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It's a relief to sit and read these posts. I thought I was the only one who stamped alone. Used to belong to a group that got together at our demo's house once a month and we rotated being hostess. It was alot of fun and gave me the inspiration I needed to go home and stamp. Then my husband lost his job and the extra money wasn't there for me to play. Everyone says we should get together, but they are all young with families and I'm the grammie in the group. It used to be sooo much fun to feed off of others and get motivated. I hate change !! Thanks for letting me vent....lol
Actually while doing the craft itself I'd rather be alone. I don't even wanna answer phone calls. After I finish the item or when I get stuck I will talk to my mum or my friend and see what they can suggest. Sometimes browsing through the gallery helps me find new ideas. Basically, I don't like human noise and disruptions.
I stamp alone. I started in 1997 hoping my daughter and daughter-in-law would stamp with me, but they're too busy with their families. I do best alone since I think--then stamp--then think some more--projects can take me days. I get impatient at SU parties; too much waiting, not enough creating and learning. I have a very small family and small circle of friends, so limited opportunities to create. I have discovered minibooks, which are a great creative outlet and great way to use up supplies. I don't have a blog or Facebook account, but do follow many blogs and haunt them for ideas and techniques.
What I would really love are e-mail friends to both share my creations, and give me critical input--you know, that feeling your project needs something more but you have no idea what. Or you know something is wrong, but don't have any idea what. Or just someone to share with.
Thanks to Joan B on Creating White Spaces for leading me to this topic.
Thank you so much for this post! I went to Creating White Spaces and Joan made a statement that I LOVED. She said, there is a difference between being lonely and being a lonely crafter. I am a extrovert....yeppers, I am....but, I am a lonely crafter. I have spend most my life teaching adults something or the other (35+ years).
Thank all of you, for you have made me feel normal!
I know I am alone at times with my stamping. my stamping friend passed away a year ago. She was the one that I called about a great sale or stamp I found. She was the one who I would go to stamp stores and conventions with and accuse her of being a bad influence upon me when in reality I did not need any help in that area. She would call me to get inspiration and get her motivated to do a project. I have work friends and family but no one that understand that feeling of a stamping project that went well or a great sale. I still want to call her when I go downstairs to stamp.
for those looking for local crafting friends. here on SCS go to the get it get together thread. post on any current thread in your area. introduce yourself. name and town.
you will find many to craft with. i now travel all over the state. we get together in small casual groups. or large gatherings. so much fun. check it out!
I have search "get it together" and can't seem to find that thread. Can someone help me out?
Ah.. too bad you're not in No. Cal - I hold monthly classes that are nice gab fests you could come up and get a fix.
Do you know about the Great Yosemite Stamp Retreat held by Cat's Meow in Oakhurst. There are stampers from all over but several from central CA. Maybe you could meet someone there. I may be too late for this year but maybe not. I've been going for years and I love it.
I craft alone too.No one crafty around here that I have met anyway.I have got used to it now.But sometimes feel it would be nice to have a crafty friend
It's a relief to sit and read these posts. I thought I was the only one who stamped alone. Used to belong to a group that got together at our demo's house once a month and we rotated being hostess. It was alot of fun and gave me the inspiration I needed to go home and stamp. Then my husband lost his job and the extra money wasn't there for me to play. Everyone says we should get together, but they are all young with families and I'm the grammie in the group. It used to be sooo much fun to feed off of others and get motivated. I hate change !! Thanks for letting me vent....lol
Yes... my real-life stamper friend is a grammie!! LOL. The other stampers were young with families - didn't fit my schedule, and I did NOT WANT TO pay to stamp (no more classes for me!!!). I love just driving over to my friend's house to stamp for FREE. I worked hard to get to this point!!
I'm sorry I haven't had time to read everyone's posts but I, too, know what it is to stamp alone. I do have a dd who enjoys stamping. She lives 30+ minutes away and has 2 little ones whose father doesn't help much to take care of them so they are always under foot. They are 2 & 4 after birthdays. The older likes to stamp but we spend more time helping her than being able to stamp.
