What a great week! I loved reading the hundreds of comments that you guys left! Thank you for your enthusiasm about these stamps! I really poured my heart into them, so I'm so glad that you like them as much as I do!
On day one I asked, "What do you like most about stamps?" I would say that the number one answer was the ability to quickly create things that you couldn't draw by yourself!
And the winner of "Julie's Perfect Circles" is…
On day two I asked, "What is your most used stamp and why?" Script text stamps definitely led the way, quickly followed by various texture stamps.
And the winner of "Julie's Journaling Labels" is…
On day three I asked, "What are your pet peeves about stamps?" I thought I'd address some of the most common complaints:
- It seems that everyone hates cleaning their stamps. Me too! However I am a big fan of having a box of baby wipes on your desk. Really and truly it makes it so easy to clean up your stamp in a jiffy! I usually don't clean my stamps until I'm changing colors (unless I've used paint, then I clean them right away).
- Storage was cited as another pain-in-the-butt problem. I certainly don't have the massive collection that I'm sure many others have. But I have a small standing drawer unit and I keep my stamps in it those drawers sorted by type (wood mounted, label, hand carved, general background). My most used stamps sit on my desk (and rotate depending on my mood) in a small metal tin. I've put all of my Stamping Bella stamps into CD cases. I like how easy it is to grab the set I want!
- A number of people said that stamps were too expensive. I was quite surprised by that answer. I think most stamps are incredibly reasonably priced. I have a dollar rule when I go shopping for crafty supplies. If something costs $5, I must be able to use it on 5 projects. $1 per project. Think about it. How often do you grab something out of the dollar bin and say, "Well, if I use it once…." So if you've got your eye on a $20 stamp, buy it if you can use it on at least 20 projects. Everything after that is gravy!
- Finally, imperfect prints got a lot of votes. Um…er…I won't tell you how many imperfect prints I make all the time. I think they're kind of part of the cool factor of using stamps…but everyone has a different style, right? The best advice I have for getting great prints is to practice on a piece of scrap paper right before you print so that you know just how much pressure to use. Acrylic and rubber react so differently. Wood mount and cling mount — they all have different "best" pressures!
And the winner of "Julie's Me You and Us" stamp set is…
On day four I asked, "Share a link to an art journal page you love. Why do you love it?" I visited every single link! And there was a ton of gorgeous art work to look at! A lot of you loved the pages you linked to because the colors spoke to you.
And the winner of "Julie's Building a Scallopy House" stamp set is…
On day five I asked, "What's an element or design from my artwork that you'd like to see turned into a stamp?" Flowers and leaves were a popular choice, but I think the clear winner was my handwriting! I don't think of my handwriting as that awesome, so this was kind of super cool to know that so many people like it!
And the winner of "Julie's Paint Splat" is…
On day six I asked, "Who is someone you think does awesomely cool things with stamps? Leave a link if you can." Once again, there was lots of inspiration left in the links. Tim Holtz and Jennifer McGuire were both mentioned quite a few times. As were Paula, and Rachel. And many thank yous to all of you who made me grin by saying that I was your favorite stamper!
And the winner of "Julie's Spring Butterflies" is…
On day seven I asked, "Which of my seven stamp sets is your favorite and why?" At first I thought that "Julie's Perfect Circles" was the clear winner. Then, "Julie's Building a Scallopy House" and "Julie's Words to Live By" came in strong. But "Julie's Spring Butterflies," "Julie's Paint Splat," and "Julie's Journaling Labels" got a really good number of mentions too. The only set limping across the finish line was "Julie's You Me & Us" as just one or two people's favorite. Although, judging by the number of comments, "Julie's Journaling Labels" was the real winner with 162 comments on that post. The next closest were "Julie's Words to Live By" and "Julie's Perfect Circles" both with 157 comments. "Julie's You Me & Us" got 140, "Julie's Paint Splat" got 116, "Julie's Building a Scallopy House" got 113, and "Julie's Spring Butterflies" only got 93 comments.
And the winner of "Julie's Words to Live By" is…
Congratulations to all the winners! You have until Sunday, May 15 to contact me with your mailing address. After that I'll choose new winners!
If you'd like to buy any of the stamps you see here, you can do so here.
