Stocks I used and where I got them:

• 12x12 Brenda Walton paper
  US purchase
• 12x12 stock - Bazzil Monochromes Pink- 3S at the SM Makati Office Depot
• 8x8 stock - Bazzil Olive Green - Smile (Hobbes and Landes) Greenbelt 3 Makati
• The Third Dimension Stand-Outs Christina Cole Stickers by Provocraft - Smile (Hobbes and Landes) Rockwell (ok, I just have to say this - Wow! - I got all of 'em!)
• Orange Brads by Filstar - National Bookstore Glorietta
• Americana Deco Art Acrylic Paint Royal Fushia- CraftWorld Market Market
• Embossing Powder Gold, Platinum, Silver, Clear and Rainbow - Memorybox Robinsons Galleria
• Decorating Chalks Pastel Palette - Memory Box Robinsons Galleria
• Fibers - Memory Box Robinsons Galleria
• Brown Ribbon - Carolina's SM Megamall
• Brown Suede - Simple Joys SM Megamall

Tools I used and where I bought them:

• Making Memories Alphabet Foam Stamps - Happy Scrappers Club Store
• Metallic Gel Pens - Silver and Red - Memory Box Robinsons Galleria
• Zig Emboss Scroll and Brush Waterbased Ink - Smile (Hobbes and Landes) Rockwell (You have to have this if you are dead serious with metallic embossing! One great shopping find!)
• Zig Dotta Riffics - - Smile (Hobbes and Landes) Rockwell
• Heat Embossing Gun - 3S National Bookstore Glorietta
• Foam Spatula - CraftWorld Market Market
• Coluzzel and Coluzzel Tag Template - Smile (Hobbes and Landes) Rockwell
• cheap craft knife at National Bookstore Glorietta

When I said wow, I meant WOW - these Provocraft 3D embellishments really "rock!"

Articles coming soon about:

• Zig Dotta Riffics!
• More Acrylic Painting
• or send me an email what you want me to write about at ohmy{at}myscrapworks.com (just change the {at} sign to the proper email symbol as I hate spambots flooding my inbox with junk mail :(

Inspired by Brenda Walton and creatively-challenged by my recent purchase of Making Memories foam alphabet stamps from the Happy Scrappers Club Store I began my experiment in achieving the "effortless," laid back, shabby-chic look of Brenda Walton (For those whose eyebrows are raised by now, kindly try and bring them down. :) well I can dream can't I? ;-)

Before we start, here are a few things to remember in doing this and any design for that matter that makes use of the following tools (trust me, this looks a long read but could very well save you lot of money and costly layout mistakes!)

Foam Stamps

Lala of the Happy Scrappers Club told me that the best way to care for your foam stamps is to never use them for your regular inks as they will harden in time and become useless eventually. Use foam stamps with acrylic only she said (There goes metallic embossing for me!) The second thing she told me (quite late as I already used my stamps 12 hours before she sent me this SMS tip) is to have a ready basin of water when you go use your stamps with acrylic paint.

After stamping your image on your paper, immediately tissue-off any excess paint (carefully as foam stamps could get deformed!) and immerse/clean your foam stamps in the ready basin of water.

Then proceed cleaning them more thoroughly under running water until all traces of paint is off (try to get all of it off as much as you can without damaging or distorting the delicate foam!

Acrylic Stamping

One thing I figured is to use foam “spatulas” in applying acrylic paint on my stamps instead of pouring acrylic paint on a small container and dipping my stamps in the pigment. One, it enables you to completely cover your stamp without using too much paint (over saturation) and two, it eliminates the need to pour back any acrylic paint in excess back to your bottle after you are stamping.

Foam spatulas will also enable you to just “brush” paint in your stamp should you need to keep applying paint for your project. Clean your foam spatula the way you would your foam – immediately wipe off and rinse in water.

Choosing Acrylic Paints

I was all set to go buy the acrylic 3-bottle set of Making Memories when I became curious with what the saleslady of Craft World in Market Market told me. She said that the Americana Deco Art Acrylic Paint isn't only archival safe but the paint manages to completely cover stamping designs in just one brush of paint. She assured me that I wouldn't need to brush several times to completely cover my design as the acrylic paint completely covers in one stroke. Uhmmmm…. I had to try it for myself so I bought some.

There was another brand with oh-so-beautiful colors but the store saleswoman didn't assure me the same way in terms of coverage. I opted for Americana because of the assurance and the bright wonderful colors! I got me the Royal Fuchsia, the Lemon Yellow, the Sapphire, the Lavender, the Orange Tangelo and the Festive Green for my INITIAL stocks – I plan to buy more Americana ! I love it! And you know what? After pouring a bit of paint unto my foam spatula (kasing laki ng beinte singko), I simply brushed once on my design, stamped on my paper and voila, Americana delivers! More so, I didn't have to “re-load” my spatula as it kept on covering my letters 2 or three more times before I needed to pour acrylic into it again. Nifty! (I promise to update you if Making Memories acrylic paint delivers the same way if not better than Americana Deco Art Acrylics!)

For Metallic Embossing

Draw on or completely cover the area using your Zig Emboss special pen and immediately cover the entire area with the metallic embossing powder of your choice. Do not “ink” everything and THEN powder everything since the “ink” would tend to dry quickly before you finish everything leaving you with no “tack” by the time you cover the area with powder. Patience. Patience. Patience. Like acrylic foam stamping, do it one step at the time or you will ruin your design.

My three precious Zig Embossing pens, my two metallic gel pens, Dotta Riffic Pen, Coluzzel Knife, craft knife and embossing gun. (I'm out to buy the entire Dotta Riffic pen colors and will try to come out with a to-do article on them soon!)

Chalking

To be on the safe side, use the nearest color of chalk to cover the white edges of any paper design or cut you have. You can always go for another darker shade without harming your design if you are not satisfied. The rule of thumb is to always go from light to dark, applying the darkest chalk shade for last. Since I wanted to achieve a “natural” look, I opted to use the nearest color shade I can find to my paper and my design. Never use your fingers to apply chalk! Your fingers have a natural acidity and you would end up adding acid into your “acid-free” layout unknowingly! A tip I learned from Gina of Memorybox - Use cotton buds or cotton balls in applying and smudging respectively. Don't use the same soiled cotton buds and balls in applying another chalk color as it would mix up your chalk palette making your chalk multi-hued for your next use! Use fresh ones for every color!

Not tired reading through this yet? Click here to proceed to the How-To Steps! >>>