Anyone follow Tim Holtz?

[BainsBane]

He posted a "hope" tag on Facebook, and while most of the comments were really positive, some Trumpsters were angry that he injected "politics." Mind you he only posted "hope." They complained that it should be a safe space for them without politics, poor little snowflakes.

[Kittycow]

1. I don't follow him on FB but I use his products a lot.

I am sort of surprised that stampers would have a cow over a Hope tag. Hope is a very common sentiment for tags. It's really ridiculous that they would twist it around to put words in his mouth, so to speak

Did the complainers get any pushback? I hope so.

Are you a stamper or paper crafter? I'm a budding stamper. I just found the Crafts group.

[BainsBane]

2. I make cards

I donate them to charities: Covid providers, charities for cancer patients and seniors. I do stamping, die cutting, ink blending, alcohol inks, and other techniques. With stamps, I mainly do heat embossing. I love the metallic look it gives. I actually used to hate stamping. It took me a while to get a good impression. Now I use a marble French rolling pin, which helps get the pressure right. I plan to do more stamping in the future.

There was a lot of pushback against the complainers on Holtz's webpage. He posted it right after the race was called for Biden, so it was clear what he was thinking of. I made the comment that they shouldn't expect him to remain neutral when one side protected his rights while another treated him as a less than equal.

Do you follow Gina K? She has a Youtube channel and a product line. This is currently my favorite stamp.

That main stamp is quite large. Even though Christmas has passed, I'll use the designs with different sentiments.

[Kittycow]

3. You made a good comment on Tim's page, so true.

I've heard of Gina K; I'll have to check out her channel. That's a gorgeous stamp!

I just got a manual die cut and embossing machine by Bira Craft for Christmas and I also got a stamping platform made by them that I like a lot. My current project is an altered book which is turning into an art journal about grief.

I started gathering supplies eight years ago As you can imagine, a lot of my ink dried up since then. My Versafine is still going strong though.

How do you personally store your inks, right side up or upside down? There's so much conflicting information.

[BainsBane]

4. I store my inks sideways

Though I don’t think it matters. It’s just how the containers fit in my drawer. I use the new distress storage tins that keep the lids shut. They only fit distress inks. My others are in Tupperware and they are upright, sideways, upside down. Tim Holtz says it doesn’t matter.

Ranger sells an ink refresher spray. You might try that. Otherwise you’ll need reinkers.

Your art journal sounds cool. I’ve never tried something like that. I keep meaning to post my cards on Instagram, but the fact you can only post from a phone deters me.

I’m not familiar with the Bira craft machine. Die cutting can be a lot of fun. I’m sure you’ll like it. Be sure to flip and rotate your plates. The plates can warp badly, which makes it harder to cut. They will warp; there is no way around it. Generally people keep a no cut plate and it’s the other one that warps. It’s the cut plate--the one that faces the ways your dies cut—that you need to rotate.

[Kittycow]

5. Good to know Tim says it doesn't matter :)

I have a ton of Distress inks in a giant shoe box. I'm glad I can turn them right-side up again I went on a mini-ink buying spree so I might as well get a couple tins for them. I didn't know about the Ranger ink refresher so I'll give that a shot before I invest in re-inkers. I haven't tried alcohol inks yet but I also have a lot of pigment inks and embossing powders. Good thing I found my heat gun

The Bira die and embossing machine is just like the other small manual ones out there like a Cuttlebug, if you've ever seen those. It cuts up to 40 different materials and it has a dial to adjust the pressure so you don't have to make a shim sandwich.

I looked at Gina K's blog and my gosh, the gold Christmas card was just stunning! I'd like to try my hand at making cards some day. It's so kind of you to make cards to donate since they're so time consuming and a real labor of love.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[BainsBane]

6. One thing to be aware of

Is that the lids on the Distress inks fall off easily. I haven't experienced that with other brands. That's why I like the containers that keep the lids closed. You might close them with a rubber band or wrap in foil or saran wrap. Or maybe you haven't experienced the lids coming open on your inks, but I have with mine.

[Kittycow]

7. Yeah, I have. The minis are ok tho.

I have lots of foil from shortage-fear buying so I'll give that hint a try!