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I'm relatively new to stamping. I have a gift card to spend and I want to take advantage of the sale-a-bration items. What are your SU must haves? I have seen postings of lists of items for newcomers. Can anyone direct me to these? Thanks in advance for your help!
How big is your gift card? ;) Just kidding! Well, all you NEED are Stamps, Ink and Paper. The rest is all fun stuff. I would probably start out with some basic colors of card stock (whisper white, very vanilla) then add a pack or two of the assorted families to see what you like. For ink you could try a family of spots instead of buying the big pads to start with. For stamp sets choose ones you really like so you will use them!
For fun stuff, you can't beat punches. I also love coloring, so I like the watercolor pencils and blender pens. If you are going to color, I would buy a black stazon ink pad so it won't smear.
A bunch of my friends just started stamping and we were all just talking about this topic! Here's what I remember:
*Basics: Black, Brown, or both regular ink pad, set of stamps, favorite family color pack of paper, Markers or Stampin' Spots (see below), Clear envies; these were the most popular choices of the girls starting out, one got the Simply Sent Kit.
*Think about what kind of stamps you are getting; are they ones that you color in or stamp in color? If you color in, you will need markers; if they are stamped you will need pads. *Note that you can use the markers to color the image of the stamp.
*Have you been interested in picking up this hobby or is this the first time it's crossed your mind? If it's the first time you might want to start with a Simply Sent kit (complete set sold with all the papers, markers, ink, and embellishments you will need to complete 10 cards with envies, in the front of the catalog pg. 14-16)
I hope this helps. It can be overwhelming getting started but once you do, it's well worth it!! Have fun!
__________________ Alycia Wife to Kevin, mother to E (7 years), P (4 years), and L (22 months)
A great way to get started is the Simply Sent kits at the beginning of the catalog. They are all about $50 and contain a die cut stamp set, precut cardstock, envelopes, ink, adhesive, and embellishments to make between 8-12 cards (depending on the kit). They are great because they contain EVERYTHING you need to make those cards. When you are done with the cards you have a stamp set and inks still that you can use over and over, after you buy some more paper and adhesive of course!
Get yourself the scallop punch, you can make some quick and easy cards with the S-A-B set called SO Many Scallops. White cardstock, a color cardstock assortment, basic black ink and 1 or 2 ink colors will get you started.
These experienced ladies have all the basics covered - you will find the little accessories and things to help you along as you use your products more.
I think a great idea for a stamp set is one of the multiple occasion sets - like Fun & Fast Notes or Greetings Galore, etc. And remember, you can use markers to color only the image or only the sentiment and get greater use from the set.
Aside from the already mentioned must-have items here, my favorite "tool" that I would have NEVER thought to buy without seeing it demonstrated, is the Stamp-A-ma-Jig. It's the most awesome thing ever for a Virgo perfectionist like myself My brain is not thinking coherently to try to explain it correctly, but basically it's a sheet of clear plastic that you stamp your image on, line it up where you want it on your page, then using the 'positioner' remove the plastic sheet and line your stamp up against said 'positioner' and stamp the image on your project. (I'm sure this makes sense only to myself!) The end result is a perfectly placed image every single time! I could't live without that thing. And I never would have bought it, though I'd seen it in the catty's for a long time, until my upline got it and showed me what it did. Now I can't live without it!
Jessica
I agree with Alyciajo's post in that I would first find your favorite stamp sets. Then think of what color paper you would like to see them on, remembering the lighter the paper the better the stamps will show (the darker colors are often used for decorative details but you can see lots of ideas here on the gallery at SCS if you're not sure what your taste is quite yet).
If you find that the stamp sets you want tend to want are the type you'd like to multi-color (which is what I like:cool: ) then I would SO recommend the stampin spots as the best 'bang for you initial buck'. I have LOVED that I have so many colors from which to choose (without having to have spent so much to get all of them), the storage space is minimal, and I have no problem with moving them around to color up the stamps. *Of course, I would recommend having a few of the larger stamp pads also (Black, Choc Chip, Real Red, VersaMark, and Craft White) which come in handy for use with the larger outline type stamps and the letter sets. And, by having the spots first I know exactly which colors I like the best!!
After that these are great choices:
1) Get the markers. They can color on the paper or directly on the stamp itself (just "huff" on stamp after coloring then press on paper and voila!).
2) The punches...LOVE that scallop, and the oval punches are so versatile (flower petals, bunny ears, etc) and I use all the circle sizes for layering!
3) Stampin scrub pad & spray cleaner - I used baby wipes at first but I hated getting my fingers dirty trying to clean the crevices in the stamps. *Of course it could be I was just tired of wipes in general, having finally gotten my girls out of diapers, too!* LOL! :rolleyes:
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