Thursday 31 December 2009

New issue out 1st Jan

Hello all,
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and found lots of new stash waiting for you under the tree? As I've had a few days of leave, I've already been playing with my new stamps in between eating too much chocolate :).

February issue of Craft Stamper is officially on sale 1st January. Of course the shops are shut as it's a bank holiday, but it should be available as soon as they are open again. I know many subscribers have the new magazine already.

Lots of lovely projects to tempt you as usual, including an Image Transfer masterclass which we have been asked for many times. The free stamp this month has been designed by Glenda Waterworth and is a gorgeous bird and heart image.

A very Happy New Year readers.

Sharpie giveaway winners will be drawn after I am back in the office on 4th January.

Katy x

Tuesday 22 December 2009

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

...and a happy new year!

Best wishes of the season to all our readers from the Craft Stamper team. Thank you for your loyalty to our little magazine - we hope you will continue to enjoy Craft Stamper in 2010. We have some little changes coming next year to keep the magazine looking fresh, with two brand new features starting in the April issue.

We are also still looking for reader submissions so if you think you've created something our readers will love please do get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful, relaxing and fun Christmas. I hope Santa brings you lots of lovely stash to enjoy! See you in 2010.

Best wishes,
Katy x

PS - Our fantastic Sharpie giveaway (scroll down two posts) is still running until 30th December so leave a comment for your chance to win one of these amazing prizes.

Monday 21 December 2009

HOW exciting is this?

See Sir Tim's blog.

12 new Distress Ink colours - yippeeeeeeeeeee!

And Sizzix dies by Sir Tim - I can't wait for these, I lurve my Big Shot to pieces and have been waiting for some 'must have' new dies.

Roll on CHA 2010!

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Massive Sharpie Blog Candy Giveaway worth £350!

I am delighted to be able to reveal that Craft Stamper have teamed up with Sharpie to give 10 lucky readers the chance to get their hands on a goodie bag stuffed with fabulous Sharpie markers - worth £35 each! I personally love my Sharpie markers (I have quite a few!) and am rather envious that I’m not allowed to enter!!!
Sharpies are great for crafters as they will write on just about anything. Try using them for your Christmas makes this year – have a go at doodling with them on acetate and acrylic, use the fine markers for journaling your scrapbook pages or art journals, or use them to add faux stitching to your cards in an array of colours!
With Christmas just around the corner, we are already feeling the festive spirit; decorating our homes and wrapping up presents. Why not use a Sharpie marker to ensure your present stands out from the rest whilst under the tree; whether personalising your wrapping paper with a festive silver snowflake or putting colourful finishing touches to that perfect tag? Sharpie markers are available in 13 stand-out colours making them the ideal Christmas creative companion.

For your chance to win this fabulous prize just leave a blog comment before midnight (GMT) 30th December and if possible link back to this candy from your blog to spread the word. Who knows, you might get a fabulous Sharpie goodie bag to help write away the New Year blues!

Big thank you to Sharpie for offering our readers this special Christmas present!

Saturday 12 December 2009

Stamper of the Year Winner Blogs

Hi all
I thought you folks might like to learn a little more about the winners in our Stamper Of the Year Competition 2009. So here are some blog links for you to take a peek at. Unfortunately one of the runners - up Vicky Fothergill - doesn't have a blog at the moment but here are Susan and Clare's bloggies:

Our winner Susan Jenneys' blog

And our best card category winner Clare Earl's blog

Enjoy!

Thursday 10 December 2009

Unhinged?


Here's another Christmas card that I would like to share with you. I've already mentioned step cards, but I have also noticed that hinge cards are popular at the moment. Again I'd never made one before, so I thought I should give it a go! Actually this uses a card that I had messed up....I covered my mistake using the papers, so my card didn't go to waste!

The card is really easy to make, you just have to fold the front in half and then use a brad to hold it in place, it's then up to you how you decorate it.

For my card I used papers from the Artylicious Season's Greetings CD Rom edged in gold Krylon pen. I cut out a square of heavy duty acetate and ran this through my Wizard in the snowflake Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. I wrapped a gold ribbon around the acetate and then fixed the acetate to the card using little gold brads. I stamped the Winter tree (Elusive Images, Winter tree from the Winter Tree and Torn Holly Script Themeplate) in Cranberry Adirondack Ink onto patterned paper. This was then cut out edged with Krylon and matted onto red pearlised card before attaching to the acetate. As a finishing touch, a little bit of gold glitter was added to the branches.

Watch this space for more cards......

Sue

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Gorjuss Guardian Angel


On a bit of a roll with the Christmas cards now so I'm sharing another card with you today. This card is loosely based on a sketch challenge from an old Craft Stamper. I used two co-ordinating sheets of paper from the Artylicious Season's Greetings CD Rom to form the back ground for this card. The Gorjuss Guardian Angel was stamped in black Impress onto smooth white card and then coloured using Copic markers. I covered the wings and heart pendent in Glossy Accents and then sprinkled them with fine holographic glitter. The flourishes are cut from grey pearlised card using a Spellbinders die. The flowers were punched out of white card these were embossed in the snowflake Cuttlebug embossing folder and then distressed with Colorbox Chalk Inks, the tag was made in the same way...just remember to stamp the sentiment first!

