I wanted to share with you a new (to me) crafty addiction....Digital Stamps!! These have blown my mind. I cannot stop buying them!!
First off, I want to let you know that I am computer stupid. I can manage basic things, email, surfing, social media. But when it comes to more technical stuff, I get lost very quickly. This blog, for instance, wow, not easy for me!! I still don't know a quarter of the stuff you are able to do, so sadly, don't expect big changes to occur here :) So, that brings us to digital stamps. The purchase and downloading was easy...purchase, download, open file!! The printing on the other hand took me some time to figure out, and I'm still having a few issues.
I've been doing a lot of colouring with pencils lately and I use watercolour cardstock for that. I use either Canson or Strathmore most often. But that is some thick paper and unfortunately will NOT feed through my cheap HP Envy printer (from Walmart). So, I tried using cheap watercolour paper, also from Walmart, and it fed through fine. The coloured pencils work ok on it but not like the quality stuff.
I can always use practice with my alcohol markers and these images are super for that!! After numerous attempts at getting the ink NOT to smear when colouring, I finally figured out the printer settings (on my printer, anyway). You do not want to print a "quality" document. The ink does not dry! Trust me, I waited for literally days before trying to colour and the ink still bled. I changed the print setting to "draft" quality and it worked great!! I guess it lays down less ink??? I should mention I use Neenah Solar White 80b cardstock. NOTE: I still find using certain colours, like flesh colours will still make the ink bleed. Not sure why...
So, now on to some cool stuff!! There are so many awesome things about digital stamps:
1. Cost. You can get a single stamp ranging from .99 to 3.00. Digital stamp "sets" range from about 4.00 to 12.00, depending on the number of images. And, NO SHIPPING!!
2. Storage. No storage pouches, no precut cardstock, no labels, no baskets. (Although, I'm a sucker for all those things!) They are all just waiting for you nicely on your computer.
3. Instant gratification!! THERE IS NO WAITING!! The shortest wait time when I order stamps online is 7-10 business days...and that is a lot of time when you are excited to get your goodies.
4. Possibilites. They are really endless. You can twist, turn, flip, resize, add a custom sentiment...its so cool!!!
I definitely still have a lot to learn with digital stamping. I am considering buying a quality laser printer. Something where you know the ink won't bleed and is capable of handling quality cardstock.
NOTE: I still love my clear stamps and will continue to buy them. Maybe just not so many. I look through my stash of stamps and there are so many sets that I just had to have..and they have only been used once or twice..its actually quite shameful, poor things :(
Finally, this is a few of the digis I've coloured and a couple of cards made with them.
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| I created a mask by printing the image onto copy paper and fussy cutting. |
Thanks for stopping by and hanging in until the end:)
Stay Crafty!!
Laurie
I have never tried digi stamps, but they do look like a great way to get more variety and take up less space. Love the cards! Those Hallowe'en ones are so much fun! Thanks for the tips too about printing - I'll definitely need a week to spend on the technical side of it all!! Xx
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