August 2006 - Lea Everse
"Paper Piecing"

"The Wilds of West Texas"

(Click on picture for instructions)

How long have you been stamping?
Since 1986

What is your favorite technique?
It depends on the day….I'm still fond of resist techniques and someday I'm going to learn how to color pencil…..(maybe) …

Favorite stamp company?
Oh, please! Again, it depends on the day…some of my favorites in no particular order are Stonehouse Stamps, Paper Parachute, Rubbermoon, Proton Studio (sadly defunct), and I should really get up and go look in the stamp drawers because I'm sure I've forgotten someone important.

Favorite Asian stamps?
99% of my Asian stamps are from Stonehouse Stamps. The stamps are beautifully made and I've never had one backprint yet (my personal pet peeve when stamping). (A backprint is when ink gets on the empty spaces on a stamp, i.e., in the middle of a not-to-be-stamped part, and shows up as a smudge on your stamped work.)

Favorite stamp accessory?
My Genesis Trimmer…the most and best money I've ever spent on a tool. I could kick myself for not buying it sooner. I wish I had ordered the baby trimmer when I ordered the big one because I'd love to have it right at my fingertips. I have ordered one and it will be a happy day when it arrives.

Favorite colors?
My all time favorite color in the real world is celadon green, but when I'm stamping, it depends on what I'm doing. I'm drawn to dark colors, but the images I use mostly determine the colors I actually use when I make a card. I am fairly traditional in my color choices…..it's rare for me to make a pink sky or a purple cow. (And yes, I always colored inside the lines.)

Favorite embellishment to finish a card?
I don't think I have a favorite anything because it changes all the time. Right now, I am into rhinestones and glittery things. I am in love with those glitzy stickers that Stonehouse Stamps has. I like to color them with an alcohol marker and then top them with a drop of Diamond Glaze or Crystal Lacquer.

What is the one tool you couldn't live without?
A centering ruler

Any helpful tips for the group?
Look around you and make a little file of clippings of things that you like….it could be an ad in a magazine with an unusual use of color or a picture of a piece of enameled jewelry or the cover of a catalogue with a beautiful embroidered jacket. … anything that catches your attention.

As a member of the Oriental Stamp Art Group, why do you like stamping in the Oriental theme?
I like chiyogami paper…that's really it! I also like marbled paper and paste paper and wrapping paper….when I was young, I used to love to go to the art store and look inside those big flat drawers. I started buying decorative paper when I was around 12 maybe…I had no idea what I would ever do with it, but I had to have it.

Is there any one place you'd like to visit to find rubberstamps, supplies or any other Asian elements?
I was extremely bad the few times I have been to San Francisco. Oh, and once I was in Seattle and went crazy in a big store there. I don't really know of anyplace where I should look for things like that…I have heard that in Japan, they have stationery stores that are like five stories high! I would love to go there as I love things like pens and blank books and stickers and things like that.

What other stamping lists or clubs do you belong to?
We don't have a local stamping club (that I know of). I belong to maybe a dozen stamp related Yahoo lists, but I am usually pretty quiet unless someone gets my dander up or I see a place where I can toss in a joke.

What favorite stamping magazines would you recommend?
Sad to say, I can't recommend any magazines anymore. I am sick to death of the altered, distressed, messy, collaged look and I am *really* sick of the "glue on a pound of purchased embellishments" look.

I would love to find a glossy magazine with good clean design work, high quality photography and lots of technique articles.

Published in any magazines? If yes, please list.
It's been a while, but I have had work in most of the U.S. stamping magazines

Any other hobbies, crafts or art interests?
I like to buy beads and fondle them. I waste a lot of time reading. I am a calligrapher (of sorts). I wish I could sing, but I can't.

What inspires you to be creative?
Usually it's something I've seen (like those clippings I talked about earlier) or else it's something like a piece of beautiful paper or breaking down and buying those square cut Aurora Borealis rhinestones……but mostly I am inspired by a deadline, like someone's birthday or the project that I am supposed to be doing to accompany this article. I work best under pressure.