I am a demo but it's more a hobby than a money producer. I keep trying to make it more but nothing is seeming to work. I have found a couple new stampers but not people I would really want to stamp with. I know it sounds bad that I don't want to spend time with other stampers but I sometimes work with them and that in itself is hard enough so stamping with them may be more than I can stand.
DD1 & I (I have 2 dd's & dd1 is the stamper) keep saying that we want to have a crop where people could either stamp or scrapbook or even knit or that kind of thing. Maybe we can do that sometime this Spring but it still doesn't negate the issue that I stamp alone and taht because of that I often do not pull my things out.
__________________ Donna T My moto for 2017...Do what you need to do. Count what you want to count. Enjoy the process.
Im not sure if anyone has commented on this. Maybe watching some live Ustream shows. There are a few ladies that I watch, they do a live show each week, some twice a week. The thing about them is, they talk and scrap and they have a chatroom and a lot of regulars (who get to be friends over the years with these ustream) are always in the chat. They of course chat to each other and the person doing the Ustream can voice back. Its pretty good, you can learn some fun things and have some company at the same time. If you want any suggestions for people to watch, I will be glad to tell you
You should visit/chat on one of the PIF threads here on SCS!!! You don't have to play (snag), you can just chat. They've been a bit slow lately, but there is always at least SOME activity every day. I've been playing on those threads for over 5 years, with the same core bunch of ladies, and I consider them dear, dear friends. We're scattered all over the country. If you're not already, I think you have to sign up for swaps on SCS to post, but you might be able to read them. Not sure about that.
The first page of each thread has the rules, and they might seem a bit confusing, but it's really very simple. And we love, love, looove new people. :-) All the ladies are super helpful about lots of stuff too. And, like I said, you can just come to comment/chat. You don't have to snag. Come check us out!!
I really appreciate all the positive feedback that I have been seeing. Makes me feel good to see so many suggestions to aid in this somewhat common deliema. The Ustreams and PIF threads sound interesting and just may do the trick. Thanks to all for these ideas ! I for one will let you know the out come as it happens. You just might see some uploading from me as well ! lol
You go to the last posting....they want to send cards out!! Then, post below them....say you would like a card....and you want to send a card out to someone. At that point you send a PM to the person that posted above you (the one you are answering). Then you wait for someone to ask for a card from you. They will send their info via a PM to you.
You will be sending out "happy mail" and receiving "happy mail"....a win-win in my book!!! I just wanted to share this one with Y'all. I have met some lovely ladies on this thread. We send each other cards on a regular bases...like a pen-pal. It's been rather fun to do that...namely for all those big holidays!
Which reminds me....need to get on my Easter cards....I'm running a bit behind!!!
I'll have to check in with this thread again when I'm organizing a swap that I do. We are currently full right now....but, I'll make a note when we are ready for new members. Always like to see new faces! ;)
Y'all have a great day!!!!
__________________ **~Suzy~** *Life is about using the whole box of crayons* ** A sleeping cat is a good excuse to not make the bed **
I stamp alone too, and have since I started back in 2000. I started stamping with CTMH but my demo stopped demoing and nobody picked it up. I got involved with S.U. through some ladies at work, but our demo died and the group disbanded. Got involved with another demo who never held classes. Just a few months ago I finally found a local demo that I really connected with. She has a group that meets monthly and there is no pressure to buy. The class does cost $12 if you don't make a S.U. purchase, but we're using her materials and she preps everything. I enjoy my group so much that I don't get lonely when I stamp at home.
It took my years to find "my kinda group." So keep looking. Lots of good ideas here.
Hello everyone! I'm from SoCal and I really miss the SoCal Stamp Mania. It was a shoebox swap and so much more. Too bad I only attended it one time, which unfortunately, was the last one.
