Artwork: Mou Saha

With nearly 30 niche, mixed-media titles in production at Stampington, many of those pages are filled with creative artwork submitted by readers and artists just like you! If you want the chance to share your art with other fellow creatives and see your name featured in one of our favorite titles, please see details below:

Currently, Jana Holstein, editor of Somerset Memories, is looking for a variety of projects that showcase your most beloved photographs.

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Organic Style Pages 

Are you in love with the outdoors? If you’ve snapped simple, raw images close to nature, we want to see them displayed with an artistic touch. From the Spring 2013 edition of Somerset Memories, Dorota Piechowiak’s “Sunrise to Sunset” piece portrays elements of nature, beautifully bound in a memory album. She incorporates mixed-media elements like vintage book text and other punched out shapes and images to tie the look together. If you have your own unique way of showcasing your nature-infused photos, whether in an art journal, bound in a notebook, or in a 3-D frame, please share your ideas with us!

Deadline for artwork to be received: November 15th
A Submission Form must be attached to your artwork. Click here to download form.

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Think Outside The Book

A collection of memories doesn’t always have to be presented in a book. We absolutely love Caroline Rondel’s “Collections” featured on page 20 of our Spring 2012 issue. Her beautiful presentation of memorabilia and nature finds make this a charming and attractive way to capture her memories. For this challenge we want you to “think outside the book.” How can you present an assortment of memories in a way that’s different and unique? We’re looking for innovative ways to compile collections of memories. Maybe you can come up with a folder or box, a necklace, or something else distinctive that will wow us!

Deadline for artwork to be received: November 15th
A Submission Form must be attached to your artwork. Click here to download form.

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Instagram-Inspired

As technology has revolutionized the photography world, it’s no surprise how easy and fun it is to use Instagram as a platform to showcase your images. Emmanuelle Chauvin’s “Insta Happiness” mini album was created for a scrapbooking challenge, and captures her most beloved instagram images inside. Gather your most gorgeous pictures from your Instgram page and present them in an artful way for chance to be considered for this challenge.

Deadline for artwork to be received: November 15th
A Submission Form must be attached to your artwork. Click here to download form.

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Artistic Project Life Pages

Our guest artist Roben-Marie Smith shows us how to put a mixed-media spin on Project Life using some of her own designs as backgrounds for the cards, and layering pieces of them together for an added effect. If you too have created your own scrapbook pages with an edgy twist using photographs or color copies of your own artwork, we would love to see your creations!

 Deadline for artwork to be received: November 15th
A Submission Form must be attached to your artwork. Click here to download form.

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We ask that you please review our guidelines prior to submission, and best of luck!

Do you have a question about how to submit your work or any other feedback? Please comment below and I’ll be happy to write back to you!

With Somerset Place Love,

Create gorgeous centerpieces and stunning holiday décor this Thanksgiving without spending your entire budget. Join our Shoppe Manager, Vanessa Spencer, as she shows you how to dress up your table to achieve a chic look with rustic and recycled elements.

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Harvest Affaire Kraft Paper Placemats:

Use some stamps and inexpensive Kraft paper to create fun, interactive placemats that all your guests will enjoy. It’s a great way to remember all you are thankful for.

Click here for the full instructions.

Harvest Affaire Pinecone Place Cards:

We’re fortunate that our Stampington office is located near a park with beautiful walking trails lined with pine trees. On a recent lunch break, Vanessa Spencer and another coworker gathered fallen pine cones to use in this project.

Click here to learn how to paint pinecones for a lovely dip dye effect.

Harvest Affaire Wrapped Pumpkin Muffins:

To impress guests and create a comfortable ambiance, it all comes down to presentation. These pumpkin muffins are dressed up and artfully wrapped to look just as enticing as they taste.

Click here to learn how to creatively package baked goods to display on your Thanksgiving table.

Harvest Affaire Muffins Recipe:

There’s nothing better than walking into a home this fall season with the rich smell of freshly baked goods in the air. Tie together this entire Harvest Affaire tabletop setting by baking your own delicious pumpkin muffins.

Get the recipe in this free article download from Where Women Cook.

Special Harvest Affaire Kit: Free Bonus Issue/Offer

Create and artfully wrap gifts using the materials in this special Where Women Cook-inspired kit. Filled with some of our favorite packaging materials, it’s a must-have this holiday season for guests and for gifts.

