Nona Designs is a great place to get started! Maybe you've attended a home stamping party or seen some amazing cards, projects and scrapbooks a friend created. Whatever it is, you're hooked! (We speak from experience).
Although we'd love to sell you TONS of products, try to resist the urge to go crazy at first. Start by thinking through exactly what it is you want to create. Lots of Birthday Cards? Hand stamped gift items like clothing, bags, or garden pots? Maybe you want to try jewelry, home decor or a photo journal. Obviously the choices are endless.
You might be someone who doesn't think they are creative and rubber stamps are ready-made artwork you can get onto paper. Or you are a more advanced artist and want to explore the design, texture and varied media that can be incorporated into your artwork with stamps and stamping inks.
Whatever your interest, here are some links to get you started. If you can't find what you want, try our SEARCH button or drop us an email and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.
Click on the links for the product pages and more information
Cardstock - We offer some basic cardstock and cardstock grab bags, A-2 Envelopes (fits a popular card size - 8.5 x 11" piece of cardstock cut in half then folded in half) and specialty papers as well (Vellum, Acetate, etc).
You'll also find links to stampable items like blank frames and boxes HERE.
Inks - This is a directory of every ink product we carry, including ink cleaners. You'll find slow drying pigment inks (great for heat embossing), Permanent, Archival, Home Decor and Fabric Inks. You'll also find specialty inks like Chalk, Resist and Watermark Inks. If you want a quick and colorful result with your rubber stamp, try one of our Rainbow Pads! Big & Juicy are the most popular.
Rubber Stamps - This is a directory of the Rubber Stamp companies we carry. Our site is arranged by the stamp companies we carry (much like the shelves at your local rubber stamp retailer). As you become more experienced, you might find you like certain company's stamps better than others (or worse, you like them all!).
Embellishments - There is more to paper crafting than two-dimensions. Don't be afraid to add a charm, ribbon or fill a paper pocket with something interesting. Visit our Embellishments page for ideas.
We also group our stamp pages seasonally. We have Winter Holiday stamps together and Valentine stamps together (two of the biggest stamping times of year!)
Colorizers - Although some stamp images are so amazing that you can stamp and stop, may stampers like to colorize their images. You can do this a number of ways. Coloring book style (where you fill in the outlines), watercolor painting, wet markers or glitters!
We carry Color Pencils, Watercolor Crayons and Markers. Remember when you use a wet medium like watercolor or markers over the stamped image to use an ink that is permanent and resists smearing (like Ancient Page).
Dye inks like Vivid and Big & Juicy are like watercolors themselves and will smear when wet.
You can also Heat Emboss your stamped image to make it waterproof and colorize inside the lines! (See embossing info below).
Glitter - Glitter is a sparkly way to add color and pizzazz to your images! We carry a number of products called "Glitter Glues" that are glitter suspended in a gel that dries hard (not sticky) and comes in a myriad of colors. It's not intended as an adhesive, but is called glue because it adheres to whatever you apply it. In addition to glitters, we have other bottle applied liquids like Liquid Pearls and Adirondack Pearls (dries into a hard pearly surface). Also look at Papier and Glossy Accents (dry hard and raised). You will be amazed how a dab or two of these products will add a professional touch to your projects!
Emboss - Heat Embossing (as opposed to dry embossing where you run a stylus through a brass stencil onto cardstock to create a raised impression) is a stamping basic! The first time a stamper sees this process it's like magic. Fine powder is poured over a wet stamped image, the excess is tapped off then the what's left sticking to the ink is heated, melted and then cools to a hard raised surface.
Embossing Powders come in so many colors and textures that once you start, it might be all you want to do. There is even an "Embossing Powder Recipe Book" from Ranger that gives you various recipes for mixing embossing powders to create interesting finishes and color effects!
Our Embossing Pages give you a vast choice of powders, heat guns and other embossing accessories!
Instructional Materials - We can't give the personalized instruction you might find at your local Rubber Stamp retailer. But we do offer other instructional items that can help you in your own home! We have a large list of Videos and Books to choose from (many at special pricing!).
A good starter Video is Clearsnap's "Complete Basic Art Stamping Techniques." You'll have 75 minutes of instruction that covers everything from cleaning your stamps to more advanced techniques like stamping on wood and scrapbook pages.
Instructional Materials - BOOKS - Browse our many titles. Design Originals, Making Memories, Tim Holtz and MORE.
Project Ideas - This is where you can get step-by-step instructions and examples for many cards and other projects. You can also purchase most of the products used for each project all from one page. Check these out!
Email Update List - We maintain a private Email Update List you can subscribe to. At least once a month we send updates about new products, sales and projects. You have to request subscription and we are happy to remove you anytime you want. A great way to stay on top of the latest (and cheapest!) in the rubber stamping world!
Here's hoping this gets you started...
Happy Stamping and Enjoy Your Art!
Enjoy Your Art!
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