Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I'm not new to stamping, but with all the new products that have come out since I demo'd stamps in craft stores, I may as well be a newbie. I've recently begun crossing over into paper and stamping arts from polymer clay and this is the book I should have bought, first, because I could have saved myself some trouble and wasted materials if I'd had all this information in front of me. :) It's a BIG book, chock-full of beautiful pictures and easy to follow instructions and fabulous ideas, many of which are news to me and many of which are not new, but were forgotten. It's good to be reminded that sometimes the simplest things can provide effective and beautiful results. The techniques for any given project can be migrated to other projects with maybe just a change of ink type or the addition of embossing powder. Very good basic information and lots of more advanced techniques and ideas. Well worth the purchase price and sure to stay in my workroom for quite a while before I exhaust the ideas in it that I want to pursue. This is the best paper arts book I own. :) Zig
Rating:
Summary: Stamp Artist's Project Book
Review: If you mentioned stamp art to me a few years ago, I would have pictured the words "Thank you" or "Paid in Full" stamped across my lumber yard receipt, or some cute little print of a smiley face on a child's homework put there by a teacher. Was I ignorant!
I have progressed a little, but apparantly, before I saw this book, I was still out of it. The Stamp Artist's Project Book taught me that stamp art can be gorgeous, freaky, artsy, delicate, primitive, ornate . . . and it's not just for paper! I had no idea that you could stamp on metal, wood, leather, clay or velvet, etc. with sponges, leaves, styrofoam, erasers, dead fish (for real!) and a bunch of other stuff. I did not know that there are substances that allow you to make impressions of leaves, plants, burlap, purchased stamps, buttons, beads or, I suppose, even your ear or the bottom of a shoe to stamp designs with.
For the beginner, this book is necessarily thorough. It contains the basics, such as tools and materials needed for different types of projects, explanations of a variety of techniques, and step-by-step instructions for each project with finished products beautifully illustrated in full-color photographs. It contains templates for a few projects as well as dozens of supplier, magazine and other resource listings.
Four dozen artists contributed to this book, and you know they offered their best. There is not a "so so" project in the book, though of course, not all styles will suit all stampers.
From my budget's standpoint, this is an expensive book, but for the beginner who really wants an education, or the experienced stamper who will enjoy and benefit from the inspiration over and over, it's worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Gorgeous photos, but very sketchy instructions
Review: The pictures are beautiful -- but the directions are vague, at best. For example, there is a lovely "wedding gift box" pictured -- but it doesn't even give a clue what type of "cardstock box" to buy or make, what width ribbon or how to make the loops, what kind of beads to use or how to arrange them. The ENTIRE directions consist of: "Fold up the box and tie together with ribbon. Add decorative beads and silk roses". Likewise, much of the book contains very faint grey print, which would prove intolerable for anyone without sharp vision. And some of the photos are very fuzzy (which is particularly difficult in a book with such sketchy directions). I still like the book, but it is more like a gallery (and often a fuzzy gallery) than a how-to book.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous photos, but very sketchy instructions
Review: The pictures are beautiful -- but the directions are vague, at best. For example, there is a lovely "wedding gift box" pictured -- but it doesn't even give a clue what type of "cardstock box" to buy or make, what width ribbon or how to make the loops, what kind of beads to use or how to arrange them. The ENTIRE directions consist of: "Fold up the box and tie together with ribbon. Add decorative beads and silk roses". Likewise, much of the book contains very faint grey print, which would prove intolerable for anyone without sharp vision. And some of the photos are very fuzzy (which is particularly difficult in a book with such sketchy directions). I still like the book, but it is more like a gallery (and often a fuzzy gallery) than a how-to book.
Rating:
Summary: A must have book for the serious stamper.
Review: The Stamp Artist's Project Book is the perfect book for the stamper who is looking for the latest cutting-edge techniques that incorporates other materials such as metal, wood, beach glass and Creative Paperclay and Polymer Clay in to their stamped artistry. Each page is fully illustrated which includes required materials as well as tips to inspire your creativity. I have been stamping for 13 years and I thoughly enjoyed making many of the unusal projects in the book.
Rating:
Summary: lots of ideas....very poor photography
Review: This book is chock full of ideas but they are poorly documented. Sketchy directions and poor photography. It's so annoying when a full page photo has a 1" area in focus. It's obvious that these are studio photos so what's with the limited depth of field?? To be honest, a subscriber to Somerset Studio would have seen many of these ideas already and they aren't really NEW ideas. Most experienced stampers/paper artists will have dabbled with these things already. A nice book which could have been better.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!!
Review: This book is full of wonderful and unusual ideas for using rubber stamps. From the usual stamping on paper, to making fabric pillow beads, stamping on wood and much much more. There's even a few pages on unusual stamping sources such as fish (not for me), crayola model magic, packing foam and more, and also includes information on carving your own stamps. Anyone looking for a creative outlet for their stamping would love this book. It has so many great ideas for beautiful and unusual gifts that anyone would love to receive. Ideas range from stamped frames, framed artwork, candles, vases, boxes, books...and on and on. It's one of my favorites, and I have ALOT of stamping and papercrafting books.
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