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I spent (yea $ too) a lot of time at my local scrapbook store.........so much time my extended family asked........"How many time do you have to take a class to learn how to scrapbook?" Anyway, I passed the section of rubber stamps for a couple of years.....I would look but said NO NO NO I know what will happen if I start another hobby..... Of course I gave in.... Now my papercrafting has squeezed out ALL of my quilting supplies.
A SU workshop at a friend's house two summers ago. I was completely smitten with the whole thing--finally an outlet for my creativity other than making math powerpoints and graphic organizers. Started with a box and the kitchen table, then a small sterlite cart, then a big sterlite cart, then finally a whole room and still need more space!
And I see the cards I made at that first workshop and think, "really? Those were exciting?" ;)
My niece is a demo and her mom (my sister) had my daughters and me make a couple of cards. Of course, I was hooked and placed an order right then. Oh, my! When you're starting out how much you need and $500 later I had a good start but that was just the beginning.
I now meet with a group of women monthly to make cards and learn new/different techniques.
I started keeping track of how much I was spending, but quickly stopped that! Ignorance (or forgetfulness) is bliss.
Well, I was a scrapbooker ... and on another message board. And one of the other members there, who lived in New York was stamping and posted some beautiful cards. And I wanted to try it. So I did. Then she had some cards with a SU! coffee set 'cos she was a SU! demo at the time. And I fell in love. And became a SU! demo five years ago!
My SIL invited me to a SU party. My son was about 6months old. That was just about 21 years ago!!!!!! You would think I would be GREAT at it wouldnt you?? LOL
During the holidays of 2008 I ran out of gift tags and was browsing the internet looking for free downloads, tutorials, etc. I stumbled onto some stamping and cardmaking videos and found them fascinating. I've never gotten into scrapbooking, my main hobby has been needlework since the late 70's. Also in late 2008 I started having vision issues due to a cataract (had surgery for that with a new lens implant in September 2009) and was going nuts not being able to create anything! So in January of 2009 I got the first of my supplies and found SCS, a local SU demo, etc. I've found my style and that simplified things a lot!
As a child I loved paper crafts, coloring, drawing, etc so I've come back full circle in a way.
Back in October of 2005 I entered a Sugarloaf drawing to win 72 sets of their stamps and WON! I found the ad for them in a CK email newsletter and thought "what the heck - I won't win - I don't even know how to stamp!!" At the time the whole concept was beyond me - couldn't understand why anyone would want to do that. HA! A few weeks later several boxes of stamps landed on my doorstep and I've not been the same since
In 2003 I went to an SU party a gal at my church was having. I fell in love with stamping instantly!! Kind of like from the movie Jerry McGuire...."you had me at hello"?? The church ladies were pretty much my entire group of friends so having a workshop myself didn't seem like it would work...so I signed up to be a Demo! I did it for three years (pretty much was my own best customer) justified buying LOTS of product then a relocation forced me to admit being a demo was too tempting and hard on our budget so I dropped. But I am still addicted to the craft!!!
I was a Scrapbooker, but not at all interested in Stamping. My neighbor had a SU party, and I wasn't excited about going, but wanted to be a good neighbor. The minute I walked in, sat down, and saw the demo pick up one stamp, put some ink on it, and put it on paper - OH MY! I covered my eyes, looked away, and knew I should run home right then.
That was many years ago and I am sooooo in love with stamping (and scrapbooking to a lesser degree).
Yesterday was a snow day and I helped my granddaughters (age 2 1/2 and 4) make Valentine's for their parents. My oldest granddaughter LOVED it. She said, "Grammy, I want you to make me a valentine with purple hearts and purple flowers on it and send it to me in the mail." She is also planning on who she can make cards for next time she comes over. I think she is hooked!!!
About 6 yrs ago, I was invited to a friends house for a rubber stamp party...the rest is history!! My first set of stamps was a set called STARDUST, & I still own that set. I've collected many, many more sets, and have now become a demo for THE ANGEL COMPANY! I still have the passion, and to this day, I love creating cards, even if my time is now more limited! I also still get together with the same group of ladies I went to that first party with! We have a group of 9 of us, and we get together for everyone's birthdays, and the cards must be hand stamped! It's sooo much fun!!
