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Location: keeping my 7 yr old still, while I'm in stampin' bliss!
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Going to the OTHER side....
OK, I am about to make my first non-SU purchase (gasp!) and want to know what are the must-haves from Papertrey? I have about $200.00 and want to venture outside of my lil' ole' SU box! (I have tons of non-SU tools, just not stamps/inks/paper)
So, help me go to the other side and tell me what the must-haves are from PT?
(p.s. I thought they were a member company, but I don't see them listed)
You're in for a treat! I love their stamps, but I am hooked on their card stock and ribbon. The ribbon is so affordable and is excellent quality and the card stock is nice and thick. Like SU, they have matching ink and I love their buttons too.
ooohhhh where to start!!! mmm. gotta get the guidelines sets!! and the flourishes!!! and all the polka dots!!! don't forget card - chocolate is a must!!! as is ripe avocado and the pure poppy!!! and a few sentiment sets!!! lol...ribbons...don't forget ribbons, the twine also - gotta get that!! lol, have fun!!!
Location: keeping my 7 yr old still, while I'm in stampin' bliss!
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OK, I've been looking around for the last hour. I am so overwhelmed. I can't decide what to get. I think I want to get some of their color matched paper/ink/ribbon, but I can't decide which ones to get. I don't want to get anything that is close to SU. I really like the Poppy, and I keep hearing about her chocolate, but is it like Chocolate Chip?
I wish she had the colors of the patterned paper in the description. I really like the new Holiday paper she has, but being new, I can't figure out which colors are in it (besides Poppy) and I want to make sure to get the right inks/paper/ribbon.
I LOVE LOVE Michelle's Take Note and plan on getting that and the notepads. Probably Vintage Ornaments and one of the Holiday Sayings.
I have tons and tons of buttons, do I really need hers???? I'm definitely getting her white cardstock though.
I will look at the other sets you guys mentioned.
Joan, I do have the acrylic blocks, as I'm going unmounted with all my SU sets, so I'm fine there. (I use Tack n Peel)
I love how you can store Taylored Expression sets, does PTI have anything like that?
I thinks that's all my questions right now....of for more shopping (making dinner can wait right?)
the pure poppy is very very close to SU's real red. I don't have the chocolate so I don't know. the spring moss is fabulous and not like any of SU's greens.
Berry Sorbet is seriously a must have. Get the cardstock and the ribbon! It is a gorgeous shade of pink with a touch of orange in it. The lemon tart is pretty intense. I'm not a huge fan of it and prefer SU's yellows. But, really color choice is so personal.
If you have a ton of buttons, I would skip buttons...and go for stamps! I love clear stamps and if you aren't sure about them, go for stamps that take advantage of the easy placement. The polka dot sets, the alphabets, the guidlines sets are all examples of using clear to its greatest advantage.
the gingham ribbon is wider than SU's and really nice.
How about a sample pack of the cardstock along with the white cardstock? Then you can see for yourself. If you go to papertrey's forum (the link is at the top of the store) you can get a lot of info about the colors in the patterned paper.
Also, if you browse the PTI design team blogs you will see the colors in action and you can also see the sets and how they are used.
in terms of storage, each set comes with a CD case...and labels. hope this helps
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
Last edited by Joan B; 10-29-2009 at 04:39 PM..
Reason: adding info
I bought the sampler pack of cardstock, which gave me alot of the colors!! Love...Love...Love it!! that cardstock is the best. I will order her white cardstock next, or Gina K's!! Have fun shopping! Karen
I also highly recommend starting with the sampler pack. That is the best way to see the colors yourself. I have found that most of their colors are quite different from SU's colors, so it's fun to have both! I agree with the previous post, though, that Pure Poppy is very, very close to Real Red. Dark Chocolate is NOT just like Chocolate Chip, though; it's a deeper brown -- very nice. However, if you have a ton of Choc. Chip to use, you can probably wait on the Dark Choc. (You can sample a few sheets from the sampler pack!) Also, Melon Berry is very close to SU's Groovy Guava from a couple of years ago. Another fairly close (not exactly dead-on) match is the New Leaf to Wild Wasabi. I think if you were a Wild Wasabi fan, you'd like New Leaf.
