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I began making cards a year ago after attending my first SU party. I was so excited that I made waterfall cards for my xmas cards (that was a lot of work!) After that accomplishment I knew I was hooked!
Now I am working on building a well rounded supply of stamps and I am ready to invest in background stamps. I was wondering what BG stamps I should start with. I hope that I can narrow the "must have" list down to three to start with and need your help. I have been lurking and know that this is probably the best resource available to answer this question!
Canvas!
After that I would say French Script. I love backgrounds and highly recommend them. They add just the right touch in my opinion. I now think cards look naked with out them. hahahha
Jodi
My favs are (and I know there are more than three here - but I'll tell you why I like each and the reasons may or not apply to you )
Canvas and/or Linen - great to add that extra touch of dimension to a piece of otherwise empty cardstock. and Linen can be used to soften up a primary image stamped on white or vanilla.
Print pattern - works for masculine or feminine cards. VERY versatile.
Floral - can be used as a BG or as a primary image
And I'm learning to really love Weathered - it works with so many images.
My two favorites are canvas and French script. Canvas can be used for just about any style card and the French script gives a more elegant look. But if I had to choose just one, I'd say canvas.
I don't know if you just mean the big ones, or any BG, but I always recommend the Bitty Backgrounds when anyone I know starts stamping. They're very versatile--and cheaper than the big ones. And they're easier to use if you're not used to inking a big stamp properly (which I believe takes practice).
I agree with Itty Bitty Backgrounds -- I get so much use out of this set. As for the large backgrounds, pretty much what everyone else said. My favourites are Canvas and/or Linen. I've also recently acquired Weathered and Fine Lace, and like both of those also.
I do a lot of girly cards and find myself pulling out Houndstooth a lot. I have to say that my all time favorite BG is Fine Lace though. Try it in green with pastel floral card its amazingn!
Okay this is what I would do. I break them up into categories.
Your first choice should be either canvas or linen. Both of them look great and go with everything.
Next I would go with a pretty one. I love fine lace, paisley, and french script. I would choose one of those. (they're all beautiful and you won't be disappointed with any of them.
The last one I would choose a fun one like, dotted, on the spot, word by word or word search. I have dotted and word by word and love them.
Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Alumni VSN Go to Girl Pretty, Pretty Princess
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Canvas was my #1 before I got Linen, now that is my most often used bg stamp. I actually use regular stamps from sets I have most often to make my own coordinating background, this is my preference. But I also couldnt live without French Script and Print Pattern, especially layered!
Okay this is what I would do. I break them up into categories.
Your first choice should be either canvas or linen. Both of them look great and go with everything.
Next I would go with a pretty one. I love fine lace, paisley, and french script. I would choose one of those. (they're all beautiful and you won't be disappointed with any of them.
The last one I would choose a fun one like, dotted, on the spot, word by word or word search. I have dotted and word by word and love them.
Hope we've helped ya!
What she said! This is really good advice. It would give you a good solid basis to do many kinds of cards with.
__________________ Darci "Awww, you guys made me Ink!"
"Creativity is a continual surprise" (Ray Bradbury)
Itty Bitty is a must-have for me.
Canvas was my absolute favorite until Linen came along.
French Script is so pretty and elegant.
Paisley (the new one) is really good too!
Thanks to everyone that has posted. This is really happening. So far if I counted correctly:
Canvas - 16 votes
French Script -12 votes
linen - 12 votes (but also seems to be used interchangably with canvas)
Print pattern - 9 votes
Floral - 4 votes
Paisley - 6 votes
Cheesecloth 1 vote
Waethered - 2 votes
Fine Lace - 4 votes
Houndstooth 1 vote
I like the idea about breaking it into catergories. I will probably do this. Anyone who hasn't posted please feel free. I have some time before I order and I am truly interested in obtaining a large sample size!
Canvas, Linen, Print Patten I find that I use Word by Word the least and I soooo had to have it. I use a couple of my retired bg more than the ones that are in the book.
Since I got linen my canvas isn't used. Linen is softer and seems to go well on EVERY card that just needs a little something extra without conflicting with the main image. My second vote is for floral. I like floral better than paisley but paisley is also good for masculine cards. My #3 vote goes to print pattern - it's simple looking and versatile. French script would be # 4 - it always looks great and is lovely layered. Good luck deciding -I've ended up with over 20 because I couldn't!
I'm with a whole bunch of you. My favorites and most used are: Linen, French Script, and Print Pattern. My Itty Bitty Backgrounds is almost worn out it is used so much!
__________________ Sharon Today is a new day. Make the most of it ~ My meager beginning!
Uh oh, hwkhvnfamily, I am going to be an outlier in your sample and suggest Cornish Heritage Farms backgrounders if you are not a demo. They don't have anything like the new paisley, but they have a fabulous range of fabric textures and if you get them unmounted with cling foam on the back they are a fraction of the price of SU's BG stamps. They have burlap, weave (fine like linen imho), canvas, rice paper, weathered, and many many more, including some fabulous Victorian prints. I have their Weathered and Rice Paper in my gallery, and if you do a search in the gallery for "Sonlight Impressions", "CHF", and "Cornish Heritage Farms" you will see some more samples. www.cornishheritagefarms.com
(I'm not affiliated with the company, nor do I get any benefit from their sales. I'm just a very happy customer!)
That said, the BGs from SU that I would want to get would be Linen, French Script, and Floral.
Glad I saw this because I've been doing the canvas/linen debate forever and don't have either as a result of not being able to decide. My absolute favorite so far is floral. Vmark this on elegant eggplant omggggg gorgeous. and I'm really not a flower person. I'm pretty sure that life as I know it will cease to exist if I don't get cheesecloth pretty soon!! Print pattern and french script are growing on me, especially when used together. I love crosshatch, but really want word by word to make card candy with. Ok I'll quit even tho there are a lot more that I want. I never said I was going to be helpful!! lol
__________________ DebThe Dolphin/Whale trainin' ~~ Army Mama Spammy. Prayers and Blessings for all our troops, and their families!! My Gallery LinkIf you don't want to comment, you can just throw money. lol
Ok I am leaning towards purchasing 4 instead of three!
I'm getting linen and print pattern for sure!
I am also thinking about crosshatch and word search.
Thank you to everyone who posted! Thanks to all those who have galleries postings that display the wonderful combinations. I looked up the print pattern and french script and I like that look. So French script has hit the wish list and then we can go from there!
Patty
__________________ Mom of Six with no free time and all I wanna do is stamp! Avatar is my mini schnauzer!
I could not survive without my Canvas!!!! Like someone previously said, it's like having a black stamp pad! My other choices are Print Pattern, French Script and one that recently retired, Simple Stripes. I have Linen and Aida Cloth on my wish list! Good luck with whatever you choose, you can't go wrong with b/g stamps!
For a long time my favorite was canvas, and I figured since I had that I really didn't need the linen stamp. But, I just can't resist bg stamps, so I bought it and it is now my favorite. I also can't live without the french script and print pattern.
Which BG stamp do you use the most?