Think I might send this one to my Mum and Dad.....

Sue

Saturday 5 December 2009

Side Stepping into Christmas


As promised earlier I am sharing another of my Christmas cards with you. I've noticed recently that step cards and side step cards seem to be quite popular out there in blog land. I've never made a side step card before so I thought I would try it out.

I started with a 13.5cm x 13.5cm (5 1/4" x 5 1/4") card as my base and worked out my score/cutting lines from there. The card was covered using papers from Artylicious Season's Greetings CD Rom. I used the house stamp from Elusive Images, Snow is Falling Rubber Stamp Themeplate and stamped this twice onto smooth white card using Archival Black ink. The images were then coloured with Copic Markers. These were matted and layered with Artylicious papers and Silver card. The snowflakes from JudiKins, Sentiment and tag (Craft Stamper free stamp, November Issue) were all stamped using Colorbox Chalk inks. The card was assembled as per the picture and then Glossy Accents and fine holographic glitter were added to give the finishing touch.

Why not try this out for yourselves!

Sue

Thursday 3 December 2009

New issue and congratulations Susan!

The new issue is out tomorrow, Friday 4th December (well officially anyway, although I know some of the shops have it already).

For the first time, our January issue is not completely Christmas themed, so I hope you will like the change. We toned down the Christmas content as I know a lot of you have made your seasonal creations already - unlike me!

We have also revealed the results of our Stamper of the Year competition 2009. Susan Jenney's was crowned overall winner and for an extra special treat her canvas is featured on our front cover as the main image. Bet that was a shock heh Susan?! Instructions for creating Susan's canvas are here on our website - it's has so much going on we couldn't fit all the text into the mag!
Congratulations too to our category winners Clare Earl (best card) and Vicky Fothergill (best non-card creation).

I hope you will join me in congratulating Susan, Clare, Vicky and all the finalists.

Katy x

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Tim's Tags

Everyone in the world probably knows already, but a heads-up from me that Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas starts today over on his blog.

If you've never seen this before, Tim creates a different seasonal tag each day for 12 days, using a variety of his products and techniques. Great fun to play along or even just to admire his creativity. Plus there are usually lots of giveaways too.

Have fun!

Friday 27 November 2009

A reader card

It's really lovely when readers take the time to write to me at the office - brightens up my day!

Isn't this card from Emma Harrison so pretty? Here's what Emma said in her letter to me:

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Crafty Individuals stamps that I won...I've admired their stamps for a long time but never quite been brave enough to jump in and use them...I hope you like my first attempt at making a card with them."

I think you certainly did the stamps justice! Your card now sits on my wall with the rest of my lovely collection :).

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Finally started my xmas cards - YAY!

I've finally started on my xmas cards - about time eh? It's no secret that I am not a big fan of Christmas but I do like to make cards for my crafty friends - i.e. people I know will appreciate them!

Here's one of my creations. The papers I've used are the simply yummy PaperArtsy Rum & Raisin collection. The main stamped image is the snow baby from Crafty Individuals - isn't he adorable? It's an easy card - I simply stamped him onto a piece of card coloured with various Versamagic inks and then highlighted a few details with red Coloursoft pencil to match the image with the background. I stamped the swirls to 'frame' the image a little. You can't tell from the pic but the swirls are embossed with crystal powder and the snowflakes are highlighted with Stickles so they are all twinkly and Christmassy.

I've made a whole other one card I can show you in a few days!

Monday 23 November 2009

Kay's Christmas Card Contest

CS regular Kay Carley is holding a contest on her blog to win one of her new DVDs! Just enter a Christmas card for a chance to win. Check it out here.

Kay devised these DVDs with Craft Stamper and they are packed with ideas and techniques for your card making and other paper crafts. All the DVDs focus on stamping (of course!) and there are three in the series: Basics & Beyond; Colouring Techniques and Shrink Plastic. You can see more details here.

I started on my xmas cards yesterday so might finally have something to show you later in the week!

Katy x

Sunday 22 November 2009

NEW! Featured Artist blog list

I've added a new feature to the CS blog - a link list of the blogs of all the talented people who have appeared as a Featured Artist in Craft Stamper magazine.

Scroll down the sidebar and you'll find all the links beneath the contributor blogs list. Well worth checking out for inspiration. Enjoy!

Friday 20 November 2009

I know something you don't know!

I know who is Stamper of the Year 2009! But I'm not telling!

The January issue went to print just last week with five lovely pages of work by the winners and finalists in this year's competition. If you entered the competition there is not long to wait now to find out if you are one of the chosen ones - the magazine goes on sale on the 4th December (subscribers will probably get it a smidge earlier). None of the winners knows if they have been chosen - we like to surprise them ;).

Thank you to everyone who entered our competition - there is a lot of talent out there!

