10 stamp sets I can't live without!

I know sometimes it can be overwhelming to look at all the stamp sets in our catalog (online or right in your hands) and wonder which one to buy. Which one will you use again and again to make the money you pay worth it? Well, I sat down this morning and went through my stamp sets (I own about 70) and decided on the ten I just couldn't live without (at least until the new catalog comes out in September).

First up is Extreme Happiness. I loved the name right off and I could see that it would look so great used with our Moon Doggie paper, but you know what? I've yet to use it with my Moon Doggie paper. Instead I've used it with so many other paper packs. I love the flowers in this set! It's so cool that I can make the center a different color than the petals and the stamin a different color than both of the other parts without having to use masking or coloring it in with markers or any other way to make a multi-colored image. It's so easy to put this together. Close to my Heart gives you the flower in two sizes and there's a floral border and great definition that looks fabulous on cards!

Next up is the Say it in Style stamp set. It started out as a stamp of the month and was extremely popular so CTMH made it available anytime. It has 36 word or word phrases on it that fit nearly any occasion. As you can see, I've used this set over and over and over again.

Card Commentary has four beautiful words that work both on cards and in scrapbooks to add that romantic touch. I love how drawn out the cursive is on these, they fit anywhere!

This Gratitude set seems an odd choice, I know, but the reason I can't live without it is because it's the best random stamping set and you know I love random stamping. These flowers mix together so well that I've made tons of cards the cheap way with just a few inks and this set. You have to have it if you are random stamper like me!

When I first started scrapbooking twelve years ago there was a company called Chatterbox that had these journaling templates where you would draw light pencil lines in the grooves so you could write straight on your paper. I never got over my need to write in straight lines so I have to have the Journaling Jots set just for that reason. It has a stamp that has long lines and one with short, just a perfect fit for wherever I need to do my journaling. A must have.

The Party Invitation set has been used constantly as you can tell below. Since I make the invitations for my hostesses this set has come in handy so many times, one quick way to make an invitation is to cut a 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card, stamp the word "party" three times horizontally and one time vertically in different colors on the card and you have your invitation! The four words fill up the whole card, stamp the invitation block inside and you're finished.

Adorning Corners is self-describing, it really does adorn your corners. How many times have you completed a layout and you look at it and the corner is missing something? This is the perfect set to fill the corner of a card or layout OR you can also connect these designs together to make beautiful art patterns on your page. I find I use them the most on my accordian and flip albums with run 6" by 6", they fill those pages beautifully.

You need a holiday set. Nothing says Christmas like a handmade card. I like this Christmas Melodies set in particular because it has a lot of variety and I don't have to do much in the way of coloring in the images which many holiday stamps require. This set is also perfect for gift tags, stamp them, cut them, attach a ribbon and you have a very unique tag for your presents.

Another stamp set that every card-maker should have is one for birthday cards. I would say that birthday cards have to be the number one people make, don't you think so? I love the stamp of the month set for August (no link yet cause it's not available until then), It's Your Day. I'm not sure you know about our stamp of the month program. When you place an order in August you can get a discount on the stamp of the month, 25% off if you spend $25, 50% off if you spend $50, 75% off if you spend $75 and absolutely free if you spend $100. It's a special bargain for a special stamp. We have a stamp of the month every month, this month it's You've Got Flair. If you are interested in this or the August stamp of the month, contact me or order online!

This is the Field Trip alphabet set I just bought. If you are a scrapbooker you need an alphabet set and it doesn't have to be this one but certainly need one that is large enough to stamp titles on your layouts. This is a nice medium size so I can use it not only for large titles but also for sub-titles. What's great about stamping your alphabets instead of buying alphabet stickers....you never run out of any letter!!

Well, there you have it, my top ten. Remember that you need our acrylic blocks for the stamp sets but again, you don't need all of them. I can help you with choosing the right sizes for the stamp sets you want, email me at caldreamin05@comcast.net if you need help. I'd love to hear about your favorite stamps too! Don't forget to take part in the poll at the bottom of the page and also check me out on Facebook!