Happy New Year, a BIG Thank you, and Highlights winner

Hello!
Today 2013 is passing and I can smell 2014! LOL But first I must thank my team for being there when it mattered, and for creating fabulous and innovative projects for us all every month. Without them this blog would be very unhappy!
 A BIG heartfelt THANK YOU from me xxx

I must also say goodbye to Sioux, Zuzu (Louise) and Emma, whose creations have graced these pages for several years , and who have always amazed me with their abilities to produce fantastic artwork with little more than a few rubber stamps!
Sioux for her tenacity and hard work , even when she was at her lowest. Sioux , you never once let me down! thank you! You will be sorely missed xxx

Louise , you will be missed for your creativeness , even though you always claimed to not be a rubber stamper...I beg to differ strongly! I will treasure having had you on the team xxx

Finally a HUGE thank you to Emma, whose managerial abilities to keep all the girls in check! lol and make sure that all the posts are on the blog at the right time, and all the unseen backroom work that she has done will be sorely missed! Of course it goes without saying that Emma's artwork has been precise and gorgeous, and has graced these pages with its innovativeness! Thank you for being there for me! I will miss you more than I can say xxx

 I set you a challenge just before Christmas to show us and everyone else your highlight of 2013. Thank you to everyone who joined in at this very busy time of the year. What marvellous creations you made, and I loved them all! I used Mr Random.org to pick a winner ( I certainly couldn't choose!) and he came up with number 3!

Deborah Wainwright

with this gorgeous creation

Congratulations, and please email me , so we can arrange your prize.


May 2014 bring you all you wish for , and may it be happy and healthy!
See you in 2014!
{hugs}
Jennie

Highlight of your year-It's a Challenge!

Hi ,
I am so enamoured with the Team's highlights of their year on The Artistic Stamper, I thought it would be fun to have a little challenge to see which of your own makes is your favourite!
All you have to do is pick your favourite make of your own, and add it to the link at the bottom. Now I know there isn't much time over this festive period, so the challenge is open until midnight 30th December. So have a look at all your creative makes, and let us know which is your favourite.
I will pick a winner on 31st December , and you will be able to choose your favourite stamps from The Artistic Stamper up to £20!
Here is my favourite from 2013, just to get your started :) This was a Gelli Plate print I did back in October, and there is not a stamp in sight!

We look forward to seeing your favourite creations.
A very Merry Christmas from everyone at The Artistic Stamper Creative Team. Have a fabulous holiday!
{hugs}
Jennie

Christmas Set by Dawn Heald

Hello crafty stampers, today I'm sharing  a matching Christmas set that I've made. I've started by colouring the centura pearl cardstock with Dylusions sprays in blues, teal and grape both sides. Spraying onto my craft mat and some water and dragging through, drying and repeating till happy. Then it was a case of building up flat layers using the stencil and stamps and then using this to make the box, tag, card and baubles. I had a load of fun making this set, my hands are still blue lol. The box is made from one piece of card. I do hope you like it and wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I shall see you I'll again after the festivities are cooling down for my final Guest Designer post.

THE ARTISTIC STAMPER stamps used
Katy Fox - Hessian Background
Swirls, splats and dots A5
Snowflakes
Tick Tock Father Christmas
Tick Tock Christmas Baubles
Notebook Background

Other products available from
THE ARTISTIC STAMPER
Dylusions ink sprays
stencils
Stazon black ink
White paint
Wow embossing powder

Other products used
A3 white centura pearl cardstock
Purple organza ribbon
Black velvet ribbon
Blue ribbon
White and silver pens
Clear tiny gems
Wire

 

Showing layers building up 

 

 

Artistic Stamper 2013 highlights by Astrid

Hello everyone and thank you so much for taking the time to drop by here.
No doubt everyone is frantically busy with last minute preparations.
Here at the Artistic Stamper, all of us designers are sharing our three favourite projects of 2013. I am not sure whether these are my absolute favourites, but they show a variety of my work at least....
So here they are:
My second May project, a shabby chic gift bag: Details can be found HERE

A journal Spread, my first project for September, details can be seen HERE

And finally an altered book, my challenge project for October. The details for this project can be found on my own blog HERE

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your visits and lovely comments, they are much appreciated. I would like to wish both you as well as my teamies and Jennie all the very best for the festive season, thank you for all your support!

Titbelsoeur's 2013 Artistic Stamper highlights

Un petit coucou de France pour les patouilleurs et patouilleuses du monde entier qui passent par ici !

I am very pleased to show you today the Top3 of the projects I made for the Artistic Stamper this year. It was not that easy, since I challenge myself alone on my own ;-) to equal my teamies, and if I could I would show 5 or 6 !
But it is a good thing to choose, allowing me to put my creations of this ending year into perspective.


So here is my #3 project,I love it because it was a first time on many sides : I am not used to layer things over and over this way, I cut a vinyl record for the first time, and it was my first door hanger ! Experience to be renewed !

My #2 project is, of course, my cabinet of curiosities, which was THE long-term creation that we - admins - proposed to the French forum Patouille & Récup, I am very proud of it !

