Almost there!

Oh yes, the Blog Hop starts tomorrow at 10am! But the fun doesn't stop there - we have a whole week of activities planned for you!!! Make sure you keep coming back for more inspiration and join our Facebook event page to follow what's happening (click the Join button on the right-hand side).

 

Fri 1st February, 10am - BLOG HOP!
This is the main event! Visit all the blogs on the list for your chance to win tons of fabulous prizes (see previous posts for details) and to find fantastic and FREE inspiration from the wonderful team behind Craft Stamper magazine. The hops remains open for entries all week.

Mon 4th February - FREE tutorial
From the lovely Kim Dellow

Tues 5th February - FREE tutorial
From the fantastic Hels Sheridan

Wed 6th February, 3pm - Live Q&A
On Facebook with the Editor - your stamping dilemmas answered!

Thurs 7th February - FREE tutorial
From the delightful Carol Fox (and you can win her beautiful artwork in a giveaway too!)

Fri 8th February - Trish's Challenge!
We launch our BRAND NEW challenge! Inspired by an article in the latest issue - try the technique and share the results with us for your chance to be published in Craft Stamper and win a gorgeous IndigoBlu stamp.

All week long!Flash Prizes on Facebook! At random times we'll have prize draws on our Facebook event page - make sure you follow us as you'll only have a limited time to enter these draws.

Don't forget the hop is open ALL WEEK to give you plenty of time to visit the blogs at your leisure and enter the competition. So if you can't hop on Friday don't worry!

See you in the AM!
Katy x

New Issue Out Friday

The March issue of Craft Stamper goes on sale on Friday 1st February.

Don't miss this fab Mini Book Special issue - we have three fantastic mini projects for you, an envelope book, a tag book and a lovely fabric book too. Plus our new feature, Turn Up the Heat, starts - find out just how much you can get from the humble embossing powder with this fab new series.

Our beautiful cover project is by new DT member Christine Dark, who shares a stunning collage technique.

Full contents are available here.

Don't forget our Blog Hop starts on Friday too, to co-incide with the new issue coming out.

ALSO THIS MONTH:
Our brand new Reader Challenge begins - hosted by Trish Latimer. Pop back on Friday 8th for more info!

The rest of our wonderful sponsors

Last but certainly not least we have:

A selection of four stamps from the wonderful JOFY collection from Jo Firth-Young - including some brand new hot-off-the-press releases!

PaperArtsy have long been a favourite with Craft Stamper readers. Made famous by their quirky and vintage inspired Ink & The Dog range, PaperArtsy have gone from strength to strength in recent years with their gorgeous Lynne Perrella range, popular Hot Picks, and the latest addition, JOFY from Jo Firth-Young.

A £20 voucher to spend in their online shop!

The Craft Barn carries an absolutely massive selection of crafting products covering everything - paints, inks, mediums, embossing, tools, embellishments.... you name it, you can probably find it. Plus of course they also have an awesome range of stamps to choose from. Their bricks and mortar shop is located in Lingfield, Surrey.

Stamps and journaling goodies!

The Stamp Attic is a long-established specialist stamping retailer. Their bricks and mortar shop is in Wantage and hosts a great line up of workshops and you can also buy from them online. There are so many wonderful products to choose from you are bound to find something you like, but if you are struggling owner Wendy is both knowledgable and very friendly and is always happy to help.

Gorgeous Lynne Perrella stamps from PaperArtsy

Artist Trading Post specialises in products for the arty crafter and as well as stamps from many of your favourite companies they carry loadsa of arty supplies, mediums and finishing touches. If you love altered art and mixed media then this is a place you are bound to love! You've almost certainly seen their friendly faces at various craft shows in the UK.

£20 worth of Tando products of your choice!

Tando Creative are British manufacturers of fabulous chipboard and gorgeous masks. As well as chipboard shapes that make fantastic embellishments, they have a great range of 3D items you can alter and assemble including hangings, frames, clocks and more! Tando don't sell direct to the public but a list of suppliers can be found on their website.

Thank you again to all these wonderful people for their support!

More wonderful Hop sponsors

Here are the next five prizes up for grabs from our generous sponsors. Last reveal tomorrow!

These gorgeous stamps

Visible Image are a UK-based manufacturer of clear stamps. Their eclectic range has something for everyone from quirky characters to grungy collections and some great stamps for those difficult men. Why not pop over and treat yourself?

A selection of four A6 stamps

IndigoBlu is the home of quintessentially English stamps and is fast becoming one of the most popular UK stamp companies. Their stamps have a lovely vintage feel. If you haven't tried their famous FlitterGlu yet then you need to get shopping!

These beautiful butterfly stamps

myStampBOX has a delightful range of stamps with a clean, modern, graphic style. There is almost any theme that you can think of and, unusually, they do a small selection of stamps in German, French and Dutch. Check out the Design Team gallery on their website for some stunning cards and scrapbook pages.

£12 gift voucher to spend on goodies of your choice

Merly Impressions are specialist stockists of Kaisercraft products, amongst which are an great selection of fantastic value clear stamps starting at a bargain price of £2.95! They also carry a huge selection of Kaisercraft alterables that are just begging for ink and paint, patterned paper galore, and lots, lots more besides.

Gorgeous new Tim stamps!

That's Crafty really is a one-stop shop for all your crafting essentials - and plenty of more unusual items too. Owner Laura is really quick to pick up on new trends and products are refreshed very frequently. It can be quite dangerous to go here as it's very hard not spend, spend, spend! These lovely Tim Holtz stamps are new releases and proving popular.

A huge thank you to our generous sponsors - please support them with your custom!