Any art background?
I loved my grade school art classes, but after the eighth grade, my parents wouldn't let me take anymore because they said I was "good enough." My grandmother and her two sisters were artists and my aunt is also, and they were nice enough to let me watch them and taught me how to use their materials. My grandmother *always* sent me art supplies for my birthday.

Have you used any unusual item in your stamping?
Possibly, but as far as I'm concerned, *anything* is fair game to use while stamping.

Any favorite websites you would recommend for inspiration?
I'm on dialup. Ask me after we get DSL. I'm too impatient to wait for a webpage to load up. When I am trolling the internet, I usually head for amusing sites like the "snarks and barks" page for Rockstar Supernova or Texas Ranch House or some other amusing show I saw on TV, or something I saw on a list. I am a sucker for anything amusing.

Do you have a day job when you're not stamping?
I take care of a 4400 square foot house. Maybe not like I should, but so far, the health department hasn't been out and closed us down yet…..

Tell us about your family and where you live.
I am married for the second time. We were both widowed and felt lucky to have a second chance at romance, (at our advanced ages!) My husband is a Dutch biochemist who restores old cars for his hobby. He has three children who are all grown and gone, and we have four cat children and two dogs at home. We live in the wilds of West Texas.

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Paper Piecing
By Lea Everse

(The recipe for this technique will make two cards.)

Supplies Needed:

2 different coordinating patterns of Yuzen washi paper (I used blue and pink)
2 Sheets of 8 ½" x 11" text weight paper
Coordinating Tairei paper or cardstock
Onyx black VersaFine inkpad
Open rubber stamp of your choice (I used the front view open kimono from Stonehouse Stamps)
Black permanent marker
Xyron or other double-sided adhesive sheets, such as Peel and Stick
3/8" circle punch
3/8" diamond punch
Heat gun (optional)
Peel-off stickers (to taste)
Geo Shape Sparklers (stonehousestamps.com)

Project Instructions:

1. Stamp kimono (from stonehousestamps.com) once onto blue yuzen and once onto pink yuzen using Onyx Black VersaFine ink. Either heat set or let dry overnight.

2. When dry, trim around the outside of each image leaving at least 1/2" around each image. Run through a Xyron machine and attach adhesive to the back sides of the images or mount to a sheet of double-stick paper. Remove backing paper and mount each image to a sheet of text weight paper. I used black. Yuzen is very delicate and this will make it much easier to handle.

3. Run each image through the Xyron machine again or apply another sheet of double-stick paper to the back of the text-weight paper. Leave the backing paper on, and cut out each kimono, cutting right through the black, stamped lines. You will have a left sleeve, a right sleeve, a collar piece, a sash (obi), and five skirt panels. Save the scraps for later.

4. I used a black marker and colored the edges of each cut out piece. Let these dry for a while you stamp the kimono once onto 3 1/2" x 4 1/2 " pieces of pink and blue Tairei paper, (available from stonehousestamps.com) or other pink and blue cardstock. Heat set or let dry overnight so the ink doesn't smear in the next step.

5. Arrange the cut-out pieces of the two kimonos so they look like the examples. Remove the backing paper from one piece at a time and place the cut out kimono piece onto the matching stamped area of the blue and pink paper just like puzzle pieces. Start with the sash first and butt all the other pieces firmly up against the previous piece before smoothing all the pieces down completely.

6. I used a circular gold peel-off sticker in the center of each sash, and added gold Dot Sparklers (stonehousestamps.com) for accent.

7. Mount the kimonos to coordinating cardstock. Punch corners on one layer using a notch (Southwest) punch and wrap with gold thread, as shown. Fasten thread to the back of the cardstock with tape. Mount to additional coordinating cardstock. Layer to taste.

8. Punch 16 diamond shapes and 8 circle shapes for the leftover scraps of Yuzen and attach at the corners as shown in the examples. I topped each punched out shape with Geo Shape Sparklers (stonehousestamps.com) in circle and diamond shapes.

Lea