Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I wish I had resisted Tim Holtz more. I have all the alcohol inks, and hate them. Never use the crackle paints either. And on and on. But one trend that's actually not a trend but that I wish I had resisted is die cutting machines and dies. Really, I never should have invested money in all these dies and the Tim Holtz machine. Not that they don't work marvelously- but they are not my style at all and I don't know what I was thinking! Ooh, a big sale coupon, gotta go shop!! Ridiculous, they sit dusty on the shelf, never use them.
Dies are my weakness! I have tons and tons of them. If I live to be 100 I'll never be able to use them all! However, I use at least one, sometimes more, on nearly every card I design! My big shot pro is used on EVERY card I design.
I used to work at Michaels, so I got sucked in by a lot of things. I've found that I can find a way to use most things if I give it enough thought, but the question is: would I buy it again?
Rhinestones on a roll
Canvas shapes
Glue stamp pad (used it once)
Chalk (haven't used it for years)
Dollar ribbon (I'll never match it)
Eyelets
Xyron sticker maker (why?)
Scrapbooks (I hate scrap booking)
Stickers (they're such a waste)
What do I love, but don't use enough?
Washi tape
Perfect Pearls
Copics
Color mists
Gelatos
Watercolor anything
Cricut for letters and numbers
My daughter's school mascot is an owl, so I use those a lot and sometimes a plain old staple is just the right thing to attach something on a masculine card.
I sure would love some of the things others are ready to part with LOL!
I pass on neon (I was young in the 80s), mustaches( also "just no"), specialty tools other than die cutting and embossing folders and, Washi tape.
I LOVE my distress inks, Tombow markers, alcohol inks, Copics, Twinkling H20s, ribbon, and punches! I totally love coloring so markers and pencils are a weakness!
Some things I consider basics are fads? Buttons - love them. Brads - just adds a pop to a card or flower center. I admit I went way overboard on eyelets - only use them on another fad - banners. Enjoy making banners to decorate my mantle in spring/summer. Really need to purge my stamp sets - I was such a sucker for the $1.00 bin and $5.00 sets. I do find I am getting closer and closer to my happy spot and no longer feel the need to buy the next coolest tool. (close but not quite there)
Mustaches, don't get them and the sooner they are gone, the better!
Sewing on cards, particularly the WRMK line
Maybe not trends but:
Copics and Cricut - had them, sold them, happier for it.
I'm happy to see nautical things, not as a trend, but I will get some basic items to incorporate for masculine cards/pages. It is hard to find good masculine items and these can be a good fit.
What is interesting is when things I have been using for years become trendy. Embossing pastes have been among my favorites for a long time and they suddenly became seen everywhere. Foiling - I don't use machines but have sticky rub-ons that I can adhere foil to. Look beautiful and no expensive purchases required!
I have been stamping from nearly 20 years and have seen and used lots of things people are calling trends. To me buttons, ribbon, charms, feathers, eyelets, brads, pearls, sequins, sewing on cards, nautical themes, staples, embossing paste, etc. are just basics. Many of those things I've had around from crafting with kids years ago. Don't use them always, but do use them to this day even though they have been around a long time. Some "trends" I purposely avoided were Copics, Cricut, grunge, steampunk, stickers, Primas and Flower Soft. And then, I don't know what enamel dots are, have no idea what an iTop does, will have to look up what Julie Nutting stamps are and someone will have to explain what foiling is and I had never heard of watercoloring crystals until recently. Will pass on that one, too, even though they look really cool. Have some spray mists that I haven't made enough use of to get over first.
Love: Copics, watercolour, nautical, sequins, buttons (I agree, a basic!), mixed media (I adore), Prima flowers, intricate dies, foil, Julie Nutting Dolls, all things Prima
Wish I didn't buy: cutesy stamps, iTop and stuff to go with, many stamp sets I now own that are no longer my style and I never used, Inktense Pencils (don't like the basic 24 colours, too bright)
Never bought into: Owls, matching dies for every stamp set (I have many dies they just don't match stamp sets),
Won't buy: Minc (I have a cheap laminator)
Want: more PL cards. I never find time to perfect my layouts so this seems like a good compromise. But every week? Nah, I will just add whatever suits me which is the way I scrapped. No pressure!
Last edited by Rebecca Ednie; 07-09-2015 at 05:45 PM..
Ooh - I thought of one! Sequins - to me it looks like sparkly "sticker sneeze" (sorry all you sequin lovers...)
Yes, Yes! I bought purple ones, to make bunches of grapes on the grapevine die, and a vendor gifted me with a pack of about 20 assorted colors, but I make myself TRY them on cards that are needing "just a little something" and they are like buttons.........an excuse for not having thought through the design enough to have it complete without fake stuff like cheap sequins.
I see others use them and they look okay, but I can't do it. Sticker Sneeze for sure.
Threads like this are so wonderful at making me feel better about my quirks. Thank you all for contributing. Quirky likes company.
