April's Review	Catherine's Review	Renee's Review	Stephanie's Review	Pomaika`i's Review

Review by April

I am always looking for inspiration, and idea books and magazines are some of my favorite places to find it. Although I frequently purchase a variety of idea books, I have fallen in love with the Stampington & Company publications. Stampington has a huge collection of papercrafting, mixed media, jewelry, home decor, and several other unique and stunning publications, that are constantly being updated with new issues. One of the most recent was the Sommerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 publication. I was really looking forward to reviewing this issue because I always find so much inspiration every time we get a chance to review something from Stampington & Company!

For this review I received the summer 2008 issue of Somerset Studio Gallery. The cover of this publication is gorgeous and a delight to touch due to a super smooth yet sturdy exterior. Each of the pages feature striking color pictures and attractive, yet easy to read text. This book is jam packed with full length articles, mini articles called spotlights, sample instructions for the featured projects, samples of artwork from Somerset readers, and more. You will also find information about the publisher, a letter from the editor, and there is even a section highlighting several of the other publications available from Stampinton & Company.

There were a ton of projects in this issue that featured the color green. Two of the green projects that intrigued me the most were "A Study In Green" by Lisa Patterson on page 150, and "Finding Green at the Greenman's House" by Joni Greenman on page 54. I absolutely love the idea of creating a project dedicated to a favorite color. For me, it was sort of like building a shrine that conveys why I love the color and how it makes me feel. I decided to take the idea and run with it to create my very own wall hanging dedicated to the color blue! I started by using a large plastic case, previously used for product packaging, and I covered the inside with patterned paper, a large felt frame, and some metallic paint. I just started to build the piece from there. I added stickers, more patterned paper, a transparent overlay, a journaling sheet which I had colored with watercolor crayons, and then started work on the title. I admired how several of the artists in this issue used left over embellishments and found objects to create their projects, and I can't tell you how much fun I had just rummaging through my drawers in search of everything blue. With everything in a huge pile beside my project, I basically just tried to add in whatever my hands picked up next. I used a special piece of lace from my grandmother's sewing room and adhered it to the bottom of the package using a glue runner. Then I poured glitter all over the ribbon and lightly pressed on it to fill all the small holes in the lace where there might be adhesive left. To complete the project, I used acrylic paint, alcohol ink, and glitter glue to dress up the edges of the plastic package.

Title: A Study of Blue
Products used:
Inspiration for Project (Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 Publication)
Patterned Paper (Fancy Pants, Jenni Bowlin, Creative Imaginations & Cosmo Cricket)
Plastic Shell (Fancy Pants 12x12 Felt Shapes Packaging)
Felt (Fancy Pants, Maya Road, & Heidi Swapp)
Screen Print (Hambly)
Journal Sheet (Creative Imaginations)
Stickers (Tinkering Ink, EK Success, Making Memories, & Chatterbox)
Rub Ons (Flair Designs, Scrapworks & Love Elsie)
Blackboard (Cosmo Cricket)
Lace (My Grandmother's)
Ribbon (Tie One On Ribbon Club, Flair Designs, & Personal Stash)
Chipboard (Heidi Swapp, Lil Davis, & Maya Road)
Owl Stamp (Maya Road)
Buttons (Autumn Leaves, & Personal Stash)
Flowers (Prima)
Ghost Embellishments (Heidi Swapp)
Bird Mirror (Heidi Swapp)
Rhinestones (My Minds Eye, & Making Memories)
Tabs (Autumn Leaves, & ScrapWorks)
Grungeboard (Tim Holtz)
Metal Clip (Lil Davis)
Sequins (Queen & Co)
Jeweled Brads (Heidi Swapp, & Karen Foster)
Die Cuts (Daisy D's, & Scrapworks)
Office Reinforcements (Kmart)
Paint (Ranger, & Jaquard)
Glitter Glue & Dimensional Pearls (Ranger)
Pens (Sakura, & American Crafts)
Crayons (Crayola)
Alcohol Ink (Ranger)
Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)
Watercolor Crayons (Staedtler)
Colored Pencils (Staedtler)
Ink Pads (Tim Holtz, Adironadack, & Colorbox)
Glitter, Paper Clip, Fairy Box, & Kraft paper (Personal Stash)
Metal Star (Wal Mart Christmas Ornament)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

