A Stencil Club Sunday…

Hi there

It’s been a working Sunday here for me, although making artwork for the February Clarity Stencil Club is hardly a slog, is it?? I had a great time, and I’m going to break with tradition, and actually SHOW you a little bit of what I made today. It’s just a little peep, and Jane has done something super lovely too. But you get the flavour of what it’s about…

Usually, we keep quiet about which stamps, stencils or Groovi plates are being launched each month in the clubs, but this month – for the first time – I have decided to give you a little preview of the February Stencil. Why? Simply put, I would like more people to join our club! You get so much for so little, and I sometimes wonder whether people who have never been in the clubs actually know!

Making the project art is only a little part of the whole club process, and at the risk of boring you, I am going to tell you what goes into the clubs. Ready? Let’s stick with the Stencil Club.

1. We design a stencil. That’ll be Lisa or Jazz usually
2. Prototypes are made and tested by Lisa
3. If good to go, Jane Telford and I receive a stencil each.
4. We discuss colour and make sure we don’t do the same technique.
5. We each make a project, taking step by step photos as we go.
6. We show each other and the team what we’ve done.
7. We then each write out the step by step instructions.
8. We submit the projects for photography to Jim
9. Jilly and I mock up the project booklet
10. Pete and I proof read it.
11. I write a monthly newsletter
12. Pete adds the events page for the coming month, and checks my spelling!
13. Lisa goes into production, making and packing the stencils.
14. Lisa prints and folds all the booklets
15. Lisa prints and folds the newsletter
16. Sue and Linda collate and assign the monthly instalments to the club members. Some are in one club, two clubs or three clubs. This takes some organisation!
17. The envelopes are franked and dispatched.

Now swap the word stencil for stamp, and repeat. Now swap the word Stamp for Groovi, and repeat. Linda Williams designs the Groovi plates and does a Groovi project, which takes the heat off me project-wise.

But you can easily see that there is a lotalotalotawork goes into each project club every month. No sooner have we dispatched one month, than the next month is on the table – and off we go again!

Plus of course, if you join, not only do you receive a monthly stencil and double-project booklet, but there’s the instant 1-club 10%, 2-club 12.5% and 3-club 15% discount off all orders placed all year for members. AND the half price exclusive sale just for Club members (coming up in February)

Here’s the link to the website, if you would like to know more. HERE. Our valued club members are the backbone of our business. Those annual subscriptions are what keep us afloat, and we appreciate their regular support so much.

If you are in our Clarity Clubs, please tell us below what you think. Value for money? Good quality? Reliable? Informative? Useful? We certainly put a lot of effort into it!

Once the work has been done, it’s a numbers game. We have to do the same ground work for 100 members or 1000 members. So the more subscriptions the better. Since C&C folded, we are totally self-sufficient – and our Clarity Club is even more important than ever.

If you were wondering whether or not it’s worth it, I’m going to rely on our club members to give us an honest review below.

Love always.

Barb xxx

See you in the SHAC tomorrow at 10am. Then at 2pm. I’m getting some smashing stamps out of the cupboard – perfect for this time of year. Something light and fresh.