couple of other rulers with weaker magnets to use as helpers. Sometimes the stamp/ink combo will stick to the cardstock and I want the to stay in the exact position until I'm done stamping. I've seen the silver super strong button magnets available at my local True Value Hardware. Those would be great unless you have kids or pets that might swallow one. The doughnut shaped Super Magnet shown was bought at Home Depot, they have both tiny and the bigger ones.

As for the WRMK magnetic mini mat, as of August 2016, some Tuesday Mornings have JUST the mat for sale and Walmart.com has JUST the mat and ALSO the entire WRMK tool set that includes the mat if you need it. I got the set originally spring 2015 because of the reverse tweezers, wanted and needed the rest but especially the tweezers! The picture at Walmart might show pink but it might be turquoise instead.

LOVE this for white ink since it is so difficult to get right the first time. I just line up my first card the way I'll be doing them all, Line up the stamp OR stamps where I need them, lower the top to attach the stamps. Obviously, you see that you need the stamps kept CLEAN? :) Ink the stamp, you'll easily see if you got too much ink on the top acrylic sheet, then lower to stamp. Reink any bad spots and try again!

Here is the first two I made, the second two are below.

Here is a closeup of the first one. This is before I took it apart and made it better.

Here is the one smaller one I made for a friend with one 8x10 sheet cut in half, she requested the smaller size and wanted the hinges on the wider side. I personally like the hinges better on the shorter side for longer reach. Mat is just laying on the inside cover, for use, you would washi tape it in so it is easy to remove if necessary. You can rearrange if you want the hinges on the right or left, top or bottom.

Here is the 8x10 version. I need to upload the newer picture, I wound up having an entire sheet of the foamy packing material under the bottom, not the ugly green sticky foamy under the screws. I just washi tape the magnetic mat on the inside of the bottom cover for easy removal. It wasn't taped down at all in this picture. As I said above, you can rearrange it so the hinges are on the right or left, top or bottom.