Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up!

Apparently if you are born under the star sign of Aries you should be artistic.  I always feel like I didn’t quite fit in with that skill, even though my birthday is right smack in the middle of Aries.  Don’t get me wrong, I love making things, and cross stitch is a passion, but I don’t have any artistic flair to design something from scratch.  I’ve always fancied making greetings cards, but I really wouldn’t know where to begin.  Design is quite simply not my thing.  Well I no longer need to worry, as I’ve recently discovered the Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up! In fact the company provide all sorts of card kits for people like me, who’d love to create something, but need a little guiding hand.

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

Originally from the US, Stampin’ Up! have been present in the UK since 2007 working through a team of demonstrators, although you can also order directly online.  They sell a whole host of kits and accessories for all your card making needs and I was really looking forward to my first card making experience.

The Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up! contains everything you need to make 20 cards (4 each in 5 designs), except for some glue, i just used a glue stick when making my cards up.

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

For £31.50 the Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up! includes the 20 cards (5.1 x 8.9 cm, 6.4 x 11.4 cm, 10.2 x 8.9 cm, 10.8 x 14 cm) and envelopes, 7 photopolymer stamps, clear stamp block (note to novices – find out what this actually does before you start making up your cards), printed, gold foil, white, and vellum die-cut accents, white/gold foil labels, Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Spot, Watercolour Pencils in Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive, and Rich Razzleberry, Lemon Lime Twist 6.4 mm Ombre Ribbon and Stampin’ Dimensionals (push out design stencils).  When you’ve made up all the cards in the set you can even use the outer box as a gift box.

Now I’m a total novice when it comes to card making, and dimensionals and accents really meant nothing to me at all. The set does include a basic instruction leaflet but I soon headed over to the Stampin’ Up! Youtube channel to get a better idea of what I was meant to be doing.

The only thing I didn’t grasp until after I’d tried making up my first cards is what on earth a stamp block was for.  Note to self, do proper research before starting things you know nothing about.

With the Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up! you get a small ink pad called a Stampin’ Spot to use, being a beginner with no clue, I thought it a little small for the stamps included with the set.

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

I found I had to press the stamp down onto the pad and keep moving it to try to get complete ink coverage, the results were a little disappointing.

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

I also hadn’t realised what the stamp block was actually for.  Eureka moment when I realised that the stamps actually peeled off from the backing sheet and could be adhered onto the block.  But I still think you need a larger ink block to get the best finish to this part of the set.  Luckily I have a couple of ink pads in the cupboard and got much better results.

From there is was a case of pushing out the vellum pieces (you do need to do this really carefully, I tore a couple in the process of making my cards but luckily once stacked in the design you would never know.  The card is a good quality and weight and everything presses out easily.

I’m sure some people would be much better at adding shading to their flower colouring, but I was happy with my efforts and it was a really nice exercise in de-stressing after a busy week.

Once the colouring and stamping is completed it’s a matter of gluing each layer in place.

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin' Up!

I’ve really enjoyed trying my Lots of Happy Card Kit from Stampin’ Up! and I’m looking forward to getting creative as with the rest of the cards in the weeks ahead.

For full details of this set and others sets, along with all the available accessories, pop on over to the Stampin’ Up! website.

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review

I'd love to hear from you and try to reply to all comments