Classic Stampin' Spots?

[Kalebyra]

I have been stamping for the last 8 months and I am absolutely addicted. I started out with the Basic Black and Watercolor Pencils. I have added several other Classic pads ie. red, blue and green. I am considering buy the collections of Stampin' spots. You know, I will have all of the colors but not have all of the price. Then I can use it kinda like the paper - when I run out of a color I will just buy the Classic pad or should I just buy the reinkers at that point. I need some advice. What do you all think? Is that a good idea? Will I have to store them upside down?

[justheather]

I love mine so much that I bought all 4 sets so I could have every color!No, don't store them upside down, they'll get too juicy and leak. You can also reink them if they dry out and you don't want a full sized pad.

These days I generally only use my full sized pads if I'm using a big background stamp...the spots are just so easy to use.

Signed,
Spot Happy!

[Jenmouer]

I have 2 sets of stampin spot (bolds and earth) and love them... I have had both for over a year now and haven't had any problems with them - I store mine in a 2 sided case (similar to the case in the catalog) so sometimes they are right side up and sometimes upside down.

I have a lot of smaller stamps so they work well for me - even with larger stamps I just rub the spot all over my stamp and stamp away...

I have a large basic black pad

What I am finding is I use certain colors a lot more often so I think I am going to start adding larger pads in those colors. I am doing the same thing with paper - i bought some variety packs and I am finding I am drawn to using certain colors more than others so I buy a whole pack in that color.

Also I am not much for Rich Regals or Soft Subles but I like a few colors in those families so I am planning on just getting full sized pads for those few colors.

I just bought a Chalk pad in a soft suble colors (not the one in the catalog but from Joanns) and now I have a nice soft peach and a soft rose and a soft purple to work with too if I want to go into the soft, pastely colors (so not me)

When I do cards I look to see what colors I have and work from there so if I don't have a color that is fine with me I work with what I have.

[ScrappinGoodTime]

They are great to travel with, compact but remember to cut off any loose threads around the edge of the pads as this can sometimes cause them to bleed and make a real mess of your lids.

[kendra]

The spots are great! When I hosted my first show, I had enough in benefits to buy all 4 boxes & what a great investment. I do have all the big pads now, but I still like the spots for when I use more than one color on a stamp and for small stamps. I show them at workshops and I almost always sell at least one box. It's a great way to get a lot of colors for not a lot of money. I really don't think you can go wrong.

[JulieHRR]

I own ALL the Spots! Also own all 48 Classic Pads . . .

I LOVE having the spots for a variety of reasons, mostly, tho, for being able to travel with the whole palette at my finger tips. The Soft Subtles are great for "shadow" stamping, and I also like to use the spots for direct-to-paper effects.

[AshleyAnne]

I also have all 48 colors in both the full-size and spots. The spots are great to take to workshops, but even better to use when scrapbooking. They don't take up as much space and I'm less likely to set my project down onto a stampin spot than a big stamp pad.

As already mentioned they are wonderful for watercoloring with the aquabrush or a blender pen.

Go for it!

[Kymbers_Stampin]

I was thinking of buying some specifically for what Julie mentioned. I want to be able to take a couple of sets and some CS with me when I travel. Having the spots would make that so much more convenient. Originally I used my SIL's EE spots until I moved and had to buy my own. At the time I was able to get full size pads. We did store them upside down and had no issues what so ever with them.

[iluvstamping]

I love my stampin spots!! Its definatly cheaper than buying the classic pads. They work just as good as the big pads.

[wrenchgirl]

I love the spots too. I bought my first set of spot (bold brights) at my first party over three years ago. Now that I am a demo, I still use the spots a lot more than I use my bigger pads. My daughter (she is seven) loves them too. And they are so much easier for her to use than the bigger pads because she always gets ink all over her and her paper trying to open the pad. She has been using the spots just as long as I have and she even likes them better than the Stampin Kids pads.
Another reason I love them, is that lately I have been using more than one color to ink my stamp. I use the corner to get in the small areas. I is way faster than using markers and huffing.

[heidiho]

I started with the spots and I was so glad to have all the colors. But as I did more and more stamping, I found them very annoying. They are just too small for most of my projects. The full sized pads are much more convenient to use on a regular basis, but I can see the advantages of the spots for smaller stamps-- like alphabets. Even when I travel to work on projects with a friend or do demonstrations, I always take my full sized pads because the spots are just too small for my tastes and they take so much longer to ink a stamp up. My suggestion is to start investing in the full sized pads as you need them and find colors that you use a lot.

[stampcrazygirl]

I bought all of the sets of spots and then bought the full-size pads as I saw which ones I used the most. Now I use the spots when I go to my cousin's house to stamp...a lot lighter to carry than all of the full-size pads.

[Kalebyra]

Thanks everyone so much for the replies. They have helped me make a decision. Well, as far as colors are concerned, Bold Brights are my absolute favorites. So, I am going to buy the Classic spots for Earth Elements, Rich Regals, and Soft Subtles. I will continute to collect the Classic pads for Bold Brights. Then if I see I use more of one color, I will purchase that in the Classic pad. (This is my plan, at least for now)

Thanks for your help.