I have always been crafty, collected 'fancy paper', erasers and stickers as a young girl, made friendship bracelets,earings and a bit of cross stitching as a teenager, didn't do anything again until my mid to late 20's then started cross stitching, got into a BIG way....and then got some premade cards with apertures for my cross stitching...saw some sparkly things in the store....and the rest of it is history;)
I recently moved internationally and had to value my craft goodies...I started to add it up, fainted, decided I couldn't admit to anyone including OH how much it would be, and rounded it down severly for the insurance at $20,000...and OH was shocked at that...if he only knew! hehehe! But what it do was make me realised how much untouched stuff I have, and it was like Christmas unpacking it all and finding lost treasures!
When my daughter went away to college she wanted lots of mail. I would buy tons of cards to send to her. One day I was in Michael's, looking for something in the Wilton section, and I came across a card making kit, so I bought it, I was so proud of the silly cards I made from that kit. She loved the cards, so I went online looking for homemade fashion cards (she was into all things girly then), The first thing I found was a card made using images from My Favorite Things, I was in awe of the fabulous creations! I bought the stamps, and learned everything from reading and looking in the gallery here!
When I lived half way across the country from my two younger sisters they used to send me such beautiful cards....when I move to live near them in Las Vegas, I went to the first SU workshop and I was hooked. I spent OVER $12,000 the first year getting matching furniture for my room and all the goodies..I am pretty well set now...lol
blessings.
I bought my first stamp over 25 years ago, when my daughter was just a smidgen. I only had a red ink pad, but I put the image on stationery because I was a big letter writer (remember writing letters?). I didn't do much or buy any more stamps for a long time, then about 6 or 7 years ago, I realized that there was such a thing as a rubber stamp section in craft stores and I discovered the Rubber Stamper magazine (moment of silence, please, for this wonderful now-defunct publication). It was through the Rubber Stamper that I read about different things I didn't have, but needed to get - right now! I read everything, ads included. A Xyron? I had never heard of it, but now I needed it! Have three. Mounted stamps, unmounted stamps, embossing powders, inks - I learned so much! Then, I saw that there were actual RUBBER STAMP CONVENTIONS! OMW!! I went for at least five years, mostly by myself, as I enjoyed being totally immersed in my own little rubber world without having to consider someone else. I had discovered a new guilty pleasure, and did I ever support the rubber bizness with my disposible income. I would stash away some every month so that I could spend, spend, spend and not feel bad.
At one of the conventions, I found directions to a local store, Eleanor's, in SC. I had never seen anything like it. I browsed for hours, asked questions and took classes. A die cut machine? Pffft! What would I do with one of those? I didn't want to make those dippy cut out things! Okay, so now I have a CB and LOTS of embossing folders and dies..... I also met an SU demo in the aisles of Eleanors and she gave me her e-mail address, then sent me a catalog. Well, that's all it took. If you are reading this post, you know what happened then. The internet, credit cards, blogs, oh, my!
The story continues and I'm having the time of my life!
My sister bought me a stamp, some markers and a stamp pad when I was in high school or college but I didn't really know what to do with them. It wasn't until years later when I was invited to a Stampin' Up party that I really got hooked on stamping.
Location: Madison WI (lived in MN when I chose the name)
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12 years ago, a co-worker introduced me to stamping at my first job post-college. She got two of us started, and we'd bring our stuff after work and stamp in the conference room. At that point, ALL of my stamping supplies fit into 1 plastic shoebox. It now takes up half of a fairly large room. Stamping led me to scrapbooking about 8 years ago, although I am primarily a stamper. I've moved across the country twice, and both times I found new friends through stamping.
Last January a friend said her husband gave her the money to buy a Cuttlebug, but all the stores seem to be out of them. Did I know where she could find one? I asked, "What is a Cuttlebug" ? She tried to explain it but I had to go on the Net to see this machine. Somehow I stumbled onto Becca Feeken's Amazing Paper Grace site and I was awe struck by her work. I said I must learn to make cards like this. One year later my dinning room has 2 Iris drawer carts , a small wire shelf unit and 4 sets of 3 drawer units which are all full. I have punches in an under-the-bed box and cardstock /paper in my closet.
