Welcome to my new blog!

Hello! Welcome to my new blog! I called it The Daley Stamper because I love to stamp and I stamp almost every day. And, being a Daley (as well as someone who can't resist a pun) I thought that would be a good name.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a long time now, and have finally decided to take the plunge. It's taken me a while for a couple of reasons. First off, it always takes me a while to catch up with the trends, whatever they are. I'm much more of a trailing-edge person than a cutting-edge person, but I'm ok with that. Second, the whole technical aspect of blogging didn't really appeal to me. However, my mother is a very tech-savvy person and has really helped me out with all the behind-the-scenes stuff. (Thanks Mum! :D)

So here I am, another voice in the stamping-blog world. I hope you enjoy what you see here and I hope it inspires you to make something special for a special someone in your life.

For my first post, I thought I'd share something I made on my visit out west. My mother and I took a class at Western Educational Activities Ltd. (stamping swoon!!!) in Edmonton, taught by the amazing Cathie Allan (yes, it's true! I got to take a class from Cathie Allan and it was fantastic, another stamping swoon!!!).

In the "Back to Basics" class, Cathie taught us how to make gorgeous backgrounds using fluid chalk and pigment inks. The trick to the pigment inks is heat setting them with an iron. Who knew! I will definitely be using this technique in the future. Not only is it a lot of fun, you can really get some gorgeous colour combinations.

I love this card - I don't usually make them so big (it's 5.5x7"), but it was fun to try something new and this technique really works well on a large palette. I made it a pocket card, with a tag insert that's big enough to be a book mark.

Notes on the card: I won't go into a lot of detail about the technique since it was from a class and I don't have permission from the store or instructor to share. Basically, the panel is created by layering colours and uses pigment and chalk ink, and resist techniques.

Supplies Stamps: Daisy - Old Island Stamp Company, "Magic Happens" and dandelion - Serendipity Stamps, "Life is the flower" - Paper Inspirations; Paper: whisper white, basic black, taken with teal; Ink: colorbox fluid chalk (lavender, aquamarine, blue lagoon), colorbox pigment ink; Accessories: clear and black embossing powder, Dove blender pen, flower brads, Tombow and Marvy markers, eyelash yarn