here i have two tips i frequently use. both are quite cheap, as you go a looooong way with the materials.
first: color your own tape (and stamp it, if you like)
i use the white tape that comes for stabilization if you hurt your joints at sports. there are several meters at one roll, so you go with this for years;) – well, except you are very sportive, too;))
i tear strips of it from the roll and put them onto a sheet of acetate (or something similar, where you can remove them later and the glue remains active). then i color them (dye inks from the refill work fine, take a brush) either with exactly the colors i need for my project – or randomly in various colors to have some in reserve. they stay on the acetate until i need them. you can use them to fix transparencies on your artwork &&&…
you can also stamp onto that stripes with brilliance or stazon stamppads, if you want more texture.
second tip: color cotton ribbons and print your own sayings
again i use the white material – now cotton, which you can buy as cheap household ribbon in various lengths and widths. cut off pieces which you color in with thinned dye-inks from the refill (normally i have some small jars with various colors standing around, so i need not mix them new every time). i take vivid mostly, but also adirondacks or other brands work well.
when the strips are dry, you can print on the words you need – either via t-shirt-transferpaper, or – cheaper, directly in your printer:
print the word you want first onto white paper, fix a piece of colored ribbon exactly over that printing with tesa-tape (leave a little space left and right) and run it through the printer again. voilà – the printing is on your ribbon. (do the coloring first, the ink from the printer will run otherwise!) fix that with brads on your card or glue it onto your artwork… have fun!!
go to michelle´s site to look for more cheap tricks:)
