prismacolor

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday.

Susan here with something that may be a little different.

I was trying to come up with an idea for today’s tutorial and I had

quite a few different ones that came to mind but I decided to talk

about stamping on a budget.

My card features the image from Penny Black called Cupcake. When I

buy stamp sets I always try to buy ones that are very versatile and

lend themselves to different styles and occasions. But once in a while

there are those ones that are just too cute to pass up – like this cutie

with the cupcake. It reminds me of my girls when they were little.

I bought this years ago when I was new to stamping

and lived in a town that was 5 hours from the nearest craft store.

I linked to the stamp set below for you.

I did some simple coloring using my Prismacolor pencil crayons. Now I

admit I have about 150 (ish) pencils BUT I really don’t need that

many. (Shhhh don’t tell my husband that haha). I pulled out the 12

colors that make up the set I linked to below and used the brown and

the black to add lots of shading, and white to add highlights.

I admit I have a fair amount of dies BUT THE MOST USED set in my

craft room is the set of Stitched Rectangle Stackable dies I linked to

below. I use them on practically every card I make. When you’re

considering whether to buy a higher priced die set or not ask yourself

this, “How often will I use it?” If you’re like me with the dies I listed

below and answer with an “A LOT” then you’ll be adding them to

your cart.

Because I kept the colors really simple and there was a lot of white

space I decided to add a pop of color to the top with cardstock. I used

the Stitched Hillside Borders Dies from Lawn Fawn to make the

curved edge to a piece that I’d already cut with the Stitched

Rectangle Dies. It’s a simple and cost effective way to add color to

your cards and a great way to stretch your card stock.

When you’re just starting out with stamping, it’s hard to know where

to start. My best advice is to start small. Get the basics – a good black

ink, some white card stock, a good paper cutter and scissors.

Buying ink pads can be overwhelming. Choose the colors that make

you happy and look good together and work with the stamps you

own. Look for sentiment stamp sets that cover all kinds of occasions

and that you can mix and match to make your own. Then think

about the people  in your life that you’ll be making cards for and

choose sets that fit them.

The main thing to remember is to HAVE FUN!!

Happy Stampin’

and thanks so much for stopping by!

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