Is that still popular? I used the technique once and I liked it. For some time it seemed like there were a gazillion stamp sets with chalk fonts, papers, etc.
A nice technique but the industry seemed to latch on and go crazy with that one.
Well, I'm more of a follower than I would have thought! I've jumped on for a few of those "fads"
Ones I wish I hadn't
Buttons
ribbon (except for silk ribbon that can be dyed any color)
Eyelets
Brads
Stickers - never did get into the puffy ones, but there was a day many years ago when alphabet stickers were my go-to item
Mulberry paper -
Ones I'll keep
Foiling - do like the clean and simple look and foiling works great for that
Alcohol markers - I'm not an artist but I do love various coloring mediums
Distress markers, inks, reinkers- all wonderful products!
Tombow markers - love!
Staples - I like using one or two occasionally to attach vellum
Sequins - I like a scattering of sequins on certain cards
Glitter - A little here and there is really wonderful
Ones that I think "Meh"
Zig Clean Color Brush markers
Art Journaling - no offense to those who do love it
Embossing paste
Stencils
I'm sure there are others, but it's getting late and my brain cells are quitting on me
I tried to find out what foiling is, in relation to stamping/card making, but the only thing that came up besides a fooling or confusing someone (which it did) and a math process, was using a metal die to heat foil onto a surface as they do with bank notes. I can see this as a process used in card making somehow, but have never seen it on any cards, any instructions for it, and none of the tools have showed up around here. Could someone direct me to the site? While I'm at it, I would like to know about iTop. A search there was even less informative, unless I was interested in some sort of portals. I understood so little of that, I can't be sure if I'm interested or not!
Thanks sooo much for the links. I have watched the foiling one, and think I may have some of that foil somewhere. Would my Xyron with laminating film on it work, or does one need a specific laminator?
Just rewatched that part of the video, and realized it is a heat laminator that is needed.
When I have more time, I will watch the one on the iTop. Thanks again.
Last edited by jeanne3579; 07-12-2015 at 09:02 AM..
Reason: Found the answer
Fads I don't think are fads - Copics - think it depends on whether you like to color or not...
Distress inks - style difference between clean and simple/collage
Dies - don't think they are a fad, but I think the market is going to hit a saturation point soon. That said, I can't wait to get my fingers on Tim Holtz's new Bird Crazy Thinlets - the Bird Crazy stamps are the silliest things I've ever seen and I really must have the dies for them.
Things it took me a while to like: Owls - love them, but that came with a growing love for the real ones. Now I just think they are stinkin' cute, but I don't overuse them in my line of cards. Chevrons, hexagons, use occasionally
Never, just never: mustaches, housemouse stamps <and they are coming back again> cutesy little wildlife animals, glitter, premade flowers...
__________________ The future is uncertain, because love changes everything!
fads i am glad i missed::
buttons
mustache
cute wildlife animals
cheap clear stamps
glitter
big pads of thin designer paper [that i didnt like, just because it was on sale]
so glad i got:
distress ink
memento luxe line
all my dies
silhouette
and a random thought, i really wish the dies had a different name. doesnt anyone else? or am i the only crazy one that thinks about death every time i talk about dies.
__________________ Creativity is intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein
Fun thread!!! I tend to latch onto fads just as they're dying. Melt pot, Gocco printing, beeswax. Are buttons really "out"? Have been cleaning out my studio space this summer, mortified at the dollar signs evaporating over all the stuff I'll never use. Foiling sounds fun, but I'm not into shiny. Hate glitter. Use my Big Shot daily, but the Big Shot Pro was a huge waste. If Martha Stewart had grandkids, I would have put them through grad school, with all the Martha punches I bought. Am a recent Tim Holtz inks convert, so have to stay away from that aisle for awhile. Have a tough time resisting rubber stamps, but friends and family expect me to send them "originals" (I'm a hack cartoonist). No cutesy pootsy stamps, no ribbon, no Swarovski crystals, and for the love of all that's sacred, no glitter!!!!!!!!!!!
and for the love of all that's sacred, no glitter!!!!!!!!!!!
Whispers conspiratorially, "I have a LOT of Martha Stewart fine glitter I could let go for a good price......" Then wheels away as fast as the wheelchair and pain meds allows....
Joni
__________________ The future is uncertain, because love changes everything!
fads i am glad i missed::
and a random thought, i really wish the dies had a different name. doesnt anyone else? or am i the only crazy one that thinks about death every time i talk about dies.
Not to mention the horror if you search for dies on Google. You get a whole long list of all the famous people who died recently.
I'm not big on fads and some things I don't think of as fads when they seem to pass the test of time like Copics or die cutting.
The fads I didn't or won't join are some already listed a few more:
big-eyed images
Oh yes, I really do NOT like those big eyed or even the big head images. Just look so out of proportion to me.
I also chose to not jump on the Copin bandwagon, but I did jump on the Promarker bandwagon. There are fewer colors, and they are a lot less inexpensive. Plus I found a really cool tool from Letraset that you can add to the tip to make very fine lines. THAT alone is worth its weight in gold!!
