Randi's Review	Sarah' Review	Rachel's Review	Cathy's Review	kathleen's Review

Review by Guest Artist, Melanie

I love using stamps on my layout, so I was excited to try the Leave Memories "Spring Garden Font" stamp set. Alphabet stamps are a big favorite of mine to use. The font is fun and whimsical and comes in both upper and lower cases. In addition to the alphabet, there are over 15 butterfly images throughout the set. I say "more than 15" because I didn’t count them all. They are in various sizes and each one is different.

If you have never used unmounted stamps before, you may open these and look at the sheet of rubber and not know what to do. I used EZ Mount vinyl cling and placed it on the back of the rubber before I cut out the images. A good pair of scissors, such as KIA brand scissors, makes cutting through both layers easy. The hardest part of using these stamps was the preparation. It took almost a hour to cut out the letters and butterflies. Some of the images are very, very close together, so extra caution is a must when cutting. Take your time. Some people recommend cutting out just what you need, but I like to complete the cutting process so all my images are free to be used as needed. Once the cutting out is done, the stamps are ready to have fun with. I cleaned them with alcohol-free baby wipes, and also used a stamp cleaner. They cleaned up easily.

Joy of Books Layout

In my layout "The Joy of Books", I used the alphabet stamps to spell the title. I used the upper case letters for the t, j, and b and the lower case letters for the rest. I placed the letters on an acrylic block at an angle so they would look whimsical. I test stamped on scrap paper to check for the placement of the letters. The images were stamped with fluid chalk ink onto tags that I pre-stitched a zig zag stitch on. I also added a few butterflies to the tags, purposely stamping them off the edges of the tag.

Supplies:
Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
Patterned Papers - KI Memories
Stamps - Leave Memories "Spring Garden Font"
Twill - Fibers by the Yard
Ink- Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink (green)
Other - Paper Clip

I machine stitched on the paper, tags and top of file-folder.
Hidden Journaling (in file folder)

For the top of the mini file-folder, I cut a 1 3/4" square out of blue cardstock. I mounted this on a slightly larger square of yellow and machine stitched around the edges. The upper case “a” was then stamped onto the blue square.

Pretty In Pink

For my next layout, I used the stamps for the title at the top, and stamped "Arielle" on the bottom, and "Jan 2004" on the side. I used a different set of number stamps for the year. I used fluid chalk ink on this layout as well, and was worried that the shade of pink (rose) that I used to stamp with may be a bit too light, so I used a pink prismacolor pencil to lightly define the edges of the letters. I had a bit of the edges of the rubber pick up ink and leave marks when I stamped, so I will have to remember to not press as hard when stamping in the future.

Supplies:
Cardstock- Bazzill Basics (pink)
Patterned Paper- Stripe-Two Busy Moms; Yellow Floral-Daisy D's
Velllum Quotes - My Minds Eye
Flowers - Making Memories
Stamps- Leave Memories Spring Garden Font; Lost Coast Design for numbers
Square Conchos and Words - Scrapworks
Ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink (Rose)
Prismacolor Colored Pencil
Crystal Lacquer - Sakura Hobby Craft
Other - Ribbon, Button

In summary, I like the look of the whimsical font of these stamps. The hardest part was the preparation, but once that is over, you have a beautiful set of alphabet stamps. Since they are unmounted, they are easy to store and they clean up easily.

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Review by Randi

My first experience at working with unmounted stamps was the "Spring Garden Font" by Leave Memories. I was so nervous when I took that first snip with those KAI scissors. Some of the images in this set are extremely close together so I had to be careful, but working with unmounted is actually pretty easy. Already I see the advantages of saving so much on storage costs and expense.

In the past rubber stamping hasn't interested me much because I couldn't help but think that the image would just look the same on every page. I didn't believe I would use the same stamp more than once or twice. I also thought that the fonts would just be too much hassle and mess to use. I was WRONG on both counts. I used the font and the butterflies on three different layouts with totally different looks. The clean up of these stamps was a snap too. I just ran them under cool water with very little scrubbing required at all.

On the "Miracle" layout, the butterflies make an appearance as little points of interest around the title.