 Special Free Gift Offer: 



For a limited time, treat yourself to this lovely kit, and you’ll receive a complimentary issue of Where Women Cook, featuring special stories and delicious recipes from expert foodies. Keep for yourself or give away as a gift this holiday season!


Serendipity Kit Contains:

• 1 (8 x 12”) cotton bag
• 6 pinch bottom Kraft bags
• 6 natural wax paper bags
• 10 sheets or 12 x 12” wax paper
• 1 roll of kitchen-themed washi tape
• 3 tart tins
• 6 large grubby tags
• 1 spool of gray bakers twine

Click here to order your kit today and receive a free issue of Where Women Cook.

Thank you so much Vanessa, for sharing these simple yet stunning Thanksgiving project ideas! I can barely wait to take home the delicious pumpkin muffin recipe to bake for my special someone. In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I’ve been reflecting on how much I adore my family, appreciate my home, and cherish my friends. Please comment below and tell me, what are you thankful for?

With Somerset Place Love,

To celebrate her quirky style and the debut of her feature article in the new HandCrafted magazine, we’re inviting design star and recycle queen Debi Beard to take over our Facebook page for two one-hour sessions for a live Q&A! Mark your calendars for a chance to get inspirational ideas in real time Wednesday, October 23rd at 9a.m. PST (12pm EST) AND 12 p.m. PST (3pm EST).

Ten lucky participants, five from each session, will also be randomly selected to receive a FREE issue of HandCrafted 2013.

10 Things You Should Know about Debi Beard:

10) Debi Transforms Trash into Dreamy Treasures

Debi is renowned for her dumpster diving abilities to transform discarded materials into unique keepsakes.

9) Debi is an Actress!

“I started taking acting workshops a few years ago, but up until that point I spent most of my life very afraid of speaking in public or being on camera. The first day of acting class I almost left because I had so much anxiety.”

 8) Debi Ditched Teaching Plans to Pursue Art Dreams

“I originally went to school  to study english literature and planned to become a teacher. Soon after finishing school I realized that this was not the right choice for me and started selling my handmade work full time.”

 7) Art Paid Debi’s Way for School

“When I was in my twenties, I  sold my handmade projects at local craft fairs to pay for books and school supplies. My designs sold quickly and before I knew it I was selling my crafts to hundreds of  retail stores across the country.”

6) Before Social Media there was Face to Face Interaction

“When I first started making handmade items,  social media didn’t exist. There was no Etsy, Blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, or even beautiful art magazines like all the Stampington publications. The only way to market your work was through local events, and literally going door to door, meeting with shop owners, and showing them samples of your work. It’s a very different world now and it’s an exciting time to be creative!”

 5) Unlikely Creativity

“I was the only one in my family who loved to create. The family I grew up with was not interested in art, and it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I discovered where my creativity came from. I recently found my biological father through Facebook — turns out he is an artist  and he has a whacky sense of humor too.”

 4) Somerset Life Plays Role in Reunion with Biological Father

“There was an article about my vintage shop located in Solana Beach published in Somerset Life that actually led to me finding my long lost biological father.”

“It’s a long crazy story, but in a nutshell, a photographer named Claire Brocato took a photo  of an old rusty bicycle on display in front of my store and posted it to her Flickr profile.

When Stampington’s publisher Kellene Giloff, saw the rusty bicycle picture on Flickr, she e-mailed Claire to find out where it was taken.  After discovering that it was taken in front of my shop, Kellene enlisted in Claire’s help to capture more images of my store, which was then featured in Stampington’s “Locales of Intrigue” column.

When Claire arrived at my shop for the photography session, she shared how she had reunited with her daughter that she had been forced to give up for adoption. Even though Claire started searching for her daughter with virtually no leads, (as her daughter lived on the other side of the world) she miraculously found her through Facebook. I had spent years searching for my dad and had given up. When Claire told me her story, I realized that social media didn’t exist at the time I was looking, so I decided to try finding my dad via Facebook. I found him within one week! The sheer randomness of it all is a miracle to me. If Claire had never walked by my store, taken the photo of the rusty bicycle, posted it to her Flickr site — if Kellene had not happened to find that picture, and liked it enough to email someone she had never met before, l probably would still not know who my Dad is, not to mention an entire new family.”

