MILESTONES!

Milestones occur daily, and we must make the most of them, no matter how BIG, no matter how small.

No matter how Happy, no matter how sad. Everything from babies birth's to the first steps, the first days of school, to graduations. Weddings, to anniversaries, to promotions to retirement.

Back in 1954, this was a milestone of sorts for me. It was the day my parents (top photo) got married, and my Mother's parents (bottom photo) stood up for them. A day full of hopes and dreams, happiness and sadness, and dreams of days to come.

Today is also one of those days! No, nothing quite as spectacular as a wedding, but a milestone for me, none the less.

THIS IS THE 100TH POST TO OUR BLOG THAT I HAVE DONE AT STAMP ANTONIO ARTS!

I am so amazed that it is post number 100 already, and I have been having so much fun trying to post weekly, so that you all will be able to keep up with all of the fun things that are happening at Stamp Antonio. Sometimes I have fallen down in keeping things current, but hopefully you that check in from time to time will forgive me anyway.

This coming weekend, May 2, 2009, is National Scrapbooking Day across the nation, but at Stamp Antonio Arts it's AMUSE DAY! That's right, Geeta Suggs will be back at Stamp Antonio this Saturday, with a day full of card making mayhem with the ever popular Amuse line of rubber stamps! Geeta will hold three classes,

two card making classes, and another of the Copic Marker classes that only she teaches so well. You may check our web page for more information, or call the store at 210-342-6217 to reserve a space in one or all of these wonderful classes! Be sure to sign up early, because if you wait until the last minute, the class may no longer be available!

I want to personally thank all of you that follow this blog for your feedback, and for those of you who just found us, "what took you so long?"

Welcome to Stamp Antonio Arts!

Mindy and the Team at Stamp Antonio Arts

Metal Effects Cross Class!

(photo courtesy of Cindy Lyons) (click on photo to see larger image)


Last Saturday, April 18,2009 our own Carol Condos held a Metal Effects Class at Stamp Antonio Arts, and her students embossed these wonderful Crosses using the products available from Ten Seconds Studios. The works of art that come out of these classes are just awesome, and every class gets better and better. You may remember seeing in this blog about the tumblers and wall clocks that were decorated with this metal in previous blog posts, and now these wonderful crosses. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

If you are really interested in this Metal Effects art form, be sure to check out the web site for Ten Seconds Studios, and their Taco Tuesday videos that they do each week. The link is in the sidebar for your convenience. They really do some creative things with the metal and their templates. If you see something in the videos or on their site that you are dying to try, we do carry most of their products at Stamp Antonio, so you can come right on over and pick up some supplies. If Carol is here that day, she will even give you a mini-lesson to get you started creating some of these metal wonders.

Well, it's FIESTA Time again in San Antonio! and everyone is partying like there is no tomorrow! Parades, and floats, foods of all types from oysters to jalepenos, carnival rides, games of chance, all week with folks dressed up in the most colorful and outrageous outfits you can imagine. . . . . . . . if you haven't experienced FIESTA before, be sure and do so this week! If you want to share your experiences with love ones who don't live here, why not send them a card made with stamps from Stamp Antonio Arts. We have several different types of stamps that can be used for Fiesta type cards, and we even have samples to show you how you can decorate your own card, and even include a photo showing how much FUN you had here at the city-wide party. Be sure to stop by this week and experience a little Fiesta Fun at Stamp Antonio Arts. And don't forget. . . . . . . . . . . GO SPURS GO!

Mindy and the Team at Stamp Antonio Arts

Bluebonnets. . . . Have you seen any?

Bluebonnets are usually everywhere you look this time of year! But when you don't get rain at the right time of the year, the little things just don't have much of a chance to pop out and bloom.

Have you seen any bluebonnets this year? This photo is courtesy of our friend, Mark Jetton, of Deadbeat Designs stamps. He took a Road Trip one day, and had to go all the way over to East Texas to find some blooming along the highways like we usually see around here in Central Texas near San Antonio.



