Sunday, March 17, 2013

Playing with PhotoPolymer (Our new, limited CLEAR stamps!)

I was SO curious to try out our new, truly clear, photopolymer stamp set, and to see if the image quality truly is better than the clear stamps I've used (and been disappointed with) in the past. Well, I am IMPRESSED!!

The very first thing I did was try out the ability to shape the banner and arrows, and when I "hung" the banner and stamped it (using a fairly dry, very OLD Basic Black pad, which STILL looked fairly crisp with the stamp), my 5 year old said "That looks like teeth!" And so, I decided I had to make a cute monster card ;) The "hair" is leaves cut off of the Little Leaves Sizzlit, and I used the Itty Bitties and one of the clear stamps for the "sentiment" (clearly this monster doesn't speak proper English).


Now I'll show you some more "action shots" of the new set...

Here I wanted to test the theory that these will work best with the new foam pads. On the left is my Firm trial in Midnight Muse and Gumball Green, which were VERY crisp and clear. On the right though, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my old linen style Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade, both of which are nearly two years old, used frequently and have never been re-inked yet, STILL came out quite crisp and clear! YAY :)

Next I tried a few things at once... I wanted to see the arrow curved, I wanted to see if the image was just as clear with a very light color (also an old linen pad), and I wanted to figure out how to line up words that aren't "straight" and match the image perfectly. (Straight words are easy to line up directly on the block).

As you can see, even with Pink Pirouette it's a crisp, clean image. And to line up the word to match the curve of the arrow, I lined the letters up on the image and THEN placed the block onto the word, and then inked and stamped. Perfect!




Here, you can see the normal staining left on the used stamps, but rest assured, these clean off just as nicely as our red rubber, and the staining does not affect or transfer to future stamping. Overall, I'm excited to have the flexibility (literally!) and versatility of this stamp medium for some upcoming special sets!



Here are the Challenges I'm entering this Monster card for:

Pile It On - Circles and/or Squares
Try Stampin' On Tuesday - Sketch
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - One for the Boys
Riley and Company - Yellow, Green and Blue
By Lori Designs - Use the color GREEN
Stampin' for the Weekend - Child's Play
Pause Dream Enjoy - Anything Goes
ABC Challenges - J for Just as you like it
Fab and Funky - Add a sentiment (I hope my "monster speak" counts, lol!)
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes
V's Sweet Ideas - Masculine
Anything Goes - Seeing Double (While technically, the monster's eyes are the qualifier, it also kind of looks like HE'S seeing double ;) )


17 comments:

  1. What a bright, fun card! Love how you have used the sketch. Thanks for playing with us this week at Try Stampin' On Tuesday :)

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  2. This is just adorable! I love that sweet silly monster, and all the color touches you've used on this super fun and creative card. Thank you SO much for sharing with us in our challenge this week. We are blessed to have you share your neautiful art with us, and I really hope you will be back soon to share more of your wonderful talents with us.
    We enjoy your fellowship and sweet, fun crafting style!
    Blessings,
    Karen
    Word Art Wednesday

    P.S. Please please stop by V's Sweet Ideas to share this darling monster card in our Masculine Challenge this month. We would LOVE to have you play along with us there as well. We also have a GREAT little shop with AWESOME low shipping charges. You can check us out here:
    www.vssweetideas.com - V's Sweet Shop
    www.vssweetideas.blogspot.com - V's Sweet Challenges

    Thanks again for joining us at Word Art Wednesday!!

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  3. What a fun & fantastic card! I love how you used the banner as his teeth - what a great idea. That monster is just the cutest! I love him. Thank you for playing along with us at Try Stampin' on Tuesday.

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  4. Hee hee! What a fab card. Love how you've used the bunting stamp for teeth. Great take on the layout too.

    Thanks for playing along with us at Fab'n'Funky Challenges.

    Rachel x

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  5. FUN card! Lovin' this little monster you created. Bright and cheery, made me smile. Thanks for sharing with us at Try Stampin on Tuesday. Love it!

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  6. Love that cookie monster. Thank you for joining us at AbC's Challenge! Good luck and I hope we see more of your lovely work in our next challenge!

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  7. What a fab creation! From the banner for teeth to the leaves for hair, he sure is a cute monster!
    Thanks for Piling It On with us at Pile It On!

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  8. LOL.. very clever!! love the seeing double pun.. wonderful design..
    Thank you for joining us this week at Anything Goes Challenge Blog! ! good luck in the draw.
    Hugs Tamara
    PS I have blog candy to give away on my blog Posh Cat Crafts!

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  9. Fantastic fun card.
    Thanks for playing along with us at Anything Goes.
    Hugs, Janine xx

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  10. Your monster is so cool - great use of the new stamp. Thanks for playing along at TSOT.

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  11. Love the fun monster-he speaks cookie, right? Very cute!!!! Thanks for sharing with us at Pause Dream Enjoy this week!
    Michelle PDE DT

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  12. This made me smile. Love the cheery colors and lay-out. Thanks for blessing us this week with your project at Word Art Wednesday. Have an awesome day.

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

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  13. Wonderful card! That banner makes excellent teeth. Love that circle DP. Thanks for joining in the fun with Pile It On! Best, CG

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  14. Fab card - love those teeth!

    Thanks for joining us at Stampin' For the Weekend for our Child's Play challenge!

    Hugs

    Julie! X

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  15. hehehe! This is so funny! I love it! Thanks for joining us at V's Sweet Ideas!
    Lisa

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  16. Ohhh, this card is wicked FUN!!!! It made me smile!!! LOVE the silly face and how you used the swiss dots to add texture to the head! (: Thank you so much for playing along with us at V's Sweet Challenge!

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  17. Super cute! Thanks so much for playing along with us at By LORi Designs Challenge!

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