{Inspiration Project Post #274}

Hello STAMPlorations Friends! Welcome to Tuesday's Inspiration Post. The Inspiration girls are back with an array of projects showcasing stamps, dies and stencils of their choice.

We'll still randomly draw a winner from all the comments left on our Inspiration posts, have a look and leave a comment for your entry to win a $10 gift certificate.

 

 

 

{Stencil Sunday} Carol Does Partial Stenciling

Happy Sunday, STAMPlorations friends! June is just about over and we've got one last batch of stencil inspiration from STAMPgirl Carol. You'll get to see projects that show off how to creatively use ARTplorations stencils. And each month, we'll pick one winner of a $15 gift code -- the winner will be drawn from all comments left on the Stencil Sunday posts for the month, as well as from the designers' blogs.

STAMPgirl Carol designed 4 stunning cards using a simple technique: partial stenciling.

  

  

{Spotlight Project} Masterboard Cards With Shirley

{Throwback Thursday} Watercolor Effect on Stencils

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! Welcome to another Throwback Thursday post. On the last Thursday of the month, the STAMPgirls will be sharing new projects inspired by a previous STAMPlorations project...either one they made themselves or made by another STAMPgirl. And every month, we'll draw one lucky crafter to win a $15 gift code -- randomly drawn from all comments left on the Throwback Thursday post for the month, as well as from the featured designer's blog.

Today STAMPgirl Tanja shares her creative takes inspired by a past project and using various STAMPlorations products.

The Big Move Happens on July 1!

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! A little over a month ago, I began the process of moving the STAMPlorations store to a new e-commerce platform. Next week, the main store is re-launching in its new home and I'm pretty excited about it!

Last week, our Outlet store and Digital store opened there and I hope you like the new look. The new platform is much sleeker and the checkout process is more streamlined. Try shopping the Digital store -- the Bloomin' Spring Coffee Basket is a free download for a limited time.

The great thing about having all three stores in one place is that discount codes/coupon codes/gift codes can be set so they'd work across all stores. So you can shop in all the stores and put different products in your cart and have one code work for all. Such is the case with the special 20% off code just for those who sign up for the new mailing list. (You can sign up here.)

What's new with the big move?

• With all 3 stores under one roof, you'll be able to put different products in your cart and do just one checkout.
• Auto-applied discounts, promotions, and freebies! Some promotions automatically kick in when a certain amount is reached. For example, every order of $40 or more automatically includes a free STAMPlorations grab bag and you'll see this promo added during checkout. If we're running instant $$ or % off for a specific category, the instant discount is reflected on the product price.
• A freebie of the month where you just pay shipping.
• More giveaways -- in July, we've got 2 giveaways coming: one for the main store (winner drawn at the end of the giveaway) and another giveaway for the digital store (a winner is drawn every week)

What's going away with the big move?

• The wishlist function, for one. I love the wishlist function of the current store and the new platform doesn't have this functionality. However, there are third-party wishlist creation sites out there. (I have one that I recommend and will share later for use in our wishlist linky parties.) 
• Gift certificates given as prizes are also going away, as the new platform does not allow the generation of codes without purchase. (I would have to buy gift certificates from myself to give away as prizes -- which doesn't make any sense really.)
• So starting July, all prizes we offer (for challenges, special posts, and challenges we sponsor) will be in the form of gift codes (also referred to as discount codes, gift vouchers, coupon codes) and these codes apply to products only. 
• The good thing about this is that if you win in our challenges or comment-to-win posts, your gift code will work on both the digital store and main store -- no need to choose the store to use your prize on. If you don't wish to pay for shipping, then you can use your gift code on the Digital store. I'm in the process of converting many of our clear stamps into digital stamps. With postal services all over the world experiencing significant delays in delivery or having suspended (partially or completely) their services, going digital seems to be the way to go...at least for now.
• Even though gift certificates are going away, gift codes issued as prizes will still have an expiration date of 3 months from the date they were issued + they can still accumulate -- as long as you don't use the first gift code issued to you. For example, if you win a $5 gift code for winning a challenge in June, you'll be issued a $5 gift code that expires on October 31. The following month, you win a $15 gift code for commenting in one of the July featured posts. If you have not used your $5 gift code yet, $15 will be added to it and the value of your gift code becomes $20. However, the expiration date will not change -- it will still need to be used by October 31. 

So what happens to the current store?

• It will remain open until September 30. This is so that those who have gift codes and gift certificates have plenty of time (and notice!) to use them before it closes permanently. 
• However, that store now has significantly reduced inventory -- all products from there are completely moved over to the new store and just a few hundred are left. 
• By August 1, there will only be 100 or fewer products found there because well...it costs $$$ to maintain a second store and tracking two sets of inventory can get confusing and likely to cause errors in my own accounting :o) 
• So if you have a gift code and/or gift certificate, make sure you use it soon on the current store because it will not work on the new platform.

The move to a new platform is way overdue and I'm glad that it's finally happening! If you haven't yet, I hope you'll check out the re-opened Outlet Store and Digital Store. And then come next Wednesday, July 1, you'll come check out the new Main Store!





PS: Our Birthday June Sale only has a week left! Snag select products at 40% off while they're there! Use code 7YEARS on checkout.

PPS: Our little company turns 7 this month and we haven't really done much to celebrate it. COVID-19 and the resulting manufacturing delays + mail delays/suspensions made it challenging to put together a birthday celebration event and send out stash to my design team. It was simply logistically difficult. Then in the last 4.5 weeks, I had to take on the gargantuan task of familiarizing myself with the new platform, moving 1000+ products to the new store, designing the non-product pages, and testing everything to make sure things run smoothly. Oh and I shouldn't forget that I have two incredibly active little girls -- they're really the bosses! -- who basically take up most of my waking hours (and even some of my sleeping hours). So we'll simply celebrate at a later date (September or October).

