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I'm new to paper crafting (just got a cuttlebug about a month ago) and have thoroughly enjoyed this site. So much valuable info and beautiful cards! Just wondering how you all got started making homemade cards and also, do you do this just as a craft or do you make them to sell? Just wondering what motivates you. ;)
Oh, and one more question...do you set aside a certain amount of money to spend on supplies or just buy as you want? It sure looks like it could get expensive. The cards you ladies create are just gorgeous though!
I attended a workshop by a demo of Stampin Up and have been hooked ever since...it's funny though because I swore I would never ever stamp or make cards. HA! Now it's all I think about. I've never sold any of my cards, but would love to - I make them to send to friends and family now. I've made cards for family members to send to others, though (just not for profit). I love it when I'm asked to make something special for someone. As far as how much I spend - I really do make every attempt to be thrifty and cautious. It's so easy to build up a horde of supplies and get overwhelmed. I don't set aside a certain amount - I just find what I like and replace what I use and it's usually around $30 a month or so.
How are you liking the Cuttlebug? I've been wanting to get one - I have one of the folders and I've been using that round embossing tool from Fiskars and it works, but it gets tiring!
Glad to have you here at SCS and welcome to the wild world of papercrafting!!
I went to a SU workshop to help a friend out (after selling all of my rubber stamp stuff) spent $130.00 and became a demo....now I can't stop!!!
I have sold my cards at craft fairs, at school and I have started my own business craft web site...mostly make things for gifts, and teachers.
It can be a VERY expensive hobby. I spend way more than I should but when things are on sale I just can't help my self. Just make sure you say to yourself do I really need it, will I make enough things with it, then buy it anyway..lol just kidding..I have to learn to take my own advice. if you look at my gallery you will understand the problem I have. My friends come over to craft and say it is like being at joanns but everything is open..and they arent kidding..It is a fun, creative outlet and keep checking here (this will become another obsession) to get ideas, tips on tools to get and not to get...
I love my cuttlebug too!!! one of the best things out there..
good luck and have fun!
about 6 years ago a friend showed me how to make a card using fusable web and fabric ! i was hooked and certainly have branched out from that humble beggining.
i have taught some classes at a LSS (boo hoo, i moved from FL to NC and no longer have that outlet)....have sold some too. give lots of gifts and send cards for any occasion....some not even real occasions...just need an excuse
it is very expensive, and just when i think i cant possibly "need" anything else, there is something i must have. we are building a new home, so not all of my stuff is unpacked since we are in a rental with a small room for my crafting....who needed a guest room i said !! but when the new home is done...hopefully mid DEc....i will have the bonus room over a 2 car garage all for myself !
my DH says i have my own store too....but it is nice to see a creation on a blog or on this site and then find you have the supplies on hand !
although it seems that the 40 or 50 % coupons just have to be spent !! i feel there should be an auto alarm that shrills when i walk into HL or Michaels
this site has soooooooooooooo much inspiration.....i get ideas all the time and then just have to try them out. there are many very talented people here and quite a few enablers. you wont ever be without an answer to a question. so join in the fun !!
check my gallery for a few samples....i dont know how to include that here, but you can just enter any name on the gallery section.....and that is a great place to spend some time...just looking at the beautiful things the members have posted....
i am addicted to paper and stamps and ink...and i also swore i would NEVER stamp.
Attended an SU stamp camp to "try something new". Enjoyed the class but resisted making a purchase as I was concerned about what it might lead to. Boy, was I right! But am loving every minute of this fabulous hobby. Spend way too much, but am trying to being more mindful of my expenditures. Make cards for my own personal use, not to sell. Enjoy all the creativity here. So many perspectives on using stamps....and they are all beautiful. Happy stamping!
Jeannie
I scrapped and then went to a card demo and was hooked and did not want to be. So I got my baby girl hooked. She just joined SCS and bought her first SU! stamps from our "group" of addicts. She is the youngest by far but we love her-she's our mascot! We both make cards since the ones at the store are $5 for a simple/stupid one!
I started stamping/cardmaking about 5 years ago when a friend took me to a Stampin Up party. I make cards mainly for my family and friends, but I just volunteered at my Church to make cards for them for Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc. I am on a budget for buying my supplies and most months I am good about staying under budget, but I do occassionally go over budget. Most of the things that I buy now are the accessories, I have a large selection of stamps and I figure that I will only buy stamps that I really like and I know that I will use all the time, I have also started to get some acrylic stamps, some of them are really cute and the prices are less than the wood mounted, don't get me wrong I still like the wood mounted but I figure that I can have the best of both worlds with the acrylics as well. This can be a very expensive hobby, but if you choose your supplies carefully and stay within a budget it won't take long to build up your stock, and have fun with what you are doing, and come to SCS on a regular basis to get ideas. Welcome to the club/addiction.
