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Has anyone had stamper's burnout and recovered from it?
I got into stamping about 2 years ago when my friend, a SU demonstrator, invited me to an open house.
I have gone hog wild ever since, collecting stamps from ebay and stamping clubs. I was almost determined to become a demonstrator because I loved getting together to make cards and have chatty time. Instead I took a baby step and tried to have a stamp camp all on my own. A few showed up the first one and then more were interested in coming so my next one was supposed to have 9 people. 2 showed. I was very disappointed.
So the next think I did was use all the paper I cut for the class to make all of the cards and they sold very well on ebay. Then I tried to do this again for Christmas cards and made a ton. I got oooohhhhss and aaahhhhs left and right but no sales despite an extremely reasonable asking price. I was also told I was not asking enough.
Maybe I didn't try hard enough but right now I could care less if I ever see another stamp again. I am seriously considering unloading my huge collection of stamps and just forgetting it all ever happened.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? How about some words of wisdom?
Please be nice.
if you're in it for the money then you will get burnt. the market for cards fluctuates like the stock market. sometimes they sell, sometimes they don't. you have to love doing it enough so that even you never sold another card you'd be happy.
Do you like making cards for it's intrinsic worth ie: just because you love it?
i have gone through slumps, as you will see most people do, but what brings you out of it is that longing to create again, to make art, because you love it. what inspires me THE LEAST is the $$$ i will make from doing it. (and i teach classes every month at my LSS.. those cards are the least inspired, i find..)
good luck
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Hi Wendi,
Though I've never tried to be a demonstrator or sold cards, I have had plenty of times when I had absolutely no desire to stamp or create. I think my creative juices wax and wane...sometimes I'm "gung ho" and other times, I'm just uninterested.
If it were me, I'd put it aside for awhile and read, relax, exercise or watch TV and wait for the creative juices to flow again.
Also, I wouldn't worry if months go by without feeling the urge. It can take time when you've become burned out.
I agree with you, Julie. This past summer, I didn't stamp for months and I was fine with it. I just didn't have the desire and I spent more time going out with my husband and our friends or traveling. Stamping is my hobby and it's most fun and I'm most happy when I "want" to do it. I have a lot more time now to stamp and am so appreciating it before it's gone.
Wendy, if you're not feeling it, just take a break. Don't "forget it ever happened." It sounds like you've made beautiful cards and it's a part of who you are. If it's upsetting you that you're not making money from it, then maybe consider doing something else that will make you happier (business-wise). Just give it some time, I'm sure you'll know what's best for yourself. Good luck to you.
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I definitely get that way.. unfortunately, during my burnout periods I still want to purchase even though I don't want to sit and create! A lot of mine has to do with depression etc and my motivation. I planned on doing a lot this Christmas Break and have barely created anything! I go through these periods and then I'm okay.. just take a break, even if it takes a couple of months, and see what happens!
__________________ Kelley- Mom to 2 beautiful boys and a princess! My blog: returning from a deep sleep!
I sometimes take a few days off from making cards but then I am itching to get back in there and make more. So I guess sometimes I too need a break. I think the longest has been a week. I rarely go a day without spending time in the stamp room as it is my very favorite place to be.
Blessings.
I agree with most of the posters. I started scrapbooking over 10 years ago then began stamping over 6 years ago. Last year, I just stopped stamping, I don't know why I just stopped. No cards, scrapbook pages - nothing. I have a scrapbooking room that was used more by my kids and DH (for the computer) than me (that may have had something to do with it).
It has been almost a year and I just recently began taking out some stamps again. I started with xmas cards and thought....this isn't so bad and actually enjoyed myself. Now, I just joined a swap. I think I'm slowly getting back into it, but I find myself just sitting in whats now called "my office" - not scrapbook room and watching a movie or on the computer. I hadn't even visited SCS for a while! This was the longest slump I have ever had. But, I am excited again that I have produced something.
Maybe it's time to move on to the "next thing" for you. Maybe box up your stash for six months or even a year and see if you miss it. If the answer is no, then sell away and use the money towards your next adventure/hobby.
I agree with the previous poster. If you're doing it for money, it's probably not the best way to earn it. I do think people have good intentions about coming to camps, and that sort of thing, it's just not a priority for most.
I have been stamping for 15 years and definitely go through slower periods. I stop buying anything because I feel guilty for not using what I already have.
Could you mail your CHristmas cards out next Christmas for your personal use? Could you mail out cards that you've already made for birthdays? Could you put a basket of cards for sale at your (or a friend's') office?
