The Two Best Stamp Sets - EVER

I admit I may have overstated the quality of these stamp sets, however they are two of my all time favorite stamp sets.  I'll get to why in a moment.  

My card is for this week's color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  The colors are Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green and Bermuda Bay with designer paper as dessert. (For those unfamiliar with the challenge, dessert is an optional element.)  Flowers were the easy way to go and since other challenge cards this week took way too much time, I went floral.

The layout of this card is pretty generic and nothing unique.  I've used it before and it makes for a nice CAS card that can be embellished if desired.  I've also reversed it with the bottom part being the patterned paper and the sentiment on top.

Why are these are these two sets, Band Together and Bloom & Grow, my favorite sets?

Band Together offers three versatile large sentiments - Celebrate the Best Day Ever, You Are Amazing and Beautiful Inside and Out - with coordinating inside sentiments that are good for almost anything.  The fonts are a nice size; they do not overwhelm the card front but are not itty bitty either.  Finally they are a pretty combination of a script and sans serif font that is easy to read.  In other words, they check all the boxes! (This set comes with an image that I have never even used!  That's how much I like the words.)

Bloom & Grow is a floral set that at first seemed restrictive to me.  All three images are a floral band.  However they are wonderful to color!  Below are links to four other cards I've posted; using different coloring techniques.  Today's card uses traditional alcohol marker blending for a smoother look.

The card in the upper left also uses alcohol markers but in a loose manner.  When you have flowers of this size, with lots of petals it is easy to scribble the markers loosely instead of detailed shading. This works very well when you have two colors that are close together in color but different shades.

The upper right card was water colored a bit more tightly than the bottom cards and used a light brown ink to keep it pastel looking.  And recognize that layout?

Finally the bottom two cards are are loosely water colored over gold embossing.  This is a look that always turns out beautiful! 

I hope you haven't minded my gushing over these two sets today.  I'm a bit sad because both are RETIRING at the end of April (although I will still use them.)

I wanted to show you how wonderful these sets are and give you the chance to get them before they are gone!

Products used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Band Together, Bloom and Grow
• Dies: Budding Blooms (on sale)
  
• Paper: 2021-2022 Brights DSP (to be released May 4!)
• Markers: Stampin' Blends Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay; Copic markers Y13, RV13, YG01, BG11
  

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