The 'My 2015 Favourites' posts with run from Monday 4th January 2016 - Saturday 9th January 2016 and will cover a whole array of products. Day 1 is stamps. Where would we be without these lovelies!? I have split them into categories which include; Alphas, Sentiments, Critters, Holiday and Other. Enjoy!
Alpha's
- Lawn Fawn - Milo's ABC's
- This set has definitely been my go-to alphabet set. It gets bonus points for its skinny, tall font, multiples of each letter, and it includes numbers and punctuation. What more could you want?
- Avery Elle - Elle's Alphas
- This alphabet set is also featuring on my favourites because of its small font. This set is a great addition to a collection as you can make your own small sentiments which could fit anywhere on a card or a scrapbook layout. This is also a good size for planners!
- Dovecraft Mini Wooden Alphabet Sets - Available from Hobbycraft and The Range (UK)
- These little wooden sets are just adorable. Again, they have a small font so that you can squeeze a sentiment into any gap and they come in a little box. These are great for beginners that are just getting into stamping as you can pick them up pretty cheaply, I got my sets (around 5-6 of the ones below) for 99p each from The Range. That's right, 99p each!
Sentiments
- Clearly Besotted - Many Mini Messages, Sugar & Spice, Mini Basic Banners
- Many Mini Messages: I love this set to add a quick sentiment to a card. Because they are so small you get so many different sentiments for all different occasions!
- Sugar & Spice: I have featured this set simply to focus the beautiful dotty words that Clearly Besotted do. Stephanie has quite a few sets available with this font and I just love it. Great for a focal point on a card. They also stamp brilliantly!
- Mini Basic Banners: This is a smaller set than the other two featured here but it still has as many uses. I love the generic sentiments and also the empty banner that you can add your own sentiment to. I would also recommend picking up the co-ordinating banner die to cut these out, it makes things so much easier!
- Avery Elle - Berry Good
- I've included this set in the sentiment section (even though I love the whole set) because I love funny sentiments. Give me a stamp set that has a bit of word play or a pun or two and I'll go sit and giggle in a corner for a while :P
- Lawn Fawn - Chit Chat
- I liked this set because its a bit different to the usual kinds of sentiment sets that you find. The speech bubbles come in really handy for adding a sentiment to a critter or a person. I think its a really playful way to add a sentiment to your card.
- Dreamees - Gift Sentiment A5 Stamp Set
- Dreamees are another company that I love. Very different to the big American companies, these are a Mother & Daughter duo that started off making products in their shed. One thing I love in particular are their delightful sentiments. They are always filled with love and affection and are bound to make any recipient feel very special!
Critters
- Mama Elephant - Lunar Animals, Three Amigos
- Lunar Animals: What can I say about this set other than IT IS FREAKING ADORABLE! When I first saw this I knew I had to have it. Mama elephant critters are always so cute, but I particularly liked this set because of the variety of animals you get in one set.
- Three Amigos: I must admit I haven't actually had a chance to use this set yet but it is featuring in my favourites because of how much I love it! I love the idea of sacking the three amigos up and being able to mix and match the words and phrases.
- Mama Elephant - Tandem Ride & Tandem Extras
- Again when I saw these sets my heart swelled. The animals are so cute and I love the idea of them sitting on a tandem bike. I bought these with some birthday money I had and so allowed myself to get both sets. Can I also draw your attention to that balloon... It makes my heart so happy!
- Avery Elle - Ellie
- This year saw a bit of an elephant trend and I of course jumped right on the back of it. This is only a small set and so wasn't very expensive at all and I just had to buy it. Even if it wasn't for the elephant, for that adorable little bunny that could be added to the nose of any critter!
- Wplus9 - Unforgettable
- This was of course the stamp set that started the elephant craze. Unfortunately it was out of stock for a very long time but I did eventually get my hands on it. The elephants are a dream to colour, all you need is one or two shades of grey (not fifty :P) and you're set. I also love the mix of fonts in the sentiments. I'm a fan of stacking sentiments together, but in this set it is done for you. Pure excellence.