In my experience, crafting alone or with other people depends on what you want to accomplish. If I am preparing for a craft fair, then I definitely need to craft alone, as I need to produce. If I'm at a scrapbook expo then I always attend a class or two, it's fun being with other crafters. I remember the time that I attended one class of Debby Schuh at Sweetpeas and Snapshots, it was so much fun!
I always check the Get It Together thread, I envy the Northern Cal area where they have an active shoebox swap group, or the other states as well. I've posted there probably once or twice over the past few years but didn't really get much response.
Sometimes, I just like to "watch" someone make a card or a mini album, so I always search YouTube, or other SU demos who have active blogs and always post a video.
I do wish that my LSS would hold more classes or events, the others are just too far away that I can't afford to use up the gas for my hobby.
__________________ Tina
- I love someone with autism. -
I'm from Buffalo NY (Debbi Schuh lived here). I've done classes with her at Michaels (where I first met her) and my local stamp store.I lost track of her. Her classes were always amazing. Keep trying to find people by trying classes at your local stamp/craft stores.Also check out your Community Education classes. Maybe you could teach a class through the Community Ed. Or your local Y. If you get a Stamping/ Craft show coming to your city take classes, sign up to work at one of the booths or help someone who's teaching the classes.
Gina K's Stamptv site is filled with groups who have common interests and/or common locations. There are many state-specific groups. You could join one of those groups and may discover someone within a stone's throw from you!
Diana, what part of northern Calif do you live? I'm in Sacramento and would love to have someone to craft with.
I also do envy those in Northern Cali (SAC Area) as they have monthly gathering and it looks very active!! It's about 2 hours away from me and it gets worse on weekend as everyone is heading out of town.
Okay, I haven't read all the posts on this link, but I moved almost four years ago and ended up leaving a treasured stamping group. I came to the new town with a strong need to connect to other stampers. First I posted in the Get it together section of SCS. I was contacted by a local stamper who connected me with an online Yahoo stamping group. Then I had a Stamping Up Demo contact me and I started attending her stamping nights. She has a night out doings at a local pizza restaurant where you make six cards for $20. I still attend that. By the way, she has awesome card ideas, she puts her heart and soul into each idea! I then started a daytime club that meets once a month. We meet at the same pizza restaurant. It is free but each person brings a card kit to share. They make a sample card and provide a kit for everyone attending to make that card. They bring the tools to make that card such as a heat gun, embossing folder, cuttlebug, etc. If we have say 10 attending, you will go home with as many completed cards as there are people. If the group gets more than seven, we have two kits going at the same time. It works as long as we all sit at one long string of tables. One end of the tables works on one kit and the other end on another. Our club is called the retired ladies club and we have a blast. It's so much fun to work on your kit through the month in preparation. It's also a fun way to learn and try new techniques. Sometimes all it takes is to attend a party and ask if anyone is interested in joining your group! So many stamping stores have closed but if you are lucky enough to have one still open, check it out for classes! My thanks goes out to our Pizza restaurant for letting us use their space. We have a great lunch and lots of laughs there! We are there for about four to five hours! Hope these ideas help you to meet others. Back to work on a swap for my online group! PS, I also have company over often to play in my craftroom. It's my haven of creativity! Also check with demos who do 12 crops. I am a cardmaker only but attend one of these every few months. I do it for the people contacts as well as the fun of making cards. I agree, sharing your finished projects and ideas with friends is the real bonus to the fun. Another idea that comes to mind is to join the RAK group through this site. It lists the members with their addresses. Find those from your area, send each a card, and ask if they would be interested in gathering at a local place to make cards? Sorry so lengthy here. I am out of here. LOL
I generally craft alone but I started a card club with 4 friends & we get together once a month rotating houses. We make a theme for each month. The hostess makes a morning snack & lunch. The other ladies each make a card & a "kit" for each member. We then sit & make our 4 fancy cards or papercraft & have a wonderful time. I got a Silhouette Cameo so I make many projects for the group. I love 3-D things. Each of us has our style & we learn from each other. I also love looking at blogs so I send out emails to the group with good blog post links for them to look at.
