I love being able to plan stops at various stamp and scrapbook stores while travelling. I took my first trip up north for the first time in 2 years in late September. The driving was slow going with lots of stops due to the back, but I made the best of it and got a few nice stops in.
On the way up, I got to make an extra long stop at The Queen's Ink in Savage, MD. I had been to the store before, but it was several years ago when they were in another town a bit closer to my family i
n Clinton, MD. The store was also much smaller than it is now. They are located in Historic Savage Mill which is a very unique shopping area as it seemed to me there were many shops that were artisan related in one way or another.
n Clinton, MD. The store was also much smaller than it is now. They are located in Historic Savage Mill which is a very unique shopping area as it seemed to me there were many shops that were artisan related in one way or another. 
The shop was a lot of fun, I took bunches of pictures, and got to talk to the owner (who was wearing the crown in honor of her birthday), and one of the workers who was there that day. The Queen's Ink carries tons of different stamp companies and has so many samples of simplistic stamping as well as altered art style stamping. Lots to keep one busy for more hours than I was there! Here is a link to her website: http://www.queensink.com.
My favorite find in The Queen's Ink was a trio of Design Originals books for Zentangling. I got Zentangle Basics, Zentangle 3 and Totally Tangled. If you aren't familiar with it, Zentangle is a form of doodling. There's a whole system to how it's done, but by "sectioning" off your paper, you create repetative patterns within those sections that ultimately give you a completed project. It is really neat, addictive and yet creativity at it's simplest. Google the word and you will find all kinds of websites to help you learn this technique. The owner recently completed the Master Zentangle course. Give her a call at 301-497-9449 if you would like to get supplies, books, or sign up for classes at the store. To see a couple of samples of Zentangling, click on the Classes tab, click on a month, then click on any of the Zentangle classes, and scroll down to see the the samples. The best part of this hobby is that you could travel with all your Zentangle supplies in a pencil box! Finally, hubby won't complain about dragging tons of stuff when we travel that he claims I won't/don't work on. I do... he just doesn't realize I do. :-)
I leave you with The Queen's Ink "Q." This picture turned out pretty good, but i
t looks much "richer" in person. I think it's poymer clay, but not sure and it's BIG. Not gigantic, just big. Very pretty though and befitting of this "Queenly" store.
t looks much "richer" in person. I think it's poymer clay, but not sure and it's BIG. Not gigantic, just big. Very pretty though and befitting of this "Queenly" store.Happy stamping til the next time!