In Keron Lee's article about her Green Family Tree project, Keron mentioned that she will often continue to add bits and pieces to her artwork, sometimes even months after she has finished a piece. Normally this is not the case for me, but I had to laugh at myself when I realized I kept coming back to add more little odds and ends to the "A Study in Blue". It's like I couldn't stop and I'm afraid I too will end up adding things to this piece as long as it hangs in my craft room. My son and daughter really liked the idea as well and have asked me to create a project dedicated to their favorite colors. I'm excited about designing more of these and I am also looking forward to creating several other projects inspired by this book. In fact, I intend to make several handmade Christmas presents based off of project ideas in this publication!

Honestly I can not say enough good things about the Somerset Studio Gallery publications, but particularly the summer 2008 issue. I truly though it was spectacular. I read idea books and magazines all the time and although I may think a certain issue is great, I can rarely say that I was inspired by almost every single project in the book! I have already re-read this book over 4 times and each time I go back I see something I missed. I have this bad habit of dog-earring the pages I like so I can come back later and quickly flip through to all the ones I liked. I ended up dog earring so many pages in this one issue, that there is no quick reference...I basically just have to start with page one and look at every page over and over again. It does not matter if you are solely a scrapbooker, a beader, an altered artist, a card maker, or even a total craft beginner, I promise there is something for everyone in this issue. If you are ready to be overwhelmed with inspiration and creativity, then this would be a great publication to start with!

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Review by Catherine

I think we all go through periods where inspiration simply fails us. Finding exactly the right thing to spark that inspiration whenever it’s been gone for a while is what idea books and magazines can be particularly good for. Some of my favorite inspiration comes from Somerset Studio magazines, and the Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 publication is no different. I have spent days pouring over the pages, finding inspiration at every turn.

Stampington and Company create so many different publications, that choosing one at the bookstore seems to be one of the hardest parts of using these magazines. The Somerset Studio magazines have to be my favorite because of the variety of projects available in each issue. The Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 magazine over 190 pages, with over 400 projects packed inside. Many of the projects include step-by-step instructions. There are also longer articles with specific instructions and detailed pictures included. From home décor, to multi-media art, to altered books, and art journals; there is sure to be ideas galore for any paper crafter or scrapbook artist. Even if you are not traditionally an “altered artist”, the techniques that are found in the pages of Somerset Studio Gallery magazines are easy to adapt to any paper crafting project.

My first project came from entire publication in general. I have a collection of gemstones that I have been accumulating recently, and I’ve been keeping them in a plain wooden box. I have had every intention of altering the box in some way that will give tribute to the wonderful treasures found within. After reading through the magazine several times, I knew that I was ready to create my altered treasure box. I painted the plain wooden cigar box, added scrapbook papers, ink, glimmer mist, and other embellishments. I finished it by adding Prima rhinestone swirls to frame the title.

Title: Treasure Box
Products used: Wood Cigar Box (unknown)
Inspired by (Somerset Studio Gallery – Summer 2008)
Paint (Tim Holtz Crackle Paint – Ranger; Making Memories Scrapbook Colors)
Patterned Paper (Autumn Leaves; Unknown)
Stamps (Stampington and Co.; Rebecca Baer)
Ink (Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink; Ranger Ancient Page)
Rubons (Crate Paper)
Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)
Rhinestones (Prima Say it with Crystals)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

My next project was inspired by both the Art Journals on page 83, as well as a wall hanging found on page 48. I decided to create a cover for an Art Journal, with the intention of adding to it daily (or at least weekly). I loved the heart cut from vintage paper on the wall hanging, and decided to use a similar heart as the focal point for my art journal cover.

