Craft Stamper Magazine

Blog of Craft Stamper - the UK's number one stamping magazine!

Designer Call Out

We are presently looking to add to our team of designers - we unfortunately do not have any permanent positions available but we are seeking occasional contributors. Current areas of particular interest are:-Brayering techniques;-Vintage/shabby chic projects;-3D/kinetic card ideas.If you think you have something to offer in one of these categories, please do get in touch by emailing me at cs@... Read more

ATC swap - is it time for a change?

Regular readers will know that we have been running the ATC swap in Craft Stamper for a number of years now. It continues to be a popular but we are wondering if it is time for a change to this long-running feature.I'd be interested to gauge your opinions on the ATC swap and whether it should remain a permanent feature in the magazine:-Do you like the ATC swap?-Is it something in which you ... Read more

Wondering what to do with our vintage downloads?

Here's some inspiration for you from Vicky, one of our readers. She's made the most beautiful vintage card with our latest downloadable image.You can download our vintage freebies here.... Read more

New issue out tomorrow

The April 2010 issue is officially on sale tomorrow :).We have two new regular features starting this month:-Three Ways With... will look at a product or material each month and show you three different ways to use it. We start with Diamond Glaze and Helen has come up with some amazing applications.-Stamping for Scrapbookers - this is all about incorporating stamping and inking techniques into ... Read more

Back from Stitches

Well we had a fun day yesterday at the Stitches trade show at the NEC although we were totally exhausted by the end of it!We talked to lots of lovely people – I so love chatting to craft retailers; they are so excited and enthusiastic about what they do and it’s so infectious! I met some new people I’d not chatted to before too. There was a real buzz and business seemed to be brisk so perhaps we ... Read more

New issue out today

It's the first Friday of the month again, and you know what that means? Yep, it's Craft Stamper day! The March issue is officially on sale today, packed with lovely projects for you to try. I hope you will enjoy it and be inspired to get out those stamps.Don't forget that we have a web extra section on the website for those projects we just couldn't fit into the magazine pages.... Read more

Please welcome...

...Anneliese Bates to the Craft Stamper Design Team! You might remember a rather spectacular Grungepaper bag a few issues back? Well that was the work of the lovely Anneliese,. I have now invited her to be a member of our Design Team so you'll be seeing more of her in the coming months!Anneliese's work is a little Tim Holtz-ish but with a decidedly feminine side and a touch of vintage charm. She ... Read more

Please welcome...

I'm delighted to be introducing you to a new member of the Craft Stamper DT today - the lovely Linda Elbourne. Linda is not only a fabulously talented artist, she is funny, hard working and such a positive upbeat person: in short a pleasure to work alongside. Her artwork has quite a unique style and she is an upcycling guru so look out for lots of projects where she uses old junk to make lovely ... Read more

Your Top Ten?

You may not know this, but Craft Stamper is 10 years old this June! With this in mind I think it would be nice to look back over the last ten years, so I am blogging today to ask for your help.I'd love to know what is your absolute favourite CS project from the last 10 years? Is there something that sticks out in your mind? Is it a project that inspired you to try something new? Is it the reason ... Read more

Lovely reader artwork

Today I'd like to share with you a delightful ATC project sent to me by one of our very talented readers - Annette Goatley.Annette's make was inspired by Kate Crane's ' Artist Trading Card Trio ' project and she has made use of her February free stamp already as you can see!Thank your for sharing Annette; gorgeous work.... Read more

Better late than never - Sharpie draw winners!

(Drumroll please)...................And the lucky winners of our fabulous Sharpie giveaway are.......Kate said...I'd like to win those please!! ** Kate **Lilacanglia said...Have put a link in my candy bar,So glad to have found you,Thanks for the chance,Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all,HugsLilacangliaGez said...Thank you for the chance to win. I have linked your offer to my blog Here. ... Read more

Snowbound!

Hello from a very white and very beautiful Malvern. I just thought I would pop on quickly to let all those of you who took part in the Romance atc swap know that your swaps were posted yesterday!Keep warm folks!Sue... Read more

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 ... Read more

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... Read more

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!... Read more

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. ... Read more

Stamper of the Year Winner Blogs

Hi allI 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' blogAnd our best card category winner Clare Earl's blogEnjoy!... Read more

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... Read more

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 ... Read more

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 ... Read more

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 ... Read more

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!... Read more

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 ... Read more

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 ... Read more

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... Read more