September Friendly Feature–Charmaine Stack

Few fans of Waltzingmouse Stamps are as involved in promoting the brand as much as Charmaine Stack also known as Tweedcurtain on the WMS forum.

Charmaine has been a WMS forum member since March of 2010 and has been active in many challenges and activities every since. We are please to have Charmaine as a guest blogger today and are excited to have her share the creativity that we have come to love.

Hello - Charmaine Stack here from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is an honour to be featured on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog. I discovered Waltzingmouse Stamps on November 10, 2009 when I innocently asked on the Splitcoaststampers.com forum if stamps were being made to coordinate with the label Spellbinders dies. The first response back was a recommendation for Claire's stamps. I was smitten with her fresh take on vintage, and the rest, as they say, is history.

One of the things I like about WMS stamps is their versatility. It's fun to combine different sets, which is what I have done here. Those who have been WMS fans as long as I have (or longer!) will remember the Mad for Plaid phase we all went through. Claire has a great tutorial on the WMS website for making plaid.

I decided to dust off that technique for the background for my 6-inch square card using stamps from Pic-Nic Patterns and Off Beat Backgrounds. The "vase" is actually the candy jar from Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, coloured with Copic markers. The Camellia blossoms were stamped with Rose Bud Memento Ink and then coloured with Copics and shaded with a white pencil crayon. I used Distress Stickles Dry Glitter to highlight the petals. I was unable to get an accurate photo of the glitter. Trust me - it is a subtle, transparent sparkle, not the milky white showing here. I used the cut files to cut out the blossoms and leaves on my Silhouette Cameo. The sentiment in the corner is from the Vintage Garden - Seed Packet set.

One of the best parts of new releases is visiting the WMS design team to see what they have dreamed up, and I can always count on Julia Aston to have some sort of cool packaging, gift container, bag or box. So I was thinking of Julia when I made this little treat box to match the card.
The box started out as a Lori Whitlock cut file, but I added an acetate window and frame to show off the Lemoncello Almonds inside. (Roasted almonds covered in white chocolate and lemon cream - a new obsession!) The box measures 4.5H X 3.25W X 2D inches.
Thanks for joining me here today!
What fun and creative projects! In addition to seeing some of Charmaine’s inspiration, we asked her to answer a few questions that will help us get to know her better.
When did you get into this hobby? 1990.
What is your favorite kind (manufacturer) of cardstock? For bases, Die Cut With a View (DCWV)  and Bazzill Basics. For stamping, Neenah Classic.
What is your favorite WMS set or one that you reach for over and over? I try to spread the love around, but lately Compact Sentiments has seen a lot of ink. My very favourite WMS stamp is the Vintage Christmas Backgrounder. I really liked that pattern when it was just a strip in one of the early Christmas sets, and now I can cover a whole card front!
Do you have a favorite technique? Burnished Velvet Glitter Technique. Sometimes in my "high powered day job" I will be sitting in a board room and look down and see glitter on my sleeve, and it makes me smile!
Do you own a die cutter? What kind? I am on my second Cuttlebug and own a Silhouette Cameo.
What is your favorite color combination? I am an autumn gal, but lately have been trying to break out of that palette.
If money wasn't an issue, what crafty stuff would you buy? My first thought was cardstock, ribbon, inks and markers that all match. That is appealing when I am trying to pull something together and nothing seems quite right. However, it's often "making do" and "happy accidents" that lead to more exciting outcomes, so then less is more.
Who is your most admired crafter - or the person that inspires you or challenges you? I honestly cannot single out one person because there are so many talented people out there in the blogosphere (and on the WMS design team), and each have their own unique gifts and approaches. Currently I am learning all about the Silhouette Cameo, so I have been paying attention to some people that are doing pretty neat things with their machines. For me, stamping is all about learning new techniques; keeping it fresh and interesting. I am definitely a “jack of all trades and master of none”, so whoever is the renowned expert on (insert technique her) will be the crafter getting my attention at that moment.
Please join us in thanking Charmaine for guest blogging today and for being such a great cheerleader of Waltzingmouse Stamps!

September Release DT Blog Hop–We Have A Winner!

