Gina K vs. Papertrey Ink vs. CTMH — One Girl’s Opinion

What does a girl with a zillion stamp sets buy with her birthday money? Why, more stamp sets of course! LOL! I have had my eye on a few non-CTMH stamp sets for a while and decided to buy a few of them with some of my b-day money. As you may know, I am fond of Papertrey Ink, so I had to buy a few of those. I have never purchased any Gina K stamps, however. In fact, I have never even used any rubber cling mount stamps before so I decided to try one. I ordered a set called Botanicals because I liked the images and it came with a free “card kit.” The cards turned out kind of cute, but I must say that the stamps were kind of hard to use. I am spoiled by my clear stamps. I had to cut them out, which was kind of a pain and I found them a little frustrating to stamp with. The cling mounting was pretty cool and I liked that I could use them with my acrylic blocks, but the stamps were very thick and a bit awkward. I am sure if I use them more, I will get used to them. I don’t care to much for the storage. I did initially like Gina K’s cardstock because it is very thick, however my cards are SUPER bulky because they have so many layers. I think her CS would be better for one layer cards. All in all, I am glad I bought the set, but will probably not use it much.

A couple of the Papertrey Ink sets that I have been wanting were Everyday Button Bits and Blooming Button Bits so I bought them. I love making quick and simple cards so these sets are perfect for that. I bought a few other sets as well that I haven’t used yet. I promise to post when I create something with them. While I love clear stamps and really enjoy many of PTI’s images, I really don’t care for the CD case storage that come with the stamps. They are kind of flimsy and many of mine have broken or fallen apart already.

So, my recent purchases have confirmed the fact that I still think Close to my Heart stamps are the best in the industry! The quality of the stamps are top notch, the convenient envelopes that they come in are perfect for storage, and the fact that they are clear is a given!

Now I must get back to creating some fun Convention gifts for my team using my awesome CTMH products. I will post them while at Convention in 13 short days!!!

Supplies used:
Gina K Cards
Stamp: Botanicals
Ink: CTMH Cranberry, Sunflower, Cocoa, Topiary, & New England Ivy
Cardstock: Gina K colors (?)
Other: Embossing Folder, Scallop border punch, gold brads

Papertrey Ink Cards
Stamp: Everyday Button Bits, Blooming Button Bits, Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: CTMH Cocoa, Buttercup, & Sweet Leaf
Other: CTMH Buttons, Waxy Flax, mini black brad, Labels 1 Nestabilities