- My Favorite Things - Happy Pandas, I Knead You, You Make My Tail Wag, Somebunny, You Gnome Me. - Something I love about MFT stamps in general is the matching sentiments that come with every set. As I mentioned before, I love punny sentiments and that is something that, in my opinion, MFT do very well!
- Happy Pandas: I adore pandas! One massive bonus with this set is that you don't need to colour the pandas in! If you area total beginning and want to try out stamping a card for the first time, you could pick up this set and a black ink pad and go.
- I Knead You, You Make My Tail Wag & Somebunny: Of course I had to get these three sets, one for the cat lovers in my life, one for the dog lovers and one for the bunny lovers. Again, adorable images and great sentiments.
- You Gnome Me. I have two words for this set, FREAKING GNOMES! I have never seen another set with gnomes before. In short, I didn't know I was a gnome fan, until I saw this set :P
- Lawn Fawn - Hedgehugs, Whale You Be Mine, So Jelly, Wheelie Like You
- Lawn Fawn are known for their critters and I did find it difficult to pick my favourites. However, I decided that their mini sets were my favourites because you can literally pick up one of these sets and you've got all the elements you need to make a card. Sometimes with the bigger sets I struggle knowing which elements to put together as I just want to make every combination possible. They are also not very expensive (£3.50ish) and it takes the hard work out of stamping. The images don't take much colouring and you have a sentiment ready to go, perfect!
Holiday
- Clearly Besotted - Santa Baby, Little Elves, From Our Home
- These are the three stamp sets that I used for my Christmas Cards this year. I used the wreath for the more 'adult' cards and the elves and santa images for a more fun card. This is the first Christmas I went completely handmade on cards and these sets made it so simple.
- Mama Elephant - Alpine Carolers, Reindeer Games
- Alpine Carolers: I have wanted this set since last Christmas and finally took the plunge and bought is late this year. I like that the people can be used on cards for more occasions than just Christmas but those sentiments are just perfect for the holidays. And the top one is from Elf, one of the best Christmas films! :P
- Reindeer Games: Unfortunately this set was out of stock this Christmas so I couldn't buy it, however I will definitely be purchasing it for next year. The images are adorable and I also like how you get the mirror image of the reindeer.
- Lil' Inker Designs - Oh Deer Christmas
- This is one of the cutest deer heads I've seen ever, so I had to add it to my stash. I stamped a few of these out and coloured them in very easily, but when it came to making my cards I couldn't remember where I'd put them, typical! I found them the day I posted my cards...obviously. But they will make a gorgeous addition to my cards next year!
Other
- Dreamees Ditsy Stitches, Tacked and Treasured
- The wonderful Dreamees are getting another feature in my favourites. Another thing they do incredibly well is their flower stamps! I have the two sets below and they make beautiful flowers whether stamped and cut or stamped on top of each other (as featured in my one layer cards).
- Avery Elle - Balloons, Bunting
- Balloons: This is an unusual set that has come in very useful. The images are large enough to create a whole card front with and because they are solid stamps you only need ink pads and no pens.
- Bunting: This set may look like a collection of random shapes, that is what I thought at first, however, I saw lots of lovely cards and samples made with it and then realised its potential. It has so many different types of bunting that it will match any sets you already own, very versatile!
- Clearly Besotted Birch Background II
- This stamp is a great background to put behind your woodland critters. I havent had chance to use it yet but I want to stamp it in a pale grey or brown as a background and then layer my critters in front.
- Docrafts Gorjuss Stamps
- Last but by no means least are the beautiful Gorjuss stamps by docrafts. Gorjuss is a well known brand in the UK and features heavily in gift shops and on printed cards. These stamps allow you to created cards that already have an established brand and are easily recognised. They are also a dream to colour!
Phew, that was a lot of words. I think that is the longest blog post I have ever written! Hopefully you have enjoyed looking through my favourite stamps of the year and that you will tune in again tomorrow for Day 2 which will be "My 2015 Favourites: Dies"!
Let me know some of your favourite stamps in the comments :)
Hayley
Great round up and thank you for the information about the letter stamps. I'm looking for a good set with multiples in it and the Lawn Fawn looks good. Xx
ReplyDelete