Monday, February 25, 2013

Challenge: the stamp you love (but don't use)...

Any stamper has at least one, the stamp that they love but don’t use. Or, it could be a stamp you haven’t used, don’t know what to use it on, or otherwise aren’t really using. Maybe it’s brand new, maybe it is years old. The challenge this week is to grab that stamp, and use it some way on a project.




Background stamps make frequent appearances on Ashli's projects. But, she has a whole collection of other stamps that are usually quite neglected that she put to use this week.
Stamps are so much fun, aren't they? They are also fun to buy, collect, hoard... and forget about! I often forget about the fabulous little sets I pick up here and there. For this layout, I grabbed some Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go papers and some of her fabulous stamp sets. That little house has to be one of my favorite images. A little embossing, lots of inking and some punching later and I have a page full of stamped up goodness.



Trace has quite a few stamps that need to be inked for the first time, this is one of them.
I admit it- I am guilty of stamp neglect. This little pretty stamp from Hero Arts called Starbursts had been sitting around on my shelve for about a year! I wanted a cool background to showcase it off, so I choose a fun technique from the Tim Holtz book: A Compendium of Curiosities Vol 1, and used about six different blues and greens from the Ranger line of Alcohol Inks. This neglected stamp was paired with two other Hero Arts stamps I use ALL the time; Envelope Pattern for the background, and Year Round Sentiments.
Candy is so excited about a new stamp set she has had for a couple of months but has not used yet. This is her perfect opportunity to share it with you.
This is a recent purchase of Darkroom Door's "Fun and Games" that I've not had the time to play with until now. I LOVE this entire set! But after I'd stamped every thing out using Jet Black and Vermillion Archival Inks, I struggled with what to put them on. Finally I decided on a 5x7 canvas covered with 7 Gypsies Life Tissue Paper and washed with Studio Classic Teal and Sable Brown. Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Embossing Paste and Brick Wall Stencil came to the rescue when I had a big bare spot in my design.


Tracy decided to create a quirky card this week using the Hero Arts Birds and Branches stamp.
I spent quite a while looking through my cupboards at stamps I have never used and to be honest I was quite embarrassed and have now decided to put that right beginning with this challenge. 2013 will be the year I use all those neglected stamps! Simon Says Stamp Large Heart Craft Die came to my rescue for my background, spritzed with postbox red Dylusions ink spray adding sea salt into the mix for added interest along with vibrant turquoise to add a second pop of colour. I don't think this bird will be neglected in the future!


There are few stamps in Sandra Mouwen's stash that she really loves and has never used, because she loves to use them as soon as she gets them.
It was difficult to find a stamp I didn't use yet and really love. But I did manage to find two of them that are perfect for this project. The first one on the bottom is from Tim Holtz Classic #6 collection and the second one is an exclusive stamp from Simon Says Stamp - You Can Do Anything set. Can't believe I haven't used them before! I used a #10 Manila Tag and spritzed the brilliant vibrant Dylusion Sprays Bubblegum Pink and Lemon Zest with the Mister Huey's Ampersand Mask as well as a lot of other creative play.

Anita loves all things inky, and stamps are no exception, especially the wood mounted versions.
While I have a few stamps I haven't used yet, one of my oldest wood mount is Tim's Best Friends image. I think this one is just so precious and innocent, and perfect for any project, but here I've used it for a card for my Godson. He and his wife just had a beautiful baby boy! I did tweak the image some. Can you guess how?


Anna-Karin loves stamps, especially rubber stamps, and there were quite a few that were eager to get inky:
I like house stamps a lot, and this Home Sweet Home set from Darkroom Door was still waiting to be inked up. Three houses were embossed on inky paper with Vintage Photo distress embossing powder and given tinned roofs and doors. They found their home on this Sizzix Caddy Bag, with a compartment on each side. It can be used to store, for example, pens or tags, or as a cute gift holder. The caddy was dressed with BasicGrey Serenade papers, more stamping, tattered banners and birds.

Suzz has a collection of bird stamps that she loves but don't get used enough.
I have so many beautiful bird stamps and they don't get used often enough. I decided to create a birdhouse with different rooms to showcase various birds that I have in my collection. The Stampendous Bird Post is one of my favorites and hadn't been inked up yet. I was happy to stamp him and put him in his own nest. I pulled out a couple of different houses for the birds as well with the lovely Stampendous Vintage Birdcage and the Hero Arts Tall Birdhouse. The birds even have their own portraits hanging in one of the rooms framed out in bezels.

Dan channelled memories of his childhood in the USA into his Americana triptych.
Being a Brit, as much as I love Tim's Americana Blueprint stamp set, it's not too surprising that so far it has sat in my craft room unused.  As a kid, growing up in IL and NJ, I can clearly remember 4th of July celebrations and pledging allegiance to the flag every day in school, so the call of this kind of Americana imagery is very strong within me.  It's a little early for 4th of July, but I can keep it in a safe place until then!  Other stamp sets I used included Remnants, Psychedelic Grunge, Odds and Ends and Road Trip.

Sarah loves wooden block stamps and this fabulous Mona Lisa image has been standing on her shelf, without ink for way too long.
With a face and stare like Mona Lisa you really don't want to take away from her beauty so I thought I would go for a touch of Andy Warhol colour and let Mona try out pop art! I picked my brightest Distress Inks to create my card using a sponged background and then a heavier block of colour for a dramatic effect. I just had to go for a few words, I always do, so I picked out four Chit Chat words to accompany this famous smile which could tell a thousand tales I'm sure.


Now it is your turn! Go grab a stamp you haven't been using (or one you just don't get out enough) and create something to share! Also, be sure to click on our design team's blog links so you can see more photos (and full supply lists) for their projects.

As always, Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50 gift voucher that will go to a random entry chosen by Random Generator. To qualify all you need to do is create a new project that ties in (in any way!) with our theme and post it, along with a link back to this challenge, and add a link here. This challenge will end at 11:59pm on Sunday March 3rd EST.

For the full rules, read the "challenge rules" posted in the side-bar here on our blog.





11 comments:

  1. great challenge guys, and the samples are all inspiring , debi x

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  2. We should probably all feel slightly ashamed at what we have in our stash that has never seen the light of day! Love all the DT makes this week.

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  3. Beautiful DT projects! I'm totally guilty of buy and hoarding stamps, lol :D

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  4. Thanks for the fun challenge and the inspiration!

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  5. Thank you for another fabulous challenge, i have tons of stamps that i love but either don't use or have not got around to using!!
    Hugs
    Hazel xx

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  6. Another great challenge! You just keep them coming:)

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  7. Fab challenge with amazing designs by the DT. I am delighted that I am not running late with my entry this week

    HUgs

    Annie x

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  8. I have to say this is a genius idea for a challenge!

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  9. Amazing creations, girls!
    Simone

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  10. Completely fab challenge - and such glorious inspiration from the team, thank you!
    Alison x

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  11. You all come up with the best ideas for your challenges.

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