Supplies
Sweet Pea Sprout, Basic Gray
Vellum Quote DCWV
Spring Garden Font stamps, Leave Memories
Ribbon Charm, Making Memories
Fiber
Permanent Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

On "Home School Life Science" the butterflies are stamped in groups all over the paper to give a patterned paper look.



Supplies:
blue, beige cardstock, DMD
butterfly stamps in background Leave Memories
Font stamps Leave Memories
Ink: Pearl Ex Two-Tone, Jacquard
photo turns, 7 Gypsies
gold brads
quote: Making Memories
Permanent Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

And on this last layout the butterflies make a very subtle appearance by stamping them with VersaMark and embossing with Opalescent embossing powder. You will likely have to look hard on this little scan to notice them. Look to the right of the title and you'll see one of the more prominent ones.



Supplies:
Sweet Pea Alyssa Scattered Flowers, Basic Gray
Spring Garden Font stamps, Leave Memories
Versamark
Opalescent Embossing Powder, Inkadinkadoo
Black Pearl Ex Essential Color ink, Jacquard
Scripture Quote, DCWV
Photo turns, Making Memories
Brads, JoAnn Scrap Essentials
frog charm
believe washer, Making Memories
A Fine Line glue, Adhesive Tech
Permanent Glue Runner, Adhesive Tech

I really like the Spring Garden Font a lot and anticipate using this font over and over. With the great variety of butterflies in the varying sizes I can see them appearing often on my layouts too. This set is a winner.

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Review by Sarah

This week, I had the pleasure of working with the Spring Garden Unmounted Stamp set by Leave Memories. The Spring Garden set features a fanciful, capricious-looking font in two sizes, and also includes twenty-one realistic butterfly images in an assortment of sizes.

I particularly liked the quality of this set because of two important aspects: first, all letters and images are deeply poured in the rubber for a nice, thick stamp. Secondly, the rubber tapers from the image face to a wider base. Have you ever used a rubber stamp and accidentally gotten ink from the edge of the stamp base on your paper? It leaves an ugly little mark, and it’s a common woe to the stamping world. The thick and tapered rubber helps to produce a clean image every time you stamp because the image face is lifted well away from the rubber base. It also is very sturdy and helps to decrease tipping or wobbling of the stamp while in use.

I was also pleased with the ease I experienced in cleaning the rubber of these Leave Memories stamps. The ink just wiped away and did not seem to need excessive scrubbing as some stamps require.

In starting my projects using the Spring Garden set, I first had to cut out the stamps from the rubber and mount them on foam, as per the instructions included in the packaging. I was very, very frustrated with the cutting process of Spring Garden. The letters and butterflies are poured exceedingly close together. In some places, the tapered rubber bases merge freely with other bases, leaving absolutely no margin for cutting. Some letters are even nested within one another!

While I do appreciate the effort taken in designing efficient use of all available rubber, I feel that the images of Spring Garden are simply too close together. While I was cutting, and was forced to cut through the tapered bases of some images, I was apprehensive about whether these stamps would work at all. It was extremely difficult to avoid undercutting the foam mount, and the entire cutting process was a miserable experience. Now that I have used the stamps, I realize that having part of the tapered bases cut off really has not affected the performance of the stamp images. However, simply allowing a little bit more room for cutting would cut down on a lot of anxiety and trepidation!

On this first page, I used Spring Garden butterflies as well as the large and small alphabets. I just really enjoy the look of this font! The butterflies also look lovely stamped with a Gold Pearl Ex Stamp Pad. They are detailed, but also pick up a significant amount of ink for images this small. This makes them ideal for use with fancy colored inks.

Paper: 7Gypsies
The Paper Studio (Translucent Vellum)
Stamping Supplies: Leave Memories (Spring Garden)
Memories (Black Dye Ink Pad)
Jacquard (Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Metallic Color Gold)
Stampin’ UP! (Stampin’ Emboss Powder: Crystal Clear)
Embellishments: Craft Poinsettia
Black Craft Button
Gold Organdy/Satin Ribbon
Supplies: Adhesive Tech (Permanent Glue Runner)
ZIG (Millennium 08 Pen)

On my next page, I chose to use Leave Memories butterflies to stamp all over the background paper with light brown ink. Because the butterflies do pick up substantial amounts of ink, they were very effective when coupled with light colored ink. The large, sparkly butterflies were made using another stamp set with black ink and sparkly embossing powder. I tried to do this technique with the Leave Memories butterflies, but their lines were too heavy. There was so much black and so much sparkle, they looked gaudy. Even though embossing is almost an automatic technique for me, I did not like the way embossing looked on the Spring Garden butterflies – in sparkly, or clear. Again, colored inks used alone showcase these stamps to their best advantage, and I like this unique quality.

