Friday, 30 January 2015

Take It Make It Challenge: All The Winners!

Hello!
Oh.My. Goodness.... you lot are amazing! 181 entries in our January Challenge!
We are thrilled you like our new format, and we were amazed at the level of fabulous stamped art everyone shared. THANK YOU!
So....the moment you've all been waiting for, the announcement of the winners!
As you will remember, from now on we will have TWO winners from each challenge, the Design Winner and the randomly selected Prize Winner. First up, I am thrilled to announce our Design Winner..

Congratulations Hermine! We are in awe of your collage stamping skills! Hermine will win a Guest Designer slot, a Winners Profile and of course her gorgeous card will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine.

As always, we have the remaining two slots in our Design Top Three to reveal, they are in no particular order)

Congrats ladies! 


Next...the randomly selected Prize Winner! This winner gets to keep this little lot....


so..drum roll please...... our winner is:

 Congratulations Esther, you win the box of goodies!

Phew...and we're not finished yet!
We had a Blog Hop....and there were prizes to be won on the hop! A piece of original artwork, PLUS a mixed media substrate pack:
There was a prize to be won randomly on each artists blog, the winning comments are detailed below:

From Elinas Blog :
ConfettinyJanuary 20, 2015
Nice card!
I suppose that the harlequins are stamped on tissue paper, aren't they?

From Elizabeths Blog:

Jenny Shepherd said...

Very pretty x

20 January 2015 at 12:29

From Jackies Blog:
lesley lawton17 January 2015 at 02:39
fab tag spring colours are lovely just a great tag for any occasion i love it xx

From Jolandes Blog:
Maggie zei

Great idea to stamp half the butterfly with stunning result lovely calm colour combo to. A great tag.

MaggieH

From Kymonas Blog:
Jenny

January 20, 2015 at 7:36 am
Ha Ha I love this little pig – a brilliant card – thank you for making me smile.

From Lindas Blog:
Nikki Acton28 January 2015 at 11:24
I do hope so! Lovely stamping ans great creation. Nikki x

From Nikkis Blog:
Jane6:26 pm, January 16, 2015
O wow this is just stunning, I would love to win x

From Renees Blog:
Karen PetittJanuary 19, 2015 at 9:22 PM
Stunning tag - love the different image and I would love to know how you created the background too. Thanks for the blog hop Karen x

From Shirleys Blog: 
kanda16 January 2015 at 13:19
Such a pretty stamp Shirley and such wonderful colours xx

From Tracys Blog:
Carol said...

Cute bag lots of techniques - lovely x
Have a great day x

From Trishs Blog:
Deborah Wainwright20 January 2015 at 10:44
Trish this is fab I love the colours and stamping x

From  Zoeys Blog:
RedanneJanuary 18, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Even though you don't like fussy cutting, the airplane stands out so beautifully against the wonderfully blue background! Love this very masculine card. X


So...If you made one of the comments listed above, you're a winner!
CONGRATULATIONS!

Now the important bit!
 ALL winners need to get in touch with me in order to claim your prize. A link to my email address can be found by clicking my name in the 'posted by' line at the bottom of this blog post. 
Top Three Design Winners, also please contact me if you wish to receive a button to display on your blog.

Please check back next Friday for the launch of our February Challenge, we can't wait to see what you create!

















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Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Meet the team - Riikka Kovasin



Welcome to the first "meet the team" feature for 2015!  I hope you enjoyed the festive season and have the new year off to a good start. Our designer in the spotlight today is Riikka...

Hi there Craft Stampers! My name is Riikka Kovasin and I'm from Helsinki, Finland. I'm married to the love of my life and we have two daughters together, aged 5 and 4. I joined the CS team little over a year ago, in November 2013 and have been creating for the magazine ever since. I was originally a part of the Scrap365 design team and then got asked to contribute to CS as well.



Like most crafty people, I assume, I've been doing different kinds of things my whole life. Paper crafts, sewing, knitting, painting... It took me a while to really find my favorite supplies but after my first daughter was born I got into scrapbooking and fell in love with all sorts of paper crafts. I had used stamps before in card making and still do occasionally, but my favorite way to use stamps is to create a background using them and layer them on top of each other. My "go to" ink is Archival Ink in either Jet Black or in my new favorite, Watering Can.


Favourite Project #1

 
This project is blogged {here}



I chose this project for many reasons. It has many of my favorite supplies in it, a stamp that I absolutely adore but I guess the main reason was the topic as it's a turning point in my life. Long story short, it's about a moment when I learned I was a crafter, a maker and followed my passion in my studies. 

Q: Do you have a signature style or favourite technique?



A: I'm a mixed media influenced crafter so I absolutely love to get messy! I adore mists, gessos and inks and layer them on the same piece. I tend to use analogous or even monochromatic color scheme in my projects and simply adore people who can join opposite colors to the same craft.



I guess my favorite technique would include a pencil. It's not as much a technique than a little thing I usually do in my projects - add loosely drawn pencil circle around the focal point.

Favourite Project #2 
 This project is blogged {here}



This piece shows my love to layer. In this card there's acrylic paints, mists, PanPastels and inks. I love when I can get messy and just try out different mediums. On top I layered some epoxy butterflies, painted over them with gesso and then wiped the shapes clean again. This was so fun to make!

Q: Where do you look for inspiration before you start on a project?



A: Everywhere! Or maybe rather "nowhere" as I usually do not tend to look for any inspiration but let it find me. And it usually does find me and I end up in a situation with "more ideas than time".