And here is my #1, inspired by my team partner Astrid, this is an altered book hosting my Christmas crib, I am very proud of this one as well !

Voilà, a year has passed with you, and it is always a great pleasure to meet you again and again, read your comments and wander on your blogs.
I am still so proud and happy to be part of this terrific team, and this is a good opportunity to wish  very good Christmas and New Year's celebrations to Jennie, our marvelous boss, to my "roommates" and to all of you who have stopped here !
See you next year !
Titbelsoeur

My top three and a sad goodbye...by Emma

Hi everyone...

As you know, here at The Artistic Stamper, the team are all choosing their three favourite pieces of this year and today, is my turn!! So without further ado, here are my top three and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them...

My first project is my Christmas matchbox. At this special time of year, I adore everything vintage and I wanted to create a special keepsake that would encapsulate that feel and to also be something that someone would treasure forever. 

My second project back in June, is a canvas that I created in the summer and again, I wanted to capture the feel of everything summery and I really loved making this bright piece with the huge bold flowers and the little bee flying away.

For my third project, I chose a tag that I made for Valentine's Day, click here to see the original post, and this has a special place in my heart because I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of Tim Holtz's Blogworthy links with this piece and anyone who knows me, knows how much that meant to me. I was over the moon and really thrilled.

So, those are my three favourite projects of this year and now....comes the hard part!!

As you all know we are very sadly going to be losing two of our wonderful team members at the end of month but today, I'm announcing that I will also leaving The Artistic Stamper at the end of December and moving onto pastures new. Don't worry, I will still be very, VERY active in this world of craft and I will still be around on Facebook, Twitter and on my own blog but I'm just starting a new adventure.

I've been with this amazing team for two and a half years and been CT co-ordinator for two years and it's been a very hard decision to make but I want to thank the whole team for making my job such a pleasure to do and I couldn't have asked for a better or more talented team to work with. I also want to say a very BIG thank you to Jennie. You put your faith in me to run this blog for you and I've loved every single minute and had the most wonderful time working alongside you!! Good luck Jennie with everything for the future...you deserve all the happiness and success life can bring you!!!!

So, as my last post here, and with a tear in my eye as I'm writing this, I just wanted to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

...and I hope you have a very happy and wonderful 2014!!

See you all in blogland and thank you for all your support!

Love Emma xx

Picking Favourites...

Hello everyone, Alison (butterfly) here.  I hope you're enjoying seeing everyone's top picks from their Artistic Stamper year... I certainly am.  Much harder when it comes to picking my own favourites, though.

Not sure this is a definitive top 3, but they are all projects that mean a lot to me. And it seems to be texture, women and butterflies; blue, green and brown... no surprises there to anyone who knows me!

First a project which was actually made as a Guest Designer, before I joined the team full-time, but I suspect it was instrumental in getting me the invitation to become a full team member, so I wanted to honour it here!

It's hard to capture in a couple of photographs, so if you missed it and would like to see more, you'll find it here.

Next, a tag which somehow felt very much like "me".  It has one of my favourite ever backgrounds, and the images, words and colours came together without very much thought - always a good sign, I think! 

Again, if you'd like to see it in more detail, it's here.

And I was really torn for the last entry in the trio.  Should it be the Place for Keepsakes?  Should it be my much-loved In The Undergrowth hanging board? Or Create? I am creating! using my favourite corrugated cardboard?  But in the end, I plumped for these journalling pages ... the first time I understood that you really are allowed to do whatever you want on a journalling page!

And the Gibson Girls have served me well on a number of projects, so it's only fair that they get a look-in in the top three!  You can see more details here.

Thank you so much for stopping by at this busy time - I hope you've enjoyed re-visiting some of these.  I wish you all a wonderful festive season, and here's to a fabulous 2014 for all! 

A Few of my Favourite Things by Alison (Craftytrog)

For our final post of 2013, all of us here at The Artistic Stamper Creative Team are sharing our three favourite projects of the year.

Here are mine...

You all know I love to make hangy art, & I had fun making this funky bird piece. I love the colour palette & book text, & those fab chevrons.

I also love making art jewelery, & this metallic cuff is a favourite piece of mine. I love the colours, & there are those chevrons again.

And finally, I think this is my favourite piece of the whole year, not least because it has a pic of my lovely daughter Beth. I adore the stamped UTEE & the crackled background, & of course, it has my favourite colour...blue...on it. 

I'd like to thank each & every one of you for all of the support, & the lovely comments you've left for me over the past year, they're very much appreciated.

Wishing you all a Joyous Christmas, & a very Happy New Year,

Alison xxxxx

My Artistic stamper highlights: by Zuzu

Jennie and Emma told the Creative team that they would lke the second half of december to feature a different kind of post. we were asked to pick out our favourite three projects that we made in 2013...
I am going to cheat a bit and just pick my 3 "Artistic stamper" favourites from all those i have ever done, as this will be my very last post as a creative team member.  I have been doing it for 19 months now and have decided its time to retire.
So......
my top three projects?
1:

This book box HAS to be in there at number one.  actually have only just begun to take it apart to create something new. But i enjoyed having it around for the last two years.

