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Hi there everyone!!
I'm fairly new to stamping (have been doing it since August, but I really jumped in head first). Through eBay, 3 demos, and a whole lot of moola, I've made myself a collection of, I'd say...about 50 sets, buying everything that I thought was "cute." But, I'm finding that my "cute" stamps, though nice to look at, are not necessarily the most functional stamps. I'd like to get some opinions from well-seasoned stampers as to what are THE ESSENTIAL must-have sets. Any ideas?
Are you using just Stampin Up or demo stamps? Don't limit yourself and it's not just the stamps - a few sets can be really versatile!! I would opt for some of the fun tools and accesories to make the best use of time and money! The lovely as a tree set from SU is always a favorite!
Look for Greetings and backgrounds too.
Backgrounds:
Weathered Wood
Linen or Aida cloth
and Tres Chic - love this one!! - you can stamp the words to use separately
Greetings:
All Holidays and Sincere Salutations are good general ones
Right now I really like Peaceful wishes - not cutesy but can be elegant, contemporary or traditional. I think one of the label sets would be great too...like labelicious!
Good luck - let us see what you're making!
__________________ Elaine ~ A_Place_For_Ink / Stamp Connoissuer A Place for Ink!
I like Wonderful Words and Wonderful Words II. There also was another set of 4 that I think was in a mini-catalog that was also the large script. I use all of those often.
My favorite two sets are Lovely as a Treeand Heartfelt Thanks. So many uses for both of them.
I think its a tough question to answer. Everyone has their own tastes so you probably would be better off looking at the gallery and seeing which sets 'speak to you'. Of course I'll throw in my two cents lol! I think a couple of background stamps (Canvas, Aida, etc) are good essentials as well as some sentiment or words stamps. I also love the Baroque Motif set and think its versatile for cards and scrapbook pages. Also enjoy looking at other companies for variety...like Papertrey. I love love love PT stuff - just got my order today in fact!
Great question! I wish I would have asked this before spending a lot of my money on trendy or cute sets that I didn�t end up using much and thus ended up trading!
Let me start off by admitting that I am *addicted* to phrase sets. I feel like having the perfect sentiment is just so critical to a card. I know that I�m very particular about that while most people are not. Anyway, that�s just my opinion, s take it for what it�s worth. I just wanted to tell you so you�d know why there are so many phrase sets listed here:
All Holidays � the title sums that one up, I think!
Sincere Salutations - I'm *always* reaching for this one, it has a greeting for every occasion
Happy Everything � Ditto above
Warm Words � This one is also great for a lot of different occasions, but it�s smaller, so it fits into smaller places than the other sets. Several even fit in our hodgepodge.
In My Thoughts � Perfect for using on the inside of cards
Baroque Motifs - This one is new, but I think it will also become timeless, it's just so versatile. I reach for it again and again
Blossoms Abound or Wild Rose or Serene Sunflower � Just a good, realistic looking flower set. It�s feminine and versatile.
Headline Alpha � Great for name frames, scrapbooking, etc.
Rough Edges Alpha � I use this one a lot. It�s great to put names and such inside of hodgepodge
Lovely as a Tree � This is a classic! Makes great masculine cards and sympathy cards � two toughies for me.
Wild About You � Great versatile set for kids - both boys and girls � babies and older kids.
I�m Here � If you do a lot of baby-related stuff, this one is perfect for either gender and I think it is also timeless.
With Gratitude � I have its predecessor, Autumn Leaf Prints and I think it is akin to �Lovely as a Tree� � great for masculine or sympathy cards as well as anything fall related
Linen BG - Again, versatile, and I think it adds just the right touch of texture.
Weathered BG � It�s also a classic. And I've read recently that it can be used in a faux cracked glass technique.
Polka Dot BG � This one is also new, but I can see it sticking around for a while.
Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel �This one is also new, but I think it�s also going to be around for a while. It adds a nice texture.
Speckled Jumbo Wheel � Ditto above
Hope that helps!
__________________ ~*~ Clara ~*~ If you can think it, you can ink it!
Heartfelt Thanks
Canvas -background
Watercolor Garden
Wonderful words
Warm Words
It also depends on where you are in your life... I have 2 toddler boys and am in a mommy's group where everyone is getting pregnant, so among those above, I would add:
I think it's nice to have the "classic" stamsp - ones with realistic images. My favorites:
Lovely as a Tree - makes great masculine cards too
Natural Beauty - retired
A nice floral - anything that you like would work. Heartfelt Thanks is a good choice, or the retired Petal Prints.
I also love backgrounds. My favorites are:
Print Pattern
Sanded
Paisley/Floral (you don't need both to start but they are both fabulous!!)
And then one good sentiment stamp. I love Warmest Regards - a retired hostess set from last year. I bet you could find it on eBay.
I also LOVE papertrey sets. Their sentiment set is fabulous and I can't seem to get enough of Little Ladies and Beautiful Blooms.
Good luck....it's so hard when you start because you want everything!!
Good luck....it's so hard when you start because you want everything!!
It's still hard, even when you are not so new. I still want everything! LOL
I agree with others, I think it all depends on your personal style. Here are a few of my current favorites:
Linen background
Baroque Motif
Priceless
a good Snowflake set
Big and Little Pieces
Location: VA. But my heart is split between the U.S. and Guatemala!
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A good idea (as somebody already mentioned) is to look at the gallery. I would first look at a catalog and see which sets appeal to you, and then go over to the gallery. Some sets are very versatile while others are not. For example, I bought Brocade Basics, and I can't come up with many ideas. If you look at the gallery for this set, you can see that there aren't that many cards. On the other hand if you look at a set like Heartfelt Thanks, you will see tons of ideas.
Good luck!
__________________ Carmen My Gallery We can't all be morning people! My blog
I think once upon a time there was a thread about "if you could only have 5 sets what would they be". I'm happy to say my list has not changed all that much since that thread.
1. Lovely as a Tree (I just made a card with it last night and, as I said on my blog, if I had my way every stamp room in the country (and maybe the whole world) would have this stamp set in it.
2. Sincere Salutations -- the mixture of fonts means it can work for both elegant and more casual cards.
3. A good "texture" background. I would still probably choose Linen, but Aida, Sanded or Ity Bitty Backgrounds would be good alternatives.
4. A nice floral -- since burst into bloom is retired I think I would choose Serene Sunflower, which has a bonus of a really nice sentiment right in the set.
5. An Animal set --I would probably recommend Wild About you (though I personally do not own it) but Silly Sealife and Zoofari would be good alternatives.
And if you had room for one more I'd recommend Fun and Fast notes -- a great all occasion set that has images + sentiments which can be mounted separately for double duty!
I'd add Greetings Galore (fast way to make all kinds of different cards), lovely as a tree, and watercolor minis (if you like to make your own landscape cards).
Also, not from SU, but a nice acrylic letter set so you can make your own messages.
One factor to consider is your preference for solid images or line-art images. Do you like to stamp and you're done or stamp then color? Do you have a variety of color of inks or a few basics/neutrals to chalk or watercolor your image? Most stampers lean one way or the other and it is reflected in their lists of favorites.
Mary Beth
A versatile flower set like Pick-a-Petal or Heartfelt Thanks
A nice nature set like Lovely as a Tree
An "interesting" set like Big & Little Pieces or Seeing Spots
A multipurpose greeting set like Sincere Salutations
A couple of versatile background stamps for texture like Linen, Aida or Canvas and Weathered or the new script one.
If you need to make kids cards, something with "cute" stamps like Bugs & Kisses, Wild About You or Unfroggettable.
THE ESSENTIAL Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets
