December Spotlight Projects Random Draw Winner + Introducing STAMP Lab!

Happy new year, STAMPlorations friends! How's your year going so far? I'm off to a slow start but I have a very good reason for it -- I'll share that reason pretty soon :o)

I'd like to thank all you wonderful ladies who have supported STAMPlorations during all of 2014 -- whether you bought our stamps, played in our challenges, and commented on the spotlight projects. Know that the STAMPlorations girls, my hubby (who does a lot behind the scenes), and I appreciate each one of you. Without your support, STAMPlorations wouldn't be here. We are excited and so looking forward to sharing with you more inspiration projects this year.

And now let's get right down to business: announcing the winner of 2 ARTplorations stencils, randomly drawn from comments left on the Spotlight Projects posts in December. There were over 300 comments left on the 15 spotlight projects posts and so I had Mr. Random.org draw the winner: Teresa Godines #6857.

Congratulations, Teresa! Please claim your prize on or before Wednesday, January 7, by sending an email to sheryruss@gmail.com with the subject "December Spotlight Project winner". [Note: it is important that you include the subject line, as it will be filtered to a special folder on my inbox. This will ensure that I get your email.] Include your complete mailing address so we know where to send your 2 ARTplorations stencils.

ARTplorations Stencils now available to purchase!

Thanks to all of you who regularly check out the Spotlight Projects we publish. We hope they inspire you and that you take away something from each post. If you've missed any of the projects, we have them all listed here. We've been sharing these projects since July and to date, there are 74 projects with either photo tutorials or videos! We appreciate the time you spend here on the blog and the encouraging comments you leave. We'll be back with this month's first Spotlight Project on Tuesday, January 6.

I'd also like to take this time to introduce a new feature on the shop: the STAMP Lab!

I love designing stamps, and more often than not, I end up with more designs than I can ever release at any given time. (To give you an idea...I have close to a hundred designs in various states of completion in my STAMP DESIGN folder.) This also means I end up with lots of samples of stamps. I love having the opportunity to play with stamps on a daily basis, but it can get pretty lonely when I'm the only one playing with many of the stamps I design.

Then I had a light bulb moment: make those sample stamps available at below-retail price on the shop for those who'd like to have a play with them. Think of STAMP Lab as an "incubator": it's where you'll find limited quantities of STAMPlorations stamps that are not officially released; they may or may not be released down the road -- because several factors come into play when we come out with a new release. I may decide to officially release a design in the STAMP Lab and when that happens, it gets sold at regular price. I may also decide to not ever release a design in the STAMP Lab -- once a particular design is gone, it's gone.

So on Monday, January 5, the STAMP Lab section of the shop will have at least 4 new designs added. Here are two of those designs:

(Texturize: Big Numbers Background and Grateful Beyond Words)

The good news is that STAMP Lab stamps will be free for every order of $30 or more (before shipping). Buy at least $30 worth of products (stamps and/or stencils) and you get one stamp from the STAMP Lab section free! Even better news: YOU get to pick which one you want!

And if you've been anxiously waiting for the January stamps (preview them here), they'll be available to buy beginning Monday too! For one week only, they'll be 10% off. If you're a stamp club subscriber, you get an additional 15% off when you use your personal discount code.

Thank you again for your support, and I hope you all have a wonderful and bright 2015!

With a grateful heart,