Friday 30 September 2016

Take It Make It Challenge: September winners!

Hello everyone!
We are so pleased to announce the winners of our September Challenge: Take A Stamp!

As you all know, we have two winners to announce today, so without further ado, let me introduce you to the Design Winner.....

We loved this gorgeous card! Such an elegant and sophisticated colour scheme, and the stamping is amazing!
Mac Mable will win a Guest Designer slot here on the blog, her very own Winners Profile, and of course her amazing art will be featured in it's own 2 page spread in Craft Stamper magazine! Congrats Mac Mable!

We also have the remaining two slots in our Top 3 to announce!

In no particular order, please congratulate:

Entry number 36: Zelda
Entry number 143: Shilpa



Wonderful projects ladies!

We now need to share the randomly chosen winner with you all!
This winner will recieve the prize offered by our sponsor this month:

Visible Image




The prize on offer for our randomly selected winner is this set of 3 stamps...





Congratulations to our winner:





      Congrats Rachel, happy stamping!

Winners, you need to need to get in touch with me in order to claim your prize!  Please email me at: cs@traplet.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 October challenge will be launched next Friday, October 7th.
We can't wait to see what wonderful art you will all be sharing!

Thursday 29 September 2016

Throwback Thursday!

Welcome to our Throwback Thursday tutorial.... settling in to our regular, once a week look back at an amazing project first featured in Craft Stamper Magazine!
This week, we're travelling back in time to the November 2014 issue :)
Christine Dark shared a wonderful card, creating using the Distress Spritzing tool. Now..... how many of you bought one, and it still hasn't made its way out of the packaging?! Here is a reminder of the fabulous project, and how Chris made it....



Chris says..
 "For this project I really wanted to make the diffusing technique the star of the show and to this end I’ve created an airbrushed-style scenic card using the Distress Marker Spritzer and Distress Markers.

Working with the Spritzer is easy but there are a couple of things to bear in mind. Aligning the Distress Marker brush nib correctly is very important or the ink won’t spray; with a bit of fiddling you will soon find the optimum placement. The condition of the Marker makes a difference too; some of mine were a bit on the dry side and didn’t work as well as my newer, wetter markers. I practised a bit on scrap paper before trying it out on projects so that I was comfortable with the tool. I found that expelling all the air from the hand pump after each spray made a difference both to the ease of use and my hand’s comfort!


Playing around with the distance at which you spray also helps so do experiment first. I’ve concentrated the ink by diffusing very close to the card for intense colour on the foreground piece beneath the house and trees to give depth. The Spritzer can work beautifully for a more subtle application in paler colours, and with other types of markers too."


Stamps Chris used...
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz: Bitty Grunge; Hashtags


Other materials...

White card
Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer Tool
Distress Markers
Distress Inks
Archival Ink: Jet Black
Stickles Star Dust Glitter Glue
Memory Box: Dies – Puffy Clouds, Modern Landscape Border.
Sizzix: Framelits Dies – Rounded Tags
Twine 


Step By Step instructions:

Step One: For the background and foreground cut two tags from the Framelits Rounded Tags set and the set of three puffy clouds. Die-cut one of the tags with the Modern Landscape Border die, working with the placement for an attractive scene.




Step Two: Arrange the three clouds near the top of the complete arch die cut, attaching them with temporary adhesive. The clouds will act as masks. 





Step Three: Place a light blue marker into the barrel of the spritzer and screw in place, checking the placement of the brush nib is correct. It’s worthwhile testing the coverage on some scrap paper before starting on the background piece.





Step Four: Squeeze the pump to expel air from the tip of the spritzer to the pen nib, which in turn diffuses ink from the pen to the card. Move across the card as you spritz, and the Spritzer can be guided if necessary by holding onto the pen with your other hand.





Step Five: Continue to gradually build up the background spritzing with different shades of blue. The darker colours work well close to the bottom and the paler colours nearer the top.





Step Six: Spritz a yellow sun near the top of the tag. Spritzing over one of the clouds and close to the card for a good circular shape creates depth, making it appear behind the cloud once the mask is removed. 





Step Seven: Carefully remove the cloud masks from the background and then take a grey marker and spritz very lightly near the bottom of each cloud for dimension.





Step Eight: Take the die-cut foreground piece and colour the trees and house with Distress Markers only, taking care not to tear the stems of the trees which are delicate and prone to creasing.





Step Nine:  Fit the foreground piece back into its offcut for extra stability. Lay some low-tack tape over the house and trees to protect them from the sprtized ink. 




Step Ten: Spritz the foreground with various shades of green markers as before, again keeping the lighter colour near the top of the piece and the darkest colours at the bottom.