Announcing our fantastic Blog Hop sponsors

We have 15 amazing sponsors for the Blog Hop (be here 1st February to play) – here are the first five prizes that will be up for grabs in our hop! More reveals tomorrow and Wednesday.

A selection of gorgeous Alice Palace stamps

Crafty Individuals are a firm favourite with CS designers and readers alike. These adorable Alice Palace stamps are the latest addition to their stamp line. Check out their fantastic new-look website.

£15 worth of Artistic Stamper stamps of your choice plus Kling-On to mount them

Visit the Artistic Stamper for a whole range of gorgeous own-brand stamps from handy backgrounds to Steampunk and sweet Mabel Lucie Attwell. Jennie has just opened a bricks and mortar shop so make sure to check the workshops out on her website if you live near Faversham.

A $30 gift certificate to spend online

If you want something totally different and really unique then your first port of call should be Stampotique Originals! Original certainly describes this company to a tee - no-one else does quirky quite like they do. Check out the whole range on their website and watch for new releases coming soon.

A beautiful Donna Downey Stamp

A Sprinkle of Imagination is a treasure trove of goodies for the mixed media artist, art journaler or scrapbooker. Inks, paints, stamps to suit all tastes, alterables.... there is something here for everyone! These Donna Downey stamps from Unity are new in and are gorgeous!

This stunning set of rubber stamps

Austrailian stamp company Darkroom Door are famous for their high quality stamps and matching paper elements. As the name suggests, many of their stamp designs are based around photographic images. For inspiration their Pinterest gallery (linked from the website) is well worth following. DD don't sell direct to the public but their stamps are widely available in the UK. Keep an eye out for their new winter releases.

A huge thank you to these companies for their support and generosity.

Scrap365 Blog Party!

Our sister magazine is having a week-long Blog Party starting this Friday over at www.scrap365.blogspot.com

Starts Friday - loads of inspirations, loads of prizes up for grabs!!! Don't miss it.

More information here.

Hippity Hop!

Announcing our totally awesome Craft Stamper Blog Hop experience, coming to a computer near you on 1st February!

15 members of our wonderful DT will be sharing inspirational projects with you and prizes from 14 fabulous sponsors will be up for grabs! Not to be missed!

Join our event on Facebook events page to keep up with the latest news.

New Design Team - yay!!!

Drum roll please............

Introducing some of our new Design Team members for 2013:

 

Elizabeth Borer
Elizabeth doesn't have a blog but you'll have seen her work in the magazine as she won our Stamper of the Year Competition this year. Her work is so delicate and feminine and she has the most fantastic eye for colour.

Kim Dellow
www.kimdellow.co.uk
Kim was a runner up in our SOTY Competition. She is a hugely versatile crafter who seems to be able to turn her hand to almost anything and do it perfectly (jealous, me? Never!). Expect a fabulously eclectic mix of loveliness from Kim in the coming months!

Penny Bennington
pennybennington.blogspot.co.uk
Penny's work, from vintage inspired decor to gorgeous journal pages, is so inspiring. She has a great eye for colour and a really distinctive style. Penny's a very artistic stamper who is always true to herself in everything she makes.

Christine Dark
sketchingstamper.blogspot.co.uk
Look at a piece of Christine's work - now look again, and again. This woman loves detail! I'd describe her work as sumptuous and she's another designer whose versatility is staggering.

Lesley Cutmore
Lesley doesn't have a blog at the moment unfortunately - I will be nagging her! Lesley is a cardmaker with a real eye for detail, who combines in-depth knowledge of techniques with beautifully hand-coloured stamped images. Her cards are a real visual treat!

Sylvia Blum
sylviastamps.blogspot.co.uk
Sylvia makes the most beautiful and classy card designs. Clean and simple is her forte and she does it exceptionally well, with an outstanding eye for balanced composition and colour. If you want elegance, Sylvia's creations have it in spades.

Birgit Koopsen
birgitkoopsen.typepad.com
Birgit loves texture and she loves techniques! This is one DT member who I guarantee can teach you something you didn't already know. She's an amazingly creative and imaginative crafter and there is always something inspirational to be found on her blog.

Jennifer Mullens
www.craftinginthecountry.blogspot.co.uk
Jennifer loves clean and simple designs. She's a one layer expert, so she's joining us specifcially to contribute to our new article Just One Layer, starting very soon! If you love crisp, modern cardmaking you'll adore Jenny's work.

R. Maria Sabina
lollyrot-scrapbooking.blogspot.ro
How many people do you know who can do inky painty and cute cards equally wonderfully? Not many I'd guess? Well meet Maria! She's an eclectic crafter with a wonderfully original style and a wide ranging taste in stamps. Maria is our very first DT member to hail from Romania!

I hope you'll join me in welcoming these wonderfully talented women into the Craft Stamper fold. I for one cannot wait to see their projects (actually I've seen some of them already - you are in for a treat!).

Congratulations to each of them and a huge thank you to everyone who responded to our Design Team callout.

Latest Subs Offer

Subscribe today and receive this great selection of goodies from Papermania, worth £19.85! These pretty springtime stamps and papers are perfect for banishing those winter blues.

Call customer services on 01684 588599 to get yours (while stocks last).

New Issue Out Friday!

The February 2013 issue of Craft Stamper is on sale this Friday, 4th January!

The cover shows a stunning bag created using TAP image transfer paper, by Helen Chilton and the free stamp is by the wonderfully talented Rachel Grieg of Darkroom Door! Gorgeous it is too.

We also announce the Round Six and Overall Winner in our Stamper of the Year 2012 Competition!

PLUS:
-Gelli Plates tutorial
-Gorgeous Mail Art
-Art Dolls
-Upcycled drinks cans
-Ways with brown paper and stencils
-Scribble Stain technique

AND LOADS MORE!

A full contents list is available on our website.