If you make anything using any of my stamps, please post them to the Balzer Designs flickr pool! Tutorial on using flickr is here.
Thanks for stopping by!
Congrats to all the winners! It was a FUN week. EVEN THOUGH I didn’t win any stamps:)))) I guess I just gotta buy them.
Thanks Julie for the awesome videos and examples. You’re a constant inspiration to me!
Congrats to all the winners! It was a FUN week. EVEN THOUGH I didn’t win any stamps:)))) I guess I just gotta buy them.
Thanks Julie for the awesome videos and examples. You’re a constant inspiration to me!
Congrats to all the winners! It was a FUN week. EVEN THOUGH I didn’t win any stamps:)))) I guess I just gotta buy them.
Thanks Julie for the awesome videos and examples. You’re a constant inspiration to me!
Congrats to all the winners! It was a FUN week. EVEN THOUGH I didn’t win any stamps:)))) I guess I just gotta buy them.
Thanks Julie for the awesome videos and examples. You’re a constant inspiration to me!
Congrats everyone! You guys got some very cool product, I’m truly envious! Enjoy.
Julie…thanks so much for all the inspirations and videos…I’m charged up and ready to go!
Congrats everyone! You guys got some very cool product, I’m truly envious! Enjoy.
Julie…thanks so much for all the inspirations and videos…I’m charged up and ready to go!
Congrats everyone! You guys got some very cool product, I’m truly envious! Enjoy.
Julie…thanks so much for all the inspirations and videos…I’m charged up and ready to go!
Congrats everyone! You guys got some very cool product, I’m truly envious! Enjoy.
Julie…thanks so much for all the inspirations and videos…I’m charged up and ready to go!
Congrats to all the lucky winners ! Thanks again, Julie for all the inspiration !
Congrats to all the lucky winners ! Thanks again, Julie for all the inspiration !
Congrats to all the lucky winners ! Thanks again, Julie for all the inspiration !
Congrats to all the lucky winners ! Thanks again, Julie for all the inspiration !
Congrats, ladies.
Congrats, ladies.
Congrats, ladies.
Congrats, ladies.
I really love your circle stamps. Will they be available to buy at the Create retreat in Costa Mesa?
I really love your circle stamps. Will they be available to buy at the Create retreat in Costa Mesa?
I really love your circle stamps. Will they be available to buy at the Create retreat in Costa Mesa?
I really love your circle stamps. Will they be available to buy at the Create retreat in Costa Mesa?
Congratulations to all the winners!!! I’m sure you guys are going to have a lot of fun stamping in your future. 🙂 Thanks again Julie for all the fun inspiration and your generosity.
Congratulations to all the winners!!! I’m sure you guys are going to have a lot of fun stamping in your future. 🙂 Thanks again Julie for all the fun inspiration and your generosity.
Congratulations to all the winners!!! I’m sure you guys are going to have a lot of fun stamping in your future. 🙂 Thanks again Julie for all the fun inspiration and your generosity.
Congratulations to all the winners!!! I’m sure you guys are going to have a lot of fun stamping in your future. 🙂 Thanks again Julie for all the fun inspiration and your generosity.
Congrats lucky winners! Thanks again, Julie, for the fun!
Congrats lucky winners! Thanks again, Julie, for the fun!
Congrats lucky winners! Thanks again, Julie, for the fun!
Congrats lucky winners! Thanks again, Julie, for the fun!
Congratulations to all the winners, and big thanks to you Julie, for such fun giveaways! You always take it to the next level and that’s SO awesome!!
Congratulations to all the winners, and big thanks to you Julie, for such fun giveaways! You always take it to the next level and that’s SO awesome!!
Congratulations to all the winners, and big thanks to you Julie, for such fun giveaways! You always take it to the next level and that’s SO awesome!!
Congratulations to all the winners, and big thanks to you Julie, for such fun giveaways! You always take it to the next level and that’s SO awesome!!
Unfortunately, Im not a vendor at CREATE! So I wont have any to sell! Sorry!
Unfortunately, Im not a vendor at CREATE! So I wont have any to sell! Sorry!
Unfortunately, Im not a vendor at CREATE! So I wont have any to sell! Sorry!
Unfortunately, Im not a vendor at CREATE! So I wont have any to sell! Sorry!