If you are looking for bluebonnets, you don't have to waste gas driving all over the state to find them. We have plenty here at Stamp Antonio Arts, thanks again to Mark Jetton and Deadbeat Design Stamps. He introduced three new sizes of bluebonnet stamps this spring, and even sent us a wonderful paper bag mini book decorated with the new flower stamps and some of his photos. I taught a class of this mini book last week, and we had so much fun, stamping and coloring bluebonnets for our own books. Drop by the store anytime to see these wonderful NEW Bluebonnet Stamps, along with ideas on how to decorate your home or a card with our State Flower of TEXAS! And of course, we have lots of Stickles to add just the right amount of twinkle to each one.


I also wanted to mention that we received a new line of invitations, response cards, menu cards, and place cards in various sizes from American Crafts. There are 4 Theme's available; a Damask design flocked in black on white stock; a silver metallic flourish design on cream stock; a pink glittered rose bud on white stock, and a green branch with leaves on cream stock. Each theme comes in the different sizes of invitations and such, and would be beautiful for any occasion, party, or get-together. Our own, Jane Smith, is having a class this Saturday, April 18, 2009 making various invitations for all types of get-togethers. If you are planning an event, and think you might be interested in making your own invitations, rather than spending lots of $$$$$$$$ to have them done somewhere else, you may want to come by and sign up for Jane's class and let her show you how you can save money and time by doing them yourself. You may even enjoy the time you spend working on them and be proud to say, "I made them myself!"

We hope to see you soon.

Mindy and the Team at Stamp Antonio Arts

It's Almost BUNNY TIME!

Hi blogger friends! It has been such a busy week around here at Stamp Antonio. We have been busily trying to get the new class calendar up on the web site, and the samples for April classes out at the store. Along with getting in lots of new merchandise, and rearranging some of the older stuff, we did get in more of the NEW Somerset magazines, "MARIE" which debuted this month, and "STUFFED" which debuted last month in which our own artist in residence Linda Rael had TWO projects published. Both of these new magazines sold out almost immediately when we got them in originally. (so they MUST be good!)

We also got in some of the new Tim Holtz ideaology line, Grungepaper, metal peices, clips, pins, and sprockets. We also received some of the new colors of Alcohol Inks - Lights and Brights, but they were gone before I ever got them worked out on the counter. Another order has been placed, and will arrive shortly. (I will keep you posted when they come in!) The new Alcohol inks also look awesome on Carol's Metal Effects projects!

"Bunny Time" is just around the corner, (April 12, 2009) and we still have a great assortment of chickies, bunnies, and eggs for your Easter stamping. We also have a few of the Holly Berry House multi layer Cross stamps that when stamped multiple times, you can make a great dimensional decoration, that would look good on the front of a card. Susan Casto will be having an Easter Make-N-Take this Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm using the Rubber Stamp Tapestry line of peg stamps. Jane Smith will be conducting a Spring/Easter card class on Saturday, April 4, 2009 using the Outlines Rubber Stamps. Her class will make 4 cards and is just $25 for three hours of stamping fun, between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm. Call 342-6217 at once to register for this class if you are interested.

My class will be making a cute as pie Bluebonnet Paper Bag Book this Saturday, April 4, 2009, from 2:30 till 4:30 pm. This little book is made from paper lunch bags, and will hold photos of your favorite wildflowers or "wild"grandchildren. We will be stamping bluebonnets and other Texas type stamps from Deadbeat Designs throughout the book, and bluebonnet photos will be provided for each student. This class is only $15, but class size is limited to 12 students, so sign up early if this class interests you.

Well, I guess it's time for me to hop, hop, hop, on over to the Bunny Patch and prepare more special surprises for our customers. Every day is exciting at Stamp Antonio Arts, and you never know what merchandise will come rolling in the door! Stop by sometime and see what we mean. We will look forward to showing you around. . . . . . .

Mindy and the Team at Stamp Antonio Arts