Friday 26 July 2019

Take It Make It Challenge: July Winners!

Hello everyone!
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our July 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 71: Maria



We loved this wonderful card by Maria. Such a beautiful colour scheme, and a perfect sentiment! Maria 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 Maria!

We also have the remaining top slots to announce!
The rest of the top four (we had a tie in the vote this month!) Design Winners are:

Entry number 20: Alica
Entry number 25: Art Conquers
Entry number 66: Sue




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....








Congratulations to....






I'm sure you've love the prize Sue! 


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 August challenge will be launched on the first Friday of August, the 2nd.
We can't wait to see all the wonderful art you will all be sharing!

Wednesday 24 July 2019

Ready Set Stamp: Art Call!

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 November 2019 issue of Craft Stamper. If you've always wanted to see YOUR card in print, now is your chance!

For 2019 we're 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: Blood Red, Burnt Orange, Pale Pumpkin Orange, Deep Purple, Candy Apple Green

Deadline for submission: 20th August 2019

N.B: Our November issue is published the first Friday of October, so in plenty of time for Halloween!


· 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!  

Monday 22 July 2019

Jenny Marples: Beach Hut Summer with Craft Stamper and Eileen Hull!

Hi everyone! Jenny Marples here with some ideas for using the fabulous beach hut freebie stamp that comes with this month's issue of Craft Stamper Magazine.

By chance I recently discovered that the little house labels that can be cut using Eileen Hull's new 'House Ornament' Sizzix Scoreboards L Die match perfectly with the beach hut freebie stamp! Add in a couple of freebie stamps from previous issues of Craft Stamper Magazine and it's easy to make a bunch of fun summer cards.



Here's the first of three cards you can make using the instructions below;



Choose contrasting painted, inked or patterned paper and mount small pieces of them onto mount board or chipboard (I used a selection of papers from a session of gel plate printing for these). Using the House Ornament Die cut several small house label shapes (you'll need seven houses without windows for the first card, three with windows for the second card and one without windows for the third card).




Ink up the beach hut freebie stamp with black permanent ink and press each of the seven non-window houses onto it, positioning them a little way down from the top as shown below.




After layering strips of the contrasting papers onto a piece of card slightly smaller than your card blank, stamp and heat emboss the circles using the freebie stamp from the June 2018 issue of Craft Stamper Magazine with white embossing powder.




 To finish, draw on vertical lines with a black permanent pen (and stitch along them if you want to add more texture) more vertical lines with a white permanent pen and add your little houses. Mount onto a complimentary piece of paper and add to a slimline card blank. Finish by stamping a sentiment of your choice at the bottom of the card.

Now here's the second card idea;




Following Step 2 above, stamp and emboss circles onto one of the pieces of paper, draw on black and white lines and add stitching if required. Mount this on top of a large contrasting piece of paper and add them both to a square card blank. Stamp the starfish using the freebie stamp from the October 2017 issue of Craft Stamper Magazine using permanent black ink on white paper. After cutting them out heat emboss with clear embossing powder to create semi-opaque images.




Stamp three roof sections onto paper that matches three of the window houses using the beach hut freebie stamp and permanent black ink. Cut them out and stick to the houses.




To finish group the houses and starfish together on the card and add a sentiment of your choice at the top of the card.

And here's the third card idea:




Following the steps above layer together a rectangle of paper with strips of contrasting paper, stamp and emboss the circles and add lines using the black and white pens and stitching as required. Mount onto a larger piece of complimentary paper and apply to a small rectangular card blank. To make the smaller rectangle stand out add a little shading around the edge with a little ink or charcoal. Add a stamped starfish and a non-window house (with a cut out roof like those on the second card) and finish with a stamped sentiment of your choice.

Hopefully you feel inspired to make some of your own fun cards using the beach hut freebie stamp from this month's issue of Craft Stamper Magazine. And if you have Eileen Hull's new House Ornament Die try combining them!

Thank you so much Jenny! We love the cards you've made, so summery and vibrant!
 

Friday 19 July 2019

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 June 2019 challenge is:

Gerrina Poncin


Gerrina won the challenge with this beautiful card. We loved the delicate colour scheme, and the image is wonderful!









