Hiya sistahs!

It’s been a long week.  I feel like I haven’t spent any time with you :(.  Off to Montreal on Monday to deal with more issues with my father and then back next weekend.. Tyler has started school already.. where the HECK has the summer gone???

The good news is that we are going to have 2 back to back releases soon.. the first one coming up in a couple of short weeks so stay tuned!  If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter, you can do that on our homepage. WOOHOO!

now for this week’s Bellarific Friday theme- a Mojobella sketch

We’ve got another awesome DT Thursday project from Sandiebella for you today! Enjoy!

Continue reading DT Thursday: Create a Pizza Treat Box with Sandiebella!

It’s Spotlight Tuesday time again! This week I’m all about the latest STAMP OF THE MONTH offer, so join me to check it out!

Continue reading Spotlight On: August Stamp of the Month Bedelia Bunny

Time for the latest Marker Geek Monday. I’ve got another colouring video from the recent release for you, because at the moment I am swamped with behind the scenes work… I promise I will have some more in depth posts for you again very soon!

Continue reading Marker Geek Monday: Copic Colouring Tiny Townie Frances loves to Float

Hey everyone! Elaineabella here with another SPOTTED ON SUNDAY. Every Sunday I’m sharing cards and other creations that have caught my eye featuring Stamping Bella stamps.

This week’s Spotted on Sunday star is…

PATTI LEON

Patti has been playing with some of our beautiful Tiny Townie Garden Girls stamps and coordinating dies. I love all the beautiful little details Patti added using translucent beads etc.

A post shared by Patti Leon (@pattikleon) on Jul 30, 2017 at 1:01pm PDT

Here’s a closer look at one of them!

A post shared by Patti Leon (@pattikleon) on Jul 27, 2017 at 4:07pm PDT

Stamp Sets Used: Tiny Townie Garden Girls – Orchid, Sweet Pea, Poppy, Lilac, Carnation, Rose (coordinating die sets also available)

These caught my eye over on Instagram thanks to the #SpotThisStampingBella tag! Thank you for sharing, Patti!

Want to catch my eye? HASHTAG IT!

We love to see what you’ve all been up to with your Stamping Bella stamps, and there are lots of ways to share with us.

If you want to be “Spotted On Sunday” make sure you tag us with #SpotThisStampingBella  so we know you give permission for your makes to be shared here on the blog! We will be featuring things we’ve spotted from all over the place, but by using the hashtag you’ll make it much easier for us to know you don’t mind us sharing.

Stamping Bella on Instagram: @StampingBella
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Stamping Bella Facebook Group: Stamping Bella Sistahood Chat Group

A few weeks ago I wrote a Stamp It Saturday post on ink pads – Stamp It Saturday: Let’s Talk About Ink – What to Use and When! I’ve had some requests to follow that post up with some info/tips on ink pad storage, so here we are!

Ink Pad Storage Advice:

If you are at all uncertain about how to store any particular product, a good first stop would be the manufacturer’s website.

• Keep ’em covered! It should go without saying, but when not in use – keep the lid on your ink pads! Some ink pads like Stazon come with a plastic lid liner – don’t discard this, use it together with the lid to help your ink pad stay fresh and protected.
• Upside Down or Right Side Up? I often see tips to store dye based ink pads in particular upside down. I don’t store any of my ink pads this way, and have never experienced any issues. All of my ink pads are currently stored flat, lid side up and are always perfectly juicy when I come to use them (even ones I have had for years). A number of manufacturers seem to suggest that it really doesn’t matter which way you store your ink pads. If you come to use an ink pad and it seems a little dry – try leaving it upside down for a while, gravity may just do the trick and bring the ink pad back to life. Pigment based ink pads are more likely than dye-based to make a mess if you store them upside down, so watch out if your ink pads are particularly juicy.
• On the side? I have previously stored some of my dye based ink pads on their sides and experienced no issues. Storing ink pads on their side may cause the ink to pool on one side – if you store them this way for any length of time rotating them periodically may be helpful. Ombre and other multi-coloured ink pads should not be stored on their side – the colours may run together.

Storage Solutions:

There are lots of different storage products available on the market. A quick search online will give you lots of ideas both for commercially available storage products and DIY solutions. Shelf style storage racks are great to keep inks flat and easy to access when you’re working, and you can either buy one ready made or make your own.

The only specific ink pad storage product I use personally are the Ranger Distress Ink Mini storage tins, which hold the mini size of Distress Ink pads. I use these for both my Distress Ink collection and other mini cube size ink pads like Hero Arts.

The tins are easy to pull out when I want to work with these pads, and keep everything neat and organised.

Those mini Archival Ink pads will be a little more organised in the future, as I have just seen that Ranger are releasing storage tins for them too!

All of my ink pads, sit in my 12×12 desk drawers. My personal preference is to have things accessible but not visible, especially as I don’t have a lot of space.

Over To You!

Have you got any tips/suggestions regarding storing ink pads? What are your favourites? Feel free to share with us in the comments section!

If you try out the techniques shown in any of the posts with your Stamping Bella stamps, be sure to share! We would love to see the results and hear how you feel about them. Show off your creations in the comments below and even better, share your own favourite tips with us. Let’s talk stamping!

If you are posting your images online, we would love to see them on Instagram and all the platforms mentioned above.  To make it easier for us to find you just use #markergeekmonday and/or #stampingbella as a hashtag. Even better tag me @markergeek and @stampingbella . We love it when you connect, so don’t be shy!

If you’re on Facebook join us in our private chat group Stamping Bella Sistahood to share your creations there and chat all things Stamping Bella related!

Until next time, HAPPY STAMPING!

MWAH

Elaineabella