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Does anyone have any of these and what do you think of them? I LOVE the SU Headline alphabet but am not sure that I would use it that much. MM has something very similar for 16.99 Cdn, compare to 57.95 Cdn for the Headline! I was trying to justify the Headline by thinking that the kids could use it for projects but now I'm not sure. Please help!
hi! yes i have the MM foam alphabets and am pleased with them. why don't you try out the foam alphabet see how much you use those and if you are a frequent user invest in SU ! hope that helped....
__________________ ;) peace , love , and jelly beans...
I just got one at AC Moore with a coupon. I've only played with it a little, and I'm sure I'll find something I can't do with it, but at $6, you can't beat the price. I say get the MM one, especially if you can find it on sale!
I just went to my local scrapbooking store to investigate the MM alphabets for that exact reason. I love the Headline Alpha but it is extremely expensive. Turns out you can only use their paints with them and not ink pads (acording to the sales rep). They were selling packs of 5 paints for $19.99 CDN so with the $13.99 for the letters, the cost for them is escalating too. I'm not used to the look of the painted letters either - I tend to like the inked ones better myself. I decided not to get the MM letters and to hold out until I host a party and use the hostess benefits towards the Headline. Hope this helps you make the decision.
i mean when you pay 13.99 for some foam stamps remember that the quality is not going to be great. i used mine quite a bit at first but with each use they got worse. ex: the dot over the i fell off. also, you have to clean with soap and water after every use and it's so much trouble that i rarely use them anymore. (guess the scrub has spoiled me) I agree with the post above that you could get the MM set. try it out with some acrylic paint from WM before investing in the MM paint. if you find yourself reaching for the MM alpha then maybe you can justify investing the the more expensive, better quality SU! alpha. hth
The mess factor with the MM alphas keeps me from pulling them out more often. Like a previous poster mentioned, you have to clean them with water. Also, as mentioned you have to use paint, which to me is way more time consuming than rubber stamping with ink pads. And lastly, I don't love the way it "feels" when I'm stamping with them. I've yet to use them on a completed project, just played around with them a few times and every time got discouraged. I'm used to stamping with rubber and ink so I felt like the paint and foam wanted to slide around when I was stamping.
I bought them just before SU came out with their bigger alphas. So yes, I will probably end up buying at least one of the SU alphas so I can have a big alpha for use with ink pads. I really do think I will be happier with those and use them more often.
I never thought to use ink but I am going to try. I love the new headline set but I also think it is a little pricey and I do have the MM ones and I have only used them a handful of times. I say try the MM ones and if you love and can't live without, go for the SU ones!!!
I use them with ink all the time. The owner of the scrapbook store I frequent told me that MM recently made changes to the glue they were using so the letters don't fall off anymore. I have an older set and have had the same problems mentioned above - every time I tried to clean them the letters would peel up. Evidently that's not the case with the sets that came out recently (like in the last month or so).
They probably don't make as clear an image as the wood mounted sets, but the price is right and they look fine with the distressed look. I really like using them with ink and paint.
Well, I've never used mine with paint but use it with ink and it's just fine. I do clean with soap and water but that's because I'm anal about wanting them in as close to their original condition as possible.
I recently got the MM Philedelphia set because I was in a class where they used it with the MM paint. I LOVED the way it looked with the paint. Very different look then the ink. I ordered the alpha set on line for $9. Again it is a different look but that is exactly what I like to see. Would be very boring to see same ol same ol.....
You don't have to purchase the MM paints ya know.. you can use any kind of acrylics and they work just as well. I use foam stamps with ink all the time.
I have several of these, and I've used them with both ink and paint without a problem. And, FYI, you don't need to use soap and water to clean them, since that could loosen the glue. I use a baby wipe, and it works great! No mess at all! And all of my letters are fine.
I have the headline set from SU and I have used it alot in the past 6 weeks. I love them and wouldn't trade them for anything. I think they are more than worth the money. Not sure about the foam sets I have never used them.
Happy Stamping!
Leslee
I have one of the sets too and I love it. I use acrylic paints with it and the craft pads from SU. Works great...and they are perfect for collage pages and cards! They come with the numbers too...so the price really is good.
I hope this isn't a hijack. I have strong feelings about this, so please excuse or ignore me if you don't agree. I've had the philadelphia set for a while and I really loved it at first. I've used it with craft pads, versamark, and paint. Here's what I don't care for:
1. They soak up a lot of ink when you use them on craft pads. So much ink gets wasted. It kinda bothers me.
2. The storing issue. They are bulky and in order to use them I have to spill them out of their little container, spread out, find the required letters, put back in container carefully.
3. Cleaning. I have to haul them all the way to the bathroom to wash them off each time I use them, then lay them out on the table for a while for them to dry before putting them away.
