The Stamp Man, Blog Hop, Challenge, and Award Event for 2010

The Stamp Man Award for proudly presenting

my best craft project of the year 2010

With blog hop, challenge and prizes!

We are doing something a little different over on our Challenge blog.  Last year we held our first awards event, the awards were for proudly presenting your best/favourite crafting project you feel you made during the year.   We are going to hold it again this year but we are also linking it with our fortnightly Challenge. 

We would like you to join in the challenge, which is to show us your best/favourite project of 2010.  Perhaps it could be an ATC that you have entered here this year?

The award blinkie is just a nice random award for anyone that joins in.  Display your award blinkie on your sidebar with a link back to The Stamp Man main blog.

As you can see above Janet is displaying her favourite ATC, which featured in The Look theme.

The most important part of this is that we would like you all to have fun and enjoy taking time to look back on your crafting over the last year. 

We are also holding another blog hop! To find out more details, see the prizes and to start at the beginning of the blog hop please click HERE,

But, here's the basic list you need to follow

• Join in the actual challenge with your best/favourite project linked with Inlinkz as usual
• Take your award blinkie with pride and display it on your sidebar with a link back to here.
• Follow your way around the blog hop in the order you are given along the way, collect all the letters/code you will find on each blog. Write these down then work out the answer when the blog hop is finished.
• Leave a comment on ALL of the blogs you visit in the blog hop 
• Post our event blinkie onto your blogs or a post about the event with your best/favourite project
• Email the answer to: thestampman@btconnect.com by 9pm (GMT) on Thursday 13th January 2011.  Please put blog hop answer as the email title

If you get carried away looking through the work on the blogs you visit and run out of time to complete the hop that day, make a note of where you stop and start again another day.  You have 2 weeks to complete the awards, challenge and the blog hop, so there is no rush to get to the end, enjoy the journey and admire the scenery along the way! 

If you have already been hopping on the blog hop, you should have arrived from Brenda (bumblebees and butterflies)

Your next visit should be to Debbie (Made with Love)

Oh, before you go, make a note of this letter which is Y

Finally, I would personally like to thank Janet for all her hard work running the ATC swaps and to you all for entering them and making them a success

I hope you will continue joining in with the ATC swaps, the first one of the year that Janet will be announcing on 1st January is Rhymes and Tales

Happy New Year everyone!!

Jill

Phew they have been posted!

Wow Ladies - stunning entries for Take a letter - really imaginative however you made it really hard choosing a winner - good job my Sister Amy was on hand with the sustenance I needed for a difficult task!

See here they all are on my dining room table looking gorgeous every single one!
However the deed had to be done so I chose
Meggymay AKA Yvonne Whalley.

This seemed to capture everything the atc swap is about - creating art in miniature to share with others.

So well done MeggyMay

Your atc will be on the wall of the shop by the end of the week and you get a DT atc in your swaps.

Great to see some of you making the most of the opportunity to combine postage for swaps too so some of the "Tis the season" swaps are already here.

I have added a Christmas atc from me to your package this time as a Thank You for playing along with us here at The Stamp Man atc swap.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and as usual the swap thanks are on the side bar for when they begin to arrive .

Keep warm in this chilly spell x

Janet and The Stamp Man team

Scroll down for current swap instructions

December Swap - Tis the Season

Hello and welcome to Decembers Stamp Man atc swap!

You can find all the swap details here.

This months swap is called "Tis the Season" So let your imagination run wild with this one - the obvious is Christmas but of course being winter its also the season of snow as we all were reminded of this weekend!

To allow for Christmas post hold ups this swap will remain open until 5th January so we will have a little overlap for the January theme too.

I will be picking up the "take a letter" atcs on Friday so will be sorting over the weekend.

Hope you like the teams take on this months theme - I think the colours are stunning!

