Cupcake and Ice Cream Charm Tutorial

In this video tutorial, I will show you guys how to make cupcakes in three different styles and ways. As a bonus, I also snuck in an ice cream tutorial as an alternative to the last of the three cupcake how-tos.

Personally, I love the nearly naked cupcake tutorial the best- you don't really see that many cupcakes without liners out there, now do you? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the video- and if you want, please take a minute to subscribe, comment, like, and be fun! Bye everyone!

Links:

Youtube-http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOXPLUdSL9HmSIbbyWTS5VA
Pintrest- www.pintrest.com/kimlychee/boards
Beauty Blog- itsratherpretty.blogspot.com

Sock Monkey Tutorial

I have already posted a sock monkey charm, but here's the official tutorial! Hope you like it! Have a fun day everyone!

My Charm Essentials...Video and Extra Stuff

I know I already made a post on my ultimate craft kit or something, but this time, it's in video format and has my complete list of everything I use! Check it out, and please enjoy Please take a minute to subscribe and comment for more fun videos! Thanks so much everyone.

Bye! Oh wait! I forgot that I occasionally use hot glue and my Silhouette Portrait! (:

Make Your Own Wineglass!

Yah me for finally making this video- I've been meaning to since last year! Anyways, are you guys- talking to you charm makers- ever tired of not being able to make those really pretty drink/dessert charms that are in a clear glass? Well, I was! In this video, tutorial, I'll show you how to create that glass and overcome your charm fears and obstacles! Maybe not the last part, but... The drink itself/the yogurt/ice cream/fruit toppings will come later in newer Summer tutorials!

P.S. The glass color depends on the tape and hot glue you decide to use. You'll understand once you watch the video below.

On a completely irrelevant note, I have been promising a big bunch of scrapbook pages but haven't done any- if any- paper crafts this year. OK guys, the good news is that I finished the pages (all 40), and the scrapbook is sitting on my desk right now. However, it was the first time I ever attempted to do such a big project- I usually stuck to cards. I was trying to make an overview video, but then I thought if I go back and post pictures to make separate "instructional" type posts, that would be boring. I haven't done anything about the scrapbook yet because, I don't know what to do. Hmm...
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the tutorial (was this the first video on this blog? If so, YAH. I lost track because I posted a bunch of videos on my beauty blog) and have a cool day. See everyone next post! 

Reusing That Dull Xacto Knife

I have spent many frustrated days trying to peel die cut images off their sticky mats! They stick to the mat ad the images rip! I hate that! It's annoying and makes any project suddenly a chore and a bore! Luckily, I recently discovered that any dull craft knife can work as an amazing shape scraper. Instead of having to buy those 10$ scrapers at the Cricut or Silhouette store, you can get one practically free. I'm pretty sure the knife should be well-worn out and dull to be able to savage it as a scraper, because otherwise, the knife might accidentally cut through an image you're trying to pick up. I've been using this nifty tip, and it works wonders for me- keeping my mat and images clean and neat!

*****Extra tip- when your is no longer sticky, run it under a school (or other not- strong glue stick) gluestick. I find that the less you apply the better the results because, then, its easier to pick up the image. Plus, after a few cuts, the glue on the mat dries out anyways.

Happy crafting, and see everyone next time...

P.S. That scrapbook I promised is almost finished! Can't wait to post further updates!

Super Charms Kit

Hello everyone! I've taken a long time to write this post because, I wanted to make my cold porcelain first (white bag near center). Cold porcelain is made from 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup white glue, 1 tsp. vinegar, and 1 tsp. petroleum jelly (the thing you use to moisturize). Once everything is mixed up (it will be lumpy), pop it into the microwave 6-7 times for 15 seconds each. Once you've finished, lay the solution over a surface with lotion all over it to prevent sticking). Knead for a bit. Then, roll out a small ball. If when flattened, and it has cracks, add more glue and knead. Repeat until you have a lump of cold porcelain that you can use to make charms and stuff. Refrigerate over night. Store in lotioned, airtight bag at room temperature afterwards.