Our September release was a scary GREAT success and we thank you for all the lovely comments you left on the DT blogs AND your orders. As usual, the Design Team created some wicked awesome samples using the new sets, release on September 19, All Hallows Eve, The Count, Spooky Tree Backgrounder, Vintage Witch, Splat That, Opera Tags Christmas, Putting on the Ritz and Art Deco Backgrounds. Don’t forget to download your free The Count  cut files that coordinate with stamp set.
Thank you for being a part of the Design Team Release Day Blog Hop and leaving so many encouraging comments on the DT blogs. We all appreciate the time you took to visit and comment.
As promised, we have selected a winner of a free Waltzingmouse Stamps set of choice for the lucky person whose name was randomly drawn from ALL the comments on ALL of the DT blog posts from the Hop.  Each member of the Design Team selected one comment from their group of comments, and from those, we have selected a lucky winner from the blog of Design Team member, Julia Aston
...AND THE WINNER IS:  KimCreate
To claim your prize, please e-mail me (Lynn) at lynn@waltzingmousestamps.com and kindly note in the subject line of your e-mail  September BLOG HOP WINNER. I will provide you with a special code to claim your prize.
You have our heartfelt gratitude for the time you took to visit the DT blogs during this release.

...New stamps for September!

Hello and welcome to the September release of new stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

Today we are releasing 8 new sets of Photopolymer stamps! Some of you might be aware that I am also moving home this week and so things are a little upside down in the drawing department at present... Happily thanks to my tiny team of shippers, the show goes on and the release can happen as planned, but I won't answer for cooked food until at least the middle of next week :)

Right about now the ladies are holding the traditional release day blog hop and I invite you to pop over and see them now, remember comments might equal prizes :)

Becca
Kelly
Lynn
Jennifer
Sandie
Julia
Laurie
Iwona

Jeanne
Jean
Karin
Kim
Renee
 Teresa
Tosha 

A little info and then scroll on down to see what's new!

September release Freebie

For this release we have a little bonus freebie - the first 50 orders over £60GBP will receive the Splat That mini set absolutely free of charge, as well as Free shipping! It's a supremely useful little set of smudges, splats and scrapes.

still Calling all Customers, Past and Present and New

Folks if you have shopped with us in the past or recently, and if you think you may be interested in receiving exclusive offers and info from our store, then please pop back to read this important message at some point. We don't want you to miss out on any discounts or offers that we decide to issue to our existing customers!

If you a new to us today, we strongly encourage you to click the box as you go through checkout which will enable us to add you to our store mailing list. The pic below shows what to look out for.

Free Shipping

ALL orders over £60GBP will still qualify for free shipping no matter where in the world you are!

USA Shipping

We are delighted to add to our large number of sets now available directly from USA with today's release. When ordering a set which is available from USA, you will now have the choice to select your set from either UK or USA stock.

Processing of your order will be faster if you can select all your items to come from the same location - ie. all items either from USA or all form UK.

USA residents whose orders contain sets which are all in stock and available from USA, will receive their goodies much faster and will be able to select the USA flat rate shipping option instead of international shipping!

All sets currently available from USA can be found by clicking here. For future ref there's a Handy Link in our sidebar on the store called 'Stamps we can ship from USA' - clicking on that will take you to the most current selection.

A note about Backordering

Out of stock sets are available to order as our store allows backordering, but please be aware, if you are ordering an item that is currently out of stock, your order will be held until all the items requested are in stock and ready to ship. We regret that we are not able to offer partial shipping of orders at this time.

Publication Incentive

In case you have not seen this -  check it out here.

What's new for August 

Art Deco Backgrounds

6x8 inches

Clear Photopolymer

Putting on the Ritz Stamp Set

6x8 inches

Clear Photopolymer

All Hallows Eve Stamp Set

6x8 inches

Clear Photopolymer

Spooky Tree Backgrounder Stamp

4.5 x 5.2 inches

Clear Photopolymer

The Count Mini Stamp Set4 x 3 inches

Clear Photopolymer

Freebie -  matching Cute Files for the Count set are available from Here. Set includes cut files for use with the Count stamps including 3 versions of the calling card and two figures - cut files are represented by the red lines in this graphic.

Vintage Witch Stamp Set

6 x 4 inches

Clear Photopolymer

Splat That Mini Stamp Set

4 x 3 inches

Clear Photopolymer

Also available to purchase, this mini set will be given away free to the first 50 folks whose orders are over £60GBP.

Opera tags Christmas Stamp Set

6 x 4 inches

Clear Photopolymer

These stamps co-ordinate with our exclusive Opera Tags Dies

Hope it tickles!

 

...comment competition winner

We have a winner from our comment comp - it was

Fra Ambrosius who said... 

I love All Hallow's Eve! That church and the raven. Just wonderfully spooky.
 

 

Congratulations Fra! - pop me an email on info@waltzingmouse.com - pop me your address and choice of set and we'll get it out to you asap!