Title: Art Journal Cover
Products used: Leather Journal
Inspired by (Somerset Studio Gallery – Summer 2008)
Paint (Making Memories Scrapbook Colors)
Patterned Paper (Daisy D’s; My Mind’s Eye; Making Memories)
Stamps (Stampington and Co.; BasicGrey; Hero Arts)
Ink (Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink; Ranger Ancient Page)
Stickers (Making Memories; Heidi Swapp; 7Gypsies )
Flower (Making Memories)
Metal Photo Corners (Making Memories)
Chipboard Circle (Scenic Route)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

After reading through the Somerset Gallery Summer 2008 edition several times, I find that each time I open it I get another piece of inspiration. The Somerset Studio publications are the ones that I keep coming back to over and over again for that very reason. There’s always more that can be found to spark one’s imagination. As with every other Stampington publication that I have read, I have lots of sticky notes and folded down pages in this magazine for more projects I would like to create or use as a jumping off point for future projects. If you have been searching for that special something to jumpstart your own creative journey, then the Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 magazine could definitely be it. You’ll find inspiration in every page!

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Review by Renee

Stampington and Company is a magazine publisher that specializes in beautifully displayed, artful magazines. In recent months, a large number of new magazines have been added to their stellar line up of favorites. Two of the newer magazines, Life Images and Artful Blogging, are among my most favorite publications to read. As soon as a new quarterly issue is due out, I begin stalking the bookstore to make sure that I grab a copy before they run out. Once I have my copy at hand, I spend hours reading each one over and over again. With that backdrop, imagine my excitement at being offered the opportunity to review Stampington’s Somerset Studio Gallery for Summer 2008.

When my copy of the magazine arrived, I had to force myself to refrain from opening it up until I completed my earlier review projects out of fear that I would not get them all done. However, once I did get caught up, I did just as I usually do with a Stampington publication and read it over and over and over again. The magazine itself is approximately 192 pages of pure eye candy. The front and back covers are a heavyweight cardstock printed in a matte finish. It details the major articles to expect inside and highlights several pieces of artwork that is featured inside. The cover canvases are actually part of the inspiration that I used in completing my own projects.

The inside articles are very informative, with many resembling a tutorial or mini class, in that the artist gives instructions as to how to complete several of the projects. The book itself is divided into several subcategories. First is the “In this issue” page that gives an overview of what articles are in the magazine and where to locate them. The first section listed the major articles. In this issue, there were fifteen major articles. Among these were titles such as “The Green Family Tree”, “Flea Market Flair and “Gift Card Shrines.” The next section featured twenty six separate “Spotlight: Mini Articles” that showcases the artwork of the individual artists. Next is a Book section and then a section entitled “In Every Issue”. My favorite section in the book is listed here. At the end of the magazine is an article entitled “Sample Instructions”. This little area gives you instructions for how to complete a sampling of projects featured in the magazine. For someone like me, who really is not a mixed media artist by any stretch of the imagination, this section was absolutely invaluable.

For my project, I decided to tackle a project that I had been planning in my head for quite a while. For months now, I have wanted to complete a canvas. Until now, I have never been able to quite figure out how. After reading the magazine, I was even more inspired to complete my canvas. I was inspired by canvases pictured on pages 58 and 59 (which actually provided the bones of my design), pages 73 to 75 (which inspired my paint strokes), and pages 157 and 158 (which inspired my painted background design). I was also inspired by the simplicity of the photo collages featured on page 110. In fact, it was when I saw the simple photo collages on page 110 that I finally believed that I could make a canvas. I also read several times through the instructions of the “Sample Instructions” page.

After having thoroughly prepared myself with inspiration, I took on the canvas background first. I had a great shot that I had converted to sepia tone in photoshop that I planned to use in my office. I needed to make my background coordinate with that photo. I used several colors of acrylic paint in the brown family to create the background design. When my canvas dried and I realized that it looked really cool, I was inspired to actually complete it. I wanted to use a vertical design on my canvase next to my picture, but did not want the femininity of ribbon. I dug through my stash and located an acrylic word sticker and metal plaque to create my vertical line which would replace the ribbon. The background design, coupled with the two simple embellishments completed a wall hanging that looks wonderful on my office wall.

Title: Memories Canvas
Products used: Canvas(Hobby Lobby)
Word Sticker (Me and My Big Ideas)
Metal Embellishment (Making Memories)
Paint (Anitas)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I am very pleased with how my canvas came out. There are numerous other projects featured in the Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 to inspire. Even though I am far from a mixed media artist, I was able to find many different projects to inspire me. I even have several marked for use on my scrapbook pages. All in all, this is a wonderful magazine. It has all the beauty of any of the other Stampington publications. This is definitely a publication to add to your reading.