About 5 years ago I was send a hand-made thank-you card from a friend. I asked her about it, and was invited to an SU party she had a few months later.
I have saved the first two cards I ever made, and it's amazing to see how I have changed! It's fun to improve on something and be proud of the finished product.
I have sent many cards to friends, made gift-sets of them and given those away, and sold maybe a dozen cards in the last 3 years. I now have hundreds of finished cards and I love it!! I am not sure I could ever sell them to make money....I am somewhat attatched to each one and really do enjoy giving them away.
As far as a budget, it's easier after you are into it a few years and have accumulated a stash, at first I was overwhelmed and had to buy it all...but now...who am I kidding...I still want it all, and there is always something new to buy!!
__________________ Cher No longer stamping...on to bigger things.
I began card making quite a few years ago. You see ... I'm a computer geek type. I thought if I can design a card on the computer - wouldn't that be the bestest? Then I started buying cardmaking programs. I would embellish the cards with glitter and simple stuff. Then I discovered the 'Bug. Next I knew - I found THIS site. My SU Demo found me here ... and now it's all history. Prima's, Shimmering H2Os, Stickles, many many more brass templates, (I won't count) the cb dies and embossing folders, spellbinder nestabilities & shapabilities, quickutz dies, and on and on and on ....
I should have a budget. I know I should have a budget ....
Did I mention that my sister now how a bug, too? <cheesy grin>
Now - I'm not as dedicated as some .. but I tell you ... without internet access, cable TV nor phones at the house since Ike visited ... I'm making a TON of progress.
I went to an SU workshop while I was in Texas....liked it bought a couple of stamp sets. Didn't think to much more about it until I was invited to another workshop here in CA. I booked a WS then my friend booked one and then my other friend booked one and for a year or two we all just kept going to each other's workshops and buying stuff. Can we say ADDICTION! Not too long before my demo transferred overseas I signed up to be a demo. As much as I spent before I was a demo I've spent twice as much since becoming a demo :mrgreen: . But as long as the bills are paid and we have food on the table my DH doesn't mind (too much) about what I spend on stampin' stuff. There is one condition though.....I'm not allowed to buy a store card EVER. That's okay by me though. I like (love) my creative outlet.:-D
__________________ Shellie G
Aspire to be a better person than you were yesterday
My #2 daughter took me to a Creative Memories party a friend of hers was hosting. This was in August 2000. Now I have nearly 40 albums filled.
In 2004 when I went to the CreativFestival in Toronto, I met an SU demo who had a cardmaking workshop. I was hooked. Started out because I wanted the alphabet sets as I was getting fed up with using some stickers from the sheets that cost $6 plus tax here in Canada. Using up all the As and Es and some others in no time and left with the rest. This is not a problem with Alphabet stamps.
Anyway, 134 SU sets later and many tools and other odd stamps from here and there, here I am. Lots of stuff. Love the new tools. Going on the Stamp Cruise mentioned in various places on SCS next month.
I was watching QVC several years ago and they were featuring scrapbooking and cardmaking. I ordered a few things but was struggling on how to stamp and create layouts so I did a search on the internet and found the Paper Crafts Magazine's site. That helped me get started and I've been involved since. I have done some LOs but I find cardmaking more fun.
I buy whatever if I have a few extra dollars to spend. I've been good the past several months and cut down on spending but the past few days I've bought a few tools at Michaels (they have a 50% off coupon for this week) and also at A.C. Moore, they've got a great sale on Fiskars tools-50% off--no coupon needed.:p
I received a set of handstamped monogram cards from a student's mom in my classroom about 6 years ago. I thought, "Hey, I could do that!" So I ran out to Michaels and bought some stuff and got started. A few months later, my mom was invited to a Stampin' Up! party and asked me to go with her... the rest is stamping history!!!
I spend WAY TOO MUCH MONEY... I really need to budget myself better. I'm getting to the point though that I pretty much have all the tools and thensome. Stamps though... you can never have too many stamps!:rolleyes:
I've only sold a few of my cards and some coasters I've done. The rest I usually give away as gifts.
Oh I inherited a few million dollars and was bored with travelling so thought I'd spend it on crafts..... *snicker*
Ok so I've SPENT a few million and I seriously should travel because maybe it would keep me from shopping!!!! I've always been crafty, used to paint those little ceramic houses for my mom during Xmas time as a kiddo. I went into a stamp store back in 1998 *gasp* and asked the gal for something "cool" to put on my Xmas cards. She stamped a Xmas tree in clear ink, poured a different white powder on top of each one and then took a blow dryer to them and they all changed color!!!
