Today I am checking out the Summer Meadow Stamps and Dies that come with Cardmaking and Papercraft Issue 198. Will they make it into my craft stash? Simonne Clay (I hope I have linked to her correct blog) designed the set, and it contains 18 stamps and 4 dies. The first things to jump out at me were the two frames and the sentiments. The fonts are pretty and the floral elements on the frames add a lovely touch.
Testing the Stamps
As always, I used my Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to do the stamping, this post explains why I rate this so highly. I used Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink available from Amazon; I own ink pads from several manufacturers but this is my go to pad when I test new stamps. If they don’t produce a crisp image with this pad, there is little hope for any others.
The Results of Stamping
On the whole the images have all stamped crisply, however there were problems with two of them. The bottom left stamp has sections missing on two of the blades of grass. It took me three impressions to get this amount of coverage, after the first press there were many holes in the image. You may notice one of the flower images also has a section missing. I never have these issues with bought stamps, as I have mentioned before it can sometimes be a problem with free-gifts. I may be unlucky and have a rouge set!
The Verdict
If I did not have the pain problems with my hands and I was happy to fill in the missing sections, this would not be a problem. But I am a papercrafter with Fibromyalgia and I have a lot of craft stash, so things are looking shaky.
Working with the Dies
The next step was to use the dies. The two flowers work alongside the stamps but the butterflies are standalone. Once I cut them out with my Gemini, my die cutter of choice for spoonie as I explain in this post; it was time to stamp the die cuts. When I am working with small stamps and dies I usually find it easier to bring the die-cut image to the stamp, like this:
Stamping the Die Cuts
I used the same technique for both the flowers, a method I regularly use and this is how they turned out.
Summing Up the Summer Meadow Stamps and Dies
Although I think some of these stamps are beautiful and I like the sentiments. Part of the reason I undertook this project was because I have more craft stash than I have room for. Therefore, I am letting this collection go to a new home where someone can get good use out of them. If you want to find out what I do with the crafty goodies that make it into my stash, checkout my post about Evernote.
I will be back with you soon putting more free magazine gifts through their paces.
Until next time,
Gentle Hugs,
Susan
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