This hobby is a lot of fun, but the supplies seem to grow and grow . When I started I saw pictures of people's stamping rooms and I couldn't understand why anyone needed an entire room for their stamping stuff. LOL Well, Now I understand
I also find myself looking for ways to shave a few dollars off the grocery bill so I can go to Hobby Lobby on the way home from the store
Last edited by Barbara Jay; 02-10-2010 at 10:46 AM..
i have a disability that forced me to give up all my hobbies, so i started iris folding, which became difficult for my hands. almost three years ago, i bought a stamp to see if i could do it; now my only hobby is stamping and i get to return to my favourite childhood hobby of colouring.
Let me just say that I was a lot (a LOT!!) richer before I started stamping!! (more specifically: before I looked at the first SU! catalog) I think you could define me as being very (very!!) addicted
About 2 years ago, my mom, sister and I went to a darling little store in Berlin, OH, called 'Country Craft Cupboard'. We'd been there before so I'd seen the stamping room downstairs, but I never bought anything (:eek: heaven forbid!!). Well on this day (it could be marked down on the calendar as either a day of great rejoicing or a day of great mourning, for an addiction was about to be launched) I took a class downstairs on......CARD-MAKING!!!!! Oh. my. goodness. I WAS HOOKED!!!!!!
One of our friends told us about this stamping website called Splitcoast - we came home last Christmas eve and looked it up, and addiction 2 started!! Then this same friend told us about something called a.....Cuttlebug (a Cuttlebug??!!! What in the WORLD is that??) Well we went to Michaels and.....you can guess the rest. And this same friend gave us a SU! catalog. How do you say...addiction 3??!!
Anyway, you get the picture I LOVE my stamps, and I can't imagine how I ever lived without them!!
__________________
~Rebekah~ My mind works like lightning - one brilliant 'FLASH' and it's gone!
My hobby was needlepointing and and I did scrapbooking for a bit (about 8 months). Was completely happy with this but my sister kept wanting the two of us to start making cards. She had been around the mom of a SU demo. I had no interest. Goodness, I used to go in Hobby Lobby and see all those rubber stamps and think they would surely quit selling them. Who buys them and why???? LOL I just didn't have a clue. My sister gave me a lot of stamps and I didn't know what to do with them and returned them to her.
Ugh!!! Actually, she didn't either. Then, one day she went away on a trip and I decided to make her a card with some animal embellishment (something she really liked). No stamp, but it was cute. I had so much fun and that was it!
My sister and I both got into stamping and what fun it has been. My needlepointing, unfortunately, has been ignored.
__________________ My Blog---My Gallery---My PinterestI'm a Punchkateer! (Prez) FOREVERDirty Dozen Alumni2014 CAS Spring DT--- Inspiration Challenge Co- Hostess 12/02/17-12/28/19 Watercolor Wednesday Design Team Hebrews 13:2Brenda
Oh btw - am I the only one who shrinks back in HORROR at those first attempts at card making?? I can only laugh at my first feeble efforts.....
No, you're not alone..I had rather not look at my beginning creations.
__________________ My Blog---My Gallery---My PinterestI'm a Punchkateer! (Prez) FOREVERDirty Dozen Alumni2014 CAS Spring DT--- Inspiration Challenge Co- Hostess 12/02/17-12/28/19 Watercolor Wednesday Design Team Hebrews 13:2Brenda
An SU party was the beginning for me. I thought I would use it in my scrapbooking but I never did. I think I made that up just so I could buy the stamps and justify them. Love both hobbies.
Jen
Oh btw - am I the only one who shrinks back in HORROR at those first attempts at card making?? I can only laugh at my first feeble efforts.....
No - because I'm still making my first feeble efforts. I started a few years back when a dear friend became a SU demonstrator. But I literally have had to have her hold my hand and show me how to make cards each time I've made some.
I've finally decided to start trying on my own by getting good books out of the library, joining SCS and trying to figure out how it all works. Right now, though, I'm still feeling pretty clueless. I've scrapbooked for years and am pretty good at that and I love it. Why do I feel so intimidated by making a card all by myself??