$10,472 later here I am....damn stamp lady ;)
__________________ ~*~Jillabella ~*~ confessed Addictabella Ink, Stamp 'n Scrap...I love it all!!! More of my ramblings http://inkstampnscrap.blogspot.com
Hey ladies, it was so much fun reading about how you got started paper crafting. I live in a very small town and don't even know if anyone close sells SU. I would love to go to some workshops.
This site is so addictive. I used to visit another board a lot, but now this is my first stop when I get online. I'm not very creative so I need all the tips I can get. ;)
Oh, this is a fun thread! Believe it or not, my obsession began with a garage sale. I've always done crafty things, and I was already an avid scrapbooker. I got a shoebox full of stamps (all were from Great Impressions) and they were all so much prettier than stamps I'd seen before! I had no ink though, but my parents lived a 5 minute walk from a fabulous stamp store that has since closed. The clerk showed me way too many cool techniques, and there were samples everywhere, and I think you all can guess the rest! That was 7 years ago.
Great thread! Well, I also started as a scrapbooker but, I would always get discouraged b/c it took me HOURS to make a couple of pages. After of course I would sift through my pics and reminisce LOL Then, i saw a card somewhere...don't quite remember now, but, was like WOW! that is COOL! my mom of course has been into scrapbooking for like ever and has more stuff than a store...:rolleyes: But, I showed HER the card making and now she's into it as well as her scrapbooking. I am SO ADDICTED. I love it b/c for me? it gives me satisfaction that I've actually completed a project where as with scrapbooking, I still had several pages left. Still do!
I had a degree in Grafic arts that I hadn't used for over 25 years and then found myself with cancer and fighting to get rid of it for 2.5 years and needed an outlet for my depression.
I started buying stamps where ever I could find them and then I found SU! through my daughter and her friend.
I've been a demo for almost 10 years and love every minute I get to stamp.
__________________ LeAne SCS#2819 & Grandma to Lindsey! [email protected]
About 10 years ago one of my best friends and I decided that it would be MUCH cheaper to make our own Christmas cards!!! Yea that was a smart idea! Now with well over 400 SU sets, I don't even want to count the single stamps and all the sets from all of the other great companies there are now, I figure I could have taken trips around the world, new cars, new houses and on and on... and that's why I'll be working for a long long time!
I first got into sweepstaking back when postage was .10 and kept that up for about 10 years. Then I got into stamping in the early '80's (NOTHING like today: you kids today have it so good! I only had liquid permanent ink in a grand choice of black or purple from the office supply/stationery stores and nothing to clean the stamps with). I got back into sweepstaking in the early '90's and got into envelope making as a result of trying to get more wins! We finally got cable in '95 and I was introduced to the Carol Duvall show where I got started making cards and boxes. I got frustrated with the stamped images not printing all the way, so I use my computer more. Only in the last 6 - 7 years have I gotten into punches. I still don't own any of the die cutters, but have done some embossing by hand.
I don't have a budget, but can't afford or justify the cost of too many tools. If I don't have at least a 40% off cpn, it doesn't get purchased... Then again, I don't have a lot of people to make cards for, so that helps my expenditures (grin).
Good luck with this hobby. It helps to make you more creative and problem solve.
last april, my best friend called me up one morning saying she was going to have a tupperware like party for stamps later in the day. i was more excited about the food haha. i showed up, had an amazing time learning about versamark and embossing, ordered around $100 worth of stampin up and felt like i needed WAY MORE. ever since that sunday afternoon i have been HOOKED. i finally hosted my own SU workshop september 7th and i must say, my girls brought in $800+ in sales and the free merchandise feels amazing.
i have not sold any cards yet because i havent set up my online store. im still thinking about doing it but im not exactly sure i will yet. i get way too much fun making them and surprising my friends and family with my hand made cards.
as for the money i spend. i give myself a budget every month because some months my bills arent so high so i use up my joanns coupons and then some to get new gadgets here and there.
This is how I got "hooked"/ LOL
My DD was visiting me in November of 2000 and asked if we had any stamp stores in our area. I said "STAMP store"? What's a stamps store. ROFL
Soooooo, we looked in the phone book and found Violette's, went there and I purchased ONE stamp (I only "needed" one stamp) , an angel, and a verse, some white cardstock, a black ink pad and some colored pencils. I got home and told DH, "WOW", look at this, I'm going to make our Christmas cards this year and SAVE (ROFL) us $$$$. Now 8 years later, needless to say, I have MORE than ONE stamp.
