Friday 3 August 2007

Surprise!

When the post lady rang the bell today I had the usual jolt of excitement and wondered if it was my delivery from the Stamp Attic. When I opened it, I found a Fiskars ScrapBoss embossing system. I hadn't ordered it, so it's either a free gift with a subscription or a prize. Whittling it down, it must be the latter. I only subscribe to magazines when they have a free gift I really really want. I've often thought about trying embossing, but I couldn't be bothered with having to get a light box and so on.

However with the ScrapBoss, you don't need a lightbox. The special tray allows you to pin down the stencils directly onto your cardstock or paper, and off you go. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

I often enter those draws you see in magazines where the first 10 win a prize. I've often wondered if you have a chance if you don't tick the box allowing them to share your details with third parties (I always say no). At the end of the day, that's why publishers run these competitions. They want your address for their database, and to sell it to third parties. So I'm gratified if I still "won" despite ticking the box that stops them doing this.

Earlier in the week I was in an area of London I frequently visit, for business meetings, in the Russell Square area, and I was a bit early so I thought I would try to find a shop I've heard about called Blade Runner Stamps. I knew it was in the vicinity of the British Museum.

Well I found it with no problems, and what an Aladdin's Cave! Some independent shops have been disappointing to me, with not much stock, but Blade Rubber Stamps had lots of scrummy stuff, mainly focused (as you would expect) on stamping but also scrapbooking. They have lots of magazines including the gorgeous Somerset Studios magazines from the US (and I picked up Craft Stamper, which as readers will know, is often difficult to track down!. I bought a set of Twinkling H2Os which are fab for painting cards and stamped images; a Happy Birthday stamp; a sheet of paper with musical notes on it (for this week's UKS challenge), a chalk ink pad and a K&Co Life's Journey 8 x 8 pad.

I'm going to start making my Christmas cards soon seeing as there are so many to do, so the Twinkling H2Os will come in very useful. I have a lovely stamp that I bought recently - "Christmas round the hearth" - which shows a fireplace with presents and candles, and I plan to layer it up and paint it.

I'm not sure I will get much time for any of this at the weekend. J has plans to redecorate the spare room which means traipsing off to get paint and some storage units. On Sunday he is doing a race in Harlow so I may be able to snatch a couple of hours there while the roast is cooking!

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