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Review by Stephanie

Do you love to get lost in a good book? How about a good magazine? I know I do! The thought of being able to sit down, and read a magazine cover to cover because it holds your attention so dramatically that you forget about time, is a glorious place to find yourself. And that is exactly where I was when I opened the Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008. At $14.99, this magazine is full of fun and life, containing 190 pages of glossy goodness. This is one issue I will read again and again. I find something different to arouse my curiosity each time I pick it up. I would definitely recommend you find this magazine, take a beverage of choice, find a good reading spot and just devour the issue.

Well now that I had perused this magazine cover to cover, where would I start? What would I create? I think I have book marked almost every page in this magazine for one reason or another. There was just so much eye candy and so many different items to get lost in. I love the birdhouses, the cards, the mini albums, and the boxes, but there is so much more in this magazine. I came across an altered box on page 11 and immediately had an idea.

Several years ago I picked up an adorable wooden purse with a rattan handle. At the time, I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I knew I had to have it. I knew it would come in handy one day. Well that day arrived and I was so excited to get started.

I painted the inside and outside of the purse brown. Once dry, I cut and tore patterned paper into the size and shapes I wanted. Using modge podge, I adhered the paper to the purse. I was a little disappointed to see bubbles forming under my paper, but thankfully the bubbles vanished when the modge podge dried. Once dry, I inked around the edges to give some additional dimension. I had this adorable girl on the beach stamp I wanted to use, so she became my focal point. I embossed the image in black, then colored it with water colored crayons. I adhered this image to my purse, tearing around the image until I had the look I wanted. I then cut out words from my patterned paper, added some beach specific stickers and I was done.

Title: Wood Purse
Products used: Wood Purse (DME)
Patterned Paper (Sandylion, Coastal Reef, Nautical Stripe, Seaside, On Top of the World)
Stickers (Sandylion, Coastal Collection)
Stamp (Stamp Happens)
Embossing Powder (Stampendous)
Crayons (Staedtler)
Ink (Colorbox)
Paint (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Then I found an artist who used paper slide mounts to create a mini book (page 165). Well, years ago I bought a container of probably 50 plastic slide mounts in various colors. They have been sitting in my stash forever. Seeing this mini book and reading the article on Lost, Found, Reuse and Use it Up, gave me a wonderful idea. I have some sweet feminine and funky stamps that I bought years ago. I have made lots of cards with them but now they aren’t used very often so I decided to make a mini album of them. I stamped and colored my images and inserted them in the slide mounts, punching holes along the edge. I used an empty cereal box (well, I actually emptied the cereal box so I could use it for this project), cut it to size, covered it with patterned paper and punched holes in the binding. I bound the slide mounts and the cover together and a cute mini album was done. Fast, easy and pretty darn cute.

Title: Sweet Mini Book
Products used: Patterned Paper (GCD Studios)
Slidemounts (Loersch Corp.)
Brad (Joann)
Ink (Colorbox)
Markers (Staedtler)
Rub-ons (Making Memories)
Ribbon (Maya Road)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

This is definitely a must-have magazine. The articles were very informative with just enough information to create the wide variety of included projects. I love the extensive use of mediums covered – wood board, metal, fabric, slides, tins, glass, canvas – some of these items I have not attempted to use before, but I am inspired to try them now. This is one magazine I will refer to again and again. I can’t wait to create some more projects.

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Review by Pomaika`i

Stampington & Company publishes a number of best-selling publications, including Somerset Studio, The Stampers' Sampler, Belle Armoire and Art Doll Quarterly. The Stampington Family of publications provide a unique way for professional artists and craft-hobbyists to find common ground and share information and their creations with each other.

Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 is a special publication that follows the Stampington tradition of pages and pages of gorgeous full color photographs of a variety of creative mixed-media pieces. Along with over 190 pages of eye-candy, you will find 15 full length articles, 26 mini-articles and 11 projects featured in the "Special Book" Section". There are no advertisements within the body of the magazine to distract you, they are all at the back, and I have to say are just as beautiful as the main content.

