Oh my!  Where did April go?  I didn't manage to get a newsletter out all last month.  I guess I was busy working on new images.  And, I took a week off to visit my parents, brother and inlaws.  It was good to have the break.  I hope you will enjoy this issue of the News Post.  Be sure to check out Evelyn Duncan's beautiful Easter card with her technique, posted rather belatedly.   ~ Val

In this Issue:

Click here for ordering information

Contest Deadline Approaching!
Help us design a new set of faux cancellation stamps like this one:

CK-126-D, $3.00
Cancel the Salad
Bring Me Chocolate!

Click here for contest rules and the entry form.

Note: The entry submission mechanics are a little buggy.  You can cut and paste your response into an e-mail if you are having trouble. Also, please let me know if the entry form doesn't work for you.

New Survey Coming Soon:
Themes and Trends in Stamping

I'm working on a new survey, but having technical issues getting it to work properly.  I'll let you know when it's ready.  In the meantime, here are our recent survey drawing winners:

May 4, 2006 Drawing Winners:
Carol Clements - Blackpool, Lancs, UK
Valerie Hayden - Powell, Ohio
Laura Myers - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Glenda Shastry - Los Gatos, California
Brenda Tobin - Nashua, New Hampshire

April 10, 2006 Drawing Winners:
Kim Brown - Marysville, California
Melissa Clapper
Sandy John - Cumming, Georgia
Laraine Vetter - Hilton, New York
Karen Witte-Elkins

The names of all survey respondents are still in the hopper for the next drawing!

Featured Art
"The Glorious Griffin"
by Evelyn Kennedy Duncan

I was inspired to create this card upon after reading various legends about the mythical Griffin. I felt this would make an unusual Easter card and I would include the following information about the griffin inside the card: 

The Glorious Griffin 
 

In ancient times the dual nature of the griffin led it to be associated with Christ as king of heaven and earth;
the eagle half of the griffin signified Christ's divinity and the lion half represented His humanity. 

The griffin also symbolized the strength and wisdom of God
with the lion portion representing strength and the eagle portion representing wisdom.

Then during the Middle Ages, griffins were used symbols of Christ's resurrection.

Instructions:
 

·        I started by creating a polished stone effect background on a piece of glossy white cardstock.  This wash achieved by dotting gold leafing pen a few times on the glossy cardstock, misting the entire surface with 91% rubbing alcohol and applying teal, green and plum alcohol ink with the aid of a small felt applicator.  

·        Then, I stamped the background image with black Brilliance ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. 

·        I trimmed the panel, matted it with metallic teal cardstock and attached it to a black card.

·        Next, I stamped the griffin image with VersaMark ink onto a piece of color laser transparency, added black embossing powder and heat set the image.  (Laser transparencies can take the heat of embossing unlike most other types of transparencies. )

·        I colored the reverse side of the transparency with yellow, patina and platinum glitter glues by stickles and sprinkled a layer of loose ultra fine iridescent glitter over the still wet glitter glued surface to make sure the image had full glitter coverage.

·        After the glue dried overnight, the image was carefully trimmed close to the stamped lines and attached to the lower corner of the card with Pop Dots.

·        A computer generated text panel would be included inside the card giving the legend of the Griffin.

We Want Your Art! 
Third Coast Rubber Stamps, Publication and Posting Policy, Revised May 5, 2006

Customer Gallery Credit: We are always looking for art to display in our online Customer Gallery. Send us your stamped art using Third Coast images, and for each piece of your work we display we'll send you a $5.00 Gallery Gift Certificate good toward your next Third Coast purchase. Your art may contain stamps from other companies, however it must be composed primarily of Third Coast images, or feature one of our images as the centerpiece.  Your art will be returned only if you request that we do so. Please feel free to send files of your scanned art via e-mail, 72 to 150 dpi, JPG, GIF, BMP or TIF formats work best. We prefer that you list the source of other images in your work, but it is not mandatory.

Technique Submission Credit: When you send a detailed written technique of your creation for publication to the Customer Gallery, we’ll give you $10.00 Technique Gift Certificate.  This is in addition to the $5.00 Gallery Gift Certificate.  Your technique must include a complete list of supplies used in addition to a step-by-step method written in an easy to follow manner.

Print Publication Credit: If your work using at least one Third Coast image is published in a major stamping or stamping-related print publication, and we are credited in the publication, you are entitled to a $20.00 Print Publication Gift Certificate.

Digital Publication Credit: If your work using primarily Third Coast images is *permanently published on a **well-known stamping or stamping-related website which is ***accessible by the general public, and we are credited for the images on the website, you are entitled to a $5.00 Digital Publication Gift Certificate.

Double Whammy!  If you have a piece published in more than one place, you are eligible for BOTH credits! For example, if you send us a stamped scene that we publish in our Customer Gallery, and it’s later published in Rubber Stamp Madness, you are eligible for a $5.00 credit plus a $20.00 credit.

To receive credit for your art published either in print publications or on websites, you must draw them to our attention. We don’t always notice them or have means to contact you. So speak up, and don’t be shy. We love seeing our images published. We want to thank you and reward you!

Third Coast retains sole right to select or reject customer submissions, and to determine if a given submission or publication meets our requirements for receiving a gift certificate reward. 

*Permanently published means the work was posted with the intent of remaining in place indefinitely. Works published with the intent of being viewable for a short duration are not eligible.

**Well-known means that the site is not obscure and has a high hit volume.  We retain the sole right to judge whether or not a given website is eligible. ***Accessible by the general public means the site and the posted piece can be viewed by anyone. Membership-based sites are eligible, as long as anyone can join for free, and membership is not limited in any way.)

This new policy is retro-active to January 1, 2006.  These rules subject to change at any time. 

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Site last updated January 3, 2009

Third Coast Rubber Stamps, PO Box 70456, Houston, TX 77270
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