Important links at your fingertips!

byhand Products Inspiration & Information

As you can see, there is a bit of a change in the look of the newsletter! The links are more relevant to the changes that have taken place at Quietfire Design over the last year. I don't think you'll find it difficult to navigate. The biggest change will be to the byhand Product links which now all go to the new shopping cart. The original PayPal shopping cart is still in use, but all the new products are available through the new shopping cart.

Please let me know if you find a link that doesn't work! It happens!

I think my technical systems are having a bad hair month. Between software and hardware there has been a huge amount of time wasted here so far this month. And that makes me cross, 'cause I'd rather play with my art supplies and get new ones for you to play with!

So I apologize if it's taken me longer than normal to get your order out or to reply to your emails. Orders with Book Kits have been particularly affected!

Now to the cool stuff!

I now have

Instructors Supply Lists

on my site.

Carrie Imai is the first instructor to take advantage of this!
If you are taking a workshop in Canada this spring with her, you will find her workshop supply lists on my site with links to the products that I carry.

If you are teaching in Canada in the near future, just send me an email (suzanne@quietfiredesign.com) and I'll be happy to do my best. I still have lots of items in stock from Island Magic.

Rinky Dinks are back in stock!
My apologies for running out, but the new place doesn't have a work bench for the power tools needed to make the Rinky Dinks, so we had to improvise. I now have a whole bunch!

Design Team Leader Deborah March has written an amazing article (read on in this newsletter) on using Brass Stencils, so in honour of that, we're having a
Stencil & Stencil Paste Sale!

They are 20% off * till February 2, 2008
You won't see the sale price till you put the items in your shopping cart. (it's one of those website oddities)
The stencils and embossing paste are found in the Rubber Stamps & Accessories category and there are lots of new ones, many of which Deborah used in her article.

*on in-stock supplies - so don't think about it for too long!!

New Inspiration Pages

Flourishes Click on the Inspiration Button on the Flourishes webpage. If you have artwork using Quietfire Rubber Stamps or other products, send me a jpg or a link to your blog or photo-sharing page where the artwork is located!

E-MAIL THIS LINK! Enter recipient's e-mail:

Click to join byhandartists	Click here to sign up for this newsletter! Fill out your email address in the News column or better yet (and to control your Quietfire Design subscriptions) create a Customer profile in the Customer Login Section. I don't share your information!
Suzanne is a member of the Visit my little gallery page on the ISABA website!	Please drop into my other website http://nourishment.usana.com While you nourish your creative spirit by reading this newsletter, don't forget your creative body needs nourishment inside and out!

Quietfire Design is now part of Rubberstampchat!
We have a VIP Gallery where I'd love to see you post your creations using your Quietfire Gentle Thoughts Rubber Stamps. Click here for the direct link to the Quietfire Gallery - have a browse, become a member and post your art to share!

The beautiful and talented Quietfire Design Team (If you haven't met them yet, click here!) would like to present
for your creative tummy rumbles,
some projects using Quietfire Design byhand Products, complete with instructions!
No calorie consumption is required in the making of these projects - unless, of course, you want to!

Inspiration and Projects for you from the
Quietfire Design Team!

Click on each photo to go to the Project Page which includes complete instructions and links to the products each designer used!

	Post-it Book by Wanda Hentges
	Gothic Arch by Kelly Burton
	Lauren's Copper Book by Lauren Nwachukwu

Guest Designer Project

I'd like to welcome Guest Designer Kristy Christopherson!
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful project with us Kristy!

Kristy began rubber stamping back in 1995 when she was introduced to it by a friend. Little did she know it would change her life! She has been guest artist for Take Ten , Stampers Sampler, Rubber Stamper, Vamp Stamp News and Rubbertampmadness. She has a passion for mixed media collages on canvas and has been in juried art shows locally. Kristy makes creativity a part of her daily life, as well as her children's lives. She lives in Southern California with her husband of 13 years and her 2 children.

Challenge Yourself!
by Deborah March
Quietfire Design Team Leader
©2008 Deborah March

I adore working with brass stencils! They're versatile, encourage you to work with a variety of mediums, and produce delightful results every time.

I have an extensive collection, and when I pull them out to play, I can do so for days at a time.

The Cadillac of brass stencils is, without a doubt, Dreamweaver©, produced in consistently fabulous designs by Lynell Harlow. There are stencils and supplies available in the Quietfire Design shop, with some newly released styles already in stock.

For your creating pleasure, several techniques will be explained step by step, with sample cards provided for many of the techniques. There are certainly other techniques to learn, to get the maximum from your stencil investment. I encourage you to web-search to find your way to more fun with these little gems.

