What a lovely bunch... & a Creative Design Team Call

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Down here in the south East of the UK, it has been and still is lovely and warm and sunny, much to the chagrin of my daughter who is in Edinburgh, where it has been very wet, so much so that she has had to buy new shoes that were dry!!!
I have spent some of the day making grungepaper roses or in my case flowers, as they look nothing like roses with our new stamps :). They are so messy and addictive to make. Hands now covered in inks and glue..mmmmm!
I do have a post from a few weeks ago showing you how to make them here.
I wanted to make several for a bunch, so used some of the new background stamps, and the Flower Power set. added leaves and thick wire for the stems, and lots of Glossy Accents as glue.

Here at The Artistic Stamper we are looking for new Creative Team members, and this is a call out to everyone who loves using stamps to create art. If you would like to be considered please email me, with a link to your blog or just attach jpegs of your current art. A little bio would be good too. We are not looking for any specifics, just enthusiastic, fun loving stampers! We are accepting applications from all over the world until Sunday 6th September. No experience is necessary, no past publication is necessary, just simple enthusiasm and of course a great love of stamping!
Looking forward to hearing from you, yes that is you reading this blog.. go on send me your art and become a Creative Team member!

Released- the new stamps and the winners!

I am sorry I may have kept some of you waiting for this post..lol but here it is!
The new stamps you have all been guessing are now on the website and here is one of my favourites.. actually they all are.. but then new stamps always have a fascination! This is Flower Power and is perfect for stamping onto Grungepaper and making roses or flowers, stamping onto printed paper, stamping with the new background stamps, or just distress inking!Now to the WINNERS, although everyone who took part is a winner to me!
Day 1- sadly no one guessed this but it was bit hard.. sorry :( It is the flower from the above set.
Day 2- was a film strip and Katharine, you need to contact me to get your prize!
Day 3- much easier- it was a jigsaw piece! and the winner is Claireabelle- Congratulations and please email me your address
Day 4- Chicken Wire and the winner is Paula- Congrats and please send me your address, so I can send you your stamp.
Finally there are 21 separate stamps, and no-one exactly guessed, so the nearest guess was Anesha with 20 and Anita with 22! ! So email me your address and the WHOLE set of stamps will be winging its way to you both!
I do hope you like the new stamps, and I know you have liked playing, so you never know I may do more soon.....
Just to say ALL the new stuff is now on the website , including Tim Holtz new stamps too, and you can see everything here. Oh and you have to see the miniature suitcases that are new too! Just heaven in a box! I do have to take a picture of the inside , but believe me they are exquisite.
Watch tomorrow for new and exciting news, and if you are lucky some artwork from me using the new stamps!
Hugs

Final peek

Tomorrow the stamps will be on the website.. so today a final chance to guess the number, and to guess this stamp.....

I know some of you are perplexed by the previews, but this one is easy ( isn't it?) , so get the name right and the first one to comment correctly wins it! I have to confess I have never previewed stamps before , so this is a new one on me, what do you think? Is it a good idea or not? let me know please. Good luck to all who guess and don't forget to guess the number of stamps too.. you can have as many guesses as you like...

Have a great day

Another peek, and guess the number..

Thank you for all the comments yesterday, and the day before.. Of course I cannot say anything until I release them (I hope you like them?), but I shall announce the winners on Friday. You ask are there any winners.. shhh, my lips are sealed..hehe :)
Today I thought let's give you another sneak peek, this one is easy, and there are no cryptic clues, sorry yesterday's was so lame! I never was any good at them! And also today and up to Friday, if you guess how many stamps there are being released you can win the WHOLE set! and I shall throw in 2 pieces of Kling-On too! Now there is a clue!!!! This is not the number of sets (are there any?, you ask) but the ENTIRE number of single stamps. I will ship anywhere in the world too.

Happy Guessing

Sneak Peek no 2

I have to confess, as I know what these are I probably have made the sneak peeks a little small! I think you might get this one... they can be a bit puzzling...but who am I to say?
I also have a little bit of artwork , not made with with the stamp, I hasten to add, but with my lovely Penny Black stamps that I bought a few weeks ago. This was a quick Thank you card for my friend who owns the cottage we stayed in in The Black Mountains. I used a piece of chipboard for the main bit on the card and distress inks. The stamps were stamped in Distress ink too, and lightly spritzed with a mini mister before stamping. Guess the stamp, and you can win it!
Happy Stamping!

