Wednesday 29 June 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 November issue of Craft Stamper. If you've always wanted to see YOUR card in print, now is your chance!! 

Colours: Deep Purple, Lemon Yellow, Indigo Blue, Cobalt Blue 

******NO Christmas cards please!******


  Deadline for submission: 26th July 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.
 . Please do not use stamps that are discontinued for this article.
. We do not accept cards ONLY created with digital stamps for this feature. Digital stamps 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.
· Cards will be returned at our expense, along with a complimentary copy of the magazine in which your card features. Note this can take approx. three months.
· 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!

Monday 27 June 2016

Our Amazing August issue hits the shops on Friday!

The August issue of Craft Stamper magazine hits the shops this Friday (1st July), our wonderful subscribers will be receiving their copies very soon, if not already!
We thought we would share a little peek at some of the inspirational projects inside :)
 
 

This month is our very special CARD MAKING issue! We wanted to show you how to translate all those mixed media techniques to cards, so every feature in this issue has at least one card example for you to see!  

Our special readers gallery shows off just how talented our readers are, amazing cards created by some amazing designers. There was some stiff competition just to be featured, so a big congratulations to the seven designers chosen! This beautiful project by Baerbel Born is just one of the stunning creations showcased:




We have four fabulous digital images to share with you all this month. Stampotique designer Kira Nichols is sharing an adorable quirky snail!



 PaperArtsy designer Kim Dellow has created a fabulous retro pop art design....



And our Editor Trish has created one of her whimsy girls for us...



Trish has also done a real time video exclusively for CS readers, to show how she uses the digi images (as well as creating a messy painty background!) The link, and password needed to access the video can be found in the magazine.

We also have a Gelli Plate project from Birgit Koopsen...



 An amazing colouring tutorial from Kim Costello..



An amazing Masterclass featuring masking tape techniques by Riikka Kovasin...





And Michelle Webb shares a fabulous use for those little wooden bits that come with a canvas!

 

This month, we have lots of giveaways dotted about throughout this issue! We are offering our readers a chance to win the products used in different features, something that we will be doing lots of in the future.

 So, lots for you all to experiment with, and don’t forget, we would love to see what you create! Email us, or share on our Facebook page!

 For those who do not subscribe,  copies of the magazine are available here:
Digital copies are also available here:
Craft Stamper: Digital Issues  (August issue will be available from Friday 01/07/16)

Or... why not ask your local craft store to stock the magazine! We supply shops all over the world :) Information on how to stock Craft Stamper can be found on our web site, or email us and we'll help!

Have a wonderfully crafty month everyone!


Friday 24 June 2016

Take It Make It Challenge: June Winners!

Hello everyone!
We are so pleased to announce the winners of our June Challenge: Take A Technique: Lets Get Inky!

Before we announce the winners, can I just remind all entrants to check out the guidelines before submitting their entry please? We were really sad that quite a large number of amazing art in the Let's Get Inky challenge could not be considered for any of the prizes, as the entries did not fullfill the requirements. In particular, please remember we only want to see ONE project in a blog post entry. You may enter the challenge up to 3 times, but each separate project needs a separate blog post! Also, don't forget the link back to Craft Stamper :)

So... onwards... :) 
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 the amazing layering of the flowers, such a wonderful colour palette too!
Avril 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 Avril!

We also have the remaining two slots in our Top 3 to announce!
In no particular order, please congratulate:

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:

 PaperArtsy



www.paperartsy.co.uk



The prize is a set of FIVE Infusions as seen here:

Lemoncello, Black Currant, A Bit Jaded, Are You Cerice and Emerald Isle.

Congratulations to our winner:




      Congrats Julie, we hope you have loads of inky fun with the infusions!

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 July challenge will be launched next Friday, July 1st!
We can't wait to see what wonderful art you will all be sharing!

Friday 17 June 2016

Take It Make It Blog 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 2016 challenge is

Cornelia Wenokor



Cornelia won the challenge with this amazing card! We loved the bright bold colour, and the striking bird image, so much fun!



 We asked  Cornelia 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 really got hooked on stamping somewhere late in 2012 - my sister did that to me….