TOOLS & MATERIALS REQUIRED

A Friend is Someone

Brass stencils Embossing stylus light box embossing paste removable tape metal leafing various colouring mediums (ie acrylic paints, Artists Paintsticks, chalks, ink pads, etc), palette knife bleach misting bottle

DRY EMBOSSING

Deborah use Heart with Ribbon Stencil for this card

This is familiar to most card makers. Place your stencil on the front of the paper, secure with removable tape. Turn the paper over, placing on a light source (light table, window or any glass that will let you view the stencil underneath the paper). Use your embossing stylus, running it inside the brass stencil area over your paper, creating a raised design. This card is a simple sample of dry embossing on vellum, mixed with a sentiment stamp heat-embossed with white embossing powder.

TIP: To help your embossing tool glide more smoothly, use a small piece of waxed paper and rub over the paper's design area, or run your embossing tip through your hair. The natural oils provide lubrication. Quietfire Embellishment: self-adhesive antiqued aluminum heart

SIMPLE STENCILLING

This is a very easy technique for beginners. Simply tape your stencil onto your cardstock, and, using a variety of colouring mediums and a ¾" stencil brush with a "dry brush" technique, stencil inside all cut-out areas, using a circular motion, being careful not to get colour underneath the stencil. For this card, I used a blue iridescent PaintStik for to stencil "Thank You."

PASTE EMBOSSING

EMBOSSED GOLD LEAFING

Deborah used Thorn Border and Each of Us has a Song for this card	I absolutely love the wonderful, elegant results gold leafing provides. Working with gold embossing paste, follow directions above for paste embossing. Let dry. Reposition the stencil over design area and tape again, using removable tape as before. Stencil all of the design with finger dauber and the glue from a glue pad (I use Stewart Superior's Stamp and Stick Glue Pad). Remove stencil and drop in water until you have time to clean it. Dry the glue by using a heat gun, for approximately thirty seconds, keeping it moving so it won't bubble the paste. After letting it cool for a few seconds, test the area with your finger. It should attach to your finger, or feel dry.
Place the card on a paper work space or an open file folder. Lay the leafing sheet gently on top of design and tap with your finger or a stencil brush so it adheres to the glued area. You can also use leafing flakes, in which case you'd just tap them gently onto the prepared surface. Burnish leafing with a stiff stencil brush and don't be afraid to brush hard, as this process will remove all the jagged edges of excess gold leafing around the embossed edges. Tap the excess pieces from the file folder into a container, as these can be used again.
To use leafing over rubber stamped images, stamp your image with any embossing stamp pad (ie Versamark, Top Boss, Ranger), sprinkle Stamp 'n' Bond over top (Stampendous), heat set, and apply leafing as above. Deborah also uses The Essential Glue Pad for this, too. These cards use gold paste embossing with variegated metal leafing, and a sentiment stamp heat-embossed with copper embossing powder. (Background Decorative Paper)

BLEACH STENCILLING

Fill a small fine-mist bottle undiluted bleach. Test different colors of cardstock by spraying lightly with the bleach spray bottle. Each card stock bleaches and colors differently. Some don't have a significant amount of change, so you want to experiment to discover which ones bleach the best and give the effect you desire. Place the stencil on cardstock and lightly spray it two or three spritzes. Remove stencil and clean with water. The bleach continues to work for a few minutes on the cardstock and the results are spectacular.

SHADOW EMBOSSING

Stencil "Thinking of You" using black craft ink and a stiff stencil brush. Use the dry brush technique so the color doesn't slip under the stencil and cause smudges. Shift the stencil less than 1/16" toward the upper left corner. Tape out all of the edges with removable tape. Paste with Dreamweaver Embossing Paste as above. Remove immediately and clean stencil.

GLITTERING

Carefully set your brass stencil on two sided transparent tacky paper which has been cut to the size of the stencil with a ¼ inch outside border.

Shake coloured glitter over the cut-out areas. Pat down to ensure good adhesion, shake off any excess.

Very carefully lift the stencil, then shake clear or iridescent glitter over remaining sticky areas to achieve this pretty result.

Quilt Leaf Heart Stencil
Gltter coming soon!

Let your imagination go wild with all the possibilities of this delightful medium.

To see a complete list (more or less!) of the classes Suzanne teaches, click here!

go to the top

Gifts for the Artists in the Spotlight
Free Rubber!

Have you had your artwork published in a magazine?
Did it mention that you used products from Quietfire Design?

If so, then you are elible to receive a reward of free rubber stamps!
There is one reward per issue at this time. You will need to have credited Quietfire Design in print and supply a photo/scan of the artwork and text with the credit. I'll be absolutely over the moon and will send you on a $25 shopping spree through the Gentle Thoughts Rubber Stamps.

Qualifying Publications:
Just Cards (have you seen the Quietfire ad?)
Rubberstamp Madness (have you seen the Quietfire ad?)
Somerset Studio
Scrap and Stamp
Stampers Sampler
Take 10 (or other Stampington publications)

just check with me for other publications that may qualify.

Create without Limits!