I take a break from my usual posting of card creations to talk about my love for stamps; all stamps. To put it crudely, I am a regular ‘stamp slut’. I have no loyalty to any one brand and sometimes, though I love a particular designer, I many not necessarily like the stamps they peddle. I used to think I was more a vintage girl- preferring sketched images of historical fashion and furniture but I soon found the versatility of having more cutesy, cartoon designs or sometimes just random flowers, birds and houses.
I do so love Crafter’s Companion – they carry the wonderful Sheena Douglass stamps I adore as well as the Peter Rabbit series. Also for my sketchy, vintage look needs I turn to Artistic Outpost- a small mom-and-pop kind of outfit where the stamps are designed and made in their home. The best part about finding such makers is that you can be sure they make designs they like and not just to suit the masses. There’s also a nice ‘exclusivity’ element because they are not so widely available. Similar to Artistic Outpost is Oxford Impressions. Designer Suzanne Melvin creates gorgeous vintage-inspired stamp sets. I’ve been coveting these sets for yonks now and finally got the nerve to order them. They should be on the way to me as I type and I am crossing fingers they make through the mail ok! I’ll of course, be crafting with them as soon as they arrive to show you.
For fresher, cutesy designs I do love Penny Black’s range of animal stamps. The quality of the stamps mean that any ink- chalk, pigment, anything- works great. Also, because I am a bit of a cheapie, I get really cute stamps sets from UK craft mags. Papercraft Monthly, Cardmaking Magazine and some other’s which the name currently eludes me (hehe). I have gotten a nice Popcorn the Bear, Henry the Hedgehog and Pink Petticoat Stamp sets from these mags just to name a few. I love watching Stephanie Barnard on the Stamps of Life and have just ordered some of her stamps as well which should be on the way as well.
My main rule is to not have any loyalty rules when purchasing stamps. I buy what I like no matter the brand. I have recently tried a set of Crafty Secrets and was blown away by the quality and crispness of the image produced. I’ve had some not so great stamp sets (won’t name them here so it was a very welcome addition). Even a brand like Fiskars which is more popular for their scissors and cutters, I’ve found make great stamp sets. I’ve got just one from them and I do love it so it does help to be as exploratory and adventurous when it comes to trying new stamp brands!
My stamp collection is not nearly as large as I’d like it to be- but I love the few that I have because I bought it for the right reasons and not just out of loyalty to a particular brand. I’ve always been that way about most things even doll collecting.
Mix, mingle and most of all, enjoy your stamps!
They are quite simple but the masking and use of three different stamps as well as the lovely embossing packed a punch. Quite like these even though I had to make five and was rather bored at the end!
