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Who loves their alphabet stamp set? And, which set to buy?
I THINK I am about to buy my first alphabet stamp set. I've heard comments that the alphabet sets are cumbersome to use (as you usually have to use the stamp-a-ma-jig), but then others RAVE about them!
I scrapbook, too so I THINK I would use them fairly often. So, WHICH SET SHOULD I GET??? So far, I think the Newsprint Alphabet looks most versatile, but I can't stop looking at Quirky! Simple type is cute, but I hate the '*' used to dot the 'i' and 'j'. Help!
I like the alphabet sets. I have quirky. I don't use a stamp a ma jig because I think it looks fine with the letters a little uneven, besides, the wood blocks are so small I think it's easy to eyeball it.
I have the classic alphabet and like it, but I won't buy another one until the new catty comes out in July. I can't wait to see the new alphabet sets that will replace the retiring ones!
__________________ Jess Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big your God is!
Alphadots is really easy to stamp! I also have bold basic and they work great, too. If the word is small enough, you can rubber band them together and get a straighter look, but I agree that they look fine slightly uneven! My very favorite set is retired, Retro alphabet and it is easy to stamp with, too. Good luck with your decision! My next one will be either Pure & Simple or the newsprint alpha, unless they come out with something else even better in the new catty!
I have the classic double alpha and the alphabet fun lower set that is retiring. I love my classic set. As for lining it all up evenly! Well sometimes it looks nice having it all uneven ecspecially in halloween pages when you want it to look scary but what I do is I mount the letter in the bottom left hand corner. Because I am right handed I am able to hold the stamp in my right hand and see where I am stamping the letter since it is in the left hand corner. If the rubber part is facing towards you it will be on the bottom right hand corner so that when you stamp it the image is on the bottom left. Does that make sense? I got that from my upline and it works well for me. That is the beauty of custom mounting!
__________________ ~Sharon~ I'm a Proud wife of my OIF III & OEF veteran! Mommy of two beautiful girls! Ages 17 years & 2 years! We *heart* adoption! My Crafting BlogOur Family/Adoption Blog
I'll throw in another option for alphabets. I don't have any SU sets yet, but with the ones I do have I have them "unmounted" with vinyl cling sheet on the back. That way, I can line up words on an acrylic block & stamp words. That works well if you plan to do a lot of words. But, if you are just doing single letters at a time, this might be more cumbersome. I do like that I can see exactly where I am stamping the letters with the acrylic blocks.
I LOVE my newsprint alphabet. It is a great size, I can use it for cards or scrapbooking without it being too big or little.
One HUGE time saving tip with the stampamajig and alphabet sets is to cut out small squares of velum and stamp your letters on those using your stampamajig. I did one in each corner and now have a permanent set of guides instead of having to clean and clean and clean my stampamajig sheet.
I just got the Canvas Alphabet set and I am using it a lot. I probably will get a more conventional alphabet set at some point but, as my demonstrator pointed out to me, there are a lot of things you can reproduce just by printing different fonts onto cardstock. Just my .02.
Good grief, what am I talking about! Of course I meant the COLLAGE Alphabet which I ordered at the same time as my Canvas Background stamp. Ignore me, I need to go veg out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by my4blessings
I just got the Canvas Alphabet set and I am using it a lot. I probably will get a more conventional alphabet set at some point but, as my demonstrator pointed out to me, there are a lot of things you can reproduce just by printing different fonts onto cardstock. Just my .02.
I have Pure and Simple alphabet lower too and love it! It's not difficult to line up straight and it has a really open and easy font to look at on scrapbook pages.
Kathleen
__________________ I LOVE being a SU demonstrator! my gallery my blog
Not SU, but I love the CTMH sets. Because they are clear and stick to a clear block, plus have more than 1 of most letters, you can do whole words at once. You can do titles for scrapbook pages with the long block. Also, because they are see thru, you can be sure the image comes out perfect every time.
I, too, love the CTMH alphabet sets. They are so easy to use and care for. There is a line on the CTMH acrylic blocks for a straight set up, or you can make the letters slightly off set. You can see the whole word, or words before you stamp. CTMH sets come with extra letters so you can do the whole word at one time even if your word has double letters. And there is an awesome selection of styles.