Step Eleven: To create some depth to the foreground spritz some ink from a grey marker just below the house and trees, moving the Spritzer slightly from the base of these downwards into the green ink.





Step Twelve:  Carefully remove the tape and the offcut from the foreground, and now the individually spritzed pieces are ready to be built up into a card.






To Finish The Card:
Stamp around all the edges with a texture stamp, and stamp the sentiment onto the foreground piece. Wrap a length of twine around this piece and tie with a little bow. Add some glitter glue to the clouds and allow to dry. Adhere the foreground panel to the bottom of the whole tag using 3D foam tape, then attach the whole thing to another die-cut tag.




Amazing tutorial, definitely one to try! The detail achieved by the spritzing is great..


Thanks Chris, we love it!
See you back here next week for another detailed tutorial! 

Friday 23 September 2016

Flashback Friday?

Hello!
Welcome to the start of a new series here on the Craft Stamper blog!
Every week, we'll be sharing a project with you all, lots of pictures and a full step by step tutorial too! A project new readers of the magazine may have missed, or for those avid readers, a reminder of a timeless and much admired creation!
Usually, this series will be published every Thursday... Our Throwback Thursday Series.... but this week we're having a Flashback Friday :)
Enough of the talk, lets dive stright in!
This AMAZING project was created by Helen Chilton for our September 2014 issue....




Over to Helen.....
This is an Autumnal project,  I like the sort of muted, shabby effect that is produced using the orange and blue tones. The fact that you're stamping onto tissue and layering it on also gets round the domed shape of the lid. I just pasted the tissue over the metal fixings as well so they blended in.
Tissue paper is quite delicate to work with although by the time you've painted colour on the back and then blocked out in white it does get a bit more robust. However don't worry if it tears - you can always add in a little patch and no-one will notice. 

MATERIALS LIST

Stamps Helen used...
PaperArtsy: Lynne Perrella Collection 027,028,030

Other materials...
StazOn ink: Jet Black
PaperArtsy Fresco Finish acrylic paints: Bora Bora; Tango; Spanish Mulberry; Snowflake
PaperArtsy Satin Glaze
PaperArtsy Stencil 002 (ELB)
Sizzix Framelits die set: Labels Fancy
Stampendous Frantage embossing enamel: Aged Gold
VersaMark inkpad
Wide, soft brush
White gesso

Step-by-step… Box of Delights

   1:  Prep box by painting with gesso and then painting with the Bora Bora and Tango paints. Don't worry about blending them as you're going to cover it with tissue paper.


     2: Paint the inside edges with the same two colours and then dilute these down to wash over the inside flat surfaces for a lighter effect.


    3: Stamp lots of the houses and postage stamp background onto tissue paper with black StazOn and cut out. Start to fit pieces onto the box.


4: Flip over the tissue paper images and add a few touches of blue, orange and Spanish Mulberry pink. Then add a few highlights in white.


 5:  Brush Satin Glaze all over the box lid and start to stick the pieces down. Handle the tissue paper gently as it's fragile.


 6: When covered, give the lid another good coating of Satin Glaze to seal and to brush out any air bubbles. Repeat process with houses on the sides and stamped backgrounds on the inside.


7: Paint some white card with the Tango paint, washed over with some of the blue to tone it down. Stencil with the VersaMark inkpad.


    8: Pour over the Aged Gold powder and heat. Place stencil over again, VersaMark it, add powder and heat again. Cut out for die cuts. Repeat with Bora Bora painted card washed over with Tango.




   9: Stamp the girl collage from 027 onto white card and paint quite loosely. Die cut the frame and emboss several times with the Aged Gold powder.




10: Start arranging the frame with added brads and the die cuts on the lid. When happy, stick down.


     Every time you look at this box of delights you see another wonderful detail! Helen also created a stamped pop up surprise for the inside.....




We hope you've enjoyed out little stroll down memory lane! We'll be back next Thursday with another!

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Submissions Wanted! : Ready Set Stamp

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 Febuary issue of Craft Stamper. If you've always wanted to see YOUR card in print, now is your chance!! 



Colours: Peony Purple, Bubblegum Pink, Soft Cream, Mink

Deadline for submission: 23rd October 2016

· Please email your submissions to cs@traplet.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.
. NEW work only please, we do not accept cards that have been published elsewhere (including online) before submission.  
 . Please do not use stamps that are discontinued for this article.
. 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.
· 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.
· Please follow both the theme AND the colour scheme when creating your cards. You can add black, white and metallics 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 look forward to seeing all of your beautiful designs!

Friday 16 September 2016

Take It Make It Challenge: Winners Profile


Hello!

Welcome to our Winners Profile, showcasing the Design Winner of our last Blog Challenge!