Paper: Scissor Sisters (Buttercream Script)
The Paper Studio (Translucent Vellum)
Yellow Printed Vellum
Stamping Supplies: Leave Memories (Spring Garden)
Ranger (Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Antique Linen)
Rubber Stampede (Victorian Butterfly Stamp Kit)
Memories (Black Dye Ink Pad)
Stampin’ UP! (Stampin’ Emboss Powder)
Embellishments: 7Gypsies (Journal Jewelry: Large Gold Photo Turn)
Jo-Ann Scrap Essentials (Gold Mini Brads)
Supplies: ZIG (Millennium 08 Pen)
Adhesive Tech (Permanent Glue Runner)

As you can see, this font is also versatile among a variety of subject matter!

Paper: Paperbilities (Orange Cardstock)
Stamping and Ink Supplies: Close To My Heart (Team Spirit Sayings)
Leave Memories (Spring Garden Font)
VersaMark (Watermark Pad)
Memories (Black Dye Ink Pad)
Fun Stamps (Black Embossing Powder)

Embellishments: Fiber Accents (Black Ladder Fiber)
Pewter Spiral Clip (Altered to Black)
Supplies: Adhesive Tech (Permanent Glue Runner)

After the initial frustration of cutting out this font, I have really come to appreciate it for its quality and unique look. It is destined to become a standard font in my scrapbooks. Because they work best with ink alone, I plan to use these butterfly stamps alongside a variety of other butterfly stamps for our new baby’s scrapbook (yes, in case you have been wondering, this is an announcement! For a closer look at these or any pages by the Review Team, check out the ScrapFriends gallery).

In Summary: Though it is extremely frustrating to cut out because of the images being so close together, Spring Garden by Leave Memories comes out a winner because of its fanciful and versatile font and unusual butterfly images.

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Review by Rachel

I was very happy to receive this set of unmounted stamps from Leave Memories. I have always wanted to use bottlecaps in my layouts but didn’t really like how bulky they were or their very sharp edges against my page protectors. This set gives you so much freedom. You get the cool look of bottlecaps without the bulk and without having to worry about slicing your page protector. These stamps offer 18 different types of bottlecaps. One set of small block alphabets and two small number blocks. There is also a negative strip and more numbers in there.

When I first looked at this set, I was a little stumped on how I could use this set of stamps. I then just started stamping on scrap paper and seeing how each stamp worked with the others. I am a visual person and need to touch and feel things for it to inspire me. Soon the ideas began flowing and my creativity returned. I was finally excited to start using this set on my layouts. The first layout I did was one of my husband’s 30th birthday. I started simple by using the "love you" bottlecap as an embellishment on the page.

 

Brian’s 30th Birthday
Supplies Used:
Love You Bottlecap: It’s Bottlecaps – Leave Memories
Numbers: It’s Bottlecaps – Leave Memories
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Stack III – Die Cuts with a View
Ink: Gold Blue – Pearl-Ex – Two Tone Color
Acrylic Paint: True Navy – PLAID
Buttons: Dress It Up
Computer Font: Micahels
Alphabet Stamps: Soldier’s Tribute – Leave Memories
Vellum Tags: Making Memories
Brad: ScrapEssentials – Joann’s
Fiber: Fiber By The Yard
Stamps: Celebrations Solids – Close To My Heart
Adhesive: Glue Runner – Adhesive Tech

On the second layout, I was braver with the bottlecaps. I had so much fun making this layout! I stamped the bottlecap and then stamped an alphabet stamp in the middle and cut each one out! I love how it mimics the lights on the Ferris wheel!