When I retired I joined a few other women who make cards -- the first I had ever stamped. Now 5 years later, I am hooked! The group has changed, but we cap it at 6 or 7 people. We take turns meeting once a month at our homes, host provides lunch, but all chip in with breakfast treat or wine, etc.
I have learned so many techniques, shared ideas, swapped supplies, but the biggest blessing has been reinforcing old friendships and gaining new. It's a small town, resources are limited, but we have a great SU distributor. We donate our cards to fund raisers, one sells some of hers, and we just enjoy laughing and talking (and eating and drinking wine!) while we make cards and share our lives.
Get acquainted with your neighbors, church members and start a small get-together.
Contact your local girlscout groups in your area and maybe you could start teaching some classes and all do crafts together.
Another thing, check your local senior retirement centers and talk to the people in charge there first; get some easy to do craft kits put together and get some of the elderly involved.
Hi Robin--that's what brought me to SCS to begin with--crafting alone and wanting some connection to others that craft. I joined a few swaps on here and the rest is history--I teach classes in my house and sell SU now, so lots of outlets to share with other crafters. My own daughter has absolutely zero interest in crafting!!!
I have a swap via UK/USA that I started through my sister and a couple of her friends--we take turns sending images or stamps to one another and we upload our creations via email--it's fun--no pressure and love to see the outcome of the same image by different talented people.
Check out your local schools and summer programs too--they are always looking for after school programs, and highlights for entertaining the kids with projects--most of them pay too! You can be a featured crafter at an adult ed non credit class--I have done this as well--you might find people with similar interests once they get over the "fear" of crafting! Good Luck!
__________________ I love creating something...from nothing! Susanne
When I retired I joined a few other women who make cards -- the first I had ever stamped. Now 5 years later, I am hooked! The group has changed, but we cap it at 6 or 7 people. We take turns meeting once a month at our homes, host provides lunch, but all chip in with breakfast treat or wine, etc.
I have learned so many techniques, shared ideas, swapped supplies, but the biggest blessing has been reinforcing old friendships and gaining new. It's a small town, resources are limited, but we have a great SU distributor. We donate our cards to fund raisers, one sells some of hers, and we just enjoy laughing and talking (and eating and drinking wine!) while we make cards and share our lives.
Sounds like you were a teacher by your "name". I taught middle school for 30 yr. Your group sounds a lot like our "Card Ladies"
I have the best of both worlds. When I am creating I stamp alone, which is how I prefer it. I am not antisocial, but that is how I work and think better. I don't want to hold others up as I try things and explore possibilities. That being said, every 2 weeks I meet with a great bunch of ladies (could have as many as 15) and 3 or 4 of us bring a card to "teach" and everyone does them. We learn new things and have a great time talking, laughing and eating. Those that don't present are so great about bringing yummy snacks. When someone is teaching me something, I don't mind being with others learning too, but then I want to go home and play with what I've learned on my own, all by myself. I spend hours at a time in my small but wonderful craft room and have no need of human contact except for the occasional welcome drop-in of my DH who always comes with praise and a hug!
I craft alone as well. Our last LSS closed last year - I taught at the store and really enjoyed being part of a group. I belong to a message board and some of us gather on Google+ once a month and craft together on-line. I like it because we can see what each other are making. It certainly isn't the same as crafting with folks in real time, but it is better than nothing.
