Morning all!
I’m back with another Christmas countdown card, and this time it’s the special festive card for my purple-loving niece!
Stamps: Mama Elephant – Holiday Messages, The Stamp Market – No Peeking (r), WPlus9 – Most Wonderful (r)
Dies: The Stamp Market – No Peeking (r), WPlus9 – Most Wonderful (r), Hello Bluebird – Holly and Pine
I have to say, I was really pleased that The Stamp Market released some new shades of purple in their line-up. It’s not a colour I gravitate towards, but when you do need to use it, it’s good to have the right shades on hand.
I’ve used all three of the new shades here for the candy canes: Pale Plum, Sugar Plum, and Plum.
I have had some issues with this new release of ink pads though. (The ones that were released late September 2023 and shown here). I’ve not seen any similar issues posted online, but I did reach out to the UK store I purchased them from back in October, and they said they’d contact The Stamp Market to see if they’d had similar feedback from customers.
Not heard anything back re a response from The Stamp Market, but long story short:
I always order the full size pads as they become available and was really excited to get this new line up – especially Fresh Mint and Aspen!
However, on initial stamping many of the inks had a really frothy consistency and don’t stamp at all like the other ink pads I’ve got from The Stamp Market or indeed some of the other pads in this batch. The Cranberry, Begonia, Fresh Mint, and Pale Plum inks were the worst affected.
When I touched a stamp to the surface of the ink pad (even very lightly) it frothed up with tiny bubbles that then distort your stamped image and the froth sort of sits on the ink pad. I know foam pads can be juicy at first and bubbles of ink aren’t that uncommon, but this is more like a froth that stays frothy and the bubbles don’t pop.
I’m very familiar with using this brand of inks and foam ink pads, in fact my Stamp Market ink pads are my go-to ink pads having invested in the full colour line-up over the years. And what I have always liked about the new generation of foam ink pads is that you don’t always need to stamp with a Misti to use them, as inking once on a block is sufficient to get a nice and crisp image.
But this batch of pads has been totally different. I left them to settle since I swatched them, thinking maybe something separated during transport and the ink needed to settle down into the pad, but almost 2 months on I’m still getting a frothy consistency for the worst affected pads (Cranberry being the main problem).
I basically always have to stamp at least twice in the Misti with these new colours, but don’t get the same high-quality results as the other Color Crush shades when inked once and using an acrylic block for direct stamping.
I’m posting this here in case anyone out in stamping land encounters similar issues. You are not alone!
These inks are not cheap, and it’s disappointing after all the excitement of the new release of colours that they have fallen short of the ink performance I have come to enjoy with my other Color Crush inks.
That being said, I am just grateful that I can still get solid impressions after 2 or 3 goes with my Misti. It’s just a shame that the colours are inevitably darker as a result.
Anyway, back to the card project!
I created a dimensional background with all those stamped candy canes and then decided I needed a tag focal element.
Well, the perfect opportunity to use the snowman from WPlus9’s Most Wonderful set.
It’s only a shame that I totally I forgot to add the colour detail for the gloves and hat! Oh man, I was not with it when finishing this card. And I kept looking at the hat and gloves once I’d glued the snowman down, thinking hm, he doesn’t look quite as detailed as I remember…
Never to mind!
A little puffy paint detail soon restored the festive look, and I finished off the tag with a bow cut from the lightest of the new purple cardstock shades. 🙂
Oh, and for more frostiness, I added glittery Nuvo drops in the gaps between the candy canes.
I really hope this card ticks all those purple boxes for my niece!
Until next time, happy crafting!
 Mama Elephant – Holiday Messages stamps Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – No Peeking stamps (r) Shop at: MISC |
 WPlus9 – Most Wonderful stamps (r) Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – No Peeking dies (r) Shop at: MISC |
 WPlus9 – Most Wonderful dies (r) Shop at: MISC |
 Hello Bluebird – Holly and Pine dies Shop at: MISC |
 PTI – Tag Sale #10 dies Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Lakehouse ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Mango ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Pale Plum ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Plum ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Poolside ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Rusty ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Slate ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Sugar Plum ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Waterfall ink pad Shop at: MISC |
 Versafine – Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK) |
 Concord & 9th – Assorted cardstock pack Shop at: MISC | SBC | SHC (UK) |
 Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | MISC | SBC |
 The Stamp Market – Pale Plum cardstock Shop at: MISC |
 The Stamp Market – Plum cardstock Shop at: MISC |
 Dr. Pj. Martin’s Bleed Proof White watercolour Shop at: AZ (UK) |
 Tonic Studios Nuvo Glitter Drops – Silver Moondust Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Cosmic Shimmer – Fluffy Stuff Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Zig – Wink of Stella glitter brush pen – Clear Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK) |
 Bearly Art – Precision Craft Glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Lawn Fawn – Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK) |
 MISTI stamping tool Shop at: SBC |
 Waffle Flower – 6.5 x 8.5 Grip Mat Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK) |
 Tim Holtz – Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Tim Holtz – Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Ranger – Artist brush set Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Sizzix – Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Sizzix – Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Tim Holtz – Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
 Tim Holtz – Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC |
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