I went to a friend's home, and was invited to a card-making party that night. I thought, sure, sounds like fun. It was a Stampin Up party. That was 10 years ago. I had my own workshops then finally joined in January of 2000. I started scrapbooking when it became more popular and SU joined the band wagon.
I don't budget, well maybe I do, I order in $150 increments most of the time. I just buy what I need, then what I can't live without at the moment. lol
Did anyone ever make 3 dimensional cards using silicone seal (caulking)? I did this when I was in high school. I would get 3 of the same cards, cut out particular pieces with an exacto knife and raise parts of the image. Anyway, I hardly remember a time when I didn't make cards. I had a small (bottom of a shoebox size) collection of rubber stamps by PSX. I gave them all to my friend when she said she was getting interested in stamping because I said I wouldn't have any time to stamp after we adopted our daughter. She gave them back to me two weeks later and said I should hold on to them because she was becoming a demo. I had no idea what Stampin Up! was then. Well five years later I know, and my daughter knows, and my sons know, and my husband! Well you get the picture!
ps - I'm glad they have dimensionals now!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by emeraldmj; 09-18-2008 at 07:34 PM..
Reason: adding a ps
I think my card making hobby was just an extension of scrapbooking - I was invited to a DOTS demo (dozens of terrific stamps) - that should show how long ago it was because DOTS becaue CTMH (Close to My Heart). I was hooked immediately. The first card I made was an invitation to my daughter's birthday party.
I don't sell my cards, as a general practice, but I have had people offer to pay me for them. I used to gift my mother-in-law with a variety of cards so she could send them out. (She is now in heaven...)
Your last question is harder to answer - I don't budget a specific amount on a regular basis for supplies. I have acquired lots of things over the years and have quite a few stamp sets - I tend to replace what I use and buy new items when they appeal to me. I spent about $60 earlier this month on SU! supplies.
Well:
1. party invitation
2. Nature stamps in catalog (wolf and wildlife)
3. seemed easy (order a family of pads--earth elements of course)
4. order in, sat on shelf for 4 years as demo left town and no one took over
5. scrapbooking began
6. scrapbooking friend was stamping when I went to pick up an order from her
7. found out stamping group was beginning
8. rest is history----and several thousand dollars
I make lots of "giveaways " and not just cards but anything paper.
I also will sell seasonal items at my work.
I kinda have a budget ( well, I tell myself I do) but I rarely let a 40% HL coupon go unused( and it is an hour drive to HL). and I have been known to mail Michael's 50% coupons to my college aged kids(boys no less) and give specific instructions on what they are to go puchase and bring home with them and it goes without saying that on trips, the stamping notebook comes along and any LSS or major chains are clearly allowed for in the travel time issue.LOLOLOLO.
this Site ROCKS and many of my seasonal sale items begin with an idea I find here and tweak to fit.
Enjoy, participate(swaps are fun)(DSS is fun) it is all fun. and share(upload)
__________________ c-mouse-If you can't say nuttin nice--don't say nuttin at all. Thumper. Pansy
Card Sketch Challenge 1-227 done only 396+ to go to be caught up!!!!!
I decided I wanted to make my thank you notes for my wedding- nothing fancy, but I thought it would be fun and cheaper than buying printed ones. Plus I didn't want anything too formal. I went to Michaels and bought some stuff and made some horrifically ugly cards and was lamenting to some co-workers how embarrased of them I was when I was marched on down to a co-workers desk who was 'in to stamping'. I had no idea what they were talking about- I knew what stamps were and had used them (on my ugly cards), but really didn't think there was all that much to it. Oh lordy was I wrong.
Turns out said co-worker was an SU demo and she brought ina bunch of stuff and we had a mini-demo over lunch one day- she showed me embossing and talked about some basic techniques and helped me figure out a basic game plan for my thank you cards,w hich turned out great! It was all downhill from there. She held a special beginner's workshop for me and some friends, pointed to me to SCS and I got rolling.
I actually scrap now instead of making cards, but it all started there. I love papercrafting and see it as an almost limitless hobby!
And I'm not so sure what this 'budget' thing you speak of is????
:P Ha ha! No, I don't have a budget, but I don't think I spend a huge amount. I basically end up making a few larger purchases every month or so. I've only been in it a year, and while I have started to accumulate supplies, there are so many 'basic' types of products I don't have. I feel like I've done a good job of not going overboard on the shopping- I usually don't buy bulk items so I don't end up with a ton of stuff left over that I'll never use. Also, I shop mostly online and take the opportunity to over analyze each and every purchase, so I am sure I want what I am buying.
You can't use it all at once, so there's no sense in trying to buy it all at once!
A little over three years ago, I started scrapbooking. A