Thanks for all your input. I think I know what to order now. I do agree with you about the acrylic cling sets...they are wonderfully easy to use, but I just can't get them to 'take the ink' like rubber! I wonder if I am cleaning them wrong or something. The images just aren't as clean!
If someone could just invent a see-through rubber stamp...!
I have Crazy alphabets and all around alphabets. Sometimes I mix them up together. I use them for cards and scrapbooking. Its great to own at least one. i don't own a stamp a ma jig. Still looks good if a little uneven.
I have the all around alphabets and they are great....some of the letters have fallen off the blocks because they are thing and small...any one have ideas on how to reattach them?
I just received the small alphabet blocks that were in the spring mini. I have the small circle punch and square one for the letters and they are so much fun. I have used them LOTS since I got them. Made a Thomas the train birthday card and used the letters with the circle punch to spell the birthday boy's name as 'smoke' coming out of Thomas' stack. Just really fun to use!!!
I find for my cards and smaller projects I use my classic alphabet to add names (we have a lot of names in our family that will never be on one stamp) I have quirkey lower and collage alphabet. I love them all and use them more than I ever thought I would. Great for place cards for dinners.
I have alphabits (the jury is still out on that one. I love it as a background more than punching out the letters individually). I love the bold alphabet (and numbers). I use that a lot. I also love the alphadots (and numbers). I have the brush stroke alphabet and numbers and that one is NOT my favorite at all. I wanted it because it looked like it didn't need to be exact and I find that I can't line it up well enough to make it look well in my eyes. I love it though when other people use it and it always seems to look great to me. Just not when I do it for some reason.
Alphabet sets are cool, I love my collage alph, it's my new favorite, the retiring contemporary is nice too, I can't decide if I want to get the numbers or not....crazy alpha is nice too....you don't really need the thing a jig or whatever it's called. The collage doens't need it, or you can cut out the letters and layer them, I do that a lot!!!!
Classic, Newsprint, Collage, Pure and Simple, Simple Type. . . Jeepers, can you tell that I'm an alphabet collector? :-D I'd probably start with a basic one like Classic though. But I adore my Newsprint and Collage too!
Beaches.....as for the ink not sticking to the acrylic sets...
Did you season them before using? If you take a white eraser and rub it all over the stamp, that will season them so that the ink will stick to them. Give that a try and see if it helps. Email me if you have any questions.
I love the Simple Type double alphabet. I also love the Brushstroke double alpha and ALPHADOTS are the best! You can stamp them and then use a 1/2" circle punch to punch them out and attach them with dimensionals for a very easy, but cool look!
I love my CTMH acrylic alpah stamps! There are others from MySentiments Exactly and many more...They work well and are easy to use. If you season your stamps before you use them they ink up well!!
I have Alphabet Fun and Brushstroke. Since I scrapbook much more than make cards, they are very well used. I also have the Hero Arts version of Alphadots. I'm planning to order two more sets when the new catty comes out, one double set and one single set. I'm definitely sold on Newsprint for the double set, I don't think the new catty will change my mind about that, but as for the single set, I just don't know. I like Pure and Simple, but I also like the Tag set in the summer catty. Oh, decisions are so hard to make! I also almost ordered the Animal Alphabet that was in the spring catty but decided not to since it isn't versatile enough. But if it shows up in the big catalog someday I might be very tempted. I'm really sorry, I just needed to ramble on, I know that I didn't help one bit.
I love the alphadots and the brushstroke alphabet. However, there are some new, larger alphabets coming in the new catty, so I can't wait to see what else they come up with.
OK - don't crucify me! I am an SU! demo , but I way prefer the CTMH Alphabets. Especially for scrapbooking.
They are the acrylix and you get multiples of each letter. SO, you can do a whole word at once! You can make up your own phrases and headlines without having to do each individual letter or worry about whether it is straight. The blocks have a great line that helps you make sure that it is straight.
Who loves their alphabet stamp set? And, which set to buy?
That one is retiring now so will have to find a new one to love... hope they have some fantastic ones in the new catty!! 