Janet

Janet used

weathered wood distress ink

black archival distress ink

Tim Holtz stamps
Mini Holiday

Brenda

Brenda used

Tim Holtz stamps - Reindeer Flight and Letter to Santa

Distress inks - Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Aged Mahogany and Forest Green

Cranberry Alcohol Ink

Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder

Red brads

Sue

Sue used
Tim Holtz stamps - Mini Holidays
Distress Inks - Broken China, Chipped Sapphire
Labels 16 Nestabilities
Tim Holtz - Distressed Stickles
Blue eyelet

Michelle

Michelle Used

Aspects of Design 36 – Swirly Trees

Starburst Stains Spray Bottles - Holiday Wreath
Distress Pad Faded Jeans
Distress Pad Shabby Shutters
PS8/CW - Shrink Plastic - Canvas White
Diamond Glitter Glue

Kay

Kay used:
Aspects of Design No.36 Swirly Trees

Lisa

Lisa used:

Tim Holtz Holiday Collections stamp

Distress Inks

Jill

Jill used:
Tim Holtz ATC stamps - Holiday Collection
Distress Inks:  Barn Red and Peeled Paint
Nestie Scalloped Hearts
Moonglow Embossing Powder Bougainvillea Red  Teal
USArtQuest Ahh Great Tape and Mica Flakes Sparkling Champagne

So over to you folks here is the inlinkz if you would like to link your blog x I look forward to seeing your gorgeous creations x Janet

They are on there way......

Yes "Travelling" as I type - I have posted your atcs for the October Travel swap. I have seen the most fabulous atcs many of which have reminded me about stamps in my collection I have neglected LOL. There have been many modes of transport, cars, bicycles, boats, ships, planes and many places - London, New York, Paris, Italy, Eygpt - there have been maps, signs, passports and luggage labels - fantastic to see the theme has fired so much imagination.

Choosing a winner was hard but in the end I have chosen Julie Haelemeersch from Belgium. Here is Julies winning atc which will be in the shop very soon for customers to admire and take inspiration from.

I loved the use of colour and stamping to build up the layers in this atc - gorgeously finished too with those beautiful decorative corners. Here is a closer look.

A gorgeous atc Julie - I have added you a note telling you what to do next. In fact you all have a note in your swaps and a few of you have an extra bonus but all will become clear when your swaps arrive!

I have begun a thank you thread on the side bar - leaving thanks can really make someones day so is worth taking the time to do. I am really looking forward to your imaginative "Take a letter" swaps for this months theme - do scroll down to the last post to find out more.

Have fun creating your miniature works of art

X Janet X

November swap - Take a letter

Hello Atc swappers and here we are again a new month and a new swap!

As usual I will be picking up the swaps from The Stamp Man later this week and having a good old nosey at your fab creations before mixing them up and sending them off to you. Check back later in the week for a winners post!

This months swap is chosen by Edna Winstanley

and is

"Take a letter"

As usual this is free to be interpreted any way you wish so let your imagination run wild!

You can find the swap instructions here

Here is the DTs atcs to get your inspiration flowing

Janet

Lisa

Michelle

Jill

So here is our Linky friend if you would like to share your atcs on the blog. Happy Crafting!

Altered Challenge Blog Hop Winners

Did you enter our Altered Challenge blog hop?  If so, pop over to our challenge blog to see if you won a prize!!!

Our design team members that hosted the hop were each allocated a prize to give away on their blogs, the winner for this blog is...

Zoechaos
Hero Arts CL150 Heartfelt Messages

The winners' list was announced last night and Zoe has already claimed her prize.  All the winners have until midnight next Monday to claim their prizes.

The winner of the prize draw for actually entering the Altered Challenge is Janet Wilson, who won £30 of Stamp Man Gift Vouchers.

Congratulations to all winners!!

Jill

Swaps - The Look - have been posted

Hello Swappers!

Your the look atcs were FANTASTIC! here they all are ready to be swapped.

The theme was interpreted in some wonderful ways so I thought I would share just a few

This was by Edna Winstanly our last winner


This one was made by Kris Smart

This one is by Julie Haelemeersch

and finally this one I chose as The Winner

Beautiful use of the freebie stamp the soft colours around the face is gorgeous

Well done

Angela Weimer

Your swap will be in the shop shortly for visitors to admire.

I've popped a note in your envelope Angela about what to do next.

I have started a new link to a thank you thread so please leave your thanks when you receive your atcs. A word from someone who has received an atc from you is always appreciated.

