A Little Poll

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Vacancy - Freelance Photographer

Traplet Publications is seeking a freelance photographer to work flexible hours on Scrap365 and Craft Stamper magazines. We envisage we will require a minimum of 15 hours per week of work, during office hours (Mon-Thurs 9am-5.30pm, Friday 9am-4pm) on a flexible basis.
Experience in photographing craft items and an interest in arts and crafts are essential - please do not send your CV unless you meet these two criteria. The photographer must also live within easy commuting distance of Traplet Publications offices, located in Malvern, Worcestershire.
If you are interested please send a CV and covering letter stating your experience and suitability for the job to scrap365@traplet.com. Potentially suitable candidates will be asked to come into the offices for interview and to complete a practical test.

What would you like to see in Craft Stamper?

It won't be long now until the New Year and with that in mind I've been thinking about what new features we could think about adding to Craft Stamper in 2012.

So with that in mind, I am asking you, good readers, for your ideas and suggestions. What would you like to see? Is there a new regular feature that would make the magazine complete? Are there any older features you are bored of now? Should we change anything at all or are you happy with the mix?

I await your words of wisdom :).

Bye for now,
Katy x

Stamper of the Year Comp!

Hi all
Just a little reminder that there is still time to enter our fantastic Stamper of the Year competition! We are looking for entries from stampers in all styles, whether you make cute cards, mini albums, or weird and wonderful altered creations.

Details can be found on our website :). Remember you can enter via email as well as by post.

Closing date is 21st October and we have an amazing prize fund worth £2000 up for grabs!

Can't wait to see your entry!

Your nominations please...

...for BLOG OF THE MONTH!

I've not had a single nomination this month, so get those emails coming (please use the subject line 'Over to you - blog').

The email address is cs@traplet.com.

International reader blogs also welcome!

Bye for now,
Katy

August Subs Gift

I know, I know - the mag came out weeks ago... I am WAY behind this month. But in case you are thinking of subbing and wondering whether this month's sub gift is for you, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Cosmic Shimmer Chalk Mists. The offer is for all six colours of mist - gorgeous bright shades they are too. I demo'ed these at the Newbury Artstamps show and learned that there is just so much you can do with them!

First of all if you are thinking this is just another kind of glimmer mist, you'd be wrong. The effect of these sprays is much different. They are quite opaque in finish (most of the glimmery sprays are transparent) and have a matt chalk-like finish which is quite tactile.

The colours are strong and vibrant but they can be blotted or spritzed whilst wet to give a much softer and more subtle effect - giving you lots of colour variations in the one bottle.

They are also fab on surfaces like wood - as they are less 'wet' than a lot of sprays you get fantastic colour coverage even without priming.

You can of course just spray them onto cardstock using a single colour or mix of colours to create either solid colour backgrounds or a lightly spritzed effect. As long as the original colour is dry and you are not too heavy-handed, you can spray another colour over the top because, once dry, the ink is fairly permanent.

Here are some of the samples I did for the show, showing some of the things you can do with these lovely sprays:

1 Fantastic spritzed through masks to create a pretty background. The colours will mix if not dried between sprays producing lovely effects. This is the same colours as example 4 but I blotted the colour off to give a more subtle effect.

2 Spritzed onto a mat and dipped repeatedly (think Wrinkle Free Distress) you can create a much more 'grungy' looking background.
3 You can heat emboss them! Tip over the powder while the ink is still wet and just heat to set! Awesome! (Discovered this purely by accident when messing about in my little room of craft).

4 Watercolour with them - spritz onto a mat, mix with water to dilute, and pick up the colour with a paintbrush (apologies for the rubbish colouring, not my forte!). On this card you can again see a stencilled background. This time the colour is not blotted.

5 Finally the background on this card was also created with the sprays but this time they are very watered down to make a soft wash. I spritzed already wet card and then mixed with a paintbrush before drying. Again colour is added by watercolouring with the mists. I coloured the flower heads with a white gel pen.

If you read all that then you must really want the sprays so get subscribing LOL!

You can sub via http://www.craftstamper.com/ or by calling 01684 588599.

Dying to try art journaling?...

But don't know where to start? Then you might like this new DVD by the fabulously talented Kate Crane!

Regular readers will be familar with Kate's stunning journals and on this DVD she teaches you how she creates her pages from start to finish. Including a guide to materials, details on how she builds backgrounds and layers, and prompts for getting started with your writing, there really is everything you need to know to get started with journaling. Tons of inky messy fun - what could be better!

The double DVD costs £19.95. Copies are available from http://www.craftstamper.com/ or by calling 01684 588599.