 

Independence
Supplies used:
Bottlecaps: It’s Bottlecaps – Leave Memories
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Stack III – Die Cut with a View
Ink: Sepia – Essential Color – Pearl Ex Stamp Pad – Jacquard
Spring Iris – Close To My Heart
Pop Dots: Stamp Art – All Night Media
Adhesive: Permanent Glue Runner – Adhesive Tech
Tab: my own design
Photo Corners: Making Memories

I also decided that this set was perfect for a shopping list corkboard I was making for my secret sister at church! I used the small alphabet for the words "shopping list" and the fun bottlecaps for the tacks that I made from washers and thumb tacks. I saw this idea in a magazine and changed it to suit my needs. I love how it turned out!

 

Shopping List
Supplies Used:
Bottlecaps: It’s Bottlecaps – Leave Memories
Alphabet Stamps: It’s Bottlecaps – Leave Memories
Inks: Sunflower – Close To My Heart
Patterned Paper: KI Memories
Organza Ribbon: Offray & Sons, Inc
Brads: ScrapEssentials – JoAnn’s
Cork: Walmart
Thumb Tacks: Menards
Washers: Menards
Adhesive: Glue Gizmo – Adhesive Tech
Glue Runner – Adhesive Tech

In conclusion, although I had a rough time getting started on this set, it all came together after playing with the set for a little while. I have had so much fun with this set and it is a very versatile set. There are so many choices of bottlecaps to choose from that is just fun to figure out which one you wanted to use! I recommend this set for everyone whether you are beginner stamper or expert stamper!

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Review by Cathy

Leave Memories Unmounted Rubber Stamps come in a sheet of rubber that needs to be cut and mounted by the purchaser. I received a sheet of " It's Bottle Caps Stamps". The Bottle Cap sheet contains both outer rims of bottle caps and inner circles. I was delighted to start working with these stamps because I had loved the look of bottle caps on a layout, but did not want to deal with real bottle caps because they are bulky.

I did not have any trouble cutting the stamps out or working with them, probably because I had the privilege of learning about the unmounted stamps from the DVD: Inside Scrapbooking-Unmounted Stamps by Leave Memories. This video is filled with great information and easy to follow demonstrations. One of the many tips I learned from the video is to store these stamps in CD cases.

The Bottle Cap Stamps were very easy to use. I used acrylic blocks and both two sided tape and Sunday International: EZ Mounting Systems. Unmounted stamps require some set up time but are easier to store, take up less space. They are a very economical way to build a stamp collection. My first project was a layout called: "Boy Oh Boy!" I used a Bottle Cap outer rim stamp (stamping first with ink and then embossing with clear embossing powder). I also used some clear stickers for the inside words. I used white shiny paper. For the metallic look the white shiny paper works extremely well.

Supply List
Leave Memories Unmounted Rubber Stamps: It's Bottle Caps;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Indigo;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Two Toned Color- Gold/Red;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color - Black;
Anita's: Embossing Powder Clear;
Making Memories: Scrapbook Colors- Honeydew;
Lasting Impressions: Matte Mini Brads,
Scrappy Cat: Stamped Effects Paper and tag;
Paper Adventures: Francois Collection- Green Net;
Green Frog cut from National Card stock Paper- unsure of the Die Cut;
Carolees Creations:Boy Stickers;
KI Memories: Icicles;
DCWV:Rub On Stack- Friendship and Love; and
Adhesive Tech: Permanent Tape Runner

The next picture gives a few examples of the variety of the Bottle Cap Stamps.

Supply List
Leave Memories: It's Bottle Caps Unmounted Stamps;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Two Toned Color- Gold/Red;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Sepia;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Indigo;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Black;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Gold/Violet;
and Anita's Embossing Powder

This example demonstrates a few ways to use the Bottle Cap Stamps. The circles are the perfect fit for Scrapworks round Hugz and metal rimmed tags. The Bottle Caps can be used together or separately. The inner circles can be used alone or with the outer rims. It will be fun to make tags, titles, cards and more with these stamps. The bottle caps are perfect for wheels, a sun, a VersaMarked background and more.

Supplies are the same as above with the addition of Scrapworks Hugz and Metal Rimmed Tags.

Below is a simple card I created to simply say Hi. The card features an inner circle Bottle Cap Stamp (stamped with black ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder).

