|
| |
[Home] |
Latest e-mail letter
|
Rather
print a copy? Click HERE
to
download and print PDF file version of the Newsletter |
| |
The Old Island Stamp
Company
Autumn 2005
 | STAMP DRAW WINNER: I am pleased to announce our latest stamp draw
winner is Cindy McMath from
Victoria, British Columbia. Congratulations to
Cindy! The new stamp draw is ready to go. The prize this time is three
more of our latest Christmas stamps. Check it out and Good Luck!
'THE FINE PRINT': Please note, now
that it is three months between draws, make sure you only enter once
during that time. We had a lot
more duplicates this time, and I cannot pick someone who has entered
twice or three time...it is not fair to everyone else. Also we
still have a lot of people putting their e-mail address as their
first name, and I disqualify those too.
|
|
AROUND
THE STUDIO: Well, Santa's little helpers are already
putting the finishing touches on our efforts for this year's
Christmas Craft Shows. The stamps are almost all made, the displays are
ready to go and we are beginning to pack the shipping crates,
which will hit the road on Halloween. Trudy and I follow
shortly thereafter. Our little road show will make stops in
Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto this year. For details see Where to Find Us.
Both Emily and Margaret will be with us at times throughout the
Circle Craft show in Vancouver, and Emily will join us this year
for the first three days of the opening of the One-Of-A Kind Show in
Toronto.
The promoters of each of the shows are once again offering coupons
for $$ off on your admission tickets. Here are the links to
those coupons on their respective sites:
Also
around the Studio: Dogs bark, cats meow, ducks quake, but have
you ever heard a deer make a vocal call? Well, I have
spent most of my life where they live and I never have.
Now, all of a sudden I have heard them cry twice in the last
two weeks. I do not know what it was about the first
time. I heard it at the back of our house and when I
investigated there were about four little fawns and a couple
of does in the brush, but I could not see what had
happened. However, today I can confirm that what I
heard was a dear.
We have fenced off about three acres around our house, and for
the last 2 1/2 years we have been relatively
"dear-proofed". It has been wonderful.
We can grow flowers, vegetables, Arbutus trees, etc. Our
conscience is clear, because we have left the majority
of the property for the deer to browse on. The way we
have constructed the fence we have the best of both worlds,
because the dear can come right up to our back door. So,
we still get to see them...but on our terms. That works
for them too. Recently, we had a very large cougar in
the area and they were sheltered very very close to the back
of our house for a couple of weeks for
protection.
A little
over a week ago we relalized we had deer inside our fenced
area. Our fence is over six feet tall, however, these
were small deer that were coming in through openings in the
split rails on the bottom of the fence. For the past
week I have been patching and mending the fence, and the deer
have thumbed their noses at my efforts and continued to come
and go as they please. Fortunately, they have been very
well behaved and haven't eaten any of our plants. Each
day we have had to herd them out of one of the gates.
Finally, my efforts were beginning to pay-off, and we had no
deer inside the fence for two days. I was beginning to
feel pretty confident that I had gotten the upper hand.
Then yesterday the buzzer went off announcing that
someone had come in through the front gate to our display
studio. Emily kidded that maybe it was a deer. She
knows I have recently become pretty obsessed with them, and
she may have been trying to push my over the edge. Like
what happened to Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny all those
years. Well anyway, we cannot see the front gate from
where we work, and oddly enough no one came down the path to
the studio. So, I went to investigate, and sure enough
there was one of my little buddies standing on the path
looking at me...sweetly. I called for Emily and Francis
to help me herd our visitor out through the big gate on the
driveway. I have written "deer herding" right
into Emily's job description. She was a little reluctant
at first, but she has become quite proficient at it over the
years. It is something I would definitely include in any
letter of reference I might write for her in the future (for
some reason she has never asked me for one...???). So,
we quickly and efficiently escorted our little friend from the
property. I bolted a board to the bottom of the front
gate to discourage further visits via that route.
However, the deer had been coming in two's and three's and I
wondered if there was another one inside the fenced
area. After work I discovered there was another one, but
I couldn't get him out by myself. In the morning I found
him again and was trying to get him thru the big gate on the
driveway. However, he really panicked and tried to jump
between the wire deer fence and a tree that the fence was bent
around. He hit it with such force that he got his head
wedged between the tree and the wire fence. I pushed the
fence away from the tree as hard as I could to try to open it
up for him to free himself, but it did not work. So, I
was going to have to cut the wire fence to free him. I
was right next to his head, but not touching him.
However, when the wire cutters made a sharp snipping sound he
started to cry out. It was an agonizing sound; sort of half cry/half moan, and
very loud. There is no way to describe his terror. Fortunately, one cut
was all that was necessary, and he was able to free
himself. Within a few seconds he was on his way out the
big gate. No doubt happy to be alive, and with a new lease on
life.
I want to reassure you that the vast majority of visitors who
come through the front gate to our little studio actually have a
very positive experience. My little buddy's experience
was probably the worst of any of our visitors this year.
