diannecp Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 So my mom and i came up with this brilliant idea to cut up Trader Joe bags, stamp with white snowflakes, and use that to wrap in lieu of boxes this year (think "brown paper packages tied up with string"). Add a cute little SG tag and voila! Only thing is, we now have 10-15 bags stamped and ugh. The ink is smudging. Apparently I should've sprung for the Staz-on ink pad instead of the Craft Smart that was on sale. What we used is for embossing? So short of spraying them all with a fixative, (already tried a heat tool which didn't seem to help much), how do we keep everyone from getting white chalky paint all over them on Christmas day? Drat. First little bit of creativity I've had in a while and apparently it was a fluke. Ideas welcome. Gratefully, it was only about a $10 investment so far (bags were free, ink was $1 each and the stamps were about $5 each). Maybe they'll dry in a couple days? Reading that pigment inks take longer to dry but do they actually dry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariJ Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Ughhhh... I feel your frustration and that was such a good idea! I know what you mean, I once used a gold embossing inkpad for something and it just didn't dry. But, that was a non-porous object, I'd think you'd have the most hope with brown bags since they do absorb. I was going to suggest a hair dryer, but I'd think a heat tool would be the same? Only other thing I thought of to use is if you DO go the fixative-way, maybe hair spray? At least you maybe could get some cheap at the $ store. So sorry this derailed your wonderful project a bit, hoping someone else has an idea that would work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-M Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Dianne, that would be frustrating. Pigment ink will eventually dry but not sure how long it would take and also if on a gloss surface even longer. Make sure you have them all spread out so they can air dry. You could try and place plain scrap paper over each stamped image and press carefully (blot it ) without smudging with your hand to remove the top wettish ink. It will lighten the image but may help it dry quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaFace Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Pigment ink makes cleaner images but takes longer to dry. Do you have any embossing powder? You could use clear (or white) and heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diannecp Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 5 minutes ago, AmandaFace said: Pigment ink makes cleaner images but takes longer to dry. Do you have any embossing powder? You could use clear (or white) and heat. thought about that but that'd be a huge mess - 15 paper bags (cut and opened to full length), about 50 flakes stamped on each one! i might use the same stamp though and emboss it to make matching tags, that wouldn't be too bag. good practice project. i ended up taking the sheets to the basement and spraying them with fixative. so far no neighbors have complained (basement is huge, i did a few in each area to spread the fumes around). thanks for the ideas and tips LOL! live and learn right (my projects are usually centered around being "frugal" - oops!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessrunningfingers Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 What a fun idea. I'm sorry you ran into a snag, and hope it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diannecp Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 see, we don't have these issues with the digital stuff right?! LOL! also yes, i realize i could've bought a roll of kraft wrapping paper with some design on it. but i'd have missed making my mom lunch, shopping at michaels, laughing our heads off! but the tags will be fail safe: SG printouts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsoarty Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 You found a solution! i was going to suggest putting then on paper, or paper towels and 'iron' them on the back of the bags... if that makes sense. we'd like to see them all done and wrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariJ Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 13 hours ago, diannecp said: thought about that but that'd be a huge mess - 15 paper bags (cut and opened to full length), about 50 flakes stamped on each one! i might use the same stamp though and emboss it to make matching tags, that wouldn't be too bag. good practice project. i ended up taking the sheets to the basement and spraying them with fixative. so far no neighbors have complained (basement is huge, i did a few in each area to spread the fumes around). thanks for the ideas and tips LOL! live and learn right (my projects are usually centered around being "frugal" - oops!) I'm glad you worked it out, Dianne but you made me laugh. SO true, often when I try to say $$ or time I end up using more! But, the fun couldn't be reproduced, right? Too bad you didn't take a photo for the photo challenge but in any case I hope you show us how the packages look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhbren Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 What a great idea! I don't know the texture of Trader Joe bags (there's none within a reasonable drive), but you might use plain grocery bags. All the suggestions above sound helpful; good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisha Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 I'd love to see a picture of how these turned out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diannecp Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Waah, after 4 days, a good deal of the ink is still rubbing off. I don't want to ruin the gifts so I'm tossing these and bought some paper instead. Apparently all white ink is pigment ink - oops. Next year we may try again with a dye-based ink. Can't complain, the little fiasco only cost me about $10 and now I have all the white ink pads I could ever want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariJ Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 1 hour ago, diannecp said: Waah, after 4 days, a good deal of the ink is still rubbing off. I don't want to ruin the gifts so I'm tossing these and bought some paper instead. Apparently all white ink is pigment ink - oops. Next year we may try again with a dye-based ink. Can't complain, the little fiasco only cost me about $10 and now I have all the white ink pads I could ever want! Awwww... Sorry about that Dianne but your attitude is good! Too bad, this was really a great idea and I bet would look lovely. Live and learn, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRS Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Thanks for sharing this...it's good to know! Sorry it didn't work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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