Mini Sneak Peeks

This week, I shall be giving you mini sneak peeks of the NEW stamps that we are releasing on Friday! So without much further ado ( as Shakespeare said!) here is the first sneak peek:
If anyone can guess the first one I will give them the stamp as a gift!

Holiday Blog Candy Winner!

Hi!
Thank you to everyone who joined in the holiday blog candy. The almighty random generator picked a number.. and the WINNER is.................

MICHELLE!

Please email me your address so I can send off your candy to you.

I had a great relaxing holiday .. the weather was pants, though.. it rained, but the views were stunning. Holiday pics coming to this space soon! Since I have been back, I haven't even drawn breath as have been busy moving DD out of here student home, and putting her stuff into storage, as she is now in Edinburgh, working at the festival till the end of the month. I do have a little bit of her at home, as I have been instructed to look after her goldfish!

This week there will be sneak previews of NEW STAMPS, which I think you will like :), and a great opportunity coming to this screen too! Watch this space!

In the meantime here is a picture of Aimee's goldfish ..lol.. this is just to show her they are still alive and swimming!

Sneak peeks start tomorrow

Hugs

Holiday Fun Candy!

Ok, I admit my mojo has taken a holiday followed closely by myself on Sunday! I am going to a cottage near the Brecon Beacons, and there is no telephone or mobile coverage or even tv! While I am gone here is some candy for you. Just make a comment, add the candy to your blog, tell your friends, and I will post the winner on Sunday 9th August! ( I will ship worldwide too!)

Stitchels Galore!

Morning!

Here are a couple of lovely pieces that Lucy has made for us, using Stitchels stamps and a whole lot of creativity.

For this card, Lucy has used some glossy cardstock and inky techniques along with the leafy vine from the Nature set. The little flowers have been made by stamping onto felt and cutting them out...cute or what?


This next piece is a wall hanger, made up from three beermats, altered with Crafty Individuals papers and embellished with more Stitchels images:


Both sides of this hanger are really embellished and stamped, making it a wonderful gift too!

Lucy added some more of her gorgoeus felt flowers to this piece too...what a great idea!

Thanks for looking....you have probably guessed by the different voice writing this that it isn't Jennie LOL This is Hels, standing in for Jennie while she gets a very well earned rest!

Oh, and don't forget to check out the Blog Candy giveaway we have on going at the moment!

Hels x

Not so perfect..

On Saturday while on our travels, I popped in to see Julia at Simply Stamps in Rye, and came away with two or three Penny Black stamps (my first I have to add) . I don't often buy or acquire other stamps, as I like working with mine, but I loved these, and I made 2 cards this morning (at an ungodly hour!) using Ranger's Snow cap white and my own pearlescent powders, and the other one was made using Ranger's Perfect Medium and Perfect Pearls. Not sure the scans are very good, but what do you want first thing in the morning! How to do: Ink the stamps with Perfect Medium, then brush the colours where you want them , and brush the excess away with the very soft brush in the kit, and a little spritz of water to make them permanent. On the white card I used a little "twizzler" tool I have to make the speckles by just dipping it in ink, and then brushing powder over it. I think I have several of these lurking, so will try to put them on the website later in the week. So, 2 cards, ready for my friend across the road, who is always popping across to see if she could "make" a card to send , and always at the last hour!

Water water everywhere...

...and not a drop to drink! We went on another trip this weekend, potentionally looking for a car for DH, and we always seem to end up at the sea! I love it, and this trip was to Hastings on the Sussex coast. If you have never been there, it is a great little town, with some quirky shops, loads of fish restaurants, and absolutely hundreds of seagulls! Although it has no harbour, Hastings has lots of fisherman, and all the boats are pulled up on to the shore by winches.
My most abiding memories of Hastings are when I was little girl and went on a farm holiday and we used to sit amongst the pebbles on the beach! It hasn't changed much! here are a few photos I took while walking in the wind, and just absolutely adore the seagull, who had posed for me on the post! Even better are the gorgeous shoes by Betty Jackson in a shop window. I even tried them on, sadly and even luckier for my purse they were a tad too small! We indulged in the biggest chocolate meringues from Judges Bakery.. mmmm! lol , and if you wanted something fishy to eat ..here it is!
Hope you had a good weekend