2:

This Raven box is my second favourite. (I love that stamp)....

3:

And bringing up the rear in third place is my altered bottle. it holds oil especially formulated for time machines....

Well, there we have it. my all time top three project that i have made for the artistic stamper.
And as this is officially my last post as a member of the team, I want to take this chance to say how much i enjoyed the challenge (as i still dont consider myself much of a stamper).  Thank you Jennie for taking a chance on me and my altered art projects.
Have a wonderful Yuletide season to all who have a festival to celebrate at this time of year. and a safe and warm winter to those who dont. and have a great new year. let the year start as you mean for it to go on and remember, the only thing that defines you is YOU. not events from your past, or the opinions of others.
Z x

2013 highlights by Sioux at The Artistic Stamper

All of us here at The Artistic Stamper Team are sharing their three most favourite makes of the past 12 months.....so here are my top three favourites today.

This was made especially for my sweetheart on the occasion of his Ordination.
Yes folks, I'm marrying a man in black!!
I never in a million years thought it would be that sort of black though! ROFL
All the details can be found on the original post here - Grace



I'm very fond of masking...you may have noticed ;)
This card just made my heart sing and I loved the colours too.
You can see all the details on this post - Carpe Diem



When I made this I decided I was going to hold out for a hero and this sentiment sums up how I felt my life should be...even though at the time it was no where near a breathless life! LOL
It uses my dancer stamps....and what a wonderful thing to have your designs made into rubber...
...Thanks so much Jennie for the fabulous opportunity...
All the details are on the original post here - Breathless

Now the hard bit...

I am also announcing that I am stepping down from the team after over 3 years of arty fun.

It was such a thrill when Jennie asked me to join the team...and to be frank it helped keep me sane when the world as I knew it fell apart on the death of my husband...
...at times it was a struggle to find the mojo to carry on and make my posts but somehow I always managed to pull it off!

It's been wonderful to share this whole stamping malarkey with all the teamies there have been along the way and it's always been a pleasure to try and share some of the how to's too!

The ability to share stuff with everyone is what makes the Internet and blogging worth while.

Time moves on (scarily so for me this year), life evolves and now love grows and as some of you know, I have met the man of my dreams...
...he thinks I'm dreamy too ;)...what could be better?


So it's so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu from me to The Artistic Stamper Creative Team.
Thanks for all your lovely positive thoughts over the years...you are all stars ;)

I thought I'd leave you this little ATC as my last make as part of the creative team...
...it fits the bill don't ya think? :)

Distress Ink swooshed background - worn lipstick
(how appropriate LOL)

and wild honey
(well he is my honey...I'm keeping it to myself about the wild bit! ROFL)

Ball Bottle :) - stamped in Adirondack black and masked
(never thought I'd have such a special use for that image!)

The globe section of Round the World stamped in Distress Ink Vintage photo and masked
('cos of all the towns in all the world he walked into mine ;)

Calligraphic Mat 13 stamped in Distress Ink aged mahogany

The Silhouettes from T!m's Mini Halloween 3 set stamped in Archival and cut out with a little border as was the small label from the same set. Date stamps from Dates A6

Ooh! Making that made me happy :) Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

P.S. I'll still be making things with all the great stamps here at The Artistic Stamper and entering challenges too when the time allows :)

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

xoxo Sioux

Christmas Giftset

Hello everyone, thank you for stopping by! This is Astrid with my first project for December.
We are all so busy at this time of the year, so I thought that today I would share a quick and easy project, - a card and matching gift bag.

Let's start with the card:

I took a piece of 12 x 6" dark red card and folded it in half. I then matted it with a piece of white, followed by a piece of brown Core'dinations card stock which I had run through an embossing folder.

This was followed with a background created with a couple of die cuts (Sizzix and Memorybox) plus two strips of card, a brown and a thin red one. The brown one I ran through a snow fake embossing folder and then highlighted the snowflakes with Studio Gesso which I carefully rubbed over the raised bits with my finger.

I then stamped the deer from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Seasons Silhouette set in Potting Soil Archival Ink, cut it out and mounted it with some foam pads. I tied a bit of string around its neck first.

I then stamped the greeting from the Mini Christmas 1 set, gold embossed it (hard to see from the photo) and mounted it onto a bit of the same red card.

Three little pearls finished it all off. 

Now to the gift bag, this was created in a very similar way:

I created mats in the same colours and then stamped the wonderful Father Christmas and message from the Mini Christmas 2 set on a white piece of die cut card in Potting Soil Archival again and embellished with some roses and leaves from my stash. A little round die cut tag with a little tree from the Christmas Greetings 1 set plus some hand died seam binding finishes it all of.

Well, there you have it. Less than two weeks to go.... Hope you are all feeling a lot more ready for the big day than I do, but whatever you do, take at least a little creative time for yourself.

Thank you for visiting and don't forget there is still time to play in our challenge too. Details can be found in the side bar.