Here are a few discoveries I've found about cold porcelain:

• My mixture is very nonsticky, so every separate piece that I make, I have to glue together.
• Other people say that when you color cold porcelain (not that much of a pain in the butt, since most f the time I have to mix colors in my air-dry clay anyways), use eye shadow/ chalk/paint/markers. I've found that the best results lay within food coloring! Of course, you can only get the colors that you can mix from regular food coloring colors (rd, yellow, blue, green), however, the color provides darker coverage than the other choices faster. 
• To color cold porcelain with chalk pastels, rub the piece you want colored over the chalk stick! To give pieces shading, go about as you normally would with a soft brush.
• When making jewelry beads, I love using the Folk Art Extreme Glitter Gold and Silver paints from Plaid. I wait for the cold porcelain to dry (about a day) before painting it. I choose this paint because the color with glitter is crazy sparkly and pretty- just like any piece of jewelry you would find!
• I have a black felt tip marker to draw faces on my kawaii charms.
• The white glue is for attaching pieces.
• The clear glue is for making special charms (tutorial on itsratherpretty.blogspot.com to be anticipated).
• The Mod Podge is for sealing in glitter on my charms.,
• The metal icing tips are for dessert charms (I have tips 18,16,5, and 3- circles and stars)

I've made a key lime pie, european bead bases, and the first ghost in my collection of ghosts. I think cold porcelain is great fro making ghosts because of its translucent color!

Silhouette Blade

Just a few days before Easter, everyone. Just thought I'd release some Silhouette tips in case you haven't started on your Easter projects yet. O.K., so there's this thing on that's seriously seems unnecessary until you  need it on the Silhouette software. It's called thickness- you can find this when you click the "Send to Silhouette" button. It's on a scale of 1 to 30, with 30 being the default. Recently, I was doing some heavy-duty blade experiments and set my blade to 10. After I did this, I had some other regular projects to do, and need my blade set at 3. Unfortunately, the blade was stuck. I tried countless fruitless attempts to turn the dial back to 3- heating, oil, water, rubber bands...none of them worked. Finally, I broke down and contacted Customer Service. I never expected them to return my email- much less return it within 2 days! I explained to them my situation, and they asked me for my mailing address to replace my faulty blade. Man, I was thrilled!

An hour after my celebration, I realized how long it was probably going to take the blade to arrive. So, I did some more blade experiments. The Silhouette team suggests that you set your blade at its minimum blade exposure to prevent blade chipping. I found that even at a blade setting of 10, I was still able to cut regular patterned paper without damaging the mat! For pattern paper, set your thickness at 3. For regular copy paper, set your thickness at 1. The thickness controls how hard the blade is pushed down into the paper.
P.S. I found that the setting of 10 with a thickness of 3 on a speed of 1, cutting Colorbok's patterned paper so far yielded the best results for cutting font. I was able to smoothly cut Lucida Handwriting- font at a 14 fnt size! Wowzers.

My blade just arrived an hour ago- it came within a week. Super happy to have my new blade- which spins in its dial perfectly! However, I'm even more glad that I now am armed with the knowledge of maximum usage of faulty blades!(;

Note****Silhouette Customer Service rocks! It replaced my blade, no questions asked and no blade inspection required! However, I think you have to request your replacement during your machine's waranty- they ask for your machine's serial number.

Happy Easter- or Happy Sunday to those of you who don't celebrate Easter.

Chocolate Mint Cone

Happy Spring Break everyone! Starting today, I will be posting once everyday with a new dessert charm until the end of Spring Break. It feels so fantastic to have a whole week where I actually have enough time to have some polymer fun! As you can see, today, I made a Chocolate Mint Cone charm (scented). Doesn't it look yummy- what with Summer steadily approaching and all!
                                                       
                                                Chocolate Mint Cone
Ingredients:

• One metal staple
• Crayola Model Magic in White, Brown, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Black
• Pure Peppermint Extract
• Tweezers
• Skewer
• Circle Cutter
• Something with a Cross-hatched Texture (A Xacto Knife)
• Toothbrush

Instructions:

1. To make the ice cream, mix together blue, green, and white Model Magic in a ratio of 2:3:14, respectively. Roll into a ball-shape. Set aside.
2. To make the cone, mix brown, yellow, and white in a respective ratio of 1:1:9. Roll into a ball. Flatten with the textured Xacto-Knife into a flat slab. Using the circle cutter, cut a circle. Roll into a cone shape. (Tip*It's easiest to start by folding the bottom of the circle inwards, then curling the entire circle into a cone shape.)
3. To make chocolate chips on the mint ice cream, mix small amounts black and brown Model Magic together in equal proportions. If, when you've finished blending the colors, you find the color to be too light, add a smidge of black. Remember that black is a very very strong color. Roll out into the thinnest-sized strand possible, and use knife to finely "chop" into small chips. Gather chips.
4. Slightly flatten the bottom of the ice cream by pushing down towards work surface. Fit onto ice cone's mouth. Roll ice- cream in prepared chocolate chips. Use tweezers to adjust spacing of chips if you desire.
5. Use one side of a tweezer to smush the bottom lining of the ice cream scoop into the cone to form a rim. 
6. Use toothbrush to dab at ice cream for added texture.
7. Straighten a staple. Line up staple's middle with the skewer. Wrap the staple around the skewer twice. Twist the remaining staple ends together. Push down into the top of the ice cream cone for the char hook. 
8. Allow three days for charm to "dry-" though it still will be squishy. 
9. Clamp lightly inside tweezers, and immerse in peppermint extract. allow for a second for the oil to vanish.

Yields one perfectly scented ice cream cone.

*You can stop here if you just want to play with the charm for a few days (the scent will wear off eventually.) However, if you're planning to give the charm as a gift or sell it, put it on saran wrap. Make a name label for your charm. Place the second layer of saran wrap over the charm's top. Press around the charm for a greater seal. This wrap will prolong the scent of the charm. Remember to get a cello sleeve to ut the charm in when it is really time to give or sell the charm- as well as any other scented charm. Good luck ad have fun.

P.S. Tell me about your experiences with the charm in the comments section below. I look forward to reading them!

I Love Kits!

Whenever I get partcularrly obsessed with a crafting opic, I absolutely have to make a kit for all of its essentials! Here's my list of eerything you need in your charm making kit!

1. Crayola Model Magic Clay- much less expensive than polymer clays, but acts exactly like them. Also, cheaper than Martha Stewart's version. You should keep in mind to keep these things in airtight containers, because thy are pretty sensitive to the air. However, on the plus side, if a piece of clay is still spongy but too firm, water it down to soften it. (Colors will come out!)
2. Craft knife-about 2$ at most hardware and craft stores. This tool provides for clean and easy trimming of excess clay.
3. Staples-Ok, if you want to buy eyerings for each of your charms, try curling staples first. I got a pack of 1000 free with a mii stapler at the 99c store! You can curl the staples with a chopstick, leaving a bit of stick to stick into the charm of course!
4. Hot glue- as I've mentioned in the previous charm post, hotglue can be used to make great plastic-like charms and pieces!
5. Elmer's Clear Glue- I always use this as aa varnish for my charms, plus, if the coat is thick enough, I can even make it have a plastic coat effect, dries much clearer than hotglue, but can be applied half as thickly at one time.
6. Screwdrivers and Flathead-Minis- these tools will help will a lot of the deeper texxtures that you might want to make.
7. Toothbrush-helps with make a piece of clay look like the inside of a cake.
8. Food Dye and Elmer's School Glue- even though Elmers claims its school glue dries clear, it doesn't. Luckily, we can use it's solid color to our advantage. By mixing different food colorings in, you can make your own deco sauce!
9. Non-stick Craft mat- saves all of your surfaces from the troubles of working with glues, colorings, and staining clay.
10. Make-up brush- brush used to apply tints and shades to clay for more realistic affects.
11. Colored Powders- you can use chalk pastels or anyother sticky colored powder. I use the colors of blush and eyeshadows that I never use.
12. Pipes- to pipe out ribbons of "cream" from the clay. Use with different pipe tops.

That's what i have in my kit. I'll keep you posted with more of the essentials. Bye for now!

Back to Crafting!

Welcome back everyone! I've used the 2 and 1/2 month crafting break to really organze my crafting and supplies. I even got a closable notebook to plan out any projects that I want to tackle for this year! In the last hour, I took out and adjusted a few polymer clay charms that I made.