Sunday 15 November 2009

Ooooh, new subs gift

We have another EXCLUSIVE subs offer this issue, from PaperArtsy. These lovely stamps are only available from Craft Stamper for the duration of the offer and so you need to take out (or renew) a subscription to get your mitts on them!

If you've been thinking about giving a subscription as a Christmas gift, now is the ideal time as you can guarantee the recipient won't have these stamps in their collection!

I think they are rather yummy - I hope you like them too :).

Katy x

Friday 13 November 2009

Exciting news about readers' gallery!

How would you like to be published in Craft Stamper?

From January issue onwards we will no longer be having a readers’ gallery feature in Craft Stamper magazine, but we will be offering something much more exciting instead! As the standard of submissions we receive is so high, in the future we are offering readers the chance to have their work published in article format with a large photo and instructions so other readers can be inspired by what you create. Each chosen submission will have a whole page in the magazine to itself.

This is open to everyone whatever style you enjoy and whatever level you are at with your crafting. We are looking for interesting, inspiring and attractive projects – projects don’t have to be especially technical or advanced, it is more important that they are well made and finished.

In the first instance, please submit your artwork with brief instructions. If you are chosen for publication we will request the actual project to be sent in for photography and more detailed written instructions plus a list of materials. Please note that the stamps you use for these submissions should not be discontinued.

Please send your submissions to the Editor marking the correspondence ‘Reader Submission’ and each month we will look to select one card or scrapbooking project and one altered art or mixed media project to publish.

There is no prize or fee available for submissions, but if chosen you will see your work published in the magazine and receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which you are featured.

I hope you'll email me your project ideas to cs@traplet.com. Who knows - you could see your work in a future issue of Craft Stamper magazine!

Tuesday 10 November 2009

HELP! Christmas is Coming!


Every year Christmas seems to arrive quicker and quicker, and as ever, so comes the panic to make all the Christmas cards in time. I'm sharing one, that I have just made, with you, I hope you like it. (It's for my husband....don't tell him though!) The construction is the same as for the acetate card on page 7 of the December Craft Stamper Magazine. For the backing papers I have used paper from Artylicious Season's Greetings CD Rom and stamps from the Elusive Images Mistletoe Script theme plate. Images were stamped in StazOn and then water coloured. Glossy Accents and Stickles add a bit of texture and glitz.

Here's a little close-up of the central image.

I have a few more cards to share with you over the next couple of weeks...so please watch this space...

Sue

Monday 9 November 2009

HobbyCrafts at the NEC

I had a fun day yesterday at the NEC Hobbycrafts show. It was lovely to see quite a few stamps on offer at the show this time - PaperArtsy, Sir Stampalot, Craft Fairy, Alicraft, Artist Trading Post, Lavinia Stamps and Stamp Addicts were all there to name just a few.

This is my local show and I generally go every year for a bit of retail therapy. I always forget how packed it gets - this year was just as busy and I was quite worn out by the end of the day! So tired in fact I've yet to unpack my lovely purchases (have set aside some stroking time for this evening ;) ).

I did manage to pick up some bits I needed to complete one of my Christmas card designs so I've really no excuse now have I? Better get started...

Tuesday 3 November 2009

New issue out Friday

Hi all,
Just a quick post to let you know that the Christmas issue of CS is out on Friday. Lots of seasonal inspiration for you, plus a fair few non-Christmas offerings for those of you who are a bit on the bah-humbug side (like me I must confess!).

I've not made a single xmas card yet as I can't say I enjoy it much. Something about production-line crafting leaves me cold. I do have to make a few though, so perhaps you can inspire me? Share your Christmas cards with us by leaving a comment.

Until next time,
Katy x

Friday 16 October 2009

Artisan swaps

I thought I would share a few of the ATCs I swapped at the Artisan show with you. The cards are by (left to right, top to bottom): Sheila Jordan; Maureen Cross; Sally Sharman; Scrappy Anne and Anneliese Bates.

I hope all that attended the show had a good day - I certainly enjoyed meeting some of you and also doing a little bit of shopping in between teaching. Thanks also to everyone who came along to the CS Make & Takes at the show - you were a pleasure and I hope you enjoyed the little projects we did.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Meet Sue!

I'd like to introduce the newest member of the CS team - Sue Law. A while ago you may recall we advertised for an Editorial Asst? Well, Sue was the successful candidate and she started a couple of weeks ago. Sue's tasks will include the ATC swap (those waiting for their cards will be pleased to hear she started on this today and the tree ones have gone in the post) and trying to organise me (good luck with the latter Sue!).

Sue has been stamping for a while and likes to try out lots of techniques. If you are a customer of Tanda Stamps you might recognise the name as Sue designs some of their stamps.

So, if you contact the CS office in future, win a prize or submit artwork you might be speaking to Sue. I hope you'll join me in giving her a warm welcome.

Thursday 8 October 2009

EXCLUSIVE subscription offer!

We are delighted that this issue we have an EXCLUSIVE subscription offer for you from PaperArtsy! The offer includes four minis which have been designed specially for Craft Stamper magazine and are only available from us for the duration of the offer. Also great if you are thinking about getting a sub for a Christmas gift as you can be sure the recipient won't have these brand new stamps!