QVC TV Time

Finally The Artistic Stamper has hit the tv, and we got some new and exclusive Stitchels stamps on QVC this afternoon!! I was actually in the post office when Hels called me to say they had previewed the stamps , and where was I??? Err, post was done in a hurry, dinner was bought on the run, and I was cursing all the slow drivers as I drove the 5 mins home, in the vain hope I would see the stamps being shown! I made it, and am now saying a public thank you to Hels who designed the stamps, and to Craig and Amanda who put the kit together, and to Dawn who demoed them. If you want to buy the stamps here is the link. They are exclusive to QVC and won't be on my site for some time to come, so grab them while you can! I made a very quick ATC, as I was posting, 5 mins to stamp , and a heat gun to dry! just so you can see how the little bird stamps out.. he is cute! I used distress inks backgrounds, some distress stickles and a branch from The Maya Road birds chipboard set. Haven't made anything so quick in ages!

I even fiddled with photoshop and now wished I hadn't! but too late now... note to myself, don't experiment when you need to post in a hurry!

Get me to the church on Time...

Saturday was Judith, my BFF's youngest daughter's wedding, and a wonderful day it was too! I took my camera, (even remembered to get new batteries), wore my party frock and little heels (almost unknown for me!) and in time honoured traditon also made a card for them!
I used The Kiss stamp, the Karanatha Swirl stamp as a background, and a card sketch that I love ! I used white ink for the Kiss stamp, and embossed in clear fine detail embossing powder. I distress inked in Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick, and I have to admit more than one version of the card went in the bin!! I do hope they liked it. Alice and Ross looked radiant, and boy Alice,loved the Vivienne Westwood dress, and the shoes even more! I wasn't the first person in the queue to borrow them either! Both my children were there which was fab, and I even managed to capture a photo of them smiling! It was a wonderful day, the rain held off till late in the evening, and it was so good to catch up on people not seen for ages, and to have a little drink or two or three! hic!!
Today it is back to work with a vengeance, but looking forward to my week off at the end of the month, let's hope the weather stays fine.

Button It Up!

I like to think I am on a roll, creativity wise.. well it is up to you if you think so, you may not! Comment all you like.. love reading them! As I mentioned yesterday I often look for inspiration when I am in a creative rut, by blog hopping all over the world. What a wonderful way to see it! This time my inspiration came from The Next Level, where this week's challenge was to use buttons and bows. I am not sure where this idea came from, but out came my stash of buttons, spent a couple of hours sorting all the greens and blues, and out came a bodice form that has been waiting to be decorated, and of course my trusty Glossy Accents! Forgot to take photos as I was making it..doh! I painted the bodice with Claudine's Studio Multi Medium mixed with a little tad of Sky Blue Studio paint. It did take a little while to dry, but once dry, I played with buttons, and ribbons and of course added a bow! Several sticky hours later, I had completed this!
This the front, note the 2 prominent buttons! They just pointed themselves in my direction! lol

The criteria was using buttons and bows! Did I get it right? Hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.
Hugs

Mini Art

It seems a while since I made anything creative... is my mojo on holiday? I made some time yesterday to create, and as I often need a kick start, wandered around a few challenge blogs, and on Lots to Do challenge blog, you could use stamping! That was it, no colour , no card, just stamping. I had so wanted to make another grungepaper flower, so grabbed a little canvas, (this one is 2" x 2") some grungepaper, my favourite product of all time, Alcohol Inks, and some gold embossing powder, oh and of course the stamp! I made the flower in a similar way to the last time , but coloured it with alcohol inks, Purple Twilight, Raspberry, and Shell Pink. No blender! I did the same with the canvas. The grungepaper soaks up a lot of alcohol ink, but carries it beautifully.
I then used the Karantha Swirl stamp and heat embossed it in gold on top of the flower petals before gluing together. I did the same on the mini canvas. A shiny jewel in the middle of the flower, and the flower Glossy Accented onto the canvas and voila, an entry into the challenge.
Seems that pink seems be to be my favourite colour, not sure why as I would never wear it! Maybe I should call this blog the pink zone!