I love the look, but in application it has been a pain. I'm going to get my "tall" rubber alphabet from club scrap. They have the "big and tall" alphabet in unmounted rubber. Here's a link:
That with a sheet of EZ Mount for 2.75. I'll get the upper and numbers for about the cost of just the upper with Stampin Up. Plus they are a full 3" tall-- taller than the stampin up version.
They also have the upper available in a special kit.
The kit is 44.98. It comes with alphabet, a mounting system, some acrylic paint, 20 sheets of paper, a 24 pack of pressboard chips, and an idea sheet that gives projects.
For me, these unmounted systems are just so much better with alphabets. I can put the letters all on the block at one time and stamp the word all at once. These alphas come with multiples of the vowels so that it is easier to do this.
Club Scrap does ship to Canada. There are several canadians on the yahoo board that I am a member of. I don't know the canadian prices, but their customer service department is great. They would be glad to help I'm sure.
__________________ Life is too short: eat chocolate and stamp up a storm. It will come out OK in the end.
I have them...I use ink and paint on them. I keep a paper towel handy and stamp off all the excess and then scrub them with an old toothbrush and some water. The down fall is the storage of them...Kind of bulky but those cheapo pencil boxes are great for them... Plus if i am going to use paint with them, i apply it with a foam brush...A> it keeps the waste to a minimum B>less mess means easier clean up C> Less paint means faster drying time...I highly recommend brushing on if you're going to use paint
I say go for the rubber. Honestly, I bought a foam one for the same reason. It's a pain in the butt. It sucks with classic ink, it's hard to get clean images with craft. It's AWESOME with the MM paint....but who wants to use that every time?? Seriously, the rubber is so worth it. I bought the mm first and now I have headline and it is so much easier!! No good storage for mm either. IMO, the rubber is worth every penny! MamaK and I are totally buying Letterpress and Tall Tales (another large one in the next mini).
Personally, I like them both. SU and MM cause I like variety and the different look they (plus others stamps) give. I don't use any one product enough to be brand loyal. Depends on what look you want and how much you want to spend etc. It is all about personal preference. Sample each and the look you are going for before you decide.
I'm in the "gotta have it all" club. Also in the "spread your money everywhere" club!
Thanks so much for all the response ladies. I really appreciate all the input. I think perhaps I'll get the headline alpha next month when my demo has a hostess club special to get an ink pad free with an alpha set. This way, if the kids want to use them for projects, they won't fall apart. I'm sure the large alpha will get lots of use as there are five of them.
Here are some tips for foamstamps which I found on a scrapbooking site. (Note: these are mainly tips for use with acrylic paints.) I'm hoping to use them this week at my local scrapbook store. I like that you can apply light colours to dark paper and you'll get the true colour, something not possible with craft inks. Anyways, I hope this tips/ideas help!
Quote:
1.. Always apply paint to the foam stamp with a foam brush, not by dipping the foam stamp into the paint.
2.. For multi-coloured stamping, apply more then one colour to the foam stamp. Think of the background you could create with Heidi Swapp circle foam stamps and multi colours!!
3.. Use a mouse pad under your project where you are stamping; this cushions the impression when you stamp and helps to avoid the ridges of paint all around the outside of your stamped image.
4.. While the paint is still wet on your stamped image, add clear embossing powder and heat for a glossy look.
5.. While the paint is still wet on your stamped image, add glitter for a sparkle.
6.. Use white paint to stamp your image and when it is dry, use chalks to add faint colour to your image. You can add several colours for a rainbow type affect!
7.. After you have stamped your image with coloured paint and when it is dry, use glimmer chalks to apply a glimmer to your image.
8.. After your stamped alphabet has dried, use a black writer pen (for lighter colours) or metallic gel pen (for darker colours) to do a rough outline around the stamped image.
9.. For a more dimensional look, cut out your stamped image and use pop dots to add it to your scrapbook project.
And I like this unmounting idea!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsa1993
I turned my MM alphas into unmounted stamps. I cut them out and put aileen's tacky glue on the back and use a big acrylic block to stamp them. I haven't had a problem at all. I tried removing the white foam from the black foam and mounting them on ez mount. It was a lot harder to get the white foam off than cutting them out, but both are doable. On the acrylic block they line up just how I want them - straight or crooked. I will agree that they are harder to clean, but they were 75% less than headline alphabet.
I bought the Jersey MM alpahbet and love it. I haven't used it yet, but I have used it at my local scrapbooking store with cats' eyes inks and I love the effect.
I have a few sets of the MM alpha's. I love them. I use them with craft, classic, versamark (and emboss), but I've never tried paint. Too much work in my book. I think they are great, and cheap. I also have a few of the Davis Designs (I think thats the company) and they are good, too.
Alison
__________________ ~Alison
Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken.
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