The designs are fab - if you're tempted you can find out more at http://www.craftstamper.com/

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Misprint - Happy Stampers North West Stamping Festival

I must apologise for a misprint in the latest issue of the magazine.

Please note that the HSNW Stamp Festival is on the 10th October, not the 4th as stated in the What's On section of the magazine.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused both for the show organisers and patrons.

Friday 2 October 2009

New magazine out today and some ATCs

Just wanted to remind you that the November issue of Craft Stamper magazine is on sale today, filled with lovely projects including a few Christmas ones to start off your festive crafting.




It's also the Artisan show at Leamington Spa this weekend and Craft Stamper is hosting an ATC swap. So I've made a handfull of cards to take with me to exchange with readers and I thought I would share a few with you here. Other Craft Stamper design team members will be bringing cards to swap, so if you are coming to the show be sure to make and bring some ATCs and pop to the 'Trade It' area.

The top left is made with PaperArtsy stamps, the top right and bottom left Hero Arts, the bottom right Crafty Individuals.

I look forward to swapping :).

Have a fun weekend,
Katy

Tuesday 29 September 2009

How about this for a challenge???

I had a phone call yesterday from regular contributor Lousette Ashton - she has been selected by Stampin' Up! to take part in their blog challenge (congrats Lousette). She is one of three challengers who will receive a box of goodies from the new SU catalogue tomorrow (Wed 30th Sept) afternoon and have until just 12 midnight to design and create samples and post them on their blogs. Now that IS a challenge! Rather you than me Lousette (takes me four hours to make a card!!!).

Pop over to Lousette's Blog for more info and to see what she creates!

Thursday 24 September 2009

Stamper of the Year reminder

Just a reminder that the closing date for the Stamper of the Year competition is 16th October, so if you want to enter you better get your skates on!

Send or email your stamped creations to us (details here) - you've nothing to lose and you could win over £1000 worth of fantastic goodies.

Three of the entrants from last year - Kate Bentley, Hannah Milburn and Kim Costello - have allo contributed to the magazine as a result. You could be next!

Wednesday 9 September 2009

A bit of feedback?

Hi all,
If you have a few moments to spare I'd be very grateful if you would take the time to complete our feedback questionnaire online at www.craftstamper.com/feedback.

It only takes a few mins to complete and there are £20 worth of PaperArtsy stamps up for grabs for one person who takes part. We'll use the feedback to make improvements to the magazine.

Thanks for helping :)

Monday 7 September 2009

New contributor blog

Check out Gail Milburn's blog, recently added to our contributor blog list. Gail's fabulous altered art work appears regularly in Craft Stamper magazine and now you can see more of her creations online. Enjoy!

Saturday 5 September 2009

12 Days of Xmas (in Sept!)

Pop along to PaperArtsy's blog this weekend and take a peek at their '12 days of Christmas' series of posts all featuring the new Nut & Meg stamps. There will be loads of different seasonal ideas over a twelve day period and knowing Leandra and her DT there will be tons of interesting, different and inspiring creations!

Oh, and while you are over that way check out the new Rum and Raisin papers (little piccie here) - yummy scrummy!

Friday 4 September 2009

New issue!

The new October issue is out on sale today (4th September) so don't forget to pick up your copy. The cover stamp this month is a lovely Geisha stamp by Hobby Art and there are loads of great projects to inspire you from cards, to jewellery, to wall art and even a handbag!

Our cover has had a bit of a makeover this issue and we have a new groovy matt finish as well as a few design tweaks to make it prettier. Hope you like :).

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Vintage downloads

I love this pretty card reader Anesha Marshall sent to me which she created with one of our free vintage downloads (check out this section of the website to get hold of yours).

This download of the girl with flowers is using a postcard from my own personal collection which I think is so pretty. Thank you for sharing Anesha!

Monday 17 August 2009

Stamper of the Year - yay!

Just a reminder that we launched our Stamper of the Year competition in the September issue of the magazine. This was such a huge success last year, I really hope you will consider entering. We have made things easier this year too - you can make your initial entry via email rather than sending creation into us, and we will only ask for actual artwork if you are shortlisted. So you've nothing to lose really!

There is a fabulous prize on offer provided by lots of our supporters. They have been so generous this year with their donations and I'd like to say a big thank you to all of them. Their details are listed on the website and in the magazine.

Send your entry today and you never know, you could end up as a regular on the CS team like our winner from last year, Kate Bentley. I really loved judging this last year and I really look forward to seeing what you create :).

More details are on the Craft Stamper website.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

House and tree stamp

Thought you might like to see this gorgeous card that Sue Wherry (designer of the house and tree cover stamp on this month's issue) sent to me on email. I love the stained glass windonw effect and the 1930s feel of this card. Sue has used the same Fancy Pants papers as you saw in the magazine article.

Have you made anything with the house stamp? Please do leave a link in the comments and share your creations.

All the best,

Katy

Tuesday 4 August 2009

It's out on Friday!

New mag hits the shelves on Friday. Hope you'll enjoy it. There is a bit of an international theme this issue, with projects inspired by Morocco, Japan, London, Paris and Venice! Loads of techniques as usual (loving Kate Bentley's polymer clay tiles among others) to get your creative juices flowing.

See you soon,


Katy

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Cover mount stamps - what would you like to see?

I'm getting ready to start looking at cover mount stamp designs for 2010 (!), and thought the blog would be a good place to get some suggestions on what you would like to see as a cover stamp.

What trends have you seen which you would like to see reflected in our freebie stamps?

What kind of images do you like? Which stamps are the most used and loved in your collection?

What stamps have you always wanted but been unable to easily find?

I'd love to know your thoughts! Thanks everyone.

Katy

Sunday 19 July 2009

Dragonflies

Check out these absolutely stunning cards made with the free Dragonfly stamp designed by Kay Carley, on Lesley's Blog.

I am sure you will agree they are gorgeous, and so delicate looking.

If you've got a dragonfly creation to share, leave a comment with a link :).

Katy

Friday 17 July 2009

It's Christmas already at CS!

Well, I've now finished commissioning the December issue of Craft Stamper magazine. It's weird working in publishing - thinking about Christmas in July! Many of the stamp manufacturers are in the same situation - they are having to come up with seasonal artwork about now (or in many cases they've already been there, done that already this year!).

Wishing away the year is one of the things I don't like about my job. I'm working on October issue right now - and the summer isn't even over yet!

Katy

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Win show tickets

You may have seen the information in this month's Craft Stamper about a new show which we are sponsoring called Artisan. It's a show dedicated to the two crafts of stamping and beading and takes place in Leamington Spa on 3rd and 4th October this year.

Anyway I mention it as there is a chance to win tickets on our website this month - go here: http://www.craftstamper.com/competitions/ to enter.

Good luck!

Friday 3 July 2009

New issue out today!

Hi everyone,
Sorry I've been awol. Busy, busy, busy...

Anyway, the new issue is out today! There are lots of lovely things this month - Rachel Jackon's Distress Ink cards are lush (on the front cover), there is a fab Metal Masterclass using the Ten Second Studio products, there is a Copic Marker tutorial, some arty canvases, and lots more too.

We've also introduced a new feature for beginners as I've been asked again and again for more basic techniques and information. It's called Start Stamping and each issue will feature the lowdown on an inkpad type plus a basic step-by-step technique.
I should also mention that the cover stamp this month has been designed by our very own Kay Carley on behalf of The Stamp Man. It's such a pretty stamp and really versatile too.
The Craft Stamper website has been updated with the Web Extra stuff too.

Enjoy!
Katy

Friday 19 June 2009

Please check your spam!

I try to reply to every email I receive from readers, but I know that often my emails end up in spam/junk folders! (It hurts you know!!!).

Anyway, if you are waiting for an email from me anytime, don't forget to check your spam/junk folder! I wouldn't want anyone to think I was ignoring them.

Bye for now,
Katy

Thursday 18 June 2009

Ismaki Challenge

As we don't have a Sketch Challenge here this month, we're supporting the Ismaki challenge, which is hosted by (amongst others) our own Isabelle Norris.

It's Isabelle's turn to do the sketch this time, so if you love sketches, pop along and play. There is a prize on offer too. Visit http://ismaki.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!
Katy

Monday 15 June 2009

Who loves to be nosey???

Well, most of us, let's be honest!

I thought it would be nice as part of the Over to You section if we could look at readers' craft spaces. So if you have a craft space which is interesting, unusual, has fabulous storage ideas or is just going to make everyone insanely jealous, please send me a picture to cs@traplet.com.

Please note: the picture needs to be printable quality, which means at least 300dpi (a file the right size will be quite large, probably 1 or 2mb).

I did think in a moment of madness I could share my craft space, but as it closely resembles a bomb site, I thought I'd spare you that particular pleasure!!!

Katy x

Friday 12 June 2009

Would you like to work for Craft Stamper?

An opportunity for a part-time assistant (up to 15 hours per week) has arisen within the Craft Stamper team. I am looking for someone who can help me with clerical tasks, plus assisting with putting together some of the copy for the magazine.

Full details, including how to apply, are available on the Craft Stamper website. The advert will also appear in the August issue.

Best wishes,
Katy

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Do you love collage?

Have you seen that we have started offering a FREE 'Vintage Image of the Month' on the Craft Stamper website? These images are free for you to use for personal use and can either be used for digital collage or printed off for traditional collage work.

This month's image is a young girl with flowers; the images will vary - some will be photos, some background images and some elements.

If you have anything old photos or ephemera you would like to donate to share with other readers, please do get in touch (any images should be copyright-free - generally pre-1945, but if you own them (e.g. family photo) you can allow us to use them and we can put 'copyright xyz' underneath for you - thanks for the reminder Carole). Images need to be scanned at 300dpi to be good enough for print.

You can get the free full-size file from here: Vintage Download

Just click the image to open a high res version and then right click and 'save as' to download the file to your computer.