But anything can inspire. It can be a color combination, a texture I've seen, a new supply that just needs to be tested or when I have a certain assignment to fulfill. You can find inspiration in the works of others or from your own creations!



Inspiration is actually a thing that really intrigues me and I've been writing a series of blog posts about the different sources I've used and am using (you can see the posts here). I also have an ongoing challenge together with Marsha Valk called "Inspired By" that also may shine some light on the process and how I draw inspiration before starting a piece (those challenges are here).  


Favourite Project #3



 
This project is blogged {here} 

I chose these cards as my third favorite as they show my love for the different mediums but also as they represent my favorite color palette. Like the first project they also have some of my favorite mediums and brands  in them and as a little treat, these come up with a tutorial, too! You can see it here.

Thank you so much for letting me to share a few words and some of my favorite projects here at Craft Stamper blog! If you wish to visit me, my blog is called Paperiliitin (Finnish word meaning paper clip) and I also have several social media accounts. It would be fun to see you around! Wishing you all a pleasant day!


Many thanks to Riikka for sharing a little of her stamping story and some beautiful projects and thanks to you for joining us today, we hope you're enjoying finding out a bit more about some of the designers!


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Friday, 23 January 2015

Take It Make It Challenge: Winner Profile

Hello!
Welcome to our very first Winners Profile, showcasing the Design Winner of our last Blog Challenge!
The very talented Design Winner of our December 2014 challenge is

 Martina Noder

Martina won the challenge with this stunning project, showing off the theme of 'White Stamping' beautifully:

We asked Martina a few questions all about stamping (well, we are Craft Stamper after all!)

Q: How long have you been a stamper, and how did you get started?
A: I have been a stamper for over 19 years. All started with a little craft shop near my home village. There´s where I first saw rubber stamps. Instantly I was hooked.

Q: What are your favourite kinds of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?
A: I love wood mounted rubber stamps but had to switch to polymer or cling mount stamps since these don´t require not so much storing space.
I have a huge collection of stamps from many manufacturers but Stampers Anonymous, Hero Arts and Waltzing Mouse Stamps are represented the most.

Q: Describe your style, are you a messy kind of stamper or a more ‘clean and simple’ kind of person?
A: CAS is nothing I can do. It always looks so empty ;-) I love detail, layers and various textures - nothing better than trying out some "new" techniques. 

Q:What kind of projects do you like creating the most?
A: Creating Albums out of old package carton or something is my all time favourite! I like to build something out of nothing. 

Q: Apart from stamps, what is the one product you wouldn’t be without when you craft?
A: In fact I would need a piece of paper ;-) Distress Ink walnut stain  

 I just love reading about another crafter and getting to know them a little, don't you?!

We also asked Martina to show us one of her favourite stamped creations,  and share why she likes it so much. This is the gorgeous project she has chosen:

"I created this ATC for a swap and like it a lot how it turned out. The light seems to come from behind the saying ('strength lies in calmness') and the stamping blurred a bit into the background (that´s what I was looking for). I also love the layers of colour, stamping and wording that created depth." -Martina

Congratulations on being our December Design Winner Martina, and it was lovely to learn a little more about you!

Do YOU fancy having a winners profile all about you on the CS blog? 
The profile is part of the prize package for each Design Winner of our challenges. All you need to do is enter a creation into the challenge, then if you are voted Design Winner everyone will be reading all about you before you know it!

Our current challenge 'Take A Stamp' is still open for a few more days! All the details can be found HERE.
Don't forget about our Blog Hop, that is also open for comments for a little while longer! Details on the blog hop can be found HERE. 
See you next Friday for the HUGE reveal of all our January Winners! 
 
 
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Friday, 16 January 2015

Take It Make It January Challenge : Inspiration Blog Hop!

                                                                         Hello!
I'm so excited to announce the start of the very first Take It, Make It Blog Hop!

As part of the big 2015 relaunch of the new look challenge, we thought we'd have a bit more fun with a blog hop!
(BTW, have you SEEN the prize for the main challenge this month? It's HUGE!...... have a look here!)

AND.... as if the main prize wasn't enough, we've only gone and rustled up some more for the blog hop!
As you hop, why not leave a comment on the blogs you land on? If you leave a comment, your name will be entered into the draw for this....
How's that for a super fabulous mixed media substrate pack?!
(full details of the pack can be found over on the sidebar!)
The BEST thing is.....we have 12 of these packs to give away, one up for grabs on each and every blog along the hop! 
You can also bag yourself some amazing original artwork too, each blogger has generously given the project they are showcasing on the hop as part of the prize!
When the main challenge ends, we will also be closing the comments on each blog post along the hop. We will then draw 12 names at random.... one from each set of comments on each of the 12 blogs. If your name is chosen from the comments on Elizabeth's blog (for example), you will win a substrate pack AND Elizabeth's artwork, the winner chosen from Shirleys blog will win a substrate pack AND Shirley's artwork and so on and so forth!

                                 So, without any more waffling, here is the blog hop list!


I have been reliably informed (!) that there is some stunning eye candy to look at (and to be won!) along the hop...so what are you waiting for?
And then, when you're all finished...don't forget to get your own stamps out and enter the main challenge! All the details for the main challenge can be found HERE.

All 12 winners from the hop, and also the Design Winner and Prize Winner from the main January Challenge will be announced here 9am GMT 30/01/15. 
                                                                 Have fun hopping!
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