Tipster Tuesday

I have a few tips to share today. I want to add a disclaimer - none of these are my original ideas, and if I had a source attributed to it when I got it, I have included it. Some of these are oldies but goodies that I've hung on to for reference - I included them because you never know what might be a new idea for someone else!

I also have a few current links to some more of those "natural blue diamond" ideas we talked about last week. *g* {you get the similie I'm going for, right, because a natural blue diamond is a rare, beautiful, amazing, and brilliant thing}.

Ok, in no particular order, here we go!

• Here's one from Gail Murray of Merchantville, NJ. Punch it RIGHT WHERE you want it! If you'd like to place a punched-out square at the edge of your card, here's a tip for perfect placement: First, punch a square from a "sticky note", being sure to include the sticky portion. Next, stick the punch-out onto your card front. Now, turn your square punch upside down and line up the opening with the attached sticky square. Punch! The square will be exactly where your sticky square was. The sticky punch-out can, of course, be used over and over. {why didn't I think of that??}
• If you want all your brads or eyelets to line up in a nice, straight row here's a great tip! Take the top portion of the Customer Order form and use it as a guide. {The plastic paper piercing template also works very well for this, but if you don't have it, any nice row of holes will do!}. Place it where you would like your embellishments to go, use the holes as your ruler, and you will have your eyelets in a row!
• From Lisa Curcio - a great tip for liquid applique. Have you ever heat set it, allowed it to cool, mailed it or otherwise used it and noticed that the once puffy white area is now a new "dimension" of FLAT? Here is a great tip: Before heat setting the liquid applique sprinkle with clear embossing powder! Flat problem solved.
• From Lori Washburn (also on Liquid Applique) - Remember that you get two different textures depending on if you heat the LA right away or let it dry and then heat. The first is very bubbly and bumpy, the second, more like a high grade suede.
• Coloring rhinestones, acrylic "baubles", clear buttons, etc. The clear version of all those these fun embellishments can be colored directly with alcohol markers. Instant custom-colored bling for your projects!

Some fantabulous links:

• Chipboard templates for Cuttlebug dies - how smart is this?! We do it for our punches, why not for the dies? Instant & easy determination of what images will fit where. And easy to store - all the same size and shape. Sturdy too. BRILLIANT!
• Let's get a nice clean image from those solid stamps!! Pat Huntoon {the Technique Queen} tells you how.
• Super cool corners! Patty Bennett has the deets.
• FREE fonts - a huge compiled resource for font download sites. What a great link up, HELLO, they're FREE. I use my various {*cough, 600*} downloaded fonts all the time.
• ...and the best for last - SCALLOP CARDS using the Nestabilities. I can't wait to try this. If only my THREE SETS of backordered Nesties would ship. Until then I will look at this picture and DROOL because it is so adorable and easy!