My favorite stamp sets so far? I LOVE the Fancy Flourishes -- they are just perfect! I use Mixed Messages and Mega Mixed Messages on everything. Fresh Alphabet is a really nice alphabet to work with. All of the background sets are really great. I really like the BB Text Style (I have the first one, not the most recent), the Polka Dot basics (Again, I have the first one), and BB Retro. Guidelines is really neat, and I'm really glad I have it, but I don't use it as much as I do the others because I feel like I have to "think" to use it. If you get it, though, you'll love it so much more if you also buy the Guidelines paper. I've used it a lot more since I bought that.
As for ink, I'll leave you to sort out all those colors! However, I must steer you toward the Fresh Snow and the Vintage Cream. IMO, they are so much easier to use than the SU versions of cream and white. They give a great image, but are much less goopy and messy for me. I love to stamp with white now.
You won't go wrong! You'll love PTI! It's fun spending someone else's money.
If you have a lot of buttons, you might want to check out the two stamp sets that use buttons as part of the design. The names escape me right now, but there's an everyday one and a Christmas one. The everyday one is on my Christmas wish list!
All the Papertrey stamp sets are fun!!! Especially the 2 sets using buttons.
Vintage Picnic is fun. Butterfly Kisses is adorable. I use ALL the 'borders and corners' alot. Green Thumb is great. Kids love My Punny Valentine and Little Lady. As with all Papertrey sets you can mix and match. I LOVE Papertrey. Paper and ink and ribbon are nice to have. Depending on your colour choices and what you have in SU.
White and Vintage Cream are musts....you won't use another CS unless it's Gina K's.
Oh don't get me started why I love Gina K!!!
My favorite sets:
Out on a Limb (lots of uses and makes beautiful CAS cards)
Snowflake Serenade (love the Peace and Joy)
Friends til the end (Flowers)
Rustic Branches (anything by Heather I love. This set can be used in a bunch of ways)
I know there are more, but these come to mind. Also love their sentiment sets. Wide variety to have on hand so you are not using the same sentiment over and over.
__________________ Martha
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." Jean Shinoda Bolen
I am in love with PTI's cardstock, especially the white and cream. Oh, and the scarlet red is "to die for!" The palette hybrid inks work on both rubber and acrylic stamps.
I only have one set, but I can say that it stamps beautifully!
Location: Wishing I was not at work but I have to pay for my hobbies some how! LOL!
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I can only image that PTI is overwhelming for a newbie! You will fall in love with everything so you cannot go wrong!
I use their white cardstock as a base for all my cards. So I would get some white, kraft and a sampler pack of other card stock. Just a note, the New Leaf and Melon Berry are very similar to SU's Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi In Colors. So if you miss those SU colors, I would get those for sure!
I personally buy my ink in cubes so I can get more bang for my buck but that is personal preference. But the ribbon is the best!
As for stamp sets, I would look on her blog and view the DT samples for the new release. I find that inspires me to buy! I love Everyday Button Bits, On My Couch, Guide Lines, In Bloom, Vintage Picnic and Vintage Picnic Sentiments.
If you already have a button stash, save your money for now and pass on them for more stamp sets! If you MUST get some, get the Holiday Mix so you can get several colors for little investment.
You simply can't go wrong with PTI. I discovered their products in March of this year. Since that time, I have built up quite a collection. LOVE IT ALL! I can't say enough about their stuff (and their customer service is amazing). Get ready to fall in love! My favorites (oh...that's so hard) have to include the Vintage Labels stamp set, tag sets, button bits sets, and Giga Guidelines. The new Take Note stamp set is also a must. Those new notepads are so much fun to make. I readjusted my stamping budget so that PTI shopping is first on my list.
I agree with everyone here...you will love their paper: colors (yum) and thickness (just right) and smooth and rich (love the scarlet jewel and enchanted evening) and their Kraft paper is my FAV! Vintage cream...oh yeah.
The new Rustic Snowflake pattern paper has a vintage quality. Go to Heather's blog (pinefeather) to see her samples. Be warned...you will love her stuff. The PTI design team is awe-inspiring....
Can you tell I'm a fan? Stamps, papers, inks, ribbons, buttons, Lauren's giftbox and gift bag templates...I have them all!
Oh my goodness...I love ALL THINGS Papertrey and my stamp room proves it! I get every single new paper release, stamps ink, and ribbon..then they went and added buttons...It would be hard to know where to start but I do KNOW that you will love everything you get....blessings.