I was looking forward to getting my copy of Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008. I loved the Winter Gallery 2008 and was interested to see what new and wonderful creations were in store. I wasn't disappointed. This issue really ROCKed! I have been interested in house shaped projects for a while now. I haven't tried one yet, but I enjoyed the many articles such as "The Doll House" by Lisa Patterson, and an altered birdhouse named "Lizard's Lair" by Karen Campbell. Nancy Gene Armstrong wrote a full length article about her house album which had the theme "Chairs." I was fascinated by her journey, from finding a 1888 furniture catalog to her finished project, a house shaped album with a story about people and their chairs.

Don't get me wrong, if houses aren't your thing, there are tons of different themes to chose from. For instance, Sandra Evertson wrote an article titled "Mother Goose Memory Boxes" which takes you through the process of creating some sweet little boxes and even includes 4 full color cut out pages so that you can create your very own boxes! There are little paper dresses on wire hangers, an altered shoe, even a really cool "petrified" beret by Jennifer Campbell that took first place at Paris in My Soul, Portland, Oregon. If you ever suffer from lack of mojo, all you have to do is pick up your Summer 2008 Somerset Studio Gallery, open a page at random and you have instant inspiration!

When I go through my magazines, I usually have a supply of sticky note paper available to mark the projects I would like to try first. My book has at least 20 note papers sticking out of it, and I was only trying to find two projects to start with. With over 400 new papercrafting and mixed-media projects to choose from, I will have enough inspiration to last me through the rest of the year and very likely longer than that!

In preparation for my first project, I chose two articles. Tawnya Romig-Foster's; Lost, Found, Reuse, and Use It Up, and Kim Allen's; "Write Now, Bind Later". These two articles spoke to me because they have to do with journals. Art journals and written journals. I have been wanting to get back into my journaling habit. I have been creating numerous journals for friends, family, and for sale, but I haven't done anything about filling in the pages of my own journal. This was the chance for me to do some playing.

Tawnya Romig-Foster's article spoke about creating the physical journal, lots of different sizes and shapes of papers. She ends with the challenge, "produce art on each page, using the existing size of the pages. Alter only the surface..."

Kim Allen ends her article with some ideas for writing in your journal. For instance, "no editing as you go, write without fear and write it down!" Like Kim, I remember so well when I write things down right away. I can take myself to that place and that moment in time with my written descriptions, but only if I write it down NOW! Usually I think I'll remember what I want to write for later, but alas, the ideas are gone!

I had a blast decorating and writing in my journal. When I was coloring with my watercolor crayons or doodling with my colored pens, I kept thinking to myself what wonderful therapy this is! Why haven't I done this sooner?

Journal
Products used: Inspiration (Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008)
Patterned Paper (Rusty Pickle)
Stickers (Karen Foster)
Pens (EK Success, Sakura, Sharpie)
Watercolor Crayons (Lyra)
Stamps (Inkadinkadoo, Club Scrap, Inque Boutique, Queen Kat)
Ink (Ranger, Adirondak)
Other (Binder Rings)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

It was easy to figure out what I wanted to do for my second project when I saw "Art Box" by Dona Salazar on page 11. This reminded me of my unfinished Aotearoa (New Zealand) album which has a cover not unlike Donna's box. I used some scrap patterned paper as a background, took two of my favorite 5 x 7" photos, our luggage tag and some Polynesian tatoo (the kind you use water to transfer onto skin) and collaged the items onto my album cover with Mod Podge. I added the fern charm which is perfect for Aotearoa, and I was done. My album now has a wonderful cover!

Aotearoa
Products used: Inspiration (Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008)
Album (SEI)
Patterned Paper (Sonnets)
Charm (Making Memories)
Stickers (CK)
Adhesive (Mod Podge)

Thank you Stampington for putting out another stellar publication! Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2008 is a must have for all papercrafters and mixed-media lovers whether you create or just like to look. The instructions on every project makes it easy to use this magazine as inspiration for learning new techniques or for creating something beautiful! Each project is so different. What a wealth of art in one place, and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home! I think that this magazine would be a wonderful addition to your library of inspiration no matter what skill level you are. There is something for everyone within these pages. Happy Creating!

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