Even worse than the stamper's husband who was waiting for her
relaxing in a wicker chair on the front porch of the studio,
when his chair slipped off the edge of the porch and he and
the chair went tumbling in a tangle into the brush crashing
and moaning and groaning......but, that's another whole
story! Like I say for the vast majority it is a
very positive experience. Case in point, see the next
item!
☺
|
|
TESTIMONIAL: It
is so incredibly nice for people to take the time to get back us
to express their pleasure with our product and service. Here is a
flavour of what our customers have had to say in the last few
months:
 |
My friend and I visited your stamp hut
while we were on the island last week. Your lovely
grounds were one of the highlights of our visit.
(I will admit that I photographed your entry gate before we
even went inside.) It was so beautiful. You really have
a special place.
I was pleased to purchase a couple of
stamps which I will use to make gift tags for my Christmas
presents this year. I enjoy handicrafts and I like to
personalize my gifts.
I live in the city and am frequently
dismayed to see the urban wasteland we make of our
planet. To drive down the highway and it see it littered
with all kinds of rubbish, and to see how little care we take
with the concrete jungle we make of our environment is so
sad. To visit a place in the woods like your home is so
refreshing. It is good for the soul.
Thank you.
Felicity from Vancouver
|
|
| MARGARET'S MUSINGS:
If you have had an opportunity to see our display at anytime over the past
several years, you
would have seen sample cards by our friend Margaret Appleton. Margaret is always trying
something new, and comes up with some great effects with our stamps.
She has agreed to
write a short piece for each newsletter on stamping in general and on techniques slightly
beyond the basics.
Resist
Technique - Dye or Pigment Ink
- The
card that never ends!
*
Please note that credit for this basic idea goes to Catherine
Allan of
Edmonton
,
Alberta
.
To
simplify the teaching of this technique I will suggest what to
stamp. Once you have done this a few times you will be off and
running, I’m sure, with all sorts of variations.
Choose
appropriate stamps and inks to create a forest/woods scene with
foliage (leaves, ferns, cedar, flowers) and a critter    or two
(hummingbird, dragonfly, butterfly, etc.).
You
will need a dry iron on fairly high heat.
Directions:
Label 5 pieces of white card stock(2 ¾” by 4”) as A, B, C,
D, E.
|
Using
clear or white ink stamp a few bits of foliage on A. Emboss
with clear embossing powder. (This is a 2-step process so
you are just putting a bit of foliage on in this first step.
You will come back and add more in a minute.)
|
|
Place
B over A (stamped side up!) and iron for 5-10 seconds. That
will “melt away” the raised embossing from A but it will
leave some residue on B (Lift up B and check). See? You have
a scene started on A and a scene started on B.
|
|
Using
clear or white ink, stamp MORE on A and then MORE on B. Add
more foliage and perhaps a critter. I know….it’s hard to
see what you are doing but don’t give up!
|
|
Emboss
clear. Add colour. **If you are using pigment ink, apply by
the Direct-to-Paper method using small or large pads to rub
ink all over the whole paper ---use several colours and try
to blend tones of green, gold, yellow, and even pink. If you
are using dye ink apply with a dabber, make-up remover pad
or stipple brush. Clean off the raised embossed areas with a
slightly dampened cloth. Set A aside.
Put C
over B and iron. B is now finished. |
|
Using
clear or white ink stamp MORE on C to finish the scene.
Emboss clear.
Add
colour. Clean off the raised embossed areas.
Put D over C and iron. C is now finished. |
|
Using
clear or white ink stamp MORE on D to finish the scene.
Emboss clear.
Add
colour. Clean off the raised embossed areas.
Put E over D and iron. D is now finished. |
|
Using
clear or white ink stamp MORE on E to finish the scene.
Emboss clear.
|
As
you see, this process could go on forever. To stop it I just
take a plain piece of computer paper and iron over A and then
over E. Now they are finished and you have ended the cards.
BUT…you could have put another blank piece over A and another
one over E and gone on and on!!
Look
at your scenes now and decide whether or not you would like to
add anything to any of them. You can stamp into the scenes with
coloured ink…dark colours and even black look great. Maybe add
one more bit of foliage, one more butterfly, or some text.
Frame
and mount your masterpiece to a card or other project and you
have a work of art!
Happy Stamping! - Margaret
|
| ANOTHER WASP STORY: I got the
following in response to my story about removing the wasp nest from the
birdhouse in the last newsletter. I so enjoyed it, I thought
I would share John's experience with you. He wrote:
I just love your newsletter and I'm glad you
will be back in Calgary
later
this year. I also delighted to read that Kerstin is back.
You adventure with the wasps reminded me of our little adventure
with those
pest a few years ago. In our case they had found a hole in the
stucco on the
side of our house. As this was the side used to get to the back of
the house
there was a good amount of traffic and we felt we had to do away
with them.