I had actually been exposed to rubberstamping WAY long ago (in the 80's) by a friend. We were at a mall and they had one of those mid-court little kiosk/cart things...with rubber stamps. She was just in heaven, and ooh-in and aahhh-ing. I thought, "Yes, they're very cute...but good grief!! You use them ONCE and they're stained with ink...that's pretty dumb!"
:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
Then on that cruise in 2002, Randi explained that you can CLEAN the stamps immediately and use LOTS of different ink colors on them....
Sheesh...what a maroon!!!! LOL
__________________ Jansy The one who dies with the most embellishments wins! www.gingersnappedgirl.blogspot.com
About eight years ago a friend from church told me she had signed up to be a Stampin' Up! demo. When she explained to me about making cards from rubber stamping I thought it was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard of. I have always loved crafts but this just didn't sound like fun at all. Well, a few months later another friend invited me to a workshop she was hosting for the friend. I love to get together with other women so I agreed to go. Wow! What a fun time I had! I love making cards. I don't even remember now what the first stamp set was that I bought that night. Now 400+ stamp sets later I am totally addicted to this craft. I love tools and ribbons. My craft budget is out of sight. But I love every minute of it.
This is a fun thread. My story seems to be a little different than the others.
I have a biological need to make things (my mother claims the same). But, I'm not interested in having the end product around my house. It *has* to go.
First it was baking. I gained too much weight.
Then it was cooking, but that to some degree went by the wayside when I had kids. You have to do things on a time schedule when you cook and that's not a luxury I had anymore.
I've done knitting, which I still do occasionally when someone gets married - I knit them an afghan if they want one. But how much can you knit & give away? Plus I live where its warm so you can't really do it that much in the summer.
I've tried most kinds of needlework, crafting, sewing, etc. I needed something that I could stop at anytime (to attend to the kids) and where the end product could easily leave my house. Card making was the perfect solution for me. Now everyone I know gets birthday cards, card sets as gifts, etc I can make them after the kids go to bed or if they're up, stop whenever I need to and the product has a recurring avenue for leaving the house. Yes!
A mom from one of my mom's groups held a card making session. I LOVED going to them. She was an SU demo but her cards were too intricate for me. However, she did give me the "gift" of what I like to term the SCS black hole (What's the ratio of hours you spend on SCS to hours stamping? For me it's way too many to not nearly enough.) She hooked me on SU (I *love* the quality and that everything matches) so when she quit her sessions and her demoship, I went looking for a new one. I asked my current demo a ton of questions before choosing her and am very happy with my choice.
Sometime in the mid to late 90's, a fellow homeschooler had a Stampin Up party. I took my girls (they were probably 8 & 10) and they enjoyed stamping and making some cards. I bought just a few stamps because I couldn't afford much. I even bought them unmounted and had dh cut little wood blocks to mount them on, just trying to save some money. The girls used them some, just playing around. We did a little bit of scrapbooking and also made some simple cards at Christmas. We didn't use them a lot. I heard about this site from a lady on a homeschool board I am a part of. I think that was 2-3 yrs ago. It got me back into scrapbooking. I bought a cuttlebug almost 2 yrs ago, thinking I was going to use it for scrapbooking but after coming to this board and seeing all the beautiful cards, I was hooked. I'm still learning and not nearly as talented as you ladies, but I love it! Dh and I saw a Cricut infomercial over 3 yrs ago. HE was impressed with it and wanted to get me one. He got me one last Christmas. He loves that I enjoy this hobby. He does a really good job at showing enthusiasm each time I show him a new card I've made. ;)
I dappled in scrapbooking a bit......then I recieved a beautiful handmade Christmas Card from a friend...she had gone to a SU party......so, I just started going to some stamping stores and I was ready to spend money....but, really didn't get much help and didn't really know what I was doing and THEN.....I went to a SU demonstration...and learned a lot and she answered all my questions....and THEN .... I became a SU demo....and the rest is history.....it changed my life.....and I love teaching other people about this craft that anyone, of any age , can do....before that, I had porcelain doll classes in my home.....(ten years)......this is so much more fun!
offshoot from scrapbooking for me too. I used to be a pretty hardcore scrapbooker, several pages a day, scrapping crap that didn't even need scrapping just because I was so addicted, I truly WAS caught up all the time, I did pages for other people for hire and stuff too.
