5 More Crafty Items I No Longer Buy What I Use Instead

[@lisablatt7287]

Thanks for sharing, but I do recommend cleaning stamps as I had to throw away stamps that won’t make an impression anymore because the ink went dry and cracked the rubber and the polymer😢

[@kkrolf2782]

😢 I sympathize, friend.

[@99zanne]

I have a friend who wanted to get into card making and has a tiny budget. Best thing ever for me - I have gone through my studio a bit at a time, and given her my duplicates ( I used to teach) and my perfectly good but I don’t use items. She is delighted and having fun. I am happy knowing it has gone to a good home and I have room in my studio! TFS.

[@RachelRamey]

I think punches are still superior to dies for particular uses. e.g. I'd rather have a punch for something like rounding corners or making tag ends, where it would be inconvenient to have to keep passing something through the die cutting machine repeatedly. It just depends on what it's for.

[@marycollier1293]

Great advise. I agree with you about the letter stickers. I usually messed them up trying to adhere them evenly.

[@mystichris1543]

Bet my stickers are older than yours!! Thanks for this video - you touched on all the right things.

[@ButterflyDezines]

I've also moved to buying things that I can get more use out of like dies. I found my style of cardmaking is similar to yours so enjoying your videos. Love creative fabrica and pretty grafik. I've been using the flat stickers on smaller note cards that I don't want too much dimension or it's great to put on the outside of an envelope. Otherwise I use it in my memory journal or give it to the kids to play with :) thanks for your great videos

[@Cards4Cancer]

Great information here Jess. I have made a point this year to use up the racks and booklets of patterned papers I have had for years. You scrap busting templates have been immensely helpful. I have made several thousand cards from your designs, and I can't begin to thank you enough for that. The cards I make for cancer patients range from babies to men, women, holidays etc. So my stamp collection has helped more this year than ever. Since I am making so many batches of cards, I can stamp the designs for what I am using that day, and then make as many copies as I need. Sentiment strips I have made, are tremendously helpful. I rarely buy sticker pages, but would love to get more ephemera. I followed your suggestion for creative fabrica and found so much to add to my collection. My money goes so much further going this route. I am asking for a new printer for Christmas with the ink wells. I think this will be the most cost effective use if my limited budget. As I am disabled the funds are truly laughable considering the drastic price increases on everything this year. I have been forced to trim my budget to basic minimums. I am still struggling to find the money to purchase the 5000 envelopes for the cards I have made personally. Your bedget conscious videos mean so much to me. I have a video coming out soon using your designs. Yes, I will link to your YT channel and website. I truly feel this year I have greatly benefited from your experience. I look forward to getting more sponsors for the Cancer challenge, so that I can sponsor the channels that have been so essential to me meeting my goal of making 5000 cards this year. I still hope to share the information about the card drive so it can continue to reach as many patients all over our beautiful country. One step at a time. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. 🥰🥰🥰

[@MichelleM-kp2gm]

Hi Karla! Does your channel have a link like to an Amazon wishlist to donate envelopes to you? If not, you should set one up. I bet your subscribers would help out and donate envelopes. I know I would donate some!

[@kzeender]

I agree with Michelle. I can never find the time to make enough cards to donate working full time and having gone back to school full time but I would donate envelopes.

[@Cards4Cancer]

@@MichelleM-kp2gm I tried to link an Amazon store, but I don't have enough followers for them to approve me. I checked into link tree and would end up paying as much for that as I would envelopes. I had 2 of the ladies who have donated cards this year, order a box of 250 envelopes and had Amazon deliver them here. I was shocked and felt very blessed. Our YT channel and FB group have all the information. I have tried contacting several craft vendors to see if they might want to sponsor this years card drive. I was going to put their information on all the videos showing donated cards as well as mention them in the letter that will go in the packets with the 5 cards. That will be about 1400 homes.

[@JessCrafts]

You don't need to be approved to share a wishlist. You won't earn a commission, but people could buy items from your list and Amazon will deliver them to you. It's kind of like a wedding registry.

[@Cards4Cancer]

@@JessCrafts Jess, forgive me I could have sworn I had replied to you to ask how I set the delivery to come here. I had my granddaughter check and it was still sending it to her home. I couldn't find that in options anyway. Can you tell me how to fix that? 🥰

[@JoanOrloffDK]

Great informative video Jess ❤️ thanks for sharing and happy crafting Hugs xx

[@nancyscjones]

Thank you for your insight. I'd actually been feeling guilty that I did not "clean" my stamps. I remove the extra ink by stamping on a paper towel until there's no impression. I've got several favorite stamps that are close to 40 years old that are still in great condition. I've always been afraid that soap and water would cause more damage than ink residue.

[@ingrid2543]

Ah! That’s why my markers bled, thin lined stamps. Thank goodness I love lawn fawn, sunny studio, Avery Elle etc. I just wipe my stamps with a damp microfiber cloth or the shammy.

[@jesseb5112]

Great video!!! I agree with your tips, except that I have had things stamp weird when I haven't cleaned. I've gone from not cleaning to cleaning. Different strokes for different folks. I would add that if you have a set, or colors you choose, of a line you like, you don't need to try 10 other brands. Examples would include watercolor pencils, colored pencils, watercolors, alcohal inks... etc.

[@JessCrafts]

Great tip about sets. I think it can be tempting to try a new ink line, for example, but if you're happy with what you have there is probably no need.

[@AimeeFleck]

I agree with all of this… but I still buy thickers and those types of letters. I still adore them lol

[@JessCrafts]

It's all about what makes you happy!

[@MissOnigur]

Yeah, I don't really clean my stamps either. Unless I'm using another color, I'll wipe with my shammy. Something else I don't really "clean" are my stencils! I'll also use my shammy to just swipe over it, especially if just used ink.

[@WallflowerCardCo]

I’m confused…if you don’t clean stamps, don’t colors (left on stamp) mix with next ink pad? This can contaminate a pad! Not to mention leaving a strange mix of colors on paper. Or am I missing something? Also, how on earth do you not get ink all over your fingers removing stamp and putting it back with its set? It never fails I get inky fingers just crafting! 😮

[@christineh3866]

I think she lets the ink dry on stamp and then she can use it again without mixing the colors.

[@JessCrafts]

As Christine mentioned, the ink will dry on the stamp so no cross contamination. But I use the same 'pink' brush in multiple pink inks while stenciling for instance and don't see any problem with them. I wouldn't use a wet brush with black ink on a yellow pad for instance but when the colors are similar it seems fine. I use primarily dye ink. Pigment ink should be cleaned because it takes forever to dry. I've smudged pigment ink literally months later and so it's not for me. Sometimes if I'm putting a stamp away quickly after using it will get my hands inky but I have the tidy towel as a back up for the rare time when I'm working quickly and really need to get something clean. Of course you should do what works for you and your supplies.

[@azcrafty]

My friend heat embossing the images before she colors them. Actually it looks great and helps her to stay inside the lines

[@bunnylands916]

One more reason to love heat embossing!

[@adorableadornments1101]

The nice thing about dies is that they can emboss stitching too. Cricut doesn't come out very good.

[@JessCrafts]

Very true. I love dies, but they can get pricey.

[@norinemueller4588]

Great video I agree with all you said

[@adorableadornments1101]

Use embossing powder on the thin line stamps before you color them.

[@JessCrafts]

That may work for some mediums but can damage brush tips on markers over time. Also markers like Copics absorb into the paper so embossing sitting on top will not completely contain them. However each person should do what they find works best for them and based on their own comfort levels.

[@gingerpayne7310]

Amazing tips, what is your favorite alphabet stamp set? I am looking for a set.

[@JessCrafts]

I really like the ones from Lawn Fawn because they have extra material around the letters that allow everything to be lined up. Basically each stamp is a rectangle to line up rather than cut to the letter shape.

[@kkrolf2782]

QUESTION, JESS … Have you ever tried to REVERSE PRINT the images from the “??? Fabrica” site? (I’ve never heard of that site before, but I have often thought to buy a Die, only to dismiss the idea, as the image would be posed in the opposite direction from what I was thinking as be suited to my idea. And, a reverse die cut always seems to be “upside down”!)

[@JessCrafts]

Hi! Yes you can reverse the images and print them. So you could for instance have two characters facing each other. Hope that helps.

[@nancylowery9966]

I never know what to do with all the letters I get in kits.

[@JessCrafts]

They are great for kids activities. Maybe a teacher in your area could use them.

[@erinwood4968]

What was your tip for the spray bottle? 🤔 Thanks for this video, I too have a small budget for crafting.

[@JessCrafts]

I was using the spray bottle to represent a bottle of stamp cleaner but I don't actually own any stamp cleaner to use in the picture. Sorry if that was unclear.

[@erinwood4968]

@@JessCrafts There’s nothing to apologize for 😉 I do clean my stamps with mild soap and a soft toothbrush, just so ink doesn’t get clogged in the small areas.

[@kathybost1879]

one thing I don't like are "punny" sentiments. good video

[@MichelleM-kp2gm]

That's so funny! Puns are my favorite. The corny-er the better🤭

[@JessCrafts]

It's so helpful to realize what you like. Keeps from getting cute o pretty supplies that sit unused.

[@carrieclark636]

How do you prevent contaminating your ink pads when you don’t clean your stamps?

[@JessCrafts]

Dye ink dries on your stamps so unless you are changing colors quickly or you are using pigment inks it's not really an issue. I will clean stamps if I'm using pigment inks or changing colors in a single session.

[@carrieclark636]

@@JessCrafts Thank you for the information. I’m going to give it a go.

[@Ninjamom4]

❤️❤️❤️

[@JessCrafts]

Thanks for watching!

[@charlesmangum2100]

You choose your paper to match the coloring media you want to use. Yes, your problem with Copics is your paper. I will clean my stamps, thank you.