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

A: I love stamps that can be combined well, especially geometric type builder stamps. I also love any kind of bird stamps - have to have them all. As for a company - I love them all, as long as they make stamps I like. I don’t discriminate here ;)

 

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

A: Definitely leaning towards CAS, although I step out of my comfort zone every once in a while. Messy is not my thing (except for my craft room) - the messiest thing I do is splattering, but that I do liberally!



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

A: Cards, of course!



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

A: One product only???? Well in that case it's going to be stencils.



We also asked Cornelia 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:



 "I got inspired to make this card by a challenge picture. I first sponged the background. Then I taped the stencil (iStencil) down and sponged in a darker shade again.  I applied clear embossing paste and let it dry over night. I went back and did some additional sponging in areas to get the darker background colors. (Hope that was clear). I had not anybody seen doing this “double stenciling”, so I feel like I invented that 'technique' " -Cornelia






"I had some leftover panels after I had experimented with alcohol inks, spritzing them onto the stamped butterflies (STAMPlorations). It did not quite come out to my liking, but it was too pretty to throw out. So I punched the squares with the butterflies in them. I used an iStencil to make the background in matching colours" -Cornelia

Congratulations Cornelia on being our May Design Winner, 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 Technique: Lets Get Inky" is open until next Wednesday evening, so still time to enter! Don't forget the fabulous prize, a set of five PaperArtsy infusions!
  All the details can be found HERE.

 See you back here next Friday, where we will be announcing the winner of the June challenge... Good Luck!

Friday 10 June 2016

Take It Make It June 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:
Lets Get Inky!

Use more than one TYPE of ink on your creation (ink pads, spray inks, reinkers, ink crystal powders, drawing inks, acrylic inks etc) , OR... use more than one COLOUR of ink on your creation!

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 followed the theme and 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....

PaperArtsy



www.paperartsy.co.uk

PaperArtsy are a UK based brand, selling a HUGE range of stamps by some wonderful designers, as well as their own signature line of chalk finish paints! The online store is just full of amazing product, well worth a visit! The latest (and very very popular) range to be launched is the Infusions range....
Infusions are water soluble particles with 2 components: dye colour pigment suitable for paper/ fabric, mixed with Walnut Stain.
The colour powder particles dissolve faster than the walnut crystals, so you can control the colour-to-brown stain ratio!

These amazing little bottles of fabulousness have been flying off the shelves, but we have a selection as the prize this month! This is the whole colour range:

The prize is a set of FIVE Infusions as seen here:

Lemoncello, Black Currant, A Bit Jaded, Are You Cerice and Emerald Isle.
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 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 Jan McGregor



Cheremane Smith






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

Friday 3 June 2016

Take it Make It Challenge: June

Hello!
Welcome to the Craft Stamper June Take It, Make It challenge!
Take the theme or technique, and then Make it your own :)

The theme for this month is:
Lets Get Inky!

Use more than one TYPE of ink on your creation (ink pads, spray inks, reinkers, ink crystal powders, drawing inks, acrylic inks etc) , OR... use more than one COLOUR of ink on your creation!

 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 followed the theme and 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....

PaperArtsy


www.paperartsy.co.uk

PaperArtsy are a UK based brand, selling a HUGE range of stamps by some wonderful designers, as well as their own signature line of chalk finish paints! The online store is just full of amazing product, well worth a visit! The latest (and very very popular) range to be launched is the Infusions range....
Infusions are water soluble particles with 2 components: dye colour pigment suitable for paper/ fabric, mixed with Walnut Stain.
The colour powder particles dissolve faster than the walnut crystals, so you can control the colour-to-brown stain ratio!

These amazing little bottles of fabulousness have been flying off the shelves, but we have a selection as the prize this month! This is the whole colour range:

The prize is a set of FIVE Infusions as seen here:

Lemoncello, Black Currant, A Bit Jaded, Are You Cerice and Emerald Isle.


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 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 inky (and stamped) inspiration! 

Cheremane Smith












Wow!
Amazing inspiration from the DT!
Fancy joining in with us this month? You have to be in it to win it, as they say :)
All you need to do is double check you are familiar with all the guidelines, then get linking up using the InLinkz tool below!


  We can't wait to see what you create!