I was a mostly exclusive SU customer. I'm not sure why. I started out with them and then I just couldn't buy everything so I just stuck with SU. I made my first PTI order last month right before the 15th (when new releases come out) then turned around before my order was even in my hands and ordered again to get the new releases. I have a video HERE ( I swore I would never be one of those and make a see what I bought video, she says shaking her head ) on my website of it! Also, it shows how to put them together.
I have all the SU inks and tons of paper, but I did get the PTI 2008 paper pack. I will probably hold off stocking up until I go through more of my SU. The sets I got were In Bloom, Women of Life, Sweet Treats II, the new Poinsetta set ?, Signature Christmas which I discovered some of the sentiments fit perfecting in the SU oval punch, more than any of my SU stamps!! I also got some of the Borders and Corners. I like them b/c they go with my punches. I have a wish list a mile long! HTH! Good luck! Let us know what you decide to get.
After reading through this thread, it just makes me all that more grateful that I've been with PTI since the beginning. I can't even begin to imagine how overwhelming it would be to start now. That said, good luck making your choices! I honestly can't list a few things to start with. I'm another one that would say, 'get it all!'
Just a note to the OP. I read that you use cling mount on your SU stamps, but I did not read if you've ever used clear stamps before. Let me just say that there's a real learning curve when it comes to clear stamps. It takes a long time to get the feel for applying the right amount of pressure. If you stamp too firmly (as we're trained to do with rubber wood mounted stamps) you'll get lines and images that are thick and squished. Also, some clear stamps do fine with SU inkpads, but others do not. I generally use Versafine with my clear stamps.
If you're used to the feel of rubber cling mount, you may also want to look at Gina K's stamps, which are not clear but cling mounted and feel much more like stamping with a traditional rubber stamp. Hope that helps!
Just a note to the OP. I read that you use cling mount on your SU stamps, but I did not read if you've ever used clear stamps before. Let me just say that there's a real learning curve when it comes to clear stamps. It takes a long time to get the feel for applying the right amount of pressure. If you stamp too firmly (as we're trained to do with rubber wood mounted stamps) you'll get lines and images that are thick and squished. Also, some clear stamps do fine with SU inkpads, but others do not. I generally use Versafine with my clear stamps.
If you're used to the feel of rubber cling mount, you may also want to look at Gina K's stamps, which are not clear but cling mounted and feel much more like stamping with a traditional rubber stamp. Hope that helps!
That is true and some clear stamps just will not work with SU inks at all but I haven't ANY problems with them. I am a newbie too! They are a very high quality.
This did remind me of something else you posted, I couldn't find it, so maybe I just imagined it. Something about blocks and tack in peel. You will not need anything except the clear stamp and a block. The clear stamps stick to the block all by themselves! :mrgreen: LOVE THEM!!!
You seriously can't go wrong with anything PTI! Like someone else mentioned, I too am glad I've been with them since the beginning (Butterfly Kisses!) as now it is not overwhelming at all - well, except for my overwhelming need to buy it all! hehehe
Seriously though, I would recommend:
Berry Sorbet - everything - ink, cardstock, all ribbon and buttons. The color is VERY unique and totally beautiful. Plus, if you get one of everything, you'll see the quality of all their types of ribbon, how well they tie, etc and once you see the variety of buttons, you'll be hooked on theirs! I won't buy buttons anywhere else because no one else offers the sheer variety that they do!
Fresh Snow Paper and Ink (and ribbon and buttons if you have the extra money to spare, but you have to at least get the paper and ink) - Their white ink is the only white ink I've ever liked! It stamps opaque and is so crisp. Their paper is also very nice to stamp on - no bleeding like I sometimes get with SU!. It's especially nice if you have copics - it takes the color beautifully.
For stamp sets, I would recommend:
Polka Dot Basics I or II - they are very versatile - it's great as a background or makes a great line across a page or card. And, it's are so easy to line up!
Limitless Labels - I can't tell you how often this set has saved me. I just keep Hersheys Nuggets on hand and if I need a last minute gift, I whip out that set, stamp up some labels, put them on the nuggets and throw all the nuggets in a pretty glass container, mason jar, clear bag, glassine bag, one of their clear card boxes, or whatever else I have around and I've got a nice gift in like under 20 minutes.
Vintage Picnic Basket and matching Vintage Picnic Sentiments - This set lines up SO nicely, I'm always amazed and there is an image for just about any occasion and there are sentiments for just about every occasion too - and is in a nice basic font.
I also love their Clearly Creative Card Boxes - they are a great way to package up a set of notecards for a gift, or, like I mentioned earlier, to package up some covered nuggets or any other candy.
