My First Stamp Release with Sweet Stamp Shop

Welcome to my blog, I'm so glad you're here today! I'm sharing two sets today that I'm really excited about! As I mentioned yesterday, this is my first stamp release with Sweet Stamp Shop as an intern in the illustration program. This program was created by the owner of Sweet Stamp Shop as a way for designers interested in designing product to progress forward in the paper crafting industry with mentorship and opportunity to do just that.  For more information or a chance to apply to the program, please visit the Sweet Stamp Shop blog, and if you're still on the fence about applying, read about my amazing experience here, it'll convince you to shut out all doubt and take the plunge.

I co-illustrated these two sets, and they're the first of of my designs to be released by Sweet Stamp Shop. Announcing is perfect for the newly married couple and brand-new babies. This set comes with some trendy pre-made banners and one banner you can make on your own with coordinating pennants. The dove images are great because there's an outlined dove and a silhouette dove so you can play with them to your heart's content. I love how the Just Married and Announcing sentiments curve perfectly into the banners, and you can customize any card or project with the other sentiments. Sparkle and Shine is a trendy set based on sequins and jewels that are popular motifs right now. Sequins and jewels can be glammed up in so many creative ways! Mixing them with the included fun sentiments will make any card or project sparkle!

First, I'll share some cards with you that showcase the versatility of the Announcing set, then I'll show you some new and trendy ways to design with  Sparkle and Shine. 

This card may be simply designed, but it showcases my vision for the buildable banner image perfectly. 

I simply stamped the banner and added pennant images in different colors. I created a little dimension and brought in some color with patterned paper shapes adhered with foam tape. I straightened up the "Announcing" stamp on a acrylic block and combined it with a wood veneer layered on paper for some added texture.

I really am loving silhouette and outline images, it's nice to have choices when stamping and the doves in this set are so gorgeous when framing an element on a card. Again, the design is a little clean and simple, but soft details like a doily and scalloped paper edge play it up.

I created a background base with an image from the Monogram It set, and then stamped the doves over it to frame a sticker sentiment. Adding some patterned paper and a sentiment sticker with a little thread  not only added some dimension to the card, but shows that this set can be used with other sets to create cards and projects that aren't necessarily "announcement-focused." 

I really love mixing stamped images with patterned paper. This wedding card is an fresh and elegant approach to congratulating the new couple, centering around the banner image.

I stamped the banner, husband and wife stamps on a cardstock base. I then masked some ivy garlands from the Monogram It set. I straightened the Just Married sentiment on an acrylic block and stamped it onto the card base. Punched hearts and pearls cascade around the sentiment, drawing the viewer's eye to the stamped area of the card.

My next cards focus on some fun approaches for using the Sparkle and Shine set.

The images in this set stand alone very well, so I didn't mix in too many embellishments or patterned paper in this card or my other cards. I liked the idea of coloring the gems to make them stand out, but also  creating a muted area of pattern. To create the card base, I inked the cardstock, and then stamped jewels in one tone over it.

I love the look of Copics, but since I don't own that many, I turned to my colored pencils to add some rich jewel-toned colors to the jewels. Some of the jewels match up perfectly to the tonal-stamped jewels. The jewel images lightly pop up from the card base with a little foam tape.

You can use this set to not only create backgrounds and embellish a card, but to also create a frame!

I masked the frame with washi tape and and then heat-embossed sequins inside. Some actual sequins provide a little dimension. A fun dotted hello and colorful add some pattern to a simple center.

And, sometimes an images looks good just scattered on a card, like what I did here with the sequins. Sequins are stamped randomly in a diagonal, then covered with vellum heat-embossed sentiment.

Adding some gorgeous sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to the vellum strip and just a little bit of embellishments to the edges of the vellum adds some youthful fun to this card!

Thank you for letting me share these cards with you! I hope you enjoy my newest sets, and I am looking forward to my future stamp releases with Sweet Stamp Shop. I have some great sets that will be  for sale in the coming months.

UPDATE: Because of the popularity of the February release,  Sweet Stamp Shop is almost sold out of all the stamp sets in this month's release. More will be ordered, but if you can't wait, make sure to stop by the shop and snatch this month's release. Use the code:  NFR20 for 20% off your order!