Please do send me links to anything you create using the freebie too.


Katy x

Monday 8 June 2009

Oooops....

Apologies to everyone - it appears I forgot to draw the sketch challenge back in April (I just found the prize in my box when I went to send out the latest one...oh dear...).

I'm really sorry for the oversight. The random choice of winner is DEBS, who created a lovely card which you can see here: http://debs-eternity-cards.blogspot.com/2009/03/craft-stamper-challenge.html

Please get in touch and I will send your prize (some lovely Papermania stamps) out to you asap.

Sorry again folks - I'm only human!

Katy x

Sunday 7 June 2009

And now for something completely different!

Here's a peek into what I like to do in my leisure time when I am not stamping - a bit of scrapbooking.

I go to a couple of crops with some very dear friends each month (((waves hello))).
This layout is of my dog (as usual) and was from a class that we did on Saturday (well, sort of - I'm really bad at following examples, it kind of evolved into my own thing....).

Leo is having a rare moment of quiet in these pictures - he's usually more like the Tasmanian Devil!

There's a little bit of stamping (couldn't resist the urge) - the block around the title is created with Hero Arts Scalloped Borders stamps and I used the same one to create an edge to one of the patterned paper strips. The papers are K&Co Addison range.
Today I've been working on something for the magazine but I can't tell you what or I'll be shot.

Katy x

Sketch Challenge winner

The new issue is now out, so I can reveal the Sketch Challenge winner.

The winner of the June sketch challenge is: Sarah Anderson. Well done on a really pretty card Sarah. You can see more of her work including the full size picture of this card on her blog.

Please get in touch with your address Sarah and I will send your candy to you.
Unfortunately that will be the last sketch challenge but we will be making our sketches available to download from the Craft Stamper website so you can still play along.

Best wishes,

Katy

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Changes to Craft Stamper website

The July issue of CS is out on sale on Friday and subscribers should already have their copies, so I thought it time to let you know that we have made some changes to the CS website at www.craftstamper.com in time for this latest issue.

We have had a bit of a redesign and added quite a number of features. There are some bonus projects available which we couldn't fit into the magazine, you will be able to download templates for some projects, we will have a free vintage image each month for those of you who like collage work, and lots of extra ATCs (something we've been asked for but unable to fit into the magazine).

This month, Stamp Addicts has been kind enough to give us a web exclusive competition to win tickets to the Stamperama show in Stevenage. Why not give it a try here?

I hope you will find the site useful; we have tried to make it complement your magazine as much as possible. The site address is www.craftstamper.com.

Best wishes,
Katy

Saturday 23 May 2009

A thank you card

It's been a beautiful day here in Malvern, so my plans to craft today were put on hold as we popped out to buy a new swing seat! I'm sitting on it right now, laptop on my knee in the evening sun - bliss!

I did manage to make a quick card this morning though; it's a thank you for two very special people. The stamps are new from Crafty Individuals and they are so pretty. I kept the card simple - I inked up some card very lightly using a babywipe and Distress Inks which I then stamped with the ladies and greeting. The papers are yummy BasicGrey Bittersweet. I just added a bit of lace and that's about it.

I'm off on leave for a week from today so I may or may not be about. Enjoy your weekends all. Don't forget the next mag is on sale 5th June.
Katy x

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Challenge card

I don't usually get time to do challenges, but I need to make quite a few cards this month and I thought challenges would be a quick and easy way to get a few made! Here's one I made yesterday following the sketch at The Sugar Bowl.

The papers are BasicGrey Urban Prairie and the focal stamp is one of the scrummy new Leanne Ellis stamps.

See you soon,

Katy x

Friday 15 May 2009

Mmmmmmmmm, sugary.............

As you may know, I love Leanne Ellis, a Welsh artist who designs for Sugar Nellie stamps. I've now seen the new designs she has done (due for release any day) and they are lush! Her artwork is quite unusual and the stamps a little more 'arty' than some of the other Sugar Nellies. I love them and I'm sure you'll be seeing the odd creation popping up here in due course (I have tons of birthdays pending so lots of cards to make).

The stamps are not in the shop (Funky Kits) yet but due in very soon. Sneaky peeks over at the Sugar Nellie blog.

And talking of sugary things, Kay Carley is giving away some fab candy on her blog. Check it out here: kaycarley.blogspot.com. Her new flower stamps (part of the giveaway) are just lovely.

Have a fab weekend,
Katy

Saturday 9 May 2009

ATC Swap

I just thought I'd show you a little picture of the lovely card and fabulous (if a little unseasonal!) ATC that Anesha sent to me. I love them Anesha - thank you.
Katy x

Thursday 7 May 2009

Thanks Helen!

Look at this beautiful Stampbord charm Helen Chilton sent to me! She knows I love birds, so it's just perfect for me (the stamp is a rather yummy new Elusive Images one). As my creativity seems to have deserted me lately, she stamped a quote on the back which reads 'Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes; art is knowing which ones to keep.'

Anyway, seems to have worked like the charm that it is as my mojo had a little bit of a comeback over the bank holiday weekend :).

