Take It Make It Challenge: October Winners!

Hello everyone!

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our October challenge!

As you all know, we have two winners to annouce today, so without further ado let me introduce you to our Design Winner:

Entry number 6: Karen

We loved this gorgeous card by Karen! The stunning deep blues of the backgound go so well with the wonderful snowflakes. We loved it! Karen will win a Guest Designer slot here on the blog, her very own Winner's Profile, and of course her amazing art will be featured in a two page spread in Craft Stamper magazine! Congratulations Karen!

We also have the remaining top slots to announce!

The rest of the top four (we had a tie this month!) Design Winners are:

Entry number 44: Maria 
Entry number 26: Mac Mable
Entry number 62: Susanne

Congratulations, it was such a hard choice this month!

We now need to share the random winner of our challenge. This winner will receive the amazing prize on offer....

A Sizzix Scoreboards XL die: Wrapped Journal by Eileen Hull

Congratulations to....

Entry number 32: Sharon

I'm sure you've love the prize Sharon :)

Winners, you need to need to get in touch with me in order to claim your prize!  Please email me at: editor.cs@mytimemedia.com , and put TIMI Winner in the subject line, then I'll be sure to spot it! 

Top Three Design Winners, also please contact me if you wish to receive a button to display on your blog.

Our November challenge will be launched next Friday, November 2nd.
We can't wait to see all the wonderful art you will all be sharing!

Take It Make it Challenge: Winner's Profile

Hello!

Welcome to our Winners Profile, showcasing the Design Winner of last month's Take It Make It challenge!

The very talented winner of the September 2018 challenge is:

Jane Tyrrell

find her here: www.jane-janesjournal.blogspot.com

Jane won the challenge with this amazing card. We loved the way the atmospheric inked background complements the images perfectly! Completely stunning!

We asked Jane a few questions 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 started stamping over 25 years ago after watching a lady heat emboss a spider’s web stamp at a craft fair. I 
was captivated by the “magic” of embossing, bought the products and was hooked. My Mum also took me to 
lots of classes in the early days while my children were at school, on my day off from work. I learnt lots of the 
skills I still use every day. I still have my first wood mounted stamps, they are very treasured and even 
occasionally used.

Q: What are your favourite kind of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?

A: My favourite stamps are quality clear ones as I like to “see” where I plan to stamp on a design. I 
like stamps that are a little bit different but not too quirky. I am still partial to using the odd cute
 one too. I also love using inspirational words on my work. My favourite stamp companies are
 Visible Image, STAMPlorations, Tim Holtz and Lavinia.

Q: Describe your style, are you a 'messy' kind of stamper or do you have more of a clean and simple style?

A: I am very influenced by the changing seasons and Mother Nature so my colour palette and 
designs vary according to the time of year. I use every style from clean and simple to full on, 
messy mixed media. I really enjoy experimenting as I craft and trying new ideas and styles.

Q: What kind of projects do you like creating the most?

A: As I am lucky enough to sell my cards in a local tearoom a lot of my favourite projects are 
cards. However, I enjoy making mixed media scrapbook pages for my real life (as opposed to 
my blog name) “Jane’s Journals”. In my journals I document, in art, special times in my life 
which I call my “moments”. I like to make travel journals after holidays because they hold so 
many treasured memories to look back at. I am also partial to creating seasonal tags. At the
 moment they are for family Halloween treat bags but I also make them at Christmas and 
Easter.

Q: Apart from stamps, what is the one product you wouldn't be without when you craft?

A: Tim Holtz’ Distress inks...I own every single colour and use them on everything I make.

We also asked Jane to share some of her favourite stamped creations with us, and tell us why she likes them so much. Here is what she has chosen:

"First up, Number 1 is a make from back in 2015. It’s an art journal “moment” I made featuring
 my little granddaughter on our annual Conker hunt" - Jane

"Number 2 is a recent make using the fun new alcohol ink lift off technique. I gave this card to 
my granddaughter on her first day of school last month. I thought the sentiment was so 
appropriate" - Jane

"Number 3 is a tag I made last autumn, you can see how influenced I am by the colours of the
 season" - Jane

 "Number 4 is a fun card I made using a photo of my brother and me as kids...don’t you just 
love the outfits" - Jane

"And lastly number 5 has to be a Christmas card as I am a real Mrs Christmas and adore 
everything about the season. I even have a countdown app on my phone!" - Jane


Congraulations on being our September Design Winner Jane, 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!