 

Literally moments to go until the release! so excited!

...Release Day Schedule

Tonight we release eight new stamp sets. If you are new to Waltzingmouse Stamps, we produce exclusive, clear photopolymer stamp sets and we try to have something just that little bit different.

We've been previewing samples across the DT blogs for 3 days and tonight we will be making the new sets available on the store - here is a little schedule of what will be happening:

5:30pm - the Competition will close.
6:00pm - The store will close to allow final adjustments.

6:30pm -  the competition winner will be announced.

7:00PM - the New Stamps for September post will go live on this blog and there will be more fabulous samples from the DT in our release day blog hop. Don't forget also that we run a little random giveaway from the DT blog waltz, another chance to win goodies!

7:15PM - the Store will re-open and the new sets will be available.

7:00pm my time Thursday 19th September is approximately equal to:

1:00pm USA 19th September Missouri USA

4:00am 20th September Queensland Australia (sorry!)

2:00am 20th September Malaysia (sorry!)

8:00pm 19th September Germany

8:00pm 19th September Sweden

3:00pm 19th September Brazil - Rio

10:00pm 19th September Russia - St Petersberg

8:00pm 19th September South Africa

...New for September - Vintage Witch

ED - This competition has now closed.

ED - I can't believe it either Kerri, I must be missing a vital, common-sense brain function...

Good morning folks, my samples are all super simple this week since I am still up to my eyes in packing, but I look forward to the day when I can play a little longer with these images.

A real 'live' Vintage Witch - she is already over 150 years old and she's the kind of gal who will never really go out of style, given that she's pretty much perfect, for a witch that is...

I stamped her simply in black on a tag and edged that tag with black distress embossing powder.

I got to like her more and more while I worked with the image to translate it into stampable graphics, check out that chin!

Halloween is going vintage this year at my house in case you had not realised and this is the main image in the Vintage Witch stamp set due for release on Thursday evening. Can't wait for the reveal!

DT ladies previewing with me today are:

Lynn Mercurio

Iwona Palamountain

Kelly Schirmer

Julia Aston

Jean Martin

Tosha Leyendekker

Edna Morrisedie

Jeanne Jachna

Renee Lynch

Kim Duran

Jennifer Holmes

Laurie Schmidlin

Teresa Kline

 Sure hope these tickle - and I'd really love to know - so leave me a comment here on this post telling me which looks like your fave set so far and I will randomly draw a lucky winner to win their choice of set from the new release! draw will take place this coming Thursday and winner will be posted at 6;00pm my time, just before the release takes place.

...New for September - The Count

Good morning and welcome to day two of the release previews - We are launching 8 new stamp sets on Thursday and this card shows the largest image from the new mini set 'The Count'...ok hands up who was thinking Sesame Street....

I was itching for a little old world glamour and so I created this silhouette image of what I imagine the Count would look like, I have made him a Victorian gent and given him a certain swagger, which I think is befitting the character, at least as I see it.

Perfect for ushering in a more refined and stately Halloween, the sentiment is reminiscent of a calling card and after all, The Count must request an invitation as he can't come in unless you ask him....

I stamped him in Chateau Grey from Versacolour which is an especially good 'breed' of ink to use on large silhouette stamps such as this one, in fact I find Versacolour good in every situation except where you wish to use copic markers.

I masked areas of the sentiment so that the name could be inked in Burgundy and the rest of the words in black. Simple card, but suitably chilling I think!

Can't  wait to see what the ladies have up their sleeves for today!

Lynn Mercurio

Kelly Schirmer

Julia Aston

Jean Martin

Tosha Leyendekker

Jeanne Jachna

Renee Lynch

Jennifer Holmes
Kim Duran

Laurie Schmidlin

Teresa Kline

Hope it tickles! 

...New for September 'Putting on the Ritz' and 'Art Deco Backgrounders'

 Good morning and welcome to day one of the September release samples - we have 8 new sets releasing this Thursday and I can't wait to show you what they are! My sample this morning uses Art Deco Backgrounders - which is as you might guess an Art Deco inspired Backgroudner! Not being content with one pattern, I made this set a large set and included an option for a second style of backgrounder and some stylish motifs.

I inked up my diamond backgrounder in Versamark before smoothing some black card over the stamp - on huge backgrounder stamps like this one, I simply leave the stamp on the backing sheet and place it face up on the work surface. I ink up and smooth the card down on top, making sure to smooth over the entire surface. 

I sprinkled on some gold embossing powder and heated it up! I stamped and embossed the sentiment in the same way, layering it on to another piece of black card. A gem coloured up with copics to match and some tiny black feathers and I was done. Simple - the detail in the backgrounder stamp does all the work!