Then I got some Hero Arts letter stamps, thinking they would be easy and cheaper in the long run than stickers, then I discovered embossing powder (EP is like the hussy of the cardmaking world, so shiny and exciting, hot stuff draws you right in, then you are hooked for life) So I had to get some embossing powder worthy stamps... I don't really know what happened after that. I guess I stumbled into a stamp store, you know as opposed to a store that is mostly for scrapbookers, this store was just jammed with stamps.
And that's pretty much the end of the story.
Now I'm feeling proud if I do one scrapbook page a month!
LOL! Same here!
My mom got me hooked on stamping and embossing (I have always liked shiny stuff!) 15 years ago after I was diagnosed with cancer. My mom, who is extraordinarily artistically gifted, knew I needed to keep my mind occupied and my hands busy. She also knew me well enough to know that I needed instant gratification (not something like cross stitch that would take YEARS!)!:mrgreen:
I invested in a ton of PSX stuff...stamps, heat gun, a bazillion embossing powders (I still have a shoe box FULL of little jars of different colored embossing powders...enough to last me the rest of my life!).
Anyway, I got busy with life, we got custody of, and later adopted, my niece, so I put everything on hold for a few years. Several ladies where my dh works are part of a SU! hostess club - he MADE me go(yes, he really did make me go! :rolleyes to a meeting last Nov 2008. ) I reluctantly went, but was instantly hooked. Within 2 months, I signed up and have never looked back. This was a real life-saver for me. I love every minute of it.
Now, I have to get back to making Valentine cards with my dd.
Hubby & I both square dance, but he also does so at a 'challenge' level (I do not dance that level). There was an 'invitational' dance on the peninsula that hubby was going to, and a couple from New York also came out for it. Like me, the wife also square dances but not that level. Before getting out to CA, she got online looking for something new for us to do and found a local stamp store that had classes that Saturday... and they happened to still have 2 openings at that time, so she signed us up, not knowing what we were in for. First time rubber stamping for both of us. The rest is history for me. That was around 2002, I think.
__________________ Rubber Stampin' Square Dancin' Round Dancin' Mary
I used to type letters (on a typewriter!) (this was before everyone actually had email), and liked to doodle in the margins. Then I went into a bookstore and saw some foam-backed rubber stamps (Stampendous I think). I bought the set and used them for stamping in the margins of my letters and on the envelopes. I also used them to stamp on construction paper cut down to card size for cards!
like most, it started because i was scrapbooking and i like to make my own things, embellishments, background papers, etc. I can't get enough of stamps now when at first i thought it was a waste of space and money, lol
There's always someone to "blame" right? I've been stamping for over 12 years now and I "blame" a family friend who always sent everyone these cool stamped cards (she'd been to CA on a trip and bought her first stamps about 20+ years ago from a small Inkadinkado kiosk in a mall) so my mom, sis in law decided we'd take a stamping class and learn how and I was hooked right from the start.
I was a scrapbooker (but I still don't do a lot of artsy stuff because at heart I believe the photos should be the focus), and I had a neighbor that was having a party. I owned a gymnastics business (Big One with two gyms even), and wanted to check out their ink. I stamped all the preschool and beginner kids with cute stamps, usually gymnastics related, at the end of class every day. 500 kids a week. I found Stampin up ink was fabulous for hand stamping as it doesn't bleed into skin and looks great even a day later!
So after my experiment at my friends party, I had my own party during sell a bration and bought a few stamp sets for scrapbooking, and a lot of ink for the gyms. 16 years later I still scrapbook very simply, but I haven't bought a card in over 14 years! I am still a sell a bration addict.
Stamping is a great outlet for me, it is very relaxing to create!
__________________ Proud Air Force Wife Andi Wrenn
I had been scrapbooking for a few years and got invited to go to a Close To My Heart party, the consultant was super nice and invited me to one of her card making clubs and the rest was history!