I have enjoyed making little gifts for special friends and teachers. Maybe that might encourage you to use your stuff?
The good thing about getting burned out like that is that it will help your spending in the future. I always consider every single purchase very seriously, even if it's a $5 stamp.
Hey Wendy
I'm sorry.. not exactly responding to the Q.. but re: burn-out!... Oh yeah!! And yes. def recover and get back in enthusiastically. Sometimes it's that break that gives you the momentum and excitement to get back into things! I have to say that I have done so many versions of scrapping - paper scrapping, digi scrapping, altering, staming/coloring (my new thing) and it's all wonderful (unfortunately my scrap space is busting and sometimes I wish I could focus on just one thing). My latest I started about a year + ago is digi scrapping and it's been great. I will always do and so glad I learned. I can do quickly and almost anywhere, BUT I NEED the hands on stuff too as it's what drew me to this in the first place. The digi stuff is fun, but in many ways I feel it just gets the basics/milestones done.. stuff I dont want to forget! My blog is SOOO not updated but if you want to see how things ebb and flow, here you go:
My only advice would be to take your "break" and then decide whether you want to sell everything off, cause you may regret your decision if you do it sooner. Take good care !
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Hi, Wendy! I wonder if you are a person who really gets enthusiastic about new ideas, new projects, new skills. Then after a while, you lose the enthusiasm and move onto something else. Many people are like that.
If you're not like that, then maybe your burn-out is temporary, you just need to take a break from it, and come back later to create again. And maybe without too high expectations- take it easy...
Do you follow the challenges? That sometimes helps if you are just in a creative slump.
But if you have definitely 'lost the love', then moving on may be your best bet.
So I've not been really helpful, just put out some options that I thought of.
Best of luck.
Right now I am having scrapbooking burn out. I still love card making, but whenever I do a scrapbook page I feel like I am just doing it to "get it done", instead of enjoying the process. So I'm going to concentrate on my cards for now and hopefully the scrapbook bug will hit me again one of these days. I love looking back at the pages and albums that I have made, and I'd like to continue the tradition for my son to keep once we are gone ... but I just cant do it if I'm not enjoying myself. Sooooo, I think that burn out does come, but hopefully it wont stay forever!
Oh yes, I've been stamping on and off for 15+ years now and have had a few burn out periods. I got really burned out about 6 years ago when I decided to do a chocolate biz with my son......just dropped stamping for making chocolate. Go figure. LOL Well, I just boxed everything up and I am soooooo glad I did not get rid of it all because now here I am back into it full force and loving every minute of it. Things have certainly changed between the time I got out until the time I returned but it's just as fun as it was when I first began. And lots more toys to have to have. LOL
Seriously though, box it up instead of getting rid of it because when the bug bites you again you will wish you still had all your stuff.
I will admit to a recent 1+ year hiatus from stamping. I got really into my fiber stuff (i.e. rug hooking, quilting, cross stitch, needlepunch, knitting) and my papercrafts just sat. I am slowly moving back into them. I hauled all my stuff to the basement and am now beginning to move it back up to my craft room. I am so glad I resisted the urge to sell it all...although I may sell a few things soon. I agree with what others have said, sometimes you burn out or become uninterested. That's ok. Let it slide for awhile, maybe it was too much all at once. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Yes, you can recover. I was introduced to stamping about 3 years ago, bought a few things and then let it sit for the good part of a year before I attacked it with gusto. I have felt like giving it up twice. I wanted to sell all my stuff and go back to how I was before when I was only obsessed with scrapbooking. I know I spent less $$ then and didn't "need" so much.:mrgreen:
I agree with some of the other posters. Just walk away from it for a bit and see how you feel. I know I'm glad I didn't sell my stuff.
I don't think that I necessarily get burnt out on stamping, but rather get consumed by other things in my life that seem to affect how I feel about my spare time. i.e. family, work, etc. I do get numb to stamping, then after anywhere from a few weeks to a few months of leaving it alone I am back and more energized than ever. I am in a rebuilding period right now and getting back into lovin' it again.
You are not the only one...this happens when I make a batch of cards, say like 50 or more at once for a different holiday. Then after that, I clean up and just lose it for awhile..hard to get back into it. Like now, slowly getting back from all the Christmas cards I done.
Maybe just take a break from it, then pick up on it later when you feel like it.
I do know this, when I make a set of things say like wedding cards for someone that pays me for them, then afterwards I am worn out...I usually set a flat rate and they usually are really good about paying me all except one girl...gees, I don't think one of my friends knows just how long it takes for personal handmade cards.
Good luck!
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I sometimes take a few days off from making cards but then I am itching to get back in there and make more. So I guess sometimes I too need a break. I think the longest has been a week. I rarely go a day without spending time in the stamp room as it is my very favorite place to be.
Blessings.
My feelings exactly. I get a little twinge of excitement every time I enter my craft room or "zen" as I call it. I don't know what it is.....it just kinda draws me in. I start looking around and am grateful for what I have to create with and then I get the urge to start making some cards. Sometimes it happens where I don't get that "nudge" and I take some time from it. But, your right.....I think the longest I've had a lull is about a week or so.
I did towards the middle of this past summer....I sent an email to my customers that I was taking september off. No camp/classes/workshops. I said no to anything for anyone else paper related. No "can you make me some thank you cards? nada.
I made cards only for fun when I felt like it, did a challenge here and there. And come October...all good.
It is MUCH MUCH harder to sell cards and already made project than it is to be a demonstrator! I found trying to sell cards on ebay to be incredibly difficult. Don't let that stop you from trying and creating. I can see how you could be burnt out when you try to sell something and it just doesn't work out for you. That shouldn't stop you from doing something you love. If you want to make money at it and feel rewarded, I think you should take the leap and become a demonstrator. Maybe wait a while and let the hurt wear off and then when you are ready sign up. The brands have already made their good reputations so it is easier to jump into doing that rather than selling your projects. From there, you can branch out and sell your projects if you want to try that again.
Well I don't have a situation like yours, but in general, yes, every couple of months I go through a period where I just can't seem to make anything that I like so eventually I stop trying and I don't go in my stamp room for weeks. This has happened a number of times in the last 5 years that I have been stamping. Like you, I think, I should just up and sell all this stuff if I'm not going to use it anymore. But I know in my heart that I love stamping and eventually my mojo will return. And it always has.
It sounds to me like you are trying to make this a business venture instead of just enjoying the craft intself. Take a break from trying to sell stamps or cards or giving workshops. Just make cards like you did when you started. For your friends and family and as a creative outlet. You will enjoy it much more. I say this from experience.
I was once a professional quilter. I thought how cool it was to be able to do something I love for a living. But it was so much stress to prepare for classes, write for magazines, make samples, travel to quilt shows to judge, package up my patterns to sell, etc. It got to be where I dreaded having to go in my sewing room to quilt. So even though I had a book deal in the works, I quit. I haven't made a quilt in close to 10 years now. So when I started stamping, I decided that I would not ever make this a business. Even though it has been tempting to become a demo or submit to magazines or join a design team, I am so worried that I will eventually get to the same place I was in the past. So I do this just for fun.
Yes I sometimes feel the same way. A while ago I tried to sell some cards, not one sold. Really makes you think, that your cards a not good enough. I even think they are sometimes. (well most the time actually)
But I don't want to give up, I spent so much $$$ and to give it up would have been a huge waste of money.
Sometimes I get annoyed because I don't have the right tool, nice paper, stamps or ink. And my cards turn out no where near as good as some of the ones I see on here.
But for some reason I Love, blogging, SCS and talking about stamping. Plus don't forget the spending. lol But not the actually creating as much.
I have all day to stamp, whenever I want to. Maybe I'll enjoy it more when it becomes a special occasion, like when i only get to do it every so often. KWIM?
I would like to become a SU! Demo when I get older and hold classes, etc. I'll probably enjoy it more then.
I don't know, Is stamping really for me?
Well here I am talking all about me. lol I think, follow everyone else's advice - put your stuff away for a month or two and see if you miss it.
Lauren xx
Suggestion, take a complete month off. Don't even think about stamping. Then make your decision.
When I get burned out I have to just remove myself entirely from the craft for a little while.
I have gotten a little burned out a few times. When I first became a demo I was trying to do workshops and all that. I felt like all of my stamping energy was going to make in takes, and after every event (probably only like 3 total) I had no desire to stamp. It was just taking the fun out of it for me when I HAD to do it. I've had a few people ask me if I would make scrapbooks for them, and my answer is no. I think that would ruin the hobby for me, and it's not worth taking the chance. Besides there aren't any other hobbies I can think of that even remotely appeal to me (unless you count shopping ;)).
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I just did a search for "slump" and found this thread. It's really helping me. I haven't had any desire to stamp in several weeks. I did manage to make about a half dozen Easter cards. And I think OK stamper hit it on the head: I went to a shoebox swap and made lots of cards and just haven't wanted to stamp since!
I'm hoping this is just a lull in the action: I have spent too much $$$ on supplies to give up this hobby! I'm stamping with a friend this Friday, so hopefully that will be so much fun, I will be inspired to pick up where I left off.
Thanks - SCSers for all the encouragement!
I just did a search for "slump" and found this thread. It's really helping me. I haven't had any desire to stamp in several weeks. I did manage to make about a half dozen Easter cards. And I think OK stamper hit it on the head: I went to a shoebox swap and made lots of cards and just haven't wanted to stamp since!
I'm hoping this is just a lull in the action: I have spent too much $$$ on supplies to give up this hobby! I'm stamping with a friend this Friday, so hopefully that will be so much fun, I will be inspired to pick up where I left off.
Thanks - SCSers for all the encouragement!
I was pretty much "out of action" from November, though I did plough through most of my Christmas cards, til March/April which I had to force myself to get through some belated projects and managed it and now I feel much better about it all.
Fun stamping with a friend might just be what you need!:mrgreen:
I get the impression that you're disappointed in the classes/sales/business part of it. I know you said you went 'hog wild' which most of us have done at one time or another ~ usually when we first get started and fall in love with stamping. But it doesn't seem that you're saying you lost interest in doing the stamping/cardmaking, or you have lost that creative spark, or anything related to the hobby itself... mostly simply that your efforts at business endeavors haven't taken off.
I'm sure selling products online has its ups and downs and you have to be in it for the long run, as someone mentioned above, like the stock market.
It's admirable that you tried having stamp camps on your own and people showed some interest, too, so that's encouraging. If you really want to do something like this, I think you'd have more success if you could market yourself as a demonstrator. Think about whether you can use the supplies you get as a demo and wait for a great promotion so you can get some perks with signing up ~ you can always let it go if the demo part doesn't work out for you. Depending on where you live, how many demos live around there, and of course being able to generate interest it can be difficult to get a demo business going. If you do sign up as a demo, you can have access to demo forums here which are a tremendous help and very supportive. It helps to know a lot of people in your area, too.
Besides the business aspect and the social one, I'm curious how you feel about stamping itself because you don't say much about that. Do you just love to stamp!? I know for myself the first time I took stamp to ink pad to paper - I felt something click inside me... I loved it. I could think of nothing else but how much I loved stamping. Seeing that crisp inked image ready to be colored or transformed into a card ~ it amazed me. If you feel that way (or something less profound but still really positive LOL!!) then let yourself love it. Give yourself the chance to jump in and do what you love and don't worry yet about where it's going to take you.
So many people love to stamp and have great fun with it and never sell a card and never demo, so I guess a lot of it depends on whether the business aspect is what matters most to you and that's what's making you feel burned out. By all means, if you still love it, don't give it up!! You can go the business route again any time. In the meanwhile, you can still stamp with friends, join swaps here, challenges, apply to design teams, take classes, etc... There's so much to do!
I'm thinking again about when you said you went 'hog wild' and remembering how it was for me, too. I did the ebay shopping, went through the SCS gallery to find any old SU sets I loved, did a lot of trading on BST, and then started purchasing from other companies, too. For me, it evolved into stamp illustration. I tried the SU demo thing but it just wasn't me - doesn't help that I live in a small area and the people I know are either not interested or have a demo already. I was going to try to sell cards at a local shoppe, but it closed. There are a few others I may try now that I've been making some notecard sets, but right now I barely have enough time to make the cards I need for our family and friends!! But I still love to stamp.
I hope you find where this craft fits into your life and you don't give it up altogether. It sounds like you've made some wonderful creations, and I hope you've started a gallery here because I'm off to look for it ;) .
Please post again to let us know how it's going . I really wish you the best!!
I've had two longer periods of burnout in my years of stamping.
First was when I was a demonstrator. I find that anytime I try to make money from stamping, it kills my love for it immediately. I was at the end of a 6-month stamp club. I just didn't want to stamp at all for a while. I decided to go strictly hobby demo and start using my non-SU! supplies. I got back into it right away.
Second was after my Dirty Dozen term last summer. I was pregnant and had all-day morning sickness, I had to move my craft room for the new baby, and I just needed a long break from stamping. I took 6 months off and now I'm loving it again!
ditto what they all said! Hang in there, and please don't sell all your stuff, you'll probably regret it. Quit trying to sell and do things for others, and just focus on stamping for you (after your well-deserved break of course). Try to remember what you loved about stamping and start there. Maybe try a clean & simple challenge and just go with the flow. If its just not there, step back a while longer. Don't worry- this happens to us all (I've been a demo for almost 5 years so I should know).