Have fun with the next Theme Travel - scroll down for all the info

Janet

October's theme - Travel

Welcome to Octobers ATC swap at The Stamp Man.

Our theme this month was chosen by Anita our first winner from July's swap.

And It's another theme that's wide open to your interpretation so hope you have fun with it.

Travel

I will be picking up the atc's for The Look swap (September) from the shop today and will swap them all over this coming weekend so watch out for the winner to be announced early next week.

Now we had a couple of queries about when the swap ends. Our swap runs by calendar month so your swaps need to be at the shop by the last day of the month for the swap you are entering. This swap ends on 31st October so all swaps need to be in by then.

You can find all other rules

here

Now our design team have been busy making their travel entries so here is some inspiration to get your creativity flowing.

Janet

Michelle

Jill

Lisa

So where will your travelling take you? London, Paris, New York? Dig out those stamps and get creating and if you would like to show us what you have done then just add your link to inlinkz and we will come and check them out.

Altered Challenge Blog Hop!

Firstly, if you haven't joined in with our blog hop and would like to, please click HERE to go back to the start where you will find all the information you need to join in with us.

As well as you visiting our design teams blogs, we have included visits to the 3 Stamp Man blogs, so welcome to our ATC Swap Blog!

You have just arrived from Janet's blog, (hopefully!). Janet runs our ATC Swaps here. She does a fantastic job with the swaps and I know that the ladies that join in love it, so if you haven't joined in yet, bookmark this page now!!

Well, you are back with me as I altered more than 1 letter, my letter this time is an S that I decorated with Ferro and Terra textural paints. I left the colours as they are but added gold highlights randomly with a Krylon pen and also used it to colour the chippie swirls.

I made the flowers from scrunched up paper painted with Starburst Stains.

The prize I have for you here is

Hero Arts CL150 Heartfelt Messages a set of clear stamps

Don't forget to leave a comment under this post before you head off over to Kay's Crafty Corner

Bye for now!!


Jill

Swaps have been posted!

Huge thanks to everyone who took part in the swaps for August - the standard of work going into these miniature works of art is brilliant and I feel very lucky getting to see them all. We had 24 players for the Time swap and choosing a feature artist was not an easy task but after a lot of deliberation here is the Atc for August.

Made by Edna Winstanley from Blackpool. Not sure if Edna has a blog as there were no blog details on her atcs but I loved how she has put these elements together. Well done Edna - I have popped a note in your envelope so if you could get back to me with a choice of 3 topics for us to choose Decembers theme.

I hope you like the choices I have made for you all. I have begun a Thank you thread in the left hand column - it would be great if you could add your thanks there. Just click on the thanks and a new page will appear.
So I am looking forward to seeing those "The Look" atcs for Octobers theme. Happy crafting xx Janet

September ATC swap - The Look

Huge Thanks to everyone who took part in Augusts time swap - we are thrilled with your response to the atc swap here at The Stampman!

Check back later in the week to find out who is this months featured ATCer.

The swaps will be posted at The weekend and I thought it may be nice to have a thank you feature so once you receive your time swaps please do leave comments at the end of this post - its always nice to see who got your swaps!

So onto Septembers theme which is "The Look"

We had the freebie for Craft Stampers September issue in mind for this one but do feel free to interpret the theme any way you wish.

Our design team have come up with some beauties

Vix

Janet

Lisa

Michelle

Kay

These are fabulous team mates thanks for the inspiration!

Now all you need to do is make your 3 "The Look" atc and send them in to The Stamp Man HQ

and if you would like to share them first here is the inlinkz for you to add them too.

Have fun!

ATC Blog Candy and Featured ATC Winner Announcements

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS OF THE AUGUST WINGS SWAP

BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thank you to everyone who entered the July Stamp Man ATC swap, entered for the blog candy and who shared their work for others to see on this blog. We're VERY impressed with the quality of your work.

Before Janet announces the featured ATCer for the July swaps, I'd like to announce the winner of the blog candy giveaway.. it is...