Rustic Twine - it's perfect for tieing on their buttons!
Anyway, these are just my recommendations, but honestly, you can't go wrong with anything PTI. Just keep in mind, like someone else mentioned, that clear stamps do not stamp the same way as rubber. They require more conditioning in the beginning and do take some getting used to, but if you're entering the world of clear stamps, PTI has the best quality and is the easiest out of all the ones I've tried. After years of being a dedicated SU! snob and even at one point, a demo, I am now a total PTI snob!
__________________ ~*~ Clara ~*~ If you can think it, you can ink it!
I can't imagine someone hasn't mentioned Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides..both are gorgeous colors. And their kraft paper! I would order a sampler pack of paper, rustic twine, ribbon (I love the twill), and a set of patterned papers that have all the colors in them...like the boxes or stars. (How I wish the dots on the polka dot paper were straight! I only use it for paper piecing) Their green tea leaves patterned paper is simply gorgeous, too!
Out on a Limb and Out on a Limb sentiments are great for some gorgeous CAS and/or masculine cards.
Oooooh! You are in for a real treat! I love the Fancy Flourishes set, as well as the Everyday Buttons Bits sets. I used wood stamps for a very long time and never really got the hang of "just the right amount" of pressure to get a good image. Combine that with my inability to line them up well, and acrylic stamps solved both my problems. For some reason, PTI stamps are super user-friendly for me. I love the summer sunrise collection, as well as raspberry fizz.
Location: keeping my 7 yr old still, while I'm in stampin' bliss!
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UPDATE: I haven't ordered anything yet. I'm still overwhelmed. Between PTI and GK I haven't been able to figure out what I want. I will update when I FINALLY make my purchases. Thanks everyone for you insight and recommendations, they are helping me finalize my orders!
The clear stamps are nice. Some acrylic are just blotchy. I love the looks of lots of acrylic stamps but just can't use them.
The blocks are acrylic, but the stamps themselves look like they are the regular SU rubber. I can't stand that photopolymer stuff. The image quality stinks. Looks like SU's product won't have that problem.
Limitless Labels - I can't tell you how often this set has saved me. I just keep Hersheys Nuggets on hand and if I need a last minute gift, I whip out that set, stamp up some labels, put them on the nuggets and throw all the nuggets in a pretty glass container, mason jar, clear bag, glassine bag, one of their clear card boxes, or whatever else I have around and I've got a nice gift in like under 20 minutes.
I have read about people doing this--mostly right here at Splitcoast, LOL
What size labels do you stamp on? Such a cute idea!
I have read about people doing this--mostly right here at Splitcoast, LOL
What size labels do you stamp on? Such a cute idea!
I stamp on regular cardstock or pattern paper and cut out the labels and then adhere with scor-tape. When I do want to stamp on label paper, I use PTI's white mailing labels. Here's the info from the PTI store page: http://www.papertreyink.com/pb_paper.html
White Mailing Labels: With the popularity of our nugget label stamps growing daily, we wanted to offer our customers an inexpensive alternative for purchasing the labels. These labels coordinate perfectly with the label stamps included with our Spooky Sweets & Holiday Treats stamp sets.
-White labels that measure 1 x 2-5/8 inches
-30 white labels per sheet
-600 white labels total
-self-adhesive
I love all their label stamp sets! So fun and easy...great images and sentiments!
May I make a suggestion? Go visit the DT's blogs...that'll help you see "your" vision. I love all PTI DT, but my style "clicks" more with about 3 of them and that really helps me decide which stamp sets I want to purchase...
Location: still hiding behind my Foster Grants...can I come out yet?!?
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All I have to say is that ya'll are a bunch of enablers! Limitless Labels here I come!
__________________ Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
My avatar is my kitty Bonnie as she sits in the dryer full of clean clothes!
My next order will be another 6 or 7 stamps sets, not sure whether I will order any paper.
I always liked SU's Art by Design until I saw the "Trademarks" set Check that on out....you'll love it
Be sure that you qualify for the anniversary set, too! On February 14 (PTI's anniversary), they'll tally up how many $15 and $24 sets you've purchased since Feb. 15 of last year. For every twelve sets you've purchased, you'll automatically get their anniversary set sometime in the spring, which isn't available any other way. The two previous anniversary sets have been awesome, so you won't want to miss out if you're starting off with large purchases like the one you've already made!
Going to the OTHER side....