Blocking the entrance seemed, as in you case, the best solution
except that
they found another exit and that one, unfortunately was inside the
house.
In no time hundreds of them were buzzing around mostly around the
windows,
of course. A fly swatter or a folded newspaper did not seem
appropriate
weapons. We could imagine marks of squashed wasps on the walls and
worse,
angry wasps chasing us out of our home. Our solution? The vacuum
cleaner
with the occasional spray in it from tin of wasp killer. It took a
day or
two to get them all but all was peaceful after that.
John B.
|
| EM'S GEMS: Many
stampers play around with trying to sell their cards as a small business venture.
Emily Hull is one of the few that I have seen who has been very successful at it.
She is also the artist behind many of the original images in our line.
She has a much broader arts background than most stampers, and
so her approach is often from "outside of the
box". Enjoy!
Christmas
Watercolor Cards
We’re ready for Christmas here at Old Island, and as we put the
finishing touches on our display, I’m feeling inspired! I’ve
made a few Christmas cards using really simple watercolor
techniques.
Watercolors are a quick, easy way to add color and dimension to
your stamped images. I
find line drawings the most satisfying to use this technique on,
as they seem to come to life with color.
Watercolors are available in a variety of forms.
Paint tubes, pallets, pencils, crayons, and sticks will
vary in quality and price. Most artist supply stores or larger
craft stores will carry a selection. I use paint tubes on an
acrylic pallet… my dad gave this to me when I was 10 or so and I
still use some of the original paint.
A little dab’ll do ya!
I suggest watercolor pencils to begin, as they’re easy to
use, cheap and they last a long time.
In each of these cards, the
watercolors have been applied to regular card stock.
The paper will curl at first, but it will flatten
once it’s glued down to another layer.
|
Card #1: |
I stamped the reindeer stamp in Cranberry
pigment ink. The image isn’t embossed, though you certainly
could emboss it. I
used a brush to apply blue paint to the sky, brown to the body,
and a bright red nose. I
mounted the image on red cardstock and then onto a blue pre-scored
card. It is
embellished with red raffia.
|
Card #2: |
I stamped the new snowflake stamp with
pigment ink, then embossed it in gold.
I used a variety of colors to shade the background- yellow,
brown, green and merlot. This
technique helped to bring the snowflakes to the foreground.
I found some cute plaid paper to mount the stamping on, and
a green pre-scored card for a traditional holiday card.
|
Card #3: |
This stamp is my
favorite to color. The
3 snowmen image was stamped in Raven Black pigment ink,
then embossed with
clear embossing powder. Traditional Christmas colors were used to
brighten up the snowmen. Each
one seems to take on its own personality once painted.
This image was stamped on a off-white shipping tag- still
my favorite paper to stamp on! It was mounted on forest green
cardstock, and adhered to an eggplant card.
Happy Fall! - Emily
|
|
THE WEBSITE: I
have added more new stamps to the Latest
Images page. Doris Kennedy is back with an
unadorned Classic Christmas tree. The tree was for next
year, but we liked it so much we had to release it now.
The first cards from the image are gorgeous! Emily has
contributed with a winterscape scene that could be used for
Christmas or just a Happy Winter card. She has also added
this year's To/From Christmas tag with a little snowman.
The little snowman in the To/From tag makes great "little" cards when stamped on
its own. In
response to countless request she has also added a tiny generic
"Created by" stamp. We have something very
different (for us anyway) called "Woman" from a 'new
to the Island' artist, Julianna Slomka. Rounding things
out we have lots of new text. Three scripts from Michelle
Billett originally from Australia, more recently from Victoria
when we met her, and even more recently enrolled in art school
back in Australia, again. She has a fun style I think you will
enjoy. We also have our first French text stamps in
response to an avalanche of requests from when we were in Ottawa
last year. (More coming next year)
Well, the retro images of the men on the Drawing
Board last time got quite a reaction. It was good
feedback, because it was one way or the other; no in
between. Those who liked it, loved it, and those who did
not, just had no interest in it what's-so-ever. One stamper was concerned
that it might look like we were prompting smoking. I think
the image just harkens back to a time when people smoked in
ignorant bliss. We have not made a decision on developing
either of the images, yet. This time I put a
light-hearted image and text up on the Drawing
Board that
we are going to make concerning kindred
spirits...friends. See what you think!
Once again I have updated the Discontinued and Overstocked
sections of the on-line catalogue.
Happy Stamping! - Steve Mueller |
|
|
| |
If you would like to be included in our e-mailing list, simply fill-in your
first name and your e-mail address below and click the Submit button. Please, note
that our list is for The Old Island Stamp Company's exclusive use, only. You
will not receive a barrage of nuisance e-mails as a result of being on our list. We
send our up-date newsletter about every 5 weeks. We do not advertise sales, because
we have moderately priced stamps that can be purchased at a discount at anytime through
volume purchasing.
|