PPS: I guess we are doing a little celebrating -- have you checked out our current promotions page? We have a $50 Gift Code Giveaway and it ends in 6 days! Lucky winner will receive a $50 gift code to use on the new store.

{NOW OPEN!} STAMPlorations Digital and Outlet Stores

June 15, 2020 -- Hey, STAMPlorations friends! Today is the re-opening of our Outlet and Digital stores! In the last 4 weeks, I've been hard at work moving all 3 of our stores to a new e-commerce platform so they'd be all under one roof. I'm pleased to share that 2 of those stores are completely moved over. I'm still working on transferring our main store and I'm optimistic I'll be able to finish and complete the move by July.

Do check out our re-opened stores:

Great deals on retiring, clearance, and overstock stamps! Take 10% off your order with code OUTLET10.

Our unique images available to download instantly! Take 15% off your order with code DIGITAL15.

PLUS!

Customers who order $40 and over (both digital and tangible products) will receive a STAMPlorations grab bag -- free!

{Inspiration Project Post #273}

Hello STAMPlorations Friends! Welcome to Tuesday's Inspiration Post. This week stencils seem to be a popular background choice for the Inspirations girls. Check out their projects showcasing stamps, dies, stencils and sequin mixes of their choice.

We'll still randomly draw a winner from all the comments left on our Inspiration posts, have a look and leave a comment for your entry to win a $10 gift certificate.

 

 

{Sticker Monday} Super Quick and Super Fun Cards for Men

Happy Monday, STAMPlorations friends! It's a brand new week and we're back with Sticker Monday. Every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, the STAMPgirls will be sharing projects showcasing our line of fun clear stickers. And every month, we'll draw one lucky crafter to win a $15 gift code -- randomly drawn from all comments left on the Sticker Monday posts for the month, as well as from the featured designer's blog.

Today, STAMPgirl Deepti is sharing three fun and quick cards for men.

  

{Stencil Sunday} Bold Backgrounds by Heat Embossing with Stencils

Happy Sunday, STAMPlorations friends! We have a new batch of stencil inspiration today. You'll get to see projects that show off how to creatively use ARTplorations stencils. And each month, we'll pick one winner of a $15 gift code -- the winner will be drawn from all comments left on the Stencil Sunday posts for the month, as well as from the designers' blogs.

STAMPgirl Helen used the heat-embossing technique to create bold backgrounds for her cards.

{Mixed Media Tutorial} Inspired by the New CRAFTplorations Line

Welcome to my last Mixed Media Tutorial for STAMPlorations.

Have you checked out the new and exciting products that were 

recently available in store? If not Check it out HERE

I was so excited to see these new items and gave me the idea to

make my mixed media project with them in mind,

giving you a head ups on one way of using them in a different way.

I have however not used these Artist Trading Cards

as they haven't landed in my mailbox yet - but they will.

{Spotlight Project} Stencils And Sentiments With Deepti

Hello friends! Deepti here and welcome to my Spotlight feature. I decided to make birthday cards to celebrate STAMPlorations birthday month :) I am in love with skinny sentiment dies and they gave me the idea to use sentiment dies in three ways and to make the sentiments shine I decided to use stenciled backgrounds. Let me show you...

So in these I used the sentiments the traditional way by layering, then I used the negative and finally I just used the skinny dies and not the layering part.

{CRAFTplorations Project} Easy and Quick Cards by Nancy

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! Yesterday you saw the adorable card that STAMPgirl Jane made in her CRAFTplorations feature post found here. This time around, STAMPgirl Nancy is sharing 4 cards featuring a few CRAFTplorations chipboard and clear stickers. And if you leave a comment both here and on Nancy's blog (where she shares more details about her cards) by July 8, you could win yourself an ATC kit sampler (3 chipboard ATCs, 3 chipboard butterflies, 1 sheet of Shine Bright stickers, and 1 sheet of Artsy Geometric Backgrounds stickers) to create cards similar to Nancy's cards.

  

  

{CRAFTplorations Project} Ballet Shoes Card by Jane

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! STAMPgirl Jane is back with another super adorable project featuring our newest product line, CRAFTplorations embellishments. Some of you may be wondering what or how exactly do you use these products in your projects. Today, Jane shows how you can use these embellishments in your cards. And if you leave a comment both here and on Jane's blog (where she has the full step-by-step tutorial) by July 8, you could win yourself a pack of the Ballet Shoes (1.5mm MDF).

{Inspiration Project Post #272}

Hello STAMPlorations Friends! Welcome to Tuesday's Inspiration Post. This week the girls created some celebratory projects showcasing stamps, dies, stencils, stickers and sequin mixes of their choice.

We'll still randomly draw a winner from all the comments left on our Inspiration posts, have a look and leave a comment for your entry to win a $10 gift certificate.

 

 

June Challenges Inspiration - Have You Played Yet?

Hello, challenge fans! Have you already played along with our June challenges? If not, you still have two more weeks to do so. Don't forget, these will be our last challenges for the season, before our summer break! The ladies from the design team are back with more inspiration to help you get creative. I hope you find some time and inspiration to play along with us this month!

If you're new to our blog, please take a moment to become familiar with the challenge guidelines -- we would hate for anyone to be voted by the team as a winner or be randomly chosen as a top pick and then not qualify for the prize because they didn't follow the rules.