Art Call: Ready Set Stamp gallery

Ready Set Stamp: Reader Submissions Wanted!

THANK YOU so much for all the fabulous cards submitted for our last art call, it was so hard to choose just a few to publish! We can now announce the next theme.....

We are looking for submissions for our Ready, Set, Stamp feature on the following theme for our February 2019 issue of Craft Stamper. If you've always wanted to see YOUR card in print, now is your chance!

For 2019 we're changing things up slightly, giving you FIVE colour options to play with! Don't forget, black, white and any metallics are always welcome no matter the colour scheme. 

Colours: Latte, Ivory, Steel Blue, Pale Ice Blue, Columbia Blue

Deadline for submission: 13th November 2018

· Please email your submissions to: editor.cs@mytimemedia.com

· Please put 'Ready Set Stamp' followed by the theme in the subject line

· Please note that due to the number of submissions it's not possible to contact every entrant individually - if you have not heard from us within one week, your submission has not been successful. Please try again with a different card!

Guidelines:

•  Please make cards only for this gallery.
• Please follow both the theme AND the colour scheme when creating your cards!
• NEW work only please, we do not accept cards that have been published elsewhere (including online) before submission.  
• Any stamps used MUST be branded. Please do not use stamps sold without designer/manufacturer information on the original packaging.
•  Stamps used MUST be available to buy currently, either from a UK stockist or a stockist with an international shipping policy that ships to the UK.
• We do not accept cards ONLY created with digital imagery for this feature. Digital imagery is welcome, but  MUST be used in conjunction with rubber/polymer stamping to qualify.
•  Cards which are selected need to be posted to the Craft Stamper offices in the UK. The cards will be returned, along with a complimentary issue of the magazine.
• This call IS open internationally.
• Note that we do choose artwork as it arrives, so please don't wait until the last minute to submit if your cards are ready.
•  Black, white and metallics can be added to any of the schemes. The ideas given are simply that, ideas, and do not have to be followed to the letter!
• Text for this article is required (don't worry - it is short!) and should be entered into the document provided – this will be sent to you if you are selected.
•  

We can't wait to see your fabulous creations!  

Take It Make It October Challenge: Inspiration

Hello!

Our October challenge is well under way, we love all the entries we've seen so far, and can't wait to see more!

As it's the second Friday of the month, we're back with some more amazing eye candy from our DT, hopefully something will inspire you to enter the challenge!

So... just a little reminder before we show you the projects!

 ALL of our challenges this year are 'Anything Goes' stamping challenges!

So....Show us how unique you can be, create anything your imagination cares to dream up! Share your cards, journal pages, layouts, 3D assemblage or whatever else takes your fancy. As long as you have stamped somewhere on your project, then you're good to go!

We have two prizes on offer, as always. The first is the Sponsor Prize, and the winner of this will be randomly chosen from all the eligible entries of the challenge. To make sure your project is eligible to win, make sure you have followed our challenge guidelines. These can be found on our sidebar over here ---------->

and also in a tab under the banner at the top.

PLEASE REMEMBER: We only want to see ONE project in each individual blog post entry!

A set counts as more than one :)

The amazing prize on offer this month for the randomly chosen winner is..... (drum roll please..........) 
 

A Sizzix Scoreboards XL die: Wrapped Journal by Eileen Hull

Our Design team have created some more stunning stamped art for you to look at, we hope it inspires you to enter the challenge!

Guest Designer, Winner of the August challenge:

Amanda Pink

Cheremane Smith

Donna Gray

Elina Stromberg

Ellie Knol

 

Jennalee Anderson

  

Mandi Mance  

Melina Dahl

 

Nikki Acton

 

Shirley Bampton

Wow!

Amazing inspiration from the DT!
The link up tool to enter the challenge can be found on last Fridays post HERE!

Blog Exclusive: Viva LasVegaStamps

Good Morning!
The very talented designers from Viva Las VegaStamps! shared some simply amazing cards with us in the November issue of Craft Stamper magazine! We were all blown away by them, and the best bit is we haven't even shown you all of them yet!
We have another 4 projects to share with you all today :)

We love this wonderful project from DeeDee Catron:

Witch-Hazel

By DeeDee Catron

It’s FALL! & that’s MY time of year. I love working on Halloween inspired artworks like Witch-Hazel. There is no 

other time of year where we get to use dark and macabre imagery and get away with it. So, bring on the ghouls 

and goblins, the witches and werewolves!

