Trend and Product Review: Digital Stamping

image by Heather Holbrook

A big buzz word in the stamping world right now is Digital Stamping.

What is digital stamping you might ask? Well, it’s simply buying a digital image that you download to your computer and then print out and use like a regular stamped image. There are several advantages to using digital stamp images such as: storage, no need to store so many bulky stamps; cost, they are much cheaper than buying an actual stamp; helps the environment, no trees were cut down for wood blocks.

I recently gave digital stamping a try for myself and got some super cute images from Angel’s Landing. For each group of images I received an Adobe file with all the images and then each image separately in a PNG file. Their website has an easy to follow tutorial and helpful FAQ on how to download your images.

I really like the idea of being able to easily print them out on not only regular cardstock but other surfaces as well like printable canvas or vellum. I made the sweet card featured above by printing out the images of the birds on vellum and coloring them from behind with markers. I also liked how the images worked well with stamps I already owned, the music notes and words are from the April Word Puzzle stamp set from Close To My Heart. For my first try at digital stamping I found it really fun and easy to do.

The wonderful card shown below is from the Gallery at Angel’s Landing.

-Heather

image by Angel's Landing

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If you like seasonal samplers and cross stitch patterns with a primitive twist, you’ll enjoy the collection from Curious Carrie Designs.

You’ll find alphabet designs, biscornu, patriotic projects and more. The summer category is the largest on the storefront, with Americana and floral designs. There are also categories for the other seasons and more general designs.

One of my favorites is this pretty sunflower cross stitch pattern, which is shown styled as a biscornu but it wouldn’t have to be. The pattern features sunflowers and bees and a little beehive. It uses 12 colors of floss and each side of the pattern is 51 by 51 stitches, which comes out to 3.64 inches or 9.2 cm square.

I love the fabric she used for the sample, which she actually dyed purple herself, but it would also be pretty on a purchased light blue or other color if you don’t want to dye your own.

There’s also a whole set of themed biscornu with a four letter word on one side (crow, home, love and snow, to name a few) along with a seasonal pattern on the other side.

The shop has a rather small selection at around 90 patterns as of this writing, but it’s a nice collection of traditional looking designs heavy on samplers and biscornu designs, so if those are things you like you’ll want to be sure to check it out. Visit Curious Carrie Designs on Etsy to see all her pretty designs.

Are you a designer or do you have a favorite cross stitch designer who hasn’t made it into the spotlight yet? (You can see all the featured designers in the craft businesses category on the page.) Let me know in the comments, or you can submit more detailed information by clicking on “suggest a craft” at the center top of the page.

[Photo: Curious Carrie Designs]

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