Tracey

Congratulations Tracey!! Please can you email me at thestampman@btconnect.com to claim your prize, I will need you to email your postal address too so that I can send your prize.

Thank you again for taking part.

Jill

Now over to Janet...

JULY 2010 'WINGS' SWAP - FEATURED ATCER

Anita Wells

Well done Anita for being picked as our featured artist - your colour choices were fabulous and your stamping lovely. As the featured artist you get to choose the next theme which will be Octobers theme - details are in your swaps package which has been posted today. Your ATC is also the first for the new ATC board in The Stampmans shop and Jill has swapped her ATC with yours.

So the first swap is complete here is what they all looked like together

ATC Entries for July

There were 37 swappers for July, here they are all 111 atcs spread out on the table ready for swapping! It was great to see so many of you re-cycling your envelopes and Julie from Belgium I love your envelope so much it will go up in my craft room as inspiration!

They are now in the post box waiting to "wing" their way to you!

Just one thing to bear in mind. Regular atc swappers will know this already but we want to encourage new atcers too - ATCs MUST be 2 and a half inches by 3 and a half inches - this is one rule that cannot be broken as in this case size does matter! Please ensure you measure your atcs carefully especially if you have bought them or are using playing cards - not all atc blanks sold are the correct size.

We do hope you will join in again

Scroll down the page for the details of Augusts swap "Time"

Janet x

August ATC Swap - Time Theme

Well you really like making and swapping atcs so we are pleased to have brought The Stampman swap back. We have loved looking through all the atcs and will announce the winner after the swap later next week.

In the mean time I have added a new theme for September entitled

"The Look"
If you subscribe to craft stamper you will have received your copy this weekend which has the gorgeous stamp designed by our very own

Tracey Coates

We thought having an atc swap with a theme where you could use the stamp would be great - however feel free to interpret the theme of

"The Look"

any way you choose.

Now onto Augusts theme which is

TIME

This also co-incides with another creation in Craft Stamper this time by Jill who has a gorgeous clock project in the magazine

so to celebrate our August swap is

"Time"

Usual rules apply so check them out

Here is the Design Teams interpretation of the theme

Debbie




Frankie

Janet

Jill

Lisa

Vix

So all thats to do is to make your 3 Time atcs - post pictures here on the blog via Inx Linkz if you would like to then send your atcs following the usual rules

Don't forget to check back later to find out who has won the first Stampman atc swap 2010, who will get the chance to pick a future theme for the swaps. Also do call back to see who has won the blog candy.

The Stamp Man ATC Blog Candy - NOW CLOSED

THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, 4th August

As an introduction to our venture back into ATC swapping, we are offering some blog candy. The picture above shows the prize you may win, which includes:

- 8.5" x 11" Expandable post-bound ATC album (2 custom-designed pocket pages that hold a total of 72 dimensional cards.
- Pack of 5 sleeves that fit into a regular A4 or 4 ring binder.  Each sleeve holds up to nine ATCs.
- Pack of 75 coloured ATC cards.
- Aspects of Design 20 Summer Flowers unmounted stamp sheet (which has images suitable for ATCs).
- Pack of 10 vellum ATC envelopes.
- Pack of 100 ATC Display Bags.

Total value over £60

To enter, copy the code under the ATC blinkie in the sidebar on the RHS into your sidebar and
paste into your sidebar as a HTML/JAVA gadget

For those with blogs - to enter all you need to do is leave a comment below this post and spread the word about our new ATC swaps on your blog by putting the code advertising the swaps onto your blog sidebar and linking it back to our new ATC blog. To be eligible you MUST enter the July swap and also sign up to become a follower.

For those without blogs - please leave a comment below this post. To be eligible you MUST enter the July  swap and also sign up to become a follower. Please note that you will need to leave your full name within the comment to be entered, otherwise anonymous entries cannot be accepted.

One entry only, duplicate entries will not be counted.

This candy will run from now until Midday (GMT) on Saturday 31st July 2010.

The winner will be selected at random and announced soon after.

You will need to call back to see if you have won. If the prize has not been claimed by midday Tuesday 3rd August, a new winner will be drawn.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

Please continue to our latest posts below for more details of the swaps...