Stamping on Saturday

As threatened promised, this week I thought I'd pass on some tips about choosing stamps.    There are so many of them out there, I find it very difficult not to just buy all of them....but if you're on a tight budget, or any budget at all really, this just isn't possible.

Or maybe you're a bit wary of buying stamps at all, because you don't know how much use you'll get out of them.  Certainly if you're a scrapbooker you might not be able to see yourself using them at all.

Stamp sets, or unmounted sheets, tend to fall into one of several categories:

Character stamps:  These are more usually sold individually, but often you'll find a set which includes several different figures, maybe some accessories, and maybe some decorative elements such as borders.  There are usually some sentiments included too.

• Why would you buy character stamps?  Well, if you like to make cards using this type of image, you've probably got plenty.  You might be attracted to a particular manufacturer such as Stamping Bella or Kraftin Kimmie, or maybe you're after something for a specific occasion such as 'get well' cards.
• What might you use them for?  Apart from making cards, this type of stamp can be used for scrapbooking - you can use a decoupage technique to make layered embellishments, for example.  This looks particularly effective with fantasy characters such as fairies, or cartoon/retro images.  I used one here:

Can you see her? 

You can also use little figures on other projects such as ATCs, for which they're a perfect size,  and if you make batches of cards for children at school, they're extremely useful!

• Is it worth buying a set/sheet of character stamps? This is a personal thing, obviously, but I think you need to look critically at what's included in the set.  If you really like a character stamp, I would suggest trying to buy one individually, as realistically you're not so likely to use the other elements in the set.  However, individual character stamps which include a sentiment or two are very useful indeed.
• In conclusion....Having said all that, I wouldn't recommend making a character stamp set your first purchase.

 

Decorative elements:  Images such as swirls, borders, medallions, flowers etc.  These are extremely useful, whatever type of project you like to make.  It's tempting, when you're trying to work out what to spend your precious pennies on, to decide that you don't need any more decorative stamps because you've already got some.  Next time you're looking for just the right swirl, or the right size circle frame, and you can't find it - make a note of it.  Decorative stamps are a good thing to look for in the sales, and a carefully chosen selection will be useful for years.

• Why would you buy decorative stamps?  They're useful for just about everything - scrapbooking, cardmaking, mixed media, journaling, and so on.  You might already have several borders or swirls as part of other sets, but look at the possibilities for using a set of images designed to go together.  Can you layer them to make floral motifs?  Could you create a frame with corners using the stamps in one set?  Are the elements interactive?  One of the best sets I've bought is the Prima Build-a-Frame set, which I've used here:

It's a simple idea - you combine the elements to make frames of any size, and there are some images which will work as corners or just decorative elements.  I've used this on ATCs as well, so it works at any size. 

• What might you use them for? Again, this are great for making embellishments on scrapbook pages.  You could use a border to make journaling cards, or buy some journaling stamps which are pretty versatile in themselves: use one underneath a flower or title to add layers, or make one into a flower centre.  Scalloped borders are very versatile - I've used them to make roof tiles, waves, and the edges of rolled flowers.  And don't get me started on swirls!  Medallions are another extremely useful design, like circles in general.  If you're a cardmaker you can use decorative stamps to make layered background papers, or to frame/accent your focal point.
• Is it worth buying a sheet/set of decorative elements?  I would say, yes!  Choose carefully, and think about starting an 'I wish I had...' list.  It's easy, particularly when a sale beckons, to forget all your good intentions and buy something a bit mad! 
• In conclusion:  I think that decorative stamp sets are great 'working' stamps that you'll use again and again.

 

Mixed sets: Probably my favourite, purely because they're such good value for money and I can often satisfy several needs at once with just one set!  A good mixed set of stamps with include the following:

A background design

One or more focal images

Decorative elements

Words/sentiments

And - if it's interactive, you've hit the jackpot! :D

 

Let me explain.....

Here's a set from Artistic Outpost, one of my favourite manufacturers

The background image in this set is the printed seed packet - but look!  On the left is a seed packet, from which you can trim the sentiments in the middle, to leave you with a frame, or you can stamp the marigold print on top of it, making a complete seed packet.  So it's also got an interactive element.  And you needn't stop there - that blank seed packet could have anything on it: the girl with the wheelbarrow, the flowers underneath, or an image from somewhere else entirely.

The focal images are the girl, and the flowers at the bottom.

Accent/decorative images are the bees and the strawberry.  You could use that strawberry to make background paper, or stamp, mask and stamp again on the seed packet.  How about using it on shrink plastic, or in a metal-rimmed tag?  I've heat embossed it on a frame and it looked really sweet in bright red.  The bees could make a border, or a little tag; I cut mine out separately but they can easily be put back together on a block. How about stamping them in a ring, all facing inwards around a simple daisy image, for example?

Think about how these different images would look as second-generation imprints - pale, background interest.  Can you heat emboss them, colour them, paint them or shrink them?

Here's another set from Paper Artsy:

The obvious background image is the grass at the bottom.  But you could use the flower head  or the swirl, repeat stamped to make a background, too.  That little 2p stamp could be cut out and used as an accent, maybe covered with Glossy Accents or made into a flower centre.   Repeat stamp it in a row to make a border or frame - this would look lovely if you coloured them with different pencils.

The bird or the flower head could be focal images, and there's an interactive element too - the 'secret garden' phrase will fit into the film cell as will 'take flight'.  The film cell itself is just asking to be layered - cut out the cell, maybe stamped onto a section of a photograph or another image, and layer it with foam pads over an identical image stamped onto your background.  Like this:

This is particularly useful, too, because of the 'flight' and 'nature' themes.  Any of those words could be used on an ATC or a card for universal appeal.

Now, obviously this is only my viewpoint - you may well have an entirely different opinion about choosing stamps.  But hopefully this has been useful to some people.  How about going off to browse some stamps online, and see if you can develop a critical eye!?

What would you have, if you could choose just one stamp set?

Comments

[marit]

I haven't been around for a looooong time (find out why on my blog and forgive me!) and it's nice to pay you a visit! STamps.. ohmy... I have a lot but my most favourite are the ones I carved myself! It took me years before I bought a cutting set, but now that I have one I'm addicted to making my own stamps. And it's way cheaper then buying them! (I use cheap erasers to cut the stamps from) I think you would like it too Helen, just try it!