This is a close-up of the mascara brush charm that I made. Using Crayola Magic Model Clay for all the following charms... (The kit I got was 20 dollars for 16 packs of all primaries, black and white, orange, green , and purple.) First, I made the little grip, and poked a large hole through the center of it through the top (not all the way though). Next, I made the stick thing. I rolled out six smaller segments to stick onto the top of the stick to quickly emulate a brush end of a brush. The eye ring was made from a curled staple.

This next charm is a capless lipstick. I made the black holder part first. then, out of red clay, I formed a cylinder with the closest matching circumfrence as best as I could. The gold part was actually made from 2 thin rings of yellow that were later colored gld with a gold Elmer's Painters opaque paint marker (1.75$). the eye ring (plus all of the following charms) will be made from curled staples.

This green apple charm was made with green and white clay. The ratio was like 1:4. I rolled the clay mixture into a ball. Then, I used a dotting tool to poke a little hole (not completely through) on the top and the bottom. Next, I used the pointy end of a cone-shape-tipped pencil to make both apple depressions more realistic and spreaded. The stem was made from brown and white clay, with the ration being 1:5. After the charm "dried" (still very spongy texture), I used the silver Elmer's Journaling pen to make the ring around the apple. I finished the charm by poking a staple-eyelid into the side of the fruit.

For this fruit charm. I used red clay and orange and yellow clay for the fruit part. I first made the easy part- the slice. I made tthe middle part with very thin strands of red. For the peel, (I had to make several attempts) I rolled out a thin piece of red and stuck it on the slice. I trimmed the excess peel part with a knife. I later stuck an eyelid on a side.

This is the first time I make a "glass" charm. I used hot glue to make the semi-clear cup. I first made a flat dot from hot glue and made a spirally pattern up to make the cup's stem. I then made the cup part out of hot glue. I attached the cup part to the stem with a bead of hot glue after both parts dried. Then, I made a spiral-piped ice cream shape with two cinnamon sticks and a bunch of truffles!

 

And now, for my favorite one...

 

 

This was my second charm that put hotglue into consideration. h, in cas you can't tel what this is, it's a clear tube of peach lotion with a silver cap attached on the side. The first thing that I did was I made a kind of bowler hat shaped piece out of black clay. I cylindered a piece and made the top's circumfrence a bit smaller than the bottom's. I used a rounded chopstick to make the opening. When the piece dried, I colored it silver and attached it to the side of the peach lotion tube. The second thing to do is to make the peach lotion. I used orange to white to red (the ratio is 4:10:1) to form the sort of tube shape with the top like a circle and the where the end tapers to a flat point. When it dried, I made a puddle of hotglue on a nonstick craft mat. While it was still hot, I dipped the tapered end of the peach piece in and pulled upward. Pull up only until the hotglue that gets pulled up alongside hints thinning. In other words, you want to have the hot glue on the "tube" end to be the same length and similar thickness. Hold it like in this pulled position until the glue dries. When dried, use a scissor to cut off excess hotglue. For the mouth of the tube, turn off/take out the wire of the hotglue gun. This way, the gun will start to cool and squeeze out less amounts of glue at one time while still being able to squeeze it. Make a flat dot on the circle end of the tube. wait about 20 sec. to dry. Afterwards, make another slightly smaller dot on top of the origninal. Wait 10 sec. Use a flat side of the glue gun to shape the second dot into a lipstickslant shape. Let dry. Insert an eyering and hang on a jutting needle. Apply a thick coat of clear glue over the tube's surface to emulate the look of lotion inside a plastic bottle. I use Elmer's Clear glue. Let dry. If some glue drips off, you can use your fingers to "smooth" it back into place. I had to do this once!

 

Check back later for more charming updates and projects! Have a creative day, and see everyone next post! 

Paint Markers? From Elmars

Yes, there are such things. I was at Walmart looking for more of those amazing journalism pens from Elmars, but apparantly, Walmart doesn't carry them. However, I stumbled across these markers that look similar and decided to buy the prettiest pack (they are also sold individually at the sam unit price)- the Sherbet Swirl pack (I know I spelled the title wrong in my last card post guys...:) plus a gold paint marker. Apparantly, these markers are filled with real acrylic paint, yet works just like a marker. Confirmed! The paint in these arkers are just like regular acrylic- they are a bit thicker than water- based markers, so you have to make several layers for full coverage, dry quickly, and don't let you see your streaks. That's good. The sad thing is they do bleed on copy paper after about 2 layers. They don't bleed if you let the first 2 layers dry, then add your other layers accordingly. And like paint, the paint does occaisionally pick up, but not much. Now for the gold...

• Bleeds slightly and strangely evenly after one layer of color
• Great, solid coverage-like a journalism pen
• Semi-shiny aka does imitate gold lining
• You have to shake and press down often!

Caution: The tips of these markers are pretty soft, so if you poke like a needle on it, there will be a hole!

They work lightly on wood, ceramic, pottery, metal. paper, plstic, fabrics, and glass?
Hmm, I wonder how well they work on glass... be back in a moment to test this out...
Verdict: They do work! However, the coverage is semi-solid, and easily removable.

All in all, pretty great buy!

Hope this helps with any qualms you have against purchasing paint markers- oh, and they're $2.50 each.

Have a good day, and see everyone next post!

Peppermint Extract

Here are a few fun facts and tips on Peppermint Extract, enjoy!

• Smelling it can relieve light migraines
• Rubbing it on your stomach can help aches in that area go away
• You can add it to candies and icing for fun desserts
• Spray a light coat over gifts for an scintilating and cool waft sure to be a hit among other presents!
• You can also use it to scent bath items, and things.
• This extract has alcohol in it (edible) and is clear, so it won't stain any surface, or leave it wet (however, the peppermint scent will be left behind).

I love peppermint scents! Have a great day, and see everyone next post!

Ultimate Pen Pack- At the Bargain Price!

When doodling, I like to have a bunch of pop-out colors at my disposal. This awesome pack of Papermate pens include an almost erfect range of fun colors to draw from. Plus, they dry quickly, and don't rub off like a pencil or crayon! This specific pack of pens actually had two pens per color (except black), but if you don't want to buy such a large pack of pens, I'm sure they sell in smaller packs. (The other pens, I used to make my writing draqfts more colorful!)

This is a white-out pen from Better Everyday that I bought from the dollar store. I like the price, but it does take a bit of patience to work with. It tells you to store it upright, but I have found that this slows down the ink flow evey time I open the pen. So, I recommend storing it upside down. Plus, every time you use it, be sure to shake it up, and test it every time on a piece of scratch paper to encourage the ink flow. Why would you need to use this when doodling you ask- well, besides covering up mistakes, you can also use this to make white designs on the paper, unless its white. I do it all the time! Oh, and one more thing: this ink takes like 20 seconds to completely dry, so plan ahead!

Pretty colors, huh? Yeah, glitter pens are super fun to use when doodling. They kind of make your drawings more magical! I got this pack at the dollar store, and it still works great. The only thing I'm concerned about, however, is that the ink is really thin. The result that goes on the paper is dark and glittery, but just a small draw relieves 2 millimeters of ink! So, I have to use it wisely. Plus, I'm looking around to find more colors to buy! I store these in an upright position to reduce unnecessary ink flow to the cap.

I saved the best pens for last! I loovee journaling pens! These particular ones are from Elmar's and I got each separately for $2.50. The tip is thick, but have a thin edge to them. The thin edge is thin, but not especially fine. However, I rarely use the pens because, they're so precious. :) When you first get them, you have to shake pretty the marker pretty well and do this often to get a consistent flow of ink. PLus, the first time you use them, you have to press down a bit to encourage the ink to go down. The thing that I love about them is that they produce such an amazing color- so vibrant and dark that they actually look like they've been printed! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE this effect. The silver pen dries pretty quickly (you can actually see the color get lighter when it dries), shimmers, and is a pretty light color. The black pen takes 10 whole seconds to dry, but produces awing, print worthy marks. Here's a picture of the inks in thick and thin line:

Here are the different thicknesses. There are a bunch more, and I guess you just have to experiment a little to find the perfect font. Plus, I store these upright to prevent unnecessary ink flow to the caps.

This was a super long post, and whew- we're done! Have a drawable day, and see you next post!

Wonderiffic Gluestick

The Elmar's Xtreme gluesticks claim they can be used for heavy-duty pasting on surfaces like poster paper and paper, and they're right! These things are stick three times better than ordinary gluesticks, and takes a bit longer to dry out so you have more time to adjust the glued paper. They sell for about a dollar a stick in a pack of three. I love using these, because they combine the durability of liquid paste and the even distributiion of a gluestick!