Thank you for your kindness Helen. I love my team! They are such a gorgeous bunch of people.

Katy x

Tuesday 5 May 2009

Finally! My ArtsyCrafts project finished!

Woo hoo - at last, my ArtsyCrafts cabinet is finished! This is the project I started back in March at the fabulous ArtsyCrafts weekend hosted by Leandra Franich (PaperArtsy) and Linda Brown (LB Crafts) - both very talented ladies and great teachers too. Write up on the event in this month's issue if you want to know more.



It's taken me a while but I've finally completed it. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked over the weekend (I wasn't too well) so I took the opportunity to change things a bit and went with a Love theme in the end. I used a fabulous set of stamps from PaperArtsy - I think the image of the couple smiling at one another is just a gorgeous image. I also had to include moustache man in there - people who attended the event will know why ;-). There was lots of discussion about the presumed morals of said character!

The heart on the top is made using Ten Seconds Studio metal, which was used a lot on the course. Here, I've embossed the heart with a Cuttlebug folder (Textile Texture) and then sanded and inked the raised areas with brown StazOn. The wings are painted Grungeboard with Distress Stickles for a subtle shine.



We made this cute little message in a bottle at the weekend. I added German Scrap wings to mine; not sure why, just seemed to fill the niche better that way!

Finally, a little more metalwork. This time, images (pen nibs from the new PaperArtsy Crowns and Castles) stamped onto metal and then embossed for a 3D look. The background is stamped with a PaperArtsy script stamp (one of my favs, I use it all the time).


I had fun making this and bought another box like it to use for a different project in the future. Here's a view of it opened up to finish off.


I'd really recommend the event if you get the chance :).
Take care,
Katy

New Contributor blogs

Hi all,

Many of you will have seen the June issue by now, and know that we have some new contributors joining us this month.


I hope you like their work. Here are their blogs if you'd like to see more!

Kate Crane (Just add Salt)

Kim Costello (Black & White colouring tutorial)

We also welcomed Kate Bentley; sorry but I don't have her blog details (not sure if she has one).

K x

Monday 4 May 2009

May Sketch Challenge winner

Congratulations - ANGELA! Here is her artwork based on the May sketch - I've shown you a peek but do take a look at the whole thing on her blog.

Send me an email (cs@traplet.com) and I'll pop your prize along to you.



We only had two entries for the May challenge - so please do take part in the challenge. If there isn't enough interest we will have to stop running it. And we do give a prize every month!


Katy x

Friday 1 May 2009

Design a Stamp Competition

A while ago we ran a competition in the magazine for a reader to design our cover mount stamp. It's been a while, so I just wanted to give you an update on what's happening.

We had a fabulous response and a ton of entries, so it's taken us a while to get through them all.


We've now selected a winner and their stamp will be on the October 09 issue of the magazine. I'm not telling you who the lucky winner is though, we will announce that in the September issue, as well as showing some of the runners-up.

A big thank you to all the people who entered - we had a really tough time choosing and that's testament to the quality of the artwork we recieved.

Katy x

Thursday 30 April 2009

New issue out tomorrow and new challenge!

The June issue is out on sale in the shops tomorrow (1st May). As Father's Day is approaching, this issue has lots of makes for men including a stamped tie, ideas for cufflinks, a minibook and also card ideas. Our free stamp is by Crafty Individuals and is a lovely little ticket and a key in their usual vintage style.

As usual, we have the Sketch Challenge, so I hope you'll want to play along? Here is this month's sketch:

And here is the candy on offer if you take part this month, which has been generously donated by The Craft Barn. Footballer Dan is part of their exclusive Kadoodle range of stamps - pop over and check them out.
Have fun!
Katy

Saturday 25 April 2009

More Swirly Bird

Here's another quick card I made with the May cover stamp - swirly bird by Artistic Stamper.

The little branch is a stamp by Hero Arts. I used the same papers as in the mag and also a Doodlebug border. I've used the tail of the bird to make a little motif in the top left hand corner and the separate little swirl to create a border along the bottom edge.

Don't forget there are only a few days left to enter this month's SKETCH CHALLENGE!

Katy x

Monday 20 April 2009

A little bird...

I know lots of you are loving Swirly Bird who was on the cover of this issue of Craft Stamper (designed for us by Hels Sheridan for the Artistic Stamper). So I thought you'd like to see this lovely ATC made by Anesha using the stamp.

Thanks for sharing Anesha.

See you soon,
Katy x

Friday 17 April 2009

Readers' Gallery is changing

We are making some changes to the reader gallery section of the magazine. Details will be in the June issue of the magazine, but I'm posting here too to let you know what's in the pipeline.

There will still be reader cards, but this section will now be dedicated to all kinds of reader contributions. As well as your regular reader gallery submissions we'd also love to see what you've been making with our cover mount stamps and your projects inspired by Craft Stamper articles.

We may also feature letters, so if you have a crafty question please write to us and let us know.

Finally, there will be a reader blog of the month - get in touch with a link; it could be you!