Supply List
Leave Memories: It's Bottle Caps Unmounted Stamps;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Black;
Anita's: Embossing Powder-Clear;
Two Busy Moms: Punch Out Tags- Pink;
Scrapworks: Hugz-Circle(Green);
Offray: Dashes, Dots and Checks;
Bobbin Ribbon: Green Check;
Blank Card: unknown;
Adhesive Tech: Permanent Glue Runner

The next layout is called Prairie Varsity Tennis, this layout features the Bottle Cap stamps stamped with ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I used two different inner circle patterns. One is a stripe, the other is an off-center stamp-like image. I cut each of the stamped images out and mounted them on the layout with a ribbon stapled to each one.

Supply List
Leave Memories: It's Bottle Caps Unmounted Stamps;
Anita's: Embossing Powder Clear;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Essential Color- Indigo;
Pearl Ex Stamp Pad: Two Toned Color- Gold/Red;
Anita's: Embossing Powder Clear;
Doodlebug Design: Boy Oh Boy Dotted Line Paper and Checked Gingham Ribbon;
Offray: Red Dot Ribbon and White on White Dot ribbon;
Loersch Slide Mount covered with Doodlebug paper;
Fibers by the Yard: Red Ric Rack;
Staples; and
and Adhesive Tech: Permanent Glue Runner

The Bottle Cap Stamps are great to have and will be used again and again. There is a little more work involved in setting up unmounted stamps, but it is worth it. These stamps will be showing up in my future works in the gallery. My recommendation is for purchasing a few sets of Leave Memories Unmounted Stamps.

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Review by Kathleen

I had the opportunity to work with the unmounted rubber stamps from Leave Memories themed 'It's Bottlecaps!'. What a fabulous, fun set of stamps. The sheet comes with twelve different bottlecap centers, three open center bottlecap edges, three solid center bottlecap edges, a 1/4 inch high all-capital alphabet, numbers with both positive and negative space, 1/2 inch high numbers, and a three framed filmstrip.

I really enjoyed working with this stamp set. It is fun collection of stamps that can give your page a retro, contemporary, or classic feel.

For my first layout, I used the stamps to create an interesting menagerie of elements. In one bottlecap image, I stamped the letter "V" for my daughter's name, and filled one image in with the date. The rest of the images are from the stamp set and range from "hi!" and "Love You" to stripes and pictorial images.

‘Sweet Child of Mine’
Products used:
Leave Memories – It's Bottlecaps!, Our Be-be (Firsts) unmounted rubber stamps
Bazzill Basics – textured cardstock
Two Busy Moms – patterned paper
Jacquard – Pearl Ex Sepia stamping ink
Micron 05 - black pen
Adhesive Tech – Glue Runner
Other – staples
Kathleen Campos – photograph

The second layout uses a bottlecap image with a solid center image. I then stamped the letters inside the bottlecap to create the title.

‘Trying To Photograph A Toddler’
Products used:
Leave Memories - It's Bottlecaps!, Passport to Travel unmounted stamp sets
Jacquard - Pearl Ex Indigo, Black stamping ink
Deja Views - patterned paper
Bazzill Basics - cardstock
Micron 05 - blac k pen
Adhesive Tech - Glue Runner
Kathleen Campos - photographs

The third layout uses the solid center of the bottlecap and is used a little differently. For this layout, I stamped over each letter with a solid bottlecap center using Versamark and then heat embossed each letter with thick embossing powder to give each letter a page pebble appearance.

‘Sweet Sweet Cheeks’
Products used:
Leave Memories - It's Bottlecaps!, Our Be'be (Firsts) unmounted stamp sets
ColorBox - fluid chalk ink
BasicGrey - patterned paper
Fibers By The Yard - twills
Adhesive Tech - Glue Runner
My Mind's Eye - Monogram-its Top Boss - Embossing Powder
Versamark - watermarking ink
Kathleen Campos - photograph
Other - staples

No matter what your stamping style or level, you will be happy with the results of these stamps. There are so many different ways to use them and you are not limited to the theme at hand. At a retail price of $16.00 per set, you are getting a great bargain with so many well designed and re-usable images.

If you are unsure of how to work with unmounted stamps, fear no more, and read the coming reviews at Scrapfriends on the informative DVD from Scimitar Productions as well as the mounting systems from EZ Mount Stamp N' Stor and HALOS.

For more information visit Leave Memories