Xacto Knife and Mat

More than just regular scissors and a ruler, a craft knife and mat are practically essentials to paper crafting!  What I love about this particular mat (Xacto- 12$) is that it-

• has a "sticky" back side, so the mat stays firmly in place on your work surface when you're working.
• has a lightly "rubbery" front so your paper doesn't slide while you work.
• has inches, half, and quarter inches marked out all over the board, so you know exactly how large your paper is.
• has degree markings across the board
• can be used to correctly align a ruler, so you can easily cut/mark a straight line, and know it won't be slanted or something
• has a very durable surface, so you can cut paper on it all you want, and the mat will definitely protect your desk
• about four millimeters in thickness

The knife (Xacto, about $2.50) is handy because-

• Sharp blade that cuts paper easily and mostly smoothly
• you can use it to cut something anywhere on a piece of paper without having to poke a hole around the area or cut the paper from the side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*The blade does dull within a week of moderate cutting, however, the dulled blade is easily to work with- if you accidentally cut out of line, it probably won't cut through the area much, The dulled blade still cuts one sheet of regular printer paper easily, however.
Most scrap booking stores also sell replacement blades, blade caps, and knife grips for your convenience, too!

Have a funtastic day!

Colorbok Paper Packs

I recently wanted to purchase paper packs for my crafts. However, none of the ones I found had all the paper designs I loved. Fortunately, Wal-mart carries Colorbok paper packs for only 5$! It includes 2 pages of each design, totalling to 50 great sheets about 8.5" by 11." (I'll have to get back to you on the actual measurements). The designs are almost perfect! You are guaranteed to love the entire book and price, too! There are pages of flowers, twisty vines, inpsirational words, dots, stripes, and many more. The only con I noticed was the color. Of course, Colorbok carries its paper in other colors, too, so you can purchase those separately.

Food Dyes

Food dye is the cheaper alternative to inks. The color does rub off, but if all you want is to use it in cards and stuff, this is the better option.

Tag Stencils

I got this Xacto tag stencil in a pack of 4 for $7.50. I love this stencil because, it is very durable. Other stencils can be cut through using a knife, but not this one! Plus, it has a border you can use to cut from. This makes making gift tags and tag books for any occasion in a bunch of sizes super simple! It is made to be used with the Xacto swivel blade knife.

Scissors

Lace-edged scissors are the best! They provide a quick and easy, beautiful, and fancy borderline to any piece of paper. You can also cut thin strips of paper using these scissors to make cool designs to any craft! Plus, I love how versatile these things are- you can cut the border to any length, and how inexpensive they are! I got this in a pack of 4 for 5$ at Walmart. Its a Xacto brand. 

Stamping

Many rubber-stamp creating techniques require you to carve "negative" spaces out on your eraser's surface using a carver. This process can be very difficult and time consuming- especially when you have to carve out all the details! Luckily, I came across an idea on how to make much faster stamps.

Ingrediants

• Craft knife
• 1 Standard Pink Pearl Eraser
• Eraser Carver (Optional)
• Hot Glue
• Markers

1. Slice the eraser into 4 equal slabs across the side.
2. Separate the parts with the pre-made smooth surface and the ones cut from the middle of the eraser.
3. The middle parts will be used as a base for the stamps. (You can make 2.) The outside slabs will be what you will use to make the stamp images from. Separately, you can now cut the main shape of the entire desired stamp image. (Ex: if you want to create a grape image, just cut the outline of it.)
4. Using the eraser carver, you can now go ahead and carve in the details. You can also use the knife for this step, too, of course.
5. Hot glue the finished image onto an inside eraser slab- be sure to press the image on top of the glue firmly before it dries. I used hot glue because, it creates a strong bond, but you can use other types of liquid adhesives, too,
6. Fill the image with marker inks, and stamp!

Tips-

*Draw an image in graphite on a thin paper. Then rub it on top of the eraser part you need to cut to help you see where you'll need to cut. You shouldn't draw the image directly on the eraser b/c it'll come out in reverse when you stamp with it!

*Having a very sharp blade helps with smooth cutting.

*I like using markers instead of traditional stamping inks because, its cheaper and it being a marker and all, I can easily direct specific colors to specific parts of a stamp!