 3) Vintage or Bust

“The majority of the supplies in my craft room are vintage. I love to peruse  estate sales and find old sewing boxes and craft supplies from way back when.”

 2) Debi Doesn’t Own a T.V.

“I don’t own a television or watch T.V. (Which is kind of ironic after spending so many years auditioning for television!) The only shows I miss watching are: Project Runway and Inside the Actors Studio. When people make reference to Game of Thrones or  Breaking Bad I have no idea what they’re talking about.”

 1) YouTube Inspiration

I started my YouTube channel because I had auditioned for HGTV design star eight times in a row. I was almost selected three times but  never quite made it on the show. Out of frustration, I created my own one woman DIY show on Youtube. I had no idea how much fun it would be or that so many people would be interested in watching my amateur productions. In the most recent video, I announce my Facebook Takeover on Stampington’s page and offer a DIY and giveaway for a sugar skull T- shirt made with vintage lace:

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Join our creative community on Stampington’s facebook page, share your thoughts with us, and don’t forget to join us for Debi Beard’s live chat coming up in only 2 short days!

From the pages of the circa 1940’s vintage magazine, Calling All Girls, we found these festive ads that reflect a bit of holiday fun. Incorporate them in your digital art this fall season or add to your paper crafting projects all year round.

Click here to download these images – for free!

For more rare ephemera images, discover our gallery of French text, special antique collage sheets, Renaissance bookmarks and more.

Even though National Stamping Month has passed by, we decided to search our collection of Studio Projects to find several unique stamping applications and share our top 9 picks with you!

1) Layered Paper Bag Cards Project:

Transform paper bags into mini books by incorporating a few strips of decorative paper, washi tape, and stamping the word “love” using the A-B-Seas Stamp Set. For detailed instructions and materials, click here.

2) Junque Tins Project:

Organize your art materials by storing them in these easy-to-create junque tins. Just a little bit of washi, twine, paper and a stamp goes a long way. Learn how to make your own.

3) Art Canvases with Cling Mount Stamps Project:

Follow along as Guest Artist Dina Wakley brings you more inspiration with these colorful mixed-media canvases using cling mount stamps from her first collection of silhouettes. The colorful shades that Dina uses are a fun mixture of bright acrylic paints, color washes, and inks.

4) {Mini Book} Project:

Roben-Marie Smith has done it again! Using sprays, stickers, stencils and stamps, Roben has made this vibrant project look all too easy, and with her help and creativity – it truly is!

5) Wine cork stamps:

We first discovered this innovative and eco-friendly idea on Anja Reitemeyer’s blog. Anja glues small wooden shapes onto used wine corks to create gorgeous and functional stamps. We tried our hand at it, and the results and directions can be seen on pg. 125 in one of our favorite titles, Take Ten.

6) Message in a Bottle Project:

Capture a simple sentiment in this old-fashioned message in bottle for a creative way to communicate or personalize your message. Store it inside a patterned paper box and wrap with a couple of layers of smoky colored ribbon to seal it for a dramatic effect!

7) Art Canvases with Cling Mount Stamps Project:

Dina Wakley uses the “Lonely Girl” stamp from her cling mount designs to create this vibrant work of art. Click here to learn how to recreate this stunning piece as Dina walks you through each step.

8) Believe in the Truth Notebook Project:

Find true love with this mixed-media notebook project. Your creativity will flourish within the pages, an ideal space to fill with poetic musings, journal entries, to do-lists and more!

9) Feather Card Project:

Laura Campbell stuns us with these gorgeous stamped cards, made using real feathers! Learn how she layered the feathers over an inkpad to create this unique look when you turn to pg. 67 in the new Stampers’ Sampler.

Special Discount → $5 off Art Materials

If you’re eager to recreate one of the stamped projects above and would like to stock up on the products used, we want to offer all our blog subscribers a special 15% savings off your entire purchase!

*Use Promo Code: BLOGART13 at checkout

*15% off discount applies to purchases of all products in The Shoppe. Discount code can be used only one time per customer and expires 11/11/13.

With Somerset Place love,

Comments? Ideas?

Contact me: blog@stampington.com