We asked Gerrina 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: This summer I have been stamping for 9 years. I started with making photo books when nobody called them scrapbooks! I used stencils and colours and a few word stamps. I was looking for more word/text stamps and found a world with so many beautiful stamps and so many ways to use them at an event and later at classes...that was it... I was hooked!


Q: What are your favourite kind of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?
A: There are a lot of stamps I like, I’m not so much into cute stamps, but love stamps that let you build a scene or that you can use to create your own background. Favourite stamp companies are De Stempelwinkel, Crafty Individuals, Art Journey, Chocolate Baroque, STAMPlorations, Uniko, Crealies and VivaLasVegaStamps.


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 a bit of both; I love clean and simple and I love more messy styles/techniques. Just like my mood is or what a stamp ‘asks’, it varies.  I like to try new techniques and materials and like to mix these with what I already like to do and what materials I already have. Most of all I love to include water; colouring or dripping or splatters with ink, pencils, paint, on paper and canvas and more...


Q: What kind of projects do you like creating the most?
A: At the moment cards and Art Journals. And sometimes an Aquarel or Pastel painting.


Q: Apart from stamps, what is the one product you wouldn't be without when you craft?
A: Ink for stamping and colouring, but stencils are close; I use so many in so many ways!




We also asked Gerrina 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:


It was hard to choose...

But I did, and these are the two that show how different I work;
1: Just an image stamp (Katzelkraft), a stencil (Istencils) and text for a CAS card in black and white.
2: A masked flamingo from Stampotique with a lot of colour, a few stencils, more stamps in the background and some drawing to highlight and shadow.



 



Congraulations on being our June Design Winner Gerrina, 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!

Friday 12 July 2019

Take It Make It July Challenge: Inspiration

Hello!
Our July Take It Make It challenge is well underway... some stunning entries so far, we can't wait to see what else you lovely lot can dream up!


As ever, we have another wonderful selection of inspiration eye candy from our Design Team to share today..... but first a little reminder...

 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  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..........) 







 So... brace yourself for some amazing art....




























 
STUNNING work :) 
We really hope you've been inspired to enter the challenge! You can find the link up tool on our blog post from last week right HERE! 

Saturday 6 July 2019

Blog Exclusive: Fran Sherbourne for Little Stamp Store

Hello!
Have to seen the totally jaw dropping stamped wall tile project Fran Sherbourne created for us in the August issue of Craft Stamper? You should, it's amazing :)


Of course, some of us may not fancy this level of kitchen transformation, so today we thought we would share an alternative use for the tile stamp Fran has used to such great effect on her kitchen wall!

Fran also created this fabulous tote bag:


The tile stamp used is the same one that was used on the kitchen wall, and in fact it is the exact same design that we have on offer as a giveaway in the magazine! Check out page 49 to see how you can enter :)

So... how to create the bag? Fran has shown us with a series of step by step photos:

Step One:

Set out your materials. Any fabric paint can be used to stamp on fabric, or just use regular acrylic paint mixed together with a fabric medium.

Step Two:

Brayer the paint across a glass or ceramic tile.

Step Three:

Brayer the paint across the stamp. Make sure you have a nice even coverage, and you don't have too much paint on your stamp. It's always a good idea to practice on scrap fabric first so you get a feel of how much paint to add!

Step Four:

Press the stamp down onto the fabric. Make sure you apply firm even pressure across the whole stamp. This design only requires four stamped impressions so I've done it by eye. You may want to measure out a grid pattern to make sure your images are even and level!

Step Five:

Lift up the stamp directly from the fabric, being careful not to slide it and smudge the wet paint.

Step Six:

Repeat the process and stamp the next image. This stamp is in effect a quarter of the finished tile design, this means the stamp needs to be rotated 90 degrees with each impression. Check to see if the stamp you use needs to be rotated in this way, and again, it's a good idea to practice first to make sure you've got it right before stamping on your finished piece!

Step Seven:

Carry on stamping until the design is finished.

Step Eight:

Remove the stamp and admire your work! Depending on the paint you've used, some designs may need to be heat sealed by ironing to make the finished work permanent. Check out the instructions on your product!




WOW!
We love this idea, and hope you do too!

Check out all the stamps Fran has to offer in her store, Little Stamp Store HERE.

Have a great weekend!