Hi girls J
Firstly, let me apologize for being missing in action for so long. It was my bad L because I was caught up with boring stuff like assignments and projects. Though I also did take some time to think about my next posts, which I hope you will like ♥
I won’t waste any more time on this post. So here goes…
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Today I’m gonna give tips on fixing old stationeries. If you think you have a lot of unused or abandoned stationery (pens, erasers etc.) that you want to make use of again, here are some tips to fix them up as good as new J
To prepare for a project, look out for the bolded items. They will indicate what tools or materials you need before you start.
There’s also an extra tip* at the end which does not involve old stationery, so check that out too J
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1. Markers
(`ᴥ`) If you have markers that are dried up or have little ink left in them, spray some perfume or body spray on the tip of the marker to moisten the ink again. The alcohol in the spray will dilute the ink inside the marker, letting it flow naturally. If it doesn’t work immediately, give it shake or leave it for a while. Usually, though, it will flow the instant you spray on the tip.
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| Markers dry up fast...especially when you leave the caps off for too long. |
(`ᴥ`) Remember that you can use other sprays, as long as they contain alcohol in them (in case you don’t feel like wasting expensive perfume :P). You can also try this tip for other markers, but from my experience this works best on permanent or whiteboard markers.
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| Perfume with alcohol content. Also look out for words ending with 'ols' or 'yls' like 'Eugonol' or "Benzyl-" because these are, in a way, types of alcohols too. |
2. Wooden Pencils
(`ᴥ`) If you, like me, have a fancy for wooden pencils then here's a tip for you. First, if you have plain pencils that need some sprucing up, get some ribbon and paint or spray. Wrap the ribbon around the pencil while leaving gap (about ½ cm to 2cm) between each consecutive wrap and tape the ends. Then, paint or spray over the gaps and let it dry for a few hours. Take off the ribbons and voila! You now have patterned pencils you can enjoy writing with J
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| Turn this..... |
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| ....or this.... |
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| .....into this! |
3. Erasers
(`ᴥ`) Of course after using pencils, you must be in need of erasers. Here’s a tip to keep your erasers clean. Take some cello tape, and simply tape your eraser! Make sure you do this in a wrapping motion, so you sort of “bandage” your eraser, just like how a mummy is wrapped up. Also, use narrow tape (or you can split you tape into two) so that when you need to use your eraser, you just unwrap it bit by bit J
(`ᴥ`) If your eraser is dirty in the first place, just get a plain piece of paper (it must be clean) and erase the dirty parts of the eraser. The black marks will come off quickly and leave the eraser clean.
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| Mummify your eraser! |
4. Stamps*
(`ᴥ`) This is actually just as an additional tutorial for the art lovers out there. If you are in the process of making cards, wrapping paper or pretty gift tags, here’s a decoration tip. If possible, use paper or card which has a brownish sort of color, as the final effect of this project is a vintage look. Then, take a piece of plain A4 plastic (the type used as a cover for photocopied stuff) and use a craft blade to cut out heart shapes in different sizes. Then, take a small piece of sponge and press it gently on a red or black ink pad.
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| A4 plastic pieces for book covers |
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| Heart shaped templates |
(`ᴥ`) Take the heart template you cut out and place it on your card or artwork. Then very lightly, dab the sponge onto the template. When you’re done dabbing the all the hearts, lift the plastic gently and you can see little heart shapes on your card. This technique leaves you with a very rustic or vintage look, which gives your artwork some character J
This tip is especially good for detailed patterns, like florals or curls. It beats buying expensive stamps or cutting out shapes on the sponge itself (that can get tricky). You can also try different colored ink pads for different effects.
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| Your end product will look something like this, but without the detailing J |
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| My experiment with a wavy template, plus blue and purple ink |
So that’s all for today and I hope you enjoy the tips J Don’t forget to try them out and share you experience with us here. Leave a comment on your thoughts too! We really appreciate feedback from you girls.
Till next time, ciao.
x
Haneesa
All pictures are courtesy of