The Sentiment comes from another new set - Putting on the Ritz - a complimentary sentiment set which oozes 20's style.

 Previewing with me today are some of the the ladies:

Becca Feeken
Lynn Mercurio
Kelly Schirmer
Julia Aston
Jean Martin
Tosha Leyendekker
Teresa Kline
Jeanne Jachna
Renee Lynch
Jennifer Holmes
Kim Duran
Laurie Schmidlin
Sandie Dunne

 Hope it tickles - I will be back tomorrow with another preview - I am moving house this week and hectic doesn't begin to cover it! I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's samples though!

...September peek No. 4

Dare you invite this guy in?

...Back in stock

Just a quick note to let you know that we have the following sets back in stock:

Funky Feathers
Ocean Bound
My kind of Guy
Big Day Essentials
Big Day Additions
Vintage Labels No.18 (Nestie Friendly)
Holiday Labels No.14 (Nestie Friendly)
Vintage Labels No.4 (Nestie Friendly)
2011 Holiday Ornaments ((Nestie Friendly)
Dainty Doilies Large
Bitty Banners
Vintage Garden - Seed Packet
Musical Backgrounds
Seasons of love Tags
Folk Art Medallion
Nordic Winter
Vintage Ornaments

...September peek No. 3

Real Vintage atmosphere....shiver....

...September sneak peek No.2

All manner of uses for this one, not least the upcoming festival....

...September sneak peeks begin!

It's time to get the sneak peeks underway for our upcoming September release - I am very excited about this one! We will have a bundle of new sets to hopefully, surprise and delight you on the 19th September and here is the first peek of what's coming. A diverse range of sets await you!

...In the background

Just a quick heads up to let you know that we are moving home this week - the store is operating as normal as my assistant is running it while I bundle 17 years worth of belongings into bags and boxes.

I anticipate that I might be somewhat delayed in answering emails this week, but bear with me, I will get to you eventually - thank you for your patience!

August Pajama Party Winner!

Hello - we have randomly chosen a winner from our August Bedtime sketch challenge! There were so many wonderfully creative projects and we thank you all for playing along, but alas, there can only be one winner and that person is....

Kate L. – #4

Congratulations Kate! Please send us an email on info@waltzingmousestamps.com and please put August PJ Sketch Challenge Winner in the subject line.  We will provide you with your prize code to use at Waltzingmouse Stamps!

..PJ party Winners

Evening all!

here are the winners from Challenges 1-4 in the PJ party.

Tying the Knot winner:

Joyce M

Joyce you win a £20GBP store credit - you get the double prize value as your card (No. 7) used the Tying the knot stamp set! Congratulations! Pop me an email at info@waltzingmousestamps.com don't forget to put the word Winner as your subject line so I can find you easily!

Get Nauty Winner:

Vickie Z

Vickie, you win a £20 GBP store credit since your card (No.19) used a stamp from the Safe Harbour set. Congratulations! Pop me an email at info@waltzingmousestamps.com don't forget to put the word Winner as your subject line so I can find you easily!

Colour Inspiration Winner:

Cassandra

Cassandra, you win a £10 GBP store credit for your card (No.16) Pop me an email at info@waltzingmousestamps.com don't forget to put the word Winner as your subject line so I can find you easily!

Golden Oldies Winner:

Erin T

Erin T, you win the double prize of £20 GBP store credit for your card (No.21) since you used WMS! Pop me an email at info@waltzingmousestamps.com don't forget to put the word Winner as your subject line so I can find you easily!

I want to thank you all for taking part, I had a ball going through the entries and I do thank the good folks at Random.org for making it a painless way to choose winners as I could never have chosen between all the lovely samples, I loo k forward to pinning loads of them for future inspiration!!

Especial thanks for folks who braved the colour challenge, I hear it was found to be especially brutal!! lol! I'll try to make it easier next time!

Remember there is still time to play in the Sketch challenge at the end of the party post!

...Back in stock!

The following sets are back in stock! I have filled waiting orders and they will ship first thing tomorrow!

Vintage Labels 18

Works with Spellbinders labels 18 die templates

Compliments of the Season

2011 Ornaments

Works with Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornaments die templates 

 

Holiday labels 14

 Works with Spellbinders Labels 14 die templates

Seasons of Love Tags

Works with selected Spellbinders Heart and Star die templates 

Musical Backgrounds

My kind of Guy

Vintage Ornaments

Works with Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments die templates