Wild About You

I have a post for Anna's Craft Cupboard and a handmade gift rather than a card to share with you today :)

But firstly I'd like to tell you a little about a new tool I bought a few weeks ago, the Tim Holtz Stamp Platform.

I had read quite a bit about it before buying it and it definitely lives up to the hype.
It is absolutely wonderful!
I have only had it a few weeks but I feel like it's an essential tool now.
I will never stamp without it again!
And I wonder how I ever did without it!

There are so many great things about this stamp platform but I thought I would write down in no particular order....

 My Top 10 Reasons Why It's Brilliant  

1. You can stamp and re-stamp until you're satisfied with your stamped image.  This will save SO much paper.  No more throwing away images and cards because you're not happy with how they've stamped.
2. You can use it with rubber and clear stamps.  You simply turn the lid over which is really quick and easy. "Rubber" and "clear" is marked on the lid.
3. The top has an easy to see grid moulded into it which lets you position stamps more easily and allows for perfect placement. This is particularly great with clear stamps if you are using letter stamps, sentiments or are trying to get something in a straight line for example.
4. It's very sturdy and well made and easy to clean with a baby wipe.
5. Measurements along the top and side in metric and imperial and these won't rub off.
6. You can use any size of paper in it!
7. It's great for hard to ink images like background stamps or other stamps that you have trouble with.
8. Very easy to use and gives a great image without the need to press down as hard as you do with a block. Fantastic for people with arthritis or other issues with their hands/arms.  Less pressure needed.
9. Perfect for stamping identical cards, such as invitations or Christmas cards.  
10. I can finally stamp a sentiment straight onto an almost finished card without ruining the whole thing!!!!! Yay!

If you do any stamping at all, you need one of these!
As you can probably tell, I really, really love mine :)


Anyway, onto the actual project :)

I had the chance to play with a new MFT stamp called Wild About You.
There are 4 different African animals in this fun set and it could be used for so many different types of cards.
But I thought I would use it to make a cute baby gift and instead of buying a gift bag I decided to make my own.
Well, I didn't exactly "make" it to be honest, there was no sewing involved at all.
But I bought this plain calico bag and decorated it :)

I have never stamped on fabric before so I can't speak from experience. But I did some research and found that there are inks specifically for fabric but that you can also use Pigment Inks and heat set them to make them permanent.
I decided to try Brilliance Graphite Black.
I don't think it would matter too much what ink I used though as this is not something that would be washed much anyway.
I could have also coloured the giraffes but I liked the more plain, graphic look.

So here's a little about how I made the bag, if you'd like to give it a try too :)

• I measured the bag (25x29cm) and cut a piece of paper slightly smaller.  Then I stamped the giraffes in a row as I would on the bag, trying out different spacing until I was happy.  I decided I liked the look of 5 and worked out that I needed to start 1" from the edge and move the piece 1.5" after each stamping.

• I cut a piece of card smaller than the bag and placed it inside, in case the ink went through onto the other side of the bag.  

• I wanted the giraffes to be in a line across the bottom of the bag and because of the bag's size it meant I had turn the bag around and have the bottom of it against the top edge of the Stamp Platform.

• You would also usually put your work into the top left corner of the Platform and hold it in place with the super strong magnets.  But with this bag I had to work from the right hand side instead.  This is because there is a raised edge on the left and top of the Platform whereas the right side and bottom are flat to allow for larger pieces than the platform to be used.

• I could have kept moving the stamp across the lid instead of moving the bag but then it wouldn't be quite as even and straight along the bottom and you get messy fingers and there's extra cleaning, etc. So it is best to leave the stamp in place and move the bag across.

• I positioned the stamp where I wanted it on the lid to stamp my first giraffe.  I put the magnets on top and even though they were going through 2 pieces of fabric plus a layer of cardboard, it held it in place easily.  These magnets are very strong and you need to be a little careful with them.  It is best to slide them into place if possible rather than picking them up.

• I had to stamp, re-ink and repeat to get a good enough image.  This was only because I was stamping onto fabric though. 

• I took the magnets away and moved the bag across 1.5", replaced the magnets before re-inking and stamping again and repeated until I had my 5 giraffes.

There is no way I would have even thought of attempting this project if it wasn't for my new Tim Holtz Stamp Platform.
The first stamping of each giraffe was very light, even though I used a very juicy ink pad and the stamp platform.  So I had to re-ink the stamp and stamp each one at least twice to get a good image.
And without the stamp platform I wouldn't have been able to do this or line the giraffes up and get them straight either :)

After making the bag I made a tag to match using the MFT Die-namics Blueprints 5 Tag Builder Die.
This die is wonderful and makes the most gorgeous tags!
I do have other tag dies but this one is my new favourite.
It is just so cute!!!

I used American Crafts smooth Kraft card for the base,
Lawn Fawn watercolor wishes paper for the background and I cut the grass using the MFT Spring Scene Builder Die-namics.
The giraffe was coloured with Copics and popped up using X-Press It Foam Mounting Squares.
The little wooden sentiment is from  Jillibean Soup Wordfetti - Celebrate.

I could put various little baby goodies inside the bag but what I intend to do is to buy a board book.
Maybe 'Giraffe's Can't Dance'? That is a great book and fits the giraffe theme perfectly.
And perhaps later on the bag could be kept as a library bag?
It would be just the right size for a toddler and their smaller books and I think it would be very cute too!  :)

Kathy