I am a card crafter in NH. My daughter is into scrapbooking and running her 3 kids eveywhere. My friends are mainly southerners now and none of them craft. My closest friend in Maine that card craft recently gave it up. I belong to this group and another and spend time looking at blogs for ideas and inspiration and occasionally joining an online class when finances permit. I have a gallery her but really lax putting any cards in. I am working on a book on ruination and recently purchased a gelli print plate. I would love an email buddy to bounce ideas and photos back and forth with. my email is [email protected]
Priscilla
I'd love to have a stamping buddy tho I get more done stamping alone and would still stamp alone most of the time. I had one but when we went to CHA together and she treated me terribly, we parted ways. She is married but stayed out until 5 am with some male stranger in our hotel scaring the crap out of me, causing me to call the cops thinking some harm had come to her. Nice huh! She wasn't even really sorry. I'd love to find a new one in the north east part of York Region Ontario. We should have a meet up board here! Do we already?
I have space available for small groups too and TONS of tools and supplies to share but hardly anyone knows about it and I'm a bit out of the way so no one who does know wants to drive this far. Anyone want to craft with me?
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
I scrap & cardmake by myself. Truthfully, I enjoy it. I have tried being in groups but find it far too distracting and then I end up frustrated that I have not achieved what I had set out to do. Don't get me wrong... I always enjoy the interaction but mostly come away disappointed at not accomplishing what I had hoped to. Also my creativity process can sometimes be chaotic, I like to be able to spread my stuff out and be able to grab what I want when I want it and I like to talk out loud to get my creative thoughts out. I get a lot of aha moments that way!! lol. I do know that in the area I live our lss has a day long crop monthly, several churches hold crops and the senior's center also teaches scrapping and cardmaking.
I've always stamped alone due to multitude of reasons - I stamp after work, I don't know too many people with a love for this hobby and I don't know how to take my craft room with me (it's just too hard to narrow down supplies!). Having not known the benefits of crafting in a group I've never felt that I've missed anything and have been pretty happy crafting on my own
She is married but stayed out until 5 am with some male stranger in our hotel scaring the crap out of me, causing me to call the cops thinking some harm had come to her. Nice huh!
To clarify, she wasn't 'out' with him, she was 'in' with him. In his room. Ewww.
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
Would love to share ideas,pics,emails with anyone interested
I to scrap and card make alone I do enjoy it but sometimes it would be nice to share ideas and thoughts on different things you are doing at the time. I use to send lots of cards out but when I never received any back even on my birthday I thought wow and got depressed and have not made but a couple of cards since. I would love to swap emails,cards and ideas for scrapbooking & card making with anyone who is interested. I do not drive due to my health so I am at home 24/7. I cannot commit to anything daily due to my health but I am a very positive upbeat person and would love to share the same with someone. If interested please just send me a message this is the very first time I have ever posted on here. Look forward to hearing from anyone interested and I do hope that you all find what you are longing for and may crafting bring you lots happiness.
I to scrap and card make alone I do enjoy it but sometimes it would be nice to share ideas and thoughts on different things you are doing at the time. I use to send lots of cards out but when I never received any back even on my birthday I thought wow and got depressed and have not made but a couple of cards since. I would love to swap emails,cards and ideas for scrapbooking & card making with anyone who is interested. I do not drive due to my health so I am at home 24/7. I cannot commit to anything daily due to my health but I am a very positive upbeat person and would love to share the same with someone. If interested please just send me a message this is the very first time I have ever posted on here. Look forward to hearing from anyone interested and I do hope that you all find what you are longing for and may crafting bring you lots happiness.
I rarely hear back about cards I make except from a few. It used to make me feel bad, but then at a funeral a MALE cousin mentioned how much he loved the cards. I make cards much for my own enjoyment and figured people weren't acknowledging cards, but really did like them. Don't despair, people do appreciate your cards, but many have not learned the curtesy to say so.
I started stamping about eleven years ago and then got hooked on parchment, about ten years ago.
The group of women that I was attending parchment with more or less became my craft buddies and we have been craft friends ever since but last year I decided that I had too many work and family pressures so pulled out of the group.
I have become more and more involved with SCS for my creativity and inspiration but we still meet as a group of friends every couple of months to chat about craft and we also e-mail each other if we discover anything new.
Cheers
