One of my favorite stamp sets in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog is “Biggest Wish.” I have thoroughly enjoyed using all kinds of combinations of the BIG BLOCK and small cursive words in the set. Did you know that every word appears in both formats?
You’ll not be surprised, then, to know that a BIG favorite from this year’s Stampin’ Up! September-December Mini Catalog is “More Wishes.”
Biggest Wish
More Wishes
While the original stamp set was a great all—occasion set, More Wishes leans more towards the winter holidays. But there are a few surprises in there, too. That’s why I chose to show off something of both stamp sets in this article.
Starting With Christmas
My first two cards are two ideas for using the words, “Merry” and “Christmas.” A technique that I’ve used a lot with the Biggest Wish stamp set is to repeat one of the words several (usually three) times and then cap it off by using the second word at the end. That’s what I’ve done with the first Merry Christmas card.
I had intended just to add the cursive “Christmas” flat at the end lined up with the three “Merrys.” But when it came time to stamp, I thought stamping at an angle created a fun sense for the card. And it does! I added a stocking from the Sending Cheer stamp set and a little bow to finish the card.
Christmas Card 2
In the second card, I switched the Merry from block to cursive and the Christmas from cursive to block. They both work well either way. When I use this way of overlapping the cursive onto a block stamp, I like the cursive stamp to be a darker tone than the block, as I did with the Shaded Spruce-stamped Merry.
I finished this card with some bulbs from the Merry & Bright stamp set and added a whimsical bow (I love bows on Christmas cards!).
Mixing it up a bit
While still thinking and using Merry and Christmas from the More Wishes stamp set, I wanted to add “and Happy New Year.” The ampersand and the words New and Year are right there in that stamp set. And if you guessed that I found “happy” in the Biggest Wishes set, you’d be right!
For this card I mixed up some colors that I think of as Christmas (Navy and Old Olive) and New Year (Navy and Balmy Blue). The Night of Navy color connects the two greetings, and the Adhesive-Backed Glitter Sequins, with the set’s Blue and Old Olive, provides a sense of the whole holiday season.
Birthday Card
Continuing with mixing it up, I got away from the holidays a bit and created a birthday card that needs both stamp sets to complete my birthday wish. Birthday, of course, comes from Biggest Wishes. But I am so happy to have the words wishes, to and you from the new More Wishes set.
A Fun Valentine to Wrap it Up
You only have to look at the sample cards in the Mini Catalog to see that words love and you are perfect for a Valentine’s Day card. OK. That’s nice. Oh, and that exclamation point does perk it up a bit. But how about adding another word? How about Friend from the Biggest Wishes set?
I added some hearts from the Country Cottage stamp set (in the Annual Catalog) and some Iridescent Dots that will be in the upcoming January-April Mini Catalog. It’s definitely a Valentine Card!
The Fixin’s
All of these cards are made with Stamps, Ink, and Paper, with a bit of embellishment. Each of them is made with a 4” x 5-1/4” stamped layer, a 4-1/8” x 5-3/8” mat, and a 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” card base. They can all be made with whatever stamps and embellishments you have on hand. Enjoy the Wishes!
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