I’m always on the lookout for stamp sets and other products with a masculine feel. That’s not to say they can’t be used on projects for the ladies but they’re less fussy and flowery. I am also drawn to products that reflect the area in which I live, Nova Scotia, Canada. So I’m more into fishing and woods than cactus and tropical beaches. So you can imagine my delight when I saw the new Best Catch Stamp Set.

TESTING THE WATERS

When I get a new stamp set I often start with a sort of test project. Just to get the feel of the stamps and possibly any coordinating accessories. Bookmarks and gift tags are the perfect small project for this.

I began my fishing themed bookmark with a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Soft Sea Foam Card. Then I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach a strip of paper from the Tranquil Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. This particular design reminded me of waves and I made sure to keep them horizontal.

Next I shaped the top of my bookmark blank using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. Then I folded a couple of lengths of Very Vanilla Solid Baker’s Twine in half, threaded the loops through the slot in my bookmark and passed the loose ends of the twine through the loops to secure it.

THE BEST CATCH EVER

Now I was ready to decorate my bookmark using the Best Catch Stamp Set.

I began with the leaping fish image and stamped him onto some Very Vanilla Card using Merry Merlot ink. Next, using a Blender Pen I went over the shaded parts of the image to pull a little of the colour out. The Stampin’ Up! stamp designers make colouring this way really easy. Finally I used a Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush to go over the blended areas and add a subtle shimmer.

The sentiment actually says ‘You’re the best catch ever’, but I wanted to alter it slightly. So I inked up the sentiment with Merry Merlot ink and then used the Blender Pen to remove the ink from the word ‘you’re’. Once I was happy that I’d removed all the unwanted ink I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Very Vanilla Card.

Now I needed to cut out my stamped pieces using my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform.

First I used the #1 (smallest) square die from the Stitched Shapes Framelits to cut out the sentiment.

Then I used the coordinating die from the Catch of the Day Thinlits to cut out the fish.

Once I’d used liquid glue to attach the fish and sentiment to the prepared bookmark I was done.

I know I’m going to have a lot of fun with this stamp set and Thinlits bundle. Does it appeal to you too?

BEST CATCH BUNDLE

As you’ve seen, the Best Catch Stamp Set has a set of coordinating Thinlits dies called Catch of the Day. You can buy these items separately but if you use the single ‘bundle’ item number you’ll save 10%. I’ve included both options in the product list below so you can explore this further if you wish.

Product List