Don’t Throw Away Your Junk Mail!

ow is it that we continue to get junk mail? For some, it’s fun to rip it up, get your frustrations out, and throw it all in the recycle bin. 

Don’t throw your junk mail out!

Here’s why…

Oftentimes, when we are testing the color ink that we may want to use, or we cut a piece of good cardstock that we measured incorrectly, or we want to see what the stamp image looks like before we stamp, do you use your good cardstock or paper?  I don’t!  This is when junk mail comes in handy. 

Measure twice, cut once.

Use your junk mail to make sure the dimensions are what you want to use.  In most situations, I learn that I prefer the size to be different than what I cut.  I end up cutting a good piece of cardstock which does go into the scrap pile, but it’s a wasted piece.  I use junk mail that was intended for the recycle bin to check for measuring and cutting accuracy.  Glad I didn’t use good cardstock below. Cut the wrong size in the second photo.

Not clear, try again.

If your stamps are giving you a headache because the stamped image is not clear, first go to the blog about 4 different ways to condition your stamps.  Test your stamp so that you can see if the conditioning method that you selected worked (of course it did!).  Ink the stamp, and then test the image on a piece of junk mail. 

I don’t like that color!

A number of stamping inks come in various shades of a particular color.  Test which ink is to your liking by stamping an image on junk mail.  Most of the time, I find that the color family that I chose looks horrible for the project that I am doing.  Stamping it on junk mail gives me a rude awakening that I should test another color family. 

Use your resources

Test, test, test is the best method of getting your project to the level that you are happy with.  Avoid wasting money using good products as you jump into an idea.  It is well worth your time and money to use junk.  It will also make the marketers unhappy that you stamped and cut their mail before reading it!