Most importantly, you can now send any of the above submissions by email, including photos of work rather than sending your actual work (email good quality images but not larger than 2mb please). The address to email is: cs@traplet.com.

You can also still send by snail mail too.

Looking forward to hearing from you,
Katy

Thursday 16 April 2009

Candy winner!

Hi all,
Random.org generated the number SIX - so the winner of the Woodware candy is CLAIREWILL.

Clairewill said...
Fab stamps, would love a chance to win! Love the blog too, by the way :)
10 April 2009 16:31


Email me your address to cs@traplet.com and I'll get your candy out to you!

With best wishes,
Katy

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Operation craftroom continues!

Over the bank holiday weekend there was lots of going back and forth to various home improvement stores as we worked on transforming our wilderness of a garden.

I spotted this in the kitchen section of Homebase (not sure what it is, maybe a fruitbowl???) and thought it was perfect for my teeny inkpad collection (which as you can see, is fairly extensive!). My Versamagic's (love them) on the bottom tier, Colorbox chalks on the second and Brilliance on the top. I love it because it's tall and it takes up a lot less room than the collection of glass bowls I used to have on my desk.

My random number generator (AKA my other half) has picked the number four, so I'll be swapping ATCs with Anesha :). Looking forward to it - drop me an email at cs@traplet.com Anesha.

Katy x

Sunday 12 April 2009

ATC to swap

Here's an ATC I made to match my Stamping Contrasts project in the May issue. The stamps are Crafty Individuals wildflowers.

Would anyone like to swap with me?

Thanks!

Katy

Friday 10 April 2009

Easter candy!

Oooohhhh - I'm delighted to see I have 100 followers now! Thank you all for taking an interest and visiting me. I do appreciate it!

And to show my appreciation, I think I'll put a bit of candy up for grabs. As our ATC swap is so popular, I hope you'll like this set of stamps for the back of your ATCs, from Woodware which is today's giveaway.

Leave a comment by midnight on Tues 14th April and it could be yours.

Happy Easter!
Katy

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Cute birdcage

Here's my version of Gail Milburn's fabulous birdcage which was on the front cover of the May issue. Something about these whimsical little creations really caught my imagination and I felt I really needed one as an addition to my own craft space!

I've used the same Hero Arts bird stamp as Gail (from Sir Stampalot). The border around the bottom edge is from a Prima border stamp set and the spots on the cage 'floor' are one of the yummy new Prima single background stamps (I got mine from Craft Emporium).

I really had fun making this and think it's so cute! I hope some of you will make one - if you do, don't forget to share!

Happy stamping :)

Katy

Saturday 4 April 2009

No, thank you!

Just wanted to show you this card I received from Tilly McLeod, a reader in New Zealand. I thought I would share it with you as I love how she has used the free stamp (the large flower is our Oriental Blossom stamp from the October 2008 issue).

Thank you very much for the card Tilly.

Best wishes,
Katy

Friday 3 April 2009

New issue, new challenge

Hello all,

The May issue is out today, so it's time for a new challenge! Here is this month's sketch:


And in honour of the Artistic Stamper free cover stamp this month, the candy up for grabs is these sweet Stitchels stamps which will be perfect to go with Swirly Bird.



Just use the sketch as inspiration and leave a comment here to play along. Last date for entries: 1st May 09.

Have fun!
Katy

PS - Observant readers will notice a sneak peek of the Crafty Individuals free stamp coming in the June issue. Lots of you asked for CI, so I hope you are going to love it!!!

Wednesday 1 April 2009

Artsy Crafts

Am back from a fabulous weekend at the Artsy Crafts event run by PaperArtsy and LB Crafts. I had a super fabulous time and met lots of nice people, including meeting Jo Firth-Young and Kate Bentley from the CS team for the first time.

The weekend started with a fun name badge project using Ten Second Studio metal. It was brilliant to get straight into techniques! Fabulous project but my attempt was not my best ever effort! I made a horrible mess and was reminded of the reason I got rid of my alcohol inks!!!

The second project was a candle project which I can show you. Lots of fabby new product here. This is a sneaky peek of the brand new Squiggly Ink stamps which are all themed around castles. We also got to play with the brand new Croco crackle paints and Ferro paints - the former is a one-step crackle (works really well) and the second has iron filings in it: The texture is fab but the pots weigh a ton! The base is made from an inked CD and the border from Ten Second Studio metal which has been stamped and embossed.



The main project we made was a beautiful little cabinet full of treasures - mine is still 'in progress' but I am determined to complete it so more of that on another day.
We also made a lovely platter. I went for the blue and green table (each table was colour themed and we were encouraged to move around to get a range of projects). I chose an unusual colour scheme but I was going for nautical so I could pop the bowl into my bathroom. The panels are metal that has been drowned in Glimmer Mist (I used Turquoise with Irridescent Gold to get the greenish blue shade).


I had a wonderful weekend - thanks for Lin and Leandra for the wonderful inspiration and 'hello' to all the ladies who I met over the weekend.

See you all soon,
Katy
PS - New mag is out on Friday this week - just two more days.