Product Review: Personalized Stamps from Three Designing Women

handmade

Even if you don’t consider yourself much of a stamper, Three Designing Women’s personalized stamps are a must-have for any crafty gal. These handy stamps are super easy to use and can be personalized with your name, address, and whatever other details you want. The “Handmade for You” design featured above is perfect for adding a personal touch to your cards, homemade gifts, and any DIY party favors.

Speaking of parties, Three Designing women stamps feature a revolutionary removable plate. This means you can use several different stamp designs with just one base. Check out the “Let’s Party” invitation I made below, using my Three Designing Women stamp and a few supplies from the dollar section at Michaels. I can’t wait till Christmas so I can use one of their holiday stamps to make my cards and gift tags! (There are also several cute baby themed stamps, if you are planning any baby-related projects in the near future.)

By default, your all-in-one stamp base comes with black ink. However, if you’re looking for a little more color, you can buy ink pads that can be changed out just as you swap out the removable plates to change your stamp design. If your main complaint about stamping is that it’s just too messy, this is the system for you! (It’s also a great choice if you have a small craft room, since this system takes up less space than traditional wood-mounted rubber stamps and standalone ink pads.)

Visit Three Designing Women to review the full selection of stamp designs. To find out where to purchase, you’ll need to check out the store locator section of the site.

Disclaimer: Product samples were provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of preparing this review.

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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