MATERIALS LIST

Stamps DeeDee used...
Viva Las VegaStamps! – Crow Looking Left
Viva Las VegaStamps! – Witch-Hazel Apothecary Label
Viva Las VegaStamps! – It Was a Dark & Stormy Night…
Viva Las VegaStamps! – Web in Tree Branches

Other materials...

UmWowStudio Chipboard – Star Confetti
UmWowStudio Chipboard – Crown Mash
May Arts Ribbons – various ribbons
Ranger Ink – Black Archival Ink
Stabilo Woody – Orange
Stabilo Marks All – Black
DMC Floss – Dark Gray
Gold foil

Vintage book pages

misc brad

UHU glue stick

Gel medium

white cardstock

muslin fabric

leather needle.

Witch-Hazel is a collection of imagery and texture. It’s a fabric base sandwiched between two pieces of paper, 

one cardstock and one watercolor press. The background is built of stabilo and water. There are stamps on 

book pages and actual imagery from book pages. Striking jet black always looks great with a bit of kraft 

coloured chipboard next to it. The fibers add the necessary (to me) texture that the piece was lacking. 

***** 

Potions and Poisons

By Michele Kosciolek

I love being able to take every day stamp designs and making them work for a specific holiday, in this case jars 

and bottles for potions and poisons.

MATERIALS LIST:

Ranger Archival Ink-Black

Distress Ink-Pumice Stone

Bazzill Cardstock- Black and White

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Prisma Colored Pencils

Stamps Michele used... All Viva Las VegaStamps!
Bottle 2x3

Bottle with Top 1 1/4x2 ¼

Bottle 1x1 ½

Mason Jar 2 1/2x3 ¾

Spider 1x3/4

Spider on a Web Line 3/4x2

Poison 1 1/2x2x1/2

Radioactive 2x2

Infectious Waste 1x1 3/4

Stamp masking is one of my absolute favorite techniques when I am making cards.  I use masking paper or old 

book pages for all my masking. And boy will you become an expert fussy cutter!!  I especially enjoy the depth 

of all the layers you can create with masking.

***** 

Life Among the Stars

By Tera Callihan

I wanted to create something that inspired a dreamy feeling. I love the calm of a starry night, and I wanted this 

project to inspire that sense of calm. When I think of full moons, and starry nights, It takes me straight back to 

childhood.

MATERIALS LIST

Plain White Cardstock

Tim Holtz Layering Stencils- Dot Fade (THS006), (THS105),

Archival Ink- Jet Black, Cornflower Blue, Watering Can

Distress ink- Wild Honey (Distress Oxide), Faded Jeans (Distress Oxide), Weathered Wood (Distress Ink)

Tim Holtz Blending tool

Perfect Pearls Mists- Heirloom Gold

Stamps Tera used...

(All Viva Las VegaStamps!)

Grungy Strip of Stars, The Moon, Tree of Life-Tree with roots

To create these cards, I started with my focal images and masked them off. I built the rest of my design from 
there. The moon and stars were my next Items to add. I love building up details around focal images, so I 
built the background with inks and stencils. (Blue/grays are always my favourite go to inks). The stencils add a 
different depth and texture than stamps alone.  

*****

In the Pale Moonlight

By Michele Kosciolek

Nothing screams Halloween like Wolfman, and these days werewolves are all the rage!! The combination of 
Distress ink and coloured pencils give the brick wall the dark and spooky 'alley' feel that worked perfectly 
for this stamped Halloween scene.

MATERIALS LIST

Ranger Archival Ink-Black

Distress Ink-Pumice Stone

Bazzill Cardstock- Black and White

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Prisma Colored Pencils

Gamsol

Stamps I used... All Viva Las VegaStamps!
Wolfman 3x3 ¾, Stack of Crates 2 3/4x3 ½, Brick Background 2 1/4x5, In the Pale Moonlight 3/4x1 1/2

Coloured pencils are my go to lately for any colouring and I just love using Gamsol (an odourless mineral 
spirit used to thin oil paints) to blend with! I am a big fan of depth and texture, and with the coloured 
pencils you can easily use heavy and light colouring to do this.

***** 

THANK YOU to all the Viva las VegaStamps! designers who have so generously shared their work with 
us today. 

If you haven't aleady visited (and why not?!?!) then you really need to go and check out the simply 
massive selcetion of wonderful stamps the store has to offer. They ship internationally too :)

www.vlvstamps.com