Stop! Don’t buy that stamp set! Check out these Rain or Shine card ideas first

 

Stop! Don’t buy that stamp set! Today I want to show you some cards made with the gorgeous Rain or Shine Suite – and show you why you don’t always need to buy a Stampin’ Up!® stamp set.

What? Have I lost my mind?

Probably! But I am very mindful that there is a cost-of-living crisis and not everyone can afford a new stamp set every time they feel like it.

However, I really want to help you keep crafting through the crisis so have pledged to share money-saving tips when I can to help you do just that. 

One tip is to take a look at Stampin’ Up!®’s gorgeous Designer Series Paper because quite often the designs replicate those in the coordinating stamp set. 

If it’s a stamp set you love but are not sure you will use over and over again, it can be far more cost-effective to purchase the Designer Series Paper and forego the stamps. 

You can cut out the images from the paper – in the case of this beautiful Rain or Shine Designer Series Paper you get all of the same animal images as in the Playing in the Rain stamp set ... and more besides.

 You get two sheets of this design which means you can cut out:

• 10 rabbits
• 6 foxes
• 6 tortoises

(In fact, they are the same size as the images in the Playing in the Rain stamp set so you could cut them out using the Playing in the Rain dies but, as we’re talking money-saving, you may wish to fussy-cut them with scissors!)

Then there’s another sheet of different animal images – pigs, dogs and some tortoises holding an umbrella – which don’t feature in the stamp set. 

You can make both the cards shown here using the Rain or Shine Designer Series Paper (£14) without the coordinating Playing in the Rain stamp set (£25). Admittedly I have used the Oh Happy Day greeting but this could easily be swapped for something you already have in your stash. 

This card makes the most of the most gorgeous sheet of paper in the Rain or Shine pack (in my opinion!) The hardest part of making this card was bringing myself to cut up this sheet. 

 

The clouds are embossed (no effort! They just come that way) and I cut out the tortoise from the paper. 

 

 

To make the grass, I used my old fringing scissors but if you don’t have these, you can cut them with normal scissors, making repeated cuts and not worrying too much about them being evenly spaced. Then I cut the top in a curve, freehand. 

I love how this card turned out. It’s bright and cheery and perfect for sending a friendly greeting to make someone’s day. 

For this card I cut out two images and brought them together. The rabbit was dancing in the puddle and I thought he needed an umbrella, Singin’ In The Rain-style, so I cut one of these out from another sheet. I also cut out some clouds from a sheet and stuck these behind the greeting. 

 

 

As I said earlier, the greeting was stamped using the coordinating Playing in the Rain stamp set but you could use any greeting stamp if you don’t have this. 

The rabbit is mounted onto some rainy paper in cheerful pinks and yellows, and backed with a rainy sky. This rainy paper is also embossed with glossy accents, so it really shimmers when you move it. 

Of course, to make these cards you will need some basic supplies such as coordinating cardstock and if you don’t have these, then another cost-effective solution is to purchase my All The Trimmings kit for £20. 

 

 

I am taking orders for this Rain or Shine kit until the end of February and can ship to anywhere in the UK.

 

Reserve your kit here

Skipping the stamp set isn’t always your best option, of course. If you’re a big rabbit fan, or have lots of children in your life and know this stamp set will get used for many years to come, then by all means go for it as you will be stamping images long after you have run out of Designer Series Paper. You might prefer the process of stamping and colouring, in which case don’t miss my earlier projects where I tried to replicate the look of the Designer Series Paper using my Stampin’ Blends. 

Ultimately, it’s all about weighing up your options and knowing that, even if the budget won’t stretch as far as you’d like it too, there’s another way.

If you are in the UK and would like to order, please visit my store and, if you use the February 2022 host code 3T2Y4EYV, I’ll send you a thank you gift in the following month.

🇬🇧 To make it easy for you, please shop using this link 

 

🇮🇪   Shopping from Ireland? Please use this link

Does your wish list come to more than £99? Please get in touch and I will help you get more for your money and unlock discounts all year round.  

 

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