...New Stamps, Papers, Forum, Blog Hop

ED - yep there is definitely a comment problem, So - what to do is check that your comment is showing up and if not please send me an email, I will print out the comments, cut them apart and add any email comments, put them in a big bowl and make the draw on Wed night!


ED - there seems to be an ongoing problem with comments on blogger, I am getting notice of comments that I can't actually see so in an effort to help, I have turned comment moderation off, I left the word verification on in an attempt to avaid spam but if you do see any rude or obscene comments please accept my apologies, I will be zapping them as soon as I see them but I will be a little busy today so you might see it before I get to it! Huge apologies but I don't want folks to miss the competition opportunity! Many thanks for understanding!

Hello and Welcome to the March release at Waltzingmouse Stamps!!!! This is a ginormous post, coffee, tea AND sandwiches may be required!

Quick summary, make sure you see:
• DT Blog Hop with Guest designer
• New, WMS Forum
• New Stamps
• New Digital papers
• Leave your comment for a chance to win a prize

Huge amount to show you here so I'll try not to waffle! LOL Today we have 3 stamp sets, 3 digital paper sets, DT Blog Hop with Special Guest Designer Jak Heath!!!! and drum roll please, a FORUM!!

I am delighted again to send you all off on the second WMS Launch BLOG - HOP!!! wooohoo!!! I have just the best DT, my ladies are fabulous!! Below is the list in order, start with Belinda, and if you get distracted pop back here to see who is next!! lol.

For the March Launch hop I am so proud to tell you that we have a guest designer, Jak Heath, absolutely legendary in the UK, frequently on television presenting crafting tips and product, Jak is the queen of flowers. A stellar crafter and an absolutely lovely lady, I have been a huge fan since we 'met' online over a year ago! I visit Jaks blog daily, as I'm sure you will too, if you don't already!! - I still can't believe she said yes!!! Right, off you go!

Belinda
Jennifer
Laurie
Lynn
Anya
Bonnie
Julia
Lisa
Jak Heath

ALSO, ALSO!! leave a comment on each of he DT blogs (AND this post!)as you pass by, this will enable you to be entered into the competition!!! There are TWO prizes to be had!!! One winner will be drawn from the comments left on the DT blogs and one winner will be drawn from the comments left on this post here on my blog!! so come on, don't be shy, let's hear what you Think!!!! lol. Winners will be drawn and posted here on Wednesday night, my time!

Welcome to Waltzingmouse House! our own Forum!

You are cordially invited to our very own forum!!!! Click on the button above to go directly to the forum! You can bookmark it once you get there and for your info the address is:

www.waltzingmousehouse.com

It's brand new and needs filling with people!! I realize there are tons of places on the web where folks can hang out but one of the things I miss most since starting WMS is having time to blog surf and hang out with folks, I do love SCS but it is huge and sometimes it's hard to connect! I have wanted a forum from the very start, a place where WMS folks can chat, hang out, ask questions and just do all the things we like to do on forums, I very much appreciate the opportunity to get to know WMS folks a little better and to hear your views on stamps, stamping and whether or not Galway shortbread actually is the best shortbread in the universe!! lol!

Pop on over, register, maybe even leave a post or two, I look forward to filling the forum with all kinds of useful and useless information and hopefully, what every home needs, laughter!!

And now for the stamp sets!

Nestie Eggs - Important Please note - while footering about with the stamps last night I noticed that one of the door 'handles' on the Egg doors stamp is about a millimeter off! argh! It's just a tiny, teeny bit out, barely noticeable, but it's not right so here's what's going to happen. I have already fixed the artwork and ordered replacements and so anyone ordering the Nestie Eggs set today will receive a set from the stock I have already to hand. Those folks will automatically be forwarded a replacement Egg doors stamp as soon as I receive them. In the meantime fire ahead and stamp away, you need to really look closely to see that it's just a tiny bit out and I really don't think most folks would notice. It's just that I am ultra fussy and I want things to be perfect. LOL.

A set of fanciful eggs, designed to fit the Spellbinders Nesting Egg dies for ease of cutting, but these shapes are so simple they are easily cut by hand also, as you can see from the samples I've been showing all week!

In the top left, the 'He is Risen' with flourish surround is one stamp while the larger scalloped frame is a separate stamp. The Egg doors com both on one stamp base for perfect placement within the Spellbinders die cut out shape.

Use these to create Easter tags, baskets and cards with Faberge style or rustic simplicity. The largest egg measures 4 inches tall by 3.75 inches across at the widest point. The smallest egg is 1.25 inches tall.

Very Vintage Labels No. 3

Feeding my ever growing appetite for Spellbinders dies, I introduce to you Labels 3!!

Co-ordinating with the Labels 3 dies from Spellbinders this is a fab set with 11 single frame images and 4 little accompanying motifs. It's also a super simple shape to trim out by hand if you don't use the dies.

As is a feature of my die related stamps I can get so much more in by having some of the stamps have two or more frames. You can ink these up together to get perfectly aligned double frames or ink each frame up individually to get single frames, the choice is yours! For help and pics on how to do this see my blog post here.

Roses in Bloom

Wild Roses, I much prefer these to the more common Rose shape. This stamp set has two full flowers, a large and small size and a matching rosebud. Complemented by two sizes of leaf and a few water droplets stamps for that misty morning look! lol.