The very talented Design Winner of our August 2016 challenge is

Loll Thompson



Loll won the challenge with this amazing card! We loved the amazing texture in the stencilled fern, a stunning focal point over the background colour.










We asked Loll 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’ve been making cards since about 2004. A few years before that, I was invited by a friend to attend a Stampin’ Up! Party.  I LOVED looking through their catalogue at all the amazing stamps, inks and variety of supplies.  I was mesmerized.  I bought a couple of stamps at that party and they sat for a while before I tried them out.  Once I did, I was hooked on stamping.  When I retired, I joined Splitcoaststampers on-line stamping community and that’s where I started posting my cards and learning all about different techniques and styles of cards.  And that’s where my love of CAS (clean and simple) was born.  SCS has a weekly CAS challenge and I started playing along.  Within a few months, I joined the CAS design team at SCS … my very first design team.  So exciting! 


From there, I started my blog, Stamping with Loll.  I began joining in lots of different challenges at SCS and also other card challenges and my style of card making evolved into what it is today.  Earlier this year, I started a card challenge along with my dear friend, Bonnie Klass.  CAS Mix Up is a challenge that celebrates the CAS style, while adding in mixed media elements.  It’s been a lot of fun.


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

A: I like to work with mostly nature stamps … flowers, leaves, trees.  I enjoy working with stamps from many different companies, but have to say that Penny Black is my favourite stamp manufacturer.

 

Q: Describe your style, are you a messy kind of stamper or a more ‘clean and simple’ kind of person?

A: I am a Clean and Simple girl.  Over the past couple of years I have added more mixed media techniques and products, but maintain a clean and simple style for the majority of my designs.



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

A: I mostly make cards, with Christmas cards being one of my favourite types to make.  I usually make about 100 Christmas cards every year, mostly unique designs.  I send out 60 to family and friends, and donate the remaining three dozen to charity.



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

A: Aside from stamps and ink, I don’t think I would be able to create as many different designs without my Big Shot.  It is such a versatile tool that I use every day.



We also asked Loll to show us a couple of her favourite stamped creations,  and share why she likes them so much. Here are the gorgeous projects she has chosen:


" This card is an emboss resist card I made using Brusho crystals (I do love working with this colouring medium). I stamped the grid image and heat embossed with white.  I sprinkled with Brushos, spritzed with lots of water and then tilted my panel to let the ink flow.  I set it aside to air dry.  I added a die-cut leaf sprig, which I shaped with a stylus and a few sequins for added sparkle" - Loll





"The second card has a mix of several techniques and products.  I do love adding mixed media products to my CAS designs.  This includes two stencils, a leafy one that is sponged with green on one side of the card, along with script stamping over top in the same green ink for a subtle look.  The other side of the card is a quatrefoil stencil with white embossing paste.  The main focal point is two leaves cut from copper sheeting.  I added a few drops of alcohol inks to give the leaves more colour, but also left a lot of the copper showing" - Loll







Congratulations on being our August Design Winner Loll , 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 open until September 28th, so still lots of time to enter! Don't forget the fabulous prize of Visible Image stamps!

  All the details can be found HERE.



 See you back here next Friday, where we will be sharing a fabulous extra bonus project with you all... September has 5 Fridays so we have a week off from Challenge posts :)

Friday 9 September 2016

Take It Make It September Challenge: Inspiration

Hello!
Our current Take It Make It challenge is in full swing, with some amazing entries so far!
Just in case you need a little more inspiration, the DT have come up with some more amazing projects to share today :) First though, a bit of a reminder.....

 The theme for this month is:
Take A Stamp:
Anything Goes!
(just remember to add stamping on your project somewhere!)


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. Your project can be any colour you want... as long as you've stamped somewhere, 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.
We are proud to announce our sponsor this month is....

Visible Image





Visible Image is a UK based stamp company, offering the most wonderful selection of stamps! They offer the most amazing range of images and inspirational quotes, all available in photopolymer of the highest quality. We love the range, and we're sure you will too!

The prize on offer for our randomly selected winner is this set of 3 stamps...




As always, we will also have a Design Winner this month!
This winner is chosen by our DT, who all vote for their favourite design from all of the eligible entries. This winner will have their winning project published in Craft Stamper Magazine, (with a 2 page spread of their very own!), they will have a GDT slot for an upcoming challenge, and will also feature in their very own Winners Profile blog post! 



I hope the prizes have given you all an incentive to win...... and how about some eye candy from the DT to give you some beautifully stamped inspiration! 

Guest Designer Anne Redfern






Cheremane Smith











 
I hope you are all inspired to join in! The link up can be found in last Fridays blog post, HERE!