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Tuesday 14 August 2012

Feeling Nostalgic With Stamps

                                                       Well, hello there!

Time for a post don't you think?! Been thinking about a comeback for while but wanted to showcase something new instead of designs you had already seen before. So welcome back! Take a look around and have a seat, you may need to dust it off a bit, as you can see it's been a little while since I was here........

So stamps..................seriously Camilla you have been gone for ages and you are going to talk to us about stamps?!..................well, yea I am.....

Don't worry my thirst for crafting hasn't been quenched by philately (stamp collecting, don't you know!) but rather combined............not that I could actually even call myself a philatelist, just an admirer I suppose. However saying that my Grandfather used to collect stamps so maybe it's just in the blood and a glimpse of further things to come? 

Some of my many stamps

One day last year I was in an Oxfam book shop and just as I was buying my knitting books I noticed a little basket full of bags of stamps. How cute I thought, so I bought a couple and when I got home they got muddled up with all my other crafting supplies never to be seen again. That was until one day I decided to tidy up (good procrastination technique to avoid university work!) 

I stumbled across the stamps and decided I must use them, and as you should know by now one of my favourite mediums to use is resin, so why not combine the two? And that is exactly what I did. I have to admit it was more fiddly than I expected but I got there in the end. Of course as we already know my uni course kind of got in the way of my crafting and therefore the stamps once again got tossed to the back of a cupboard or box and forgotten about. 

Stamps!
My recent redundancy from my part time job partnered with no more classes at uni has resulted in me having a lot more time to do crafts............well actually no..........that is not really true. The big D (dissertation) is always nagging at me but let's just say I have more time than I used to. So commence the craft room tidy and the re discovery of the stamps, I swear its like Christmas every couple of months when I decide to tidy! But being a crafter and liking to collect things my thirst for stamps grew which caused me to go and get more, now I have a lot of stamps ranging from Hungary to India and the UK and from the 1940s to the present day. Enter Camilla geeky stamp collector....... I don't actually know anything about stamps but they are pretty colourful and like mini paintings which we all see everyday but pretty much ignore (mental note, start looking at letters for stamps). 

The stamps which I like the best however are ones with the postmarks on them. There is a sort of romantic notion when you see the date and location. What was posted? A love letter? A Christmas card? A letter from a long lost friend? I think stamps are nostalgic and romantic, they remind us of time pre internet and emails when people took the time (or not) to put pen to paper. The designs don't just echo this but also reflects the country throughout the ages through a variety of seasons and fads. 

Think I'll stop before my love goes too far, I think the Olympics and the sense of British pride has been oozed through all the media and leaked into my brain.

Anyway here showcases what happens when stamps meet the resin. These jewellery pieces are not only vintage inspired but have helped to catch that moment in time, just like a photograph. I even came across some stamp designed fabric which boosted me into creating fabric made jewellery and accessories.


When resin met stamps
Vintage stamp inspired necklaces

Now is an exciting time for Camilla-Erika, the craft hibernation is truly over and I'm bursting with new ideas to try out. I will be continuing to work with resin but will also be branching out into fabric made jewellery and hopefully branch even further out into homeware. My folksy shop is getting updated and will soon be crammed full of goodies. I know it's only August but come on its getting close to Christmas, maybe just start thinking about buying Christmas gifts and come to http://www.folksy.com/shops/CamillaErika to get them!

Stamps with resin and stamp fabric necklaces and brooch
Stamp Heart Bezel Rings
Vintage 1972 stamp necklace


Enjoy the new designs and let me know what you think!
Camilla
xxxx

P.S It's good to be back!!! :) :) :)