Also included are 19 different sentiment stamps!! yep, 19! When I think of Roses I also think of my Mum and her rose garden, and so this set is dedicated to my Mum and all mums and also Moms (both spellings in the set), sisters, aunts and grannies of all kinds, natural, fostered or step-ed! I have included the words 'foster' and 'step' not often found in stamp sets.

This is a set for all of those special ladies in your life, all those Roses in your garden!

The largest rose measures just under 3 inches wide by just under 2.5 inches tall. the sentiment Mom is just under 1.25 inches wide.

Digital Papers

As of today WMS is excited to bring you digital papers!!!

There are a few things you should know about our digital, indeed any digital papers, before you download:
What are they?
Digital papers are just that, digital files containing images of patterned paper. They are purchased in the same way you purchase templates, they come to you via an email containing a link for you to download them immediately after purchase. You print them out on your computer printer and then use them on your cards and layouts in the same way you woul use traditional designer paper. They do not ship in an envelope.

There are huge advantages to this:

Instant gratification (dependent upon the speed of your internet connection, lol!)
No shipping!
You print out what you want, when you want, as many times as you want!

How do I purchase them?
In the store menu on the right hand side there is a tab for Digital Products, click on it, the screen will bring up the digital products available at WMS. Choose the Digital paper collection you like and click on the thumbnail picture, this will bring you to the product page where you can see the designs in a bigger graphic.

Select the size you require from the drop down menu just under the image on the left hand size.

To begin with WMS will offer paper in 3 sizes:

American letter 8.5 x 11 inches
American card 4.25 x 5.5 inches
English A4

If you would like 12x12 please let me know, I have them made up but they are huge files and I need to be sure there is a demand before I invest in larger online hosting.

What price are they?
All Digital papers retail at £2.50 sterling per pack, whatever size of pack you choose. (approx US $3.73, Canada $3.93, Euro 2.75, Australian $4.17 - all values approximate as of 1st March 2010 and subject to change - source, XE.com)

How do I download them?
Immediately after your purchase you will receive an email containing a link to your purchased file/s (if you don't get the email straight away, check your spam filter. If after 20 mins there is still no email, even in your spam trap, then pop me an email: claire.brennan1@ntlworld.com)

Straight after you download the zip file, double click (mac, or right click - pc) to open it and then save it somewhere on your computer, it's a good idea to keep all your digital papers in a dedicated folder. This means you have complete access to it at all times! and can open and print however many times you like, forever! - When you first get your download email you will see that you have 3 download attempts, everything should go smoothly the first time, then you save the files as I've just described. The other two download attempts are just a safety net in case something goes wrong with your download, say the cat walks over your keyboard and interrupts the download! lol

Bear in mind your internet connection speed. These files are big, especially the full page papers, so if your connection is a very slow dial up connection downloading may take some time.

How do I print them?
A little sheet containing little samples of each colour is included in each download pack so that you can test print to determine the optimum setting for your printer.

Paper weight and printer settings will make a huge difference to how any digital paper looks when it is printed so please be sure that you are familiar with your printer and use the correct settings and paper for your particular printer.

I have designed and formatted these papers to the industry standards for digital papers and I have tested them all. I have found that they print beautifully when I use the correct settings for my printer but with all digital papers, if I use, for example, heavy cardstock and have my printer set up for light paper, the result will not be correct so I can't stress enough that you check your settings if you do encounter anything that does not print as you feel it should.

Do make use of the little test sheet, to avoid wasting your ink!

And, please take a moment to read the terms and conditions surrounding use of digital files, there's a little Terms of Use sheet in each pack. Cheers.

Celtic Lunettes


Designed to complement stamps from the Irish Blessings and Celtic Heritage stamp sets, Celtic Lunettes is presented in 8 colourways. Options for greens, we like a bit of green, and soft compliments perfect for cards with elegance. In perfect time for St Pat's, baby cards, anything really!
Buttercup
Dove
Iced Pink
Old Gold
Olive
Olive Drab
Soft Blue
Split Pea
All digital images and stamp designs are Copyright © 2010 Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan.
Celtic Squares


Designed to complement stamps from the Irish Blessings and Celtic Heritage stamp sets, Celtic Squares is presented in 8 colourways. Lots of green of course and some rich complements!

Creme de menthe
French Blue
Fresh Mint
Heather
Leaf
Olive
Regal Red
Saffron

All digital images and stamp designs are Copyright © 2010 Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan.
Victoriana Digital Papers - All sizes now available! apologies for the delay!


Victoriana. Designed to complement stamps from the Vintage Circles and Faux Fun Circles sets and now also the Nestie Eggs set, Victoriana is presented in 8 colourways. These papers have that old world charm with fresh appeal.

Wedgewood
Tan
Ruby
Rose
Green
Deep Rose
Cream
Black

All digital images and stamp designs are Copyright © 2010 Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan.


Stamp sets and Digital papers can be purchased by visiting my store, click on the image to pop over.


All clear photopolymer stamp sets retail at an amazing £13.50 sterling each - check out how many images and sentiments are in each set!! (approx US $20.15, Canada $21.22, Euro 14.90, Australian $22.50 - all values approximate as of 1st March 2010 and subject to change - source, XE.com) And yes! - I ship everywhere, lol.

All Digital papers retail at £2.50 sterling per pack, whatever size you choose. (approx US $3.73, Canada $3.93, Euro 2.75, Australian $4.17 - all values approximate as of 1st March 2010 and subject to change - source, XE.com)

Phew! If you've made it thus far, you are a brave soul! Don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning!