Card Sets Using Small Rubber Stamps

Today I want to share a couple card sets that I made as gifts recently. I was happy to find a way to use some of my smaller rubber stamps on these cards. I bought a lot of sets that included small stamps, because they were so cute, and never really figured out what to do with them to "feature" them. I can't remember which card (either in a book or online) that I saw that sparked this idea of using small stamps, but I am grateful for it!

The first set was made for a fan of Mary Engelbreit. The only ME rubber stamp I had was cracked (also the only stamp to do so in my collection) and so I debated whether to order a new one for this project, or see if I could use what I had in a Mary Engelbreit-ish way! Her colors are bolder than I am used to, and this card set was certainly a stretch for me, but I enjoyed the end result. I used some little stamps I had ordered from "D.O.T.S." (which is now "Close to my Heart") which were as close as I could get to Mary Engelbreit's style. So besides finding a new use for small stamps, I also found a new way to use some old stamps!

The cards in this set were layered with colored card stock, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and die-cut ovals.

"My Friend"

The inside of each card had a coordinating image stamped. Cherries are very Mary Engelbreit, I think!

"You're my cup of Tea"

"Sew glad we're Friends"

(The photo of the inside of this one didn't turn out, it was a little heart with a needle and thread)

"Thank You Berry Much"

I hope the recipient had fun mailing these to her friends. 

The next card set used a "Victorian" rubber stamp set that I bought from Inkadinkado about 20 years ago! To make it an ocean-themed set, I added a little shell and starfish from my collection.
 The cards in this set were layered with colored cards stock, an embossed piece, ribbon, and die-cut ovals.

A hat from the "Victorian" set.

A rowboat ride from the "Victorian" set.

Little Shell,

Starfish 

The inside was layered with colored cardstock. This is one of those cases when a (cough!) mis-measurement called for the necessity of a border stamp to "decorate" the leftover space at the top. 

The one thing missing from these cards was that little bit of "bling," but I did not have time to add glitter. I think the red set was fine without it, but the ocean set would have been lovely with some glitter. 

On a card-related note, here's a pretty "Chocolate Box Bow" tutorial I found recently, which is useful not only for cards but for other applications! I hope to try this out soon.