Saturday 31 December 2016

Personalised Rubber Stamp Launch - New for 2017


Hello Everyone,
A very Happy New Year to our many customers and friends around the world. I hope that your Christmas was as joyous as ours, spending time with family and friends and planning the year ahead. As we move into a new year we've lots of exciting ideas to share with our brides-to-be, as well as our crafty followers.

We are proud to announce the launch of our brand new rubber stamp collection for 2017.


We've been busily designing and planning behind the scenes for our new collection of personalised rubber stamps. The stamp are aimed at the DIY market for 'crafty' brides on a budget.
The collection of Save the Date stamps are now available on our website, and have been designed and created to match our luggage tags, C7 cards, postcards and matching envelopes. We've made it easy for you to shop all on one site, knowing that all the product sizes match.
Each rubber stamp is personalised just for you, and made from high quality rubber material. We laser etch onto rubber using our state of the art laser machine, and then mount with special cushioning material, that is then mounted onto the wooden blocks. The wedding stamps are presented in their own keepsake recycled box, and can be saved as a gorgeous memento of your special day.

As our corporate social responsibility is to be as recyclable as possible with our stationery, we wanted to have the same ethos with our rubber stamps too. We have sourced our wooden blocks from one of our business neighbours at Cressey Holme Farm where our workshops are located. The blocks of wood we mount our stamps onto are leftover pieces of wood from the wooden gates they manufacture. The blocks of wood are cut from Indian Oak, which has been sourced from sustainable forests. The trees are managed so as the trees are felled, they are replaced with seedlings that will eventually grown into mature trees.

We then finish the blocks by lovingly sanding them down, and chamfer the edges smooth. We also laser etch our logo to the front to complete.


The first collection of rubber stamps we have available are our Save the Date stamps. There are 13 designs to choose from in total. The full range can be viewed by clicking here.

Once you have received your rubber stamp and chosen your matching stationery supplies, here is a simple step-by-step tutorial to help guide you through the process.


Start by gathering your stationery supplies  On our website we have matching luggage tags, folded cards with envelopes and postcards. They all fit our rubber stamps perfectly and can be found on our website here. You can choose from brown kraft card, white card, vintage cream card or vintage white.


We recommend a good stamp pad such as Stazon jet black or Distress ink. We don't supply these on our website, or with the stamp pads as there are so many colours to choose from! They can be found in most craft shops, as well as Ebay, Amazon etc. Don't skimp on the prices and buy a cheaper version of a stamp pad, as you may find that your stamped image may bleed and you will be disappointed with the end result.


There is no right or wrong way to stamp your chosen image, some people like to ink up the stamp and place your card on top, some people like to ink the stamp and then turn over onto a piece of card, which is what we have done on our photo here.
Add plenty of ink to your stamp design.  I always recommend that you always purchase plenty of card stock for practising on as well. If you over ink then you may get a few lines on the edges - some people like this design, some people think it's a little messy. Once you've done a few inks and stamp practices, you will know what you like and don't like.

So stamp away! We have used a distress ink pad on one of our designs above. When it was dry we added a little water using a watercolour brush and blended the ink a little, and added a little to the edges to give it a rustic touch too.

Whichever one of our designs you choose, I'm sure once they are all inked up they will look beautiful. You can add contrasting ribbons to match your theme, or a few rhinestones to complete.

Here are a few of our favourites:

  A little bit of white pen makes all the difference on the laurel wreath design here...

assorted designs using off cut liberty fabric  ...



Add coloured or natural twine or ribbon to match your theme on our luggage tags...


Or use a plain C7 postcard for the calendar design. This also fits on the the A7 luggage tags.


Our silhouette stamps can be made for same sex weddings.

Our vintage stags are also popular for same sex weddings.

Whatever your choice, I'm sure you will find a rubber stamp design to fall in love with, you'll enjoy creating your own wedding save the dates and invitations and to keep as a memento of your big day.

Our full range of rubber stamps can be viewed on our website by clicking here;



Wednesday 7 December 2016

Recycled and Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas


If you are as passionate about the environment as we are then read on to discover our favourite recycled and eco-friendly gift wrapping tips and ideas.
We have compiled this inspirational list of ideas for making gifts look gorgeous yet they still retain an eco-friendly ethos.
 We have taken inspiration from our own designs and also from the talented community over on Pinterest, hope you enjoy all our favourites!

parties and pearls

You can’t beat brown paper for a wonderfully whimsical look.  Add a length of rustic twine and some greenery from the garden and this rustic, eco friendly theme really does take some beating.


These days brown paper is available in all kinds of designs and it usually remains very eco-friendly and made from 100% recycled materials, but be sure to check the source.

Recycled and Re-Purposed

I like nothing more than rummaging around in a charity shop in search of sheets  of old music scores – they make fantastic wrapping paper for small gifts.

Miss Mustard Seed

Whilst you’re in the charity shop look out for old maps and newspapers too as these are great for wrapping gifts for the man in your life.

Pottery Barn                                      Country Living

Natural Embellishments

Fresh foliage, feathers and pine cones make lovely little extras to add to your gifts.  They can be tied in with bakers twine, garden twine or a piece of pretty ribbon.  I prefer using the best ribbon available but re-using it over and over again.  I’m the one at Christmas who picks up all the discarded lengths of ribbon and hides them away in my ‘ribbon drawer’ to be re-used at a later date…. does anyone else do this??


Groupon                                                       Razzle Dazzle Rose

Gift Boxes and Bags

A good quality gift box can be used lots of times and the overall theme can be changed just by decorating it in a different way each time it’s used.


Don’t Throw Anything Away

It’s a great idea to collect any little oddments such as a sprig from a faux flower decoration, some left over Christmas baubles that aren’t used anymore, unloved costume jewellery and small toys.  They can all look amazing tied onto a present and can instantly give a personal and professional finish.

All found on Pinterest

I hope you have enjoyed our favourite Recycled and Eco-Friendly gift Wrapping tips and ideas.  

We would love to see some of your gift wrapping creations over on our Facebook page.    

Warm wishes

Sharon

 
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