Remember the i-Rock tool from Imaginisce? Yes, I have one. I use it occasionally now, but yes, I have one. I have enough 'gems' and 'jewels' for that tool to last my lifetime, plus my children's lifetime and probably THEIR children's lifetime!! :rolleyes:
Unfortunately "die" has been what such tools have been called for a long time. May be done by a robot now, but growing up a lot of the dad's in my neighborhood were Tool and Die makers.
Unfortunately "die" has been what such tools have been called for a long time. May be done by a robot now, but growing up a lot of the dad's in my neighborhood were Tool and Die makers.
I doubt if robots will ever replace the tool and die makers. Many of them are artisans. My father-in-law was one. Y'know how the plastic soda bottles have five little "feet" on the bottom? That was his design (though he never applied for a patent on it, unfortunately). It keeps the bottles from falling off the shelf.
...... Dies - don't think they are a fad, but I think the market is going to hit a saturation point soon......<and they="" are="" coming="" back="" again="">
Dies - don't think they are a fad, but I think the market is going to hit a saturation point soon.
I think the die market has already hit the wall . There are so many dies that no one can even "see" all of them much less buy them . How many fence or Halloween bat dies can we use ?
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
That's what I think, Barbara Jay. A lot of people have huge collections now and will probably slow down. There will always be a market for them, of course, especially the basics.
I hit my own saturation point a long time ago, lol! I get easily overwhelmed with that sort of thing though and end up restricting myself to looking at only, for example, Memory Box, and block the rest out.
So this begs the question for another thread maybe: Anyone ready to predict the "next big thing" or even the next fads?
I think the die market has already hit the wall . There are so many dies that no one can even "see" all of them much less buy them . How many fence or Halloween bat dies can we use ?
Hmm... not so sure this is true. IMHO dies are like stamps. We will always want another one and is there really a limit to how many we may have and actually use? LOL
Hmm... not so sure this is true. IMHO dies are like stamps. We will always want another one and is there really a limit to how many we may have and actually use? LOL
I can only speak for myself. I have reached my limit on both dies and stamps. I have some of both I don't use and need to purge, but can't imagine needing anymore of either for quite a long time.
Last edited by jeanne3579; 07-14-2015 at 05:18 PM..
Reason: misspelling
-sequins
-project life
-mustaches
-enamel dots
-chalkboard
-banners
-chevrons
-feathers ( I was not even aware that this was a "thing". I am glad I missed it)
-unmounting wood-mount stamps.
-mini distress inks
Things you will have to pry out of my cold, dead hands: rubber stamps, dies, coloring media, molding paste, black lava gel, acrylic paint, stencils, home made ink sprays, and oil pastels.
-sequins
-project life
-mustaches
-enamel dots
-chalkboard
-banners
-chevrons
-feathers ( I was not even aware that this was a "thing". I am glad I missed it) -unmounting wood-mount stamps.
-mini distress inks
Things you will have to pry out of my cold, dead hands: rubber stamps, dies, coloring media, molding paste, black lava gel, acrylic paint, stencils, home made ink sprays, and oil pastels.
Forgot this fad. I was never even tempted!!! I'm a wood and rubber gal all the way.
Hmm.... I never thought of unmounting stamps as a fad. There was a flurry of it several years ago when it just caught on as a way to save space. I don't think it's any different than any storage strategy.
So.... someone enlighten me, speaking of dies.... this is shocking! I saw mention of a show called Create & Craft which I now know I hadn't heard of because I don't have satellite TV. But I went to the site just to see what it was about, and I saw this listing:
Unmounting may not have been a true fad but it was definitely a "trend" and there seemed to be a flurry of unmounting all at once. I am a wood stamp purist and for me, nothing compares to the feel of a properly mounted wood stamp. Unmounted stamps are a completely different product to me.
Btw a lot of things being listed in this thread are not fads ;-)
It is not a fad if it has stood the test of time.
For example:
Die cutting is not a fad. The styles of dies can be eg: mustaches, feathers, etc.
Distress Inks are so not a fad.
And so on...
It's also about bandwagon jumping � Copics or other blendable alcohol markers may not be a fad at this point but a whole lot of people acquired them. Same thing that's happening now with the Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. All of a sudden, everybody's using them and everybody's talking about them. Just like shaker cards, and now the Fuse tool...
So.... someone enlighten me, speaking of dies.... this is shocking! I saw mention of a show called Create & Craft which I now know I hadn't heard of because I don't have satellite TV. But I went to the site just to see what it was about, and I saw this listing:
Is this really a set of five dies for *gasp* $84.99 - on sale?!?!
I must be missing something.
I happened to visit their UK site a while back and posted here to all of the UK stampers that I was shocked at how expensive their crafting items were! I think it might be something like HSN or QVC, with craft items that are exclusive bundles but are still a lot more expensive usually than you can find at other places online.