I have been burned out for several months. I gave up my demonstratorship last July but continued having workshops for my friends until October. I decided I would rather take my precious creative time to do projects just for me and that has revived my interest in stamping. I agree with a previous poster that sometimes you just need to take a different direction for a while. I packed up more than half of my stamps and it's amazing how much I can get done with the basic stamps I kept out. Give yourself some time and you may find your desire to create re-emerge.
I am just pulling out of an 8 month slump myself. Most of the slump was caused by my best friend/stamping buddy moving 1500 miles away, courtesy of the USAF. I didn't even want to look at my stamp room.
However, I found a new buddy, and some older friends again, and am coming back, learning some new techniques and using some new things.
I find that anytime I try to make money from stamping, it kills my love for it immediately.
That's true for me too! There was a time not too long ago that if I saw another stamp I was going to lose my mind. It took about a month for me to recover before I wanted to start playing again. This time, I make sure it's fun. If you try to turn it into work, then it's WORK.
The mojo might disappear for a few days, but, I don't think I've ever experienced more slump than that, nor a desire to ditch it all entirely.
But, I will say that once you shift what was originally a hobby into more of a "job", in pursuit of earning an actual income from what you do, everything changes; you have to deal with the "work" related aspects of it in the same way you would any other job. You're not creating, simply or solely for joy of creating, as you did when you were strictly a hobbyist.
For some, that can wreak havoc on their creative spirit. Others learn to adapt and still keep their creative spirit nourished, altho possibly not to the extent they used to be able to.
I know of a few stamp store owners that eventually closed up shop because they were so bogged down with all the business aspects of it, and the accompanying stresses that come with being a small business owner, they no longer got to play with stamps, which was what originally drew them in.
Others seem to thrive in that situation because the business aspects may be far more appealing to them than the art form itself really was, UKWIM?
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I wanted to add that I sell thousands of cards every year...I make excellent money at it. I use the money to support the project of sending cards to the troops. I supply TWO swim teams for fund raisers. I made almost $3000 off of this project alone last year. This year I am going to provide each team with at least 250 more cards each so that will bump up my income. I also supply my hubbys desk basket and this brings in between 75-125.00 per week. There is always someone asking for the card basket. I send a lot (thousands of cards per year) to the troops and donate all the cards to our church giftshop to sell and to the birthday/anniversary lady at church as well. My buddy says my fanny is always in one of the chairs in my stamp room...she is right. I have two desks in my room and can do different projects on each. Blessings.
About a year ago now I did the same thing and I did go through with selling everything. After about 6 months I wished I hadn,t. I did the thing where you try to sell it and It did not work for me but once I realized that I love doing it for me not to make money I became completly happy. I have now built back up all of my supplies so that I can do what I love to do. Also when I don't feel like doing it I don't get upset I just take a break, do something else and come back when I am ready. It is also fun and fulfilling when all your cards and stuff start stacking up and you wonder why... just donate them to people. Take cards to a nursing home for christmas, donate them to a your church, send them out to friends, or just give them away as a gift set. Then you will have empty space to fill up and you have done a lot of good things and used your creative blessing to pass on to others!!!!
The first time I offered to teach a class on Christmas Cards at my chuch's ladies' auxiliary meeting, I spent WEEKS cutting cardstock. I bought several SU Christmas stamp sets so I'd have enough for people to use. I packed up all my stuff, hauled it over to the church, spent two hours setting up...and three people came to my craft station.
*sigh*
I was so disappointed that I didn't even do MY Christmas cards that year. It does kind of take the wind out of your sails. And I admit that my creativity was dampened a little.
(Fortunately the next year I did the same thing...only I did it for a friend in California at her church. We had a great group of ladies and they had a blast.)
For me, as much as I'd love to talk my neighbors or circle of friends into stamping with me on a regular basis, the love/passion/motivation is just the creative outlet. I love making cards, I love stamping. (I LOVE BUYING THE STUFF TO MAKE CARDS!! LOL) I go through periods when my creativity lags a little, and I find myself focusing on other things. But I always come back to card-making.
So I agree with what's been expressed. It's probably time for a hiatus. Use this as an opportunity to do something else you enjoy, and I'll bet you'll return to stamping with enthusiasm!
Good luck!
__________________ Jansy The one who dies with the most embellishments wins! www.gingersnappedgirl.blogspot.com
Has anyone had stamper's burnout and recovered from it?
