Here are the last two card designs to make a total of 5 cards. Each participant will make two of each card for a total of 10 cards. For further details see the first part of this post.

I missed posting this card I made a few days ago, so here it is.

Recipe: SU Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory CS; Sweet of You Stamp Set; Basic Black, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa Inkpads; non-SU green grosgrain ribbon.

Ok, I've been reluctant to purchase blender pens as I already had the Aquabrushes and didn't see the point in having two similar products. I use the Aquabrushes to lift ink of the lid and watercolor my images. I also have the Stampin' Pastels but was disappointed when using the Aquabrushes with them as the color was so weak.

Now that my demo kit just arrived and I watched the Getting Started DVD's blender pen demo, I've been giving these blender pens a whirl with my Stampin' Pastels and I LOVE them Now I get why the pastels are so popular but you NEED to have the blender pens to get the full benefit.

If you don't have blender pens yet, get them!

Ok, I've been reluctant to purchase blender pens as I already had the Aquabrushes and didn't see the point in having two similar products. I use the Aquabrushes to lift ink of the lid and watercolor my images. I also have the Stampin' Pastels but was disappointed when using the Aquabrushes with them as the color was so weak.

Now that my demo kit just arrived and I watched the Getting Started DVD's blender pen demo, I've been giving these blender pens a whirl with my Stampin' Pastels and I LOVE them Now I get why the pastels are so popular but you NEED to have the blender pens to get the full benefit.

If you don't have blender pens yet, get them!

I don't know why, but I always seem to make cards in pairs lately. For some reason the kids were in bed super-early tonight so it gave me a chance to work on the pile of pre-stamped images on my craft desk.

This design was lightly CASEd from SU IB&C 2006-7 p.83. I did two similar cards for different occasions.

Recipe: Nice & Easy Notes, Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp sets; Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip CS; K&Co PP; Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon; Basic Black, Close to Cocoa inks.


Recipe: Nice & Easy Notes, Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp sets; Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Creamy Caramel CS; K&Co PP; Glossy Paper sandpapered and stained green; Basic Black, Close to Cocoa inks.

Link to information on acid-free, lignin-free, buffered definitions.
http://www.amigos.org/preservation/faq/preserve.html

I've been planning out my heritage scrapbook album yesterday and today but ran into some issues regarding which cardstock and stamping inks to use. It may seem an easy enough problem at first glance but let me elaborate.

Dye based inks fade over time. I've no idea how quickly but printer manufacturers suggest 20-30 average. Pigment based inks last much longer 200-300 years. Well what works for printers should be the same for stamping inks. As far as I know, Stampin Up! is the only manufacturer that has pigment based ink pads to coordinate with a line of cardstock. The only trouble is that their cardstock doesn't appear to be buffered (at least the color cardstock isn't advertised as such - the white and vanilla is). Of course, I could use another brand of cardstock but the inks wouldn't match (note, CTMH inks aren't pigment based either).

So what is buffered paper and why do you need it? Today in response to a thread I posted on SplitCoastStampers I was asked that question. Here is my response.

"Not at all, it is a good question and most people don't think about it.

Over time any paper based items will deteriorate. They will turn yellow and start to crumble until they disintegrate. You've probably seen things that look like this. This is because all regular paper items have acid and lignin in them (lignin is like the sap from the tree and is also destructive). Newspapers are really bad (they look terrible after just a few years), photographs aren't as bad but still yellow and fade (especially the color, the B&W are a bit better). And people that write in ballpoint pens on the backs of photos are adding more acid.

Now you can spray these things with a spray that supposedly neutralizes them but it is expensive. I was told that it only affects the acidity and not the lignin.

I prefer to accept that these items will eventually deteriorate. What I have done is scan them all into my computer in their current state. I will scrap the originals because it is nice to see those up close. Actually that isn't entirely true, I always make a copy of newspaper articles (on acid & lignin free paper) to scrap because you'll only get 10 years or so otherwise.

However, I'd like to slow the process of deterioration as much as possible by used acid-free, lignin-free, buffered products. Buffered products really just have a protective coating that prevents things from affecting other things in the layout (or the layout behind).

Anyway I hope this is what you're looking for, if you have any more questions about this let me know.

One tip I will pass on, is to use photo corners on all items in a heritage album. That way any items that get really bad and need to be removed or replaced can be done without destroying the layout.

Regards,
Marina "

Please feel free to comment or correct me on the above. Think ALB (acid-free, lignin-free, buffered) if you want your ALBums to last!

Thanks again to Carol and Dee for organizing the Tuesdays With Tina Art Show. I thought I'd post a few pics from the event. First up, the lovely Tina herself (center). The two large paintings on the top left are mine.