StampWithJane.com – Jane Hignite, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

My Workshop WOW at Milwaukee Regionals

I was truly honored to be a Workshop WOW presenter at Milwaukee Regionals this week.  My presentation focused on Stamping With Bleach.  I promised the attendees I would post instructions and samples on my blog.

I love to work with household products in my stamping.  I also love to stamp quick and easy cards.  Bleach stamping accomplishes both!  When you use bleach in your stamping, you are taking out the dye in your card stock. 

First things first – safety is important when stamping with bleach.   I do not recommend bleach stamping with pregnant ladies, young children, and those who have allergy or sensitivity issues.  If I am planning an event in my home and will be using bleach, I notify my stampers ahead of time.  If I want to showcase a bleach technique at a workshop, I will feature it as a demonstration not a make and take.  I’ll substitute water for the bleach but bring samples of each step so they see the bleaching results.  If you do take bleach along with you to a demonstration, make sure you store it in an opaque container that is tightly sealed. 

Please note:

• Do not let bleach dry on your stamps.  Bleach can damage the rubber.  Clean your stamps immediately after you are finished.  I usually use a wet paper towel to clean the bleach residue off and then I will use my Stampin’ Mist and Stampin’ Scrub to do a final clean and conditioning.
• Clean off any other materials the bleach comes in contact with.
• Once bleach reaches open air, its strength dramatically lessens.  You will need to add more bleach if you are stamping many pieces at once.
• Bleach affects colors of card stock differently – you may even get variations with the same color but a different dye lot.

To use bleach as a stamp pad, you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface
• some folded paper towels
• a small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• a clean and damp paper towel (to clean off stamps)
• ventilated area

Protect your work surface with scrap paper.  Put the folded paper towels inside the small container.  Pour some bleach onto the folded paper towels.  Using a clean stamp, press stamp into the bleached towel.  Immediately stamp onto the card stock.  Lift off the card stock and set the card stock aside.  It will take a while for the bleach to interact with the card stock.  Be sure to let dry completely before using on your project.

CLEAN YOUR STAMPS IMMEDIATELY – DO NOT LET BLEACH DRY ON YOUR STAMPS.  I always use a wet paper towel to clean off the bleach first, and then I use my Stampin’ Mist and Scrub for a final clean and conditioning.

Here are some of my examples of using a bleach pad:          

 To bleach with a spritzer,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface  (the new COLOR CATCHER would be great for this technique)
• spritzer container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach into a spritzer bottle.  Prepare your work area as above.  Spritz your card stock.  Set aside to dry. 

DO NOT LEAVE BLEACH IN THE SPRITZER BOTTLE.  RINSE OUT THE BOTTLE AND THE SPRITZER MECHANISM BEFORE STORING.

I’ll be inserting samples for this technique early next week.

To bleach with a Sponge Dauber,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface 
• sponge dauber
• small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach in a safe container.  With a clean sponge dauber, tap into the bleach and then pounce the dauber all over the card stock where you want to bleach.  Set aside to dry.   Once dry, you can even stamp inside the space you bleached!  If the bleach sits out a while, you will have a softer effect (see the Garden Whimsy sample).

RINSE OFF THE SPONGE DAUBER WHEN FINISHED AND TAP OFF THE EXCESS WATER – BUT PLAN ON DESIGNATING THIS DAUBER AS YOUR BLEACH DAUBER!!!

To accomplish the bleach brushing technique,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface 
• paintbrush or AquaPainter
• small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach in a container.  With a clean paintbrush or AquaPainter, dip into the bleach and lightly brush your tool over the card stock.  Variations in depth of bleaching depends on how much bleach you use and how long the bleach has sat out.  Set aside to dry.  You can stamp or emboss right on top of the bleached portion.  I love to tear the edges of the bleached section to highlight the bleaching effect.  You can also use two pieces of scrap paper, tear them, put them over card stock as a mask for part of the card stock, and then bleach in between the torn mask pieces.

BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY RINSE OUT YOUR AQUAPAINTER OR PAINTBRUSH WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED!

  Sorry for the bad picture – this is Brushed Gold card stock bleached out!

 I love to find different tools or items around my home to incorporate into my bleaching.  Here is one item I love to use with bleach:

It is a pencil topper Koosh Ball!  I can’t remember which of my three boys received it and for what I occasion, but I snatched it for myself.  It makes great background designs by just dipping it into an inkpad, but the design it leaves behind when you dip it in bleach is fabulous!   Use the same directions as sponge dauber bleaching, but dip the koosh ball into the bleach instead of the sponge dauber.

Believe it or not, this is just a start to all the ways you can incorporate bleach in your stamping.  Since I only had 5 minutes to do the presentation, I had to stop there! 

Follow my blog for more bleach and other techniques!

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Milwaukee Regionals Excitement

Attending a Stampin’ Up! Regional Convention is usually a great thrill for any demonstrator.  We love to attend events so we can stamp, swap cards, gain new ideas for our customers, take pictures of fabulous samples, and especially share time with our Stampin’ Up! demonstrator friends.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Support Specialist.  Stampin’ Up! wanted ME to be one of the WORKSHOP WOW! Presenters during the Friday, April 9th Milwaukee Regional.  Now anyone who knows me well can appreciate how petrified I might feel about being asked to present in front of 500 or so of my peers and Stampin’ Up! corporate staff.  However, thankfully, all I could think about at the time was the absolute HONOR of being asked.  I love Stampin’ Up! and the opportunities it has provided me.  How could I say no???

I’ve got my WOW! planned, and I will be working feverishly on my samples for my presentation this Friday. 

Say a few prayers for a successful presentation!

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