Where Have you Been All My LIfe?

For years I have lamented about not being able to get all the stars and planets to align so that I could correctly place a stamp where I want it. I have tried getting many different things to try to achieve success, but it was still a matter of luck if it ended up where I wanted it, let alone straight! Last week, I told you about a tool I discovered that has changed all this for me, and today I'm posting a brief tutorial to demonstrate how easy it is to use. The tool is the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig by Stampin' Up! It comes with two pieces (very low tech). The T-square has right angles on both sides, making it comfortable for both righties and lefties to use. The transparency sheet is the other piece, and its correct starting position is butted up against the corner of the T-square.

For this tutorial, I chose a sentiment stamp, although this tool works with any stamp you need to position "just so". Simply ink the stamp in a dark ink, butt the corner of wood block against the T-square and press firmly.

As you can see, the ink has transferred to the transparency sheet and is straight. This will allow you to then take the transparency sheet and position it over the piece of paper you want to stamp said image/sentiment on.

I positioned the transparency where I wanted it on the paper and butted the T-square against the corner of the transparency. This recreates the earlier alignment. Leaving the T-square exactly where it is, remove the transparency and stamp the image by aligning the edges of the wood block as before.

Voila! I perfectly straight sentiment! If your paper isn't big enough for the T-square to hold it in place, tacking it down on grid paper works very well and insures that the paper won't move when you remove the transparency sheet.

One last detail you should know: this baby cleans like a dream! Just spritz a bit of Stampin' Mist cleaner on it and rub it on the Stampin' Scrub stamp cleaner pad and you're back to square one!

I SO love this tool and I know you will too! If you'd like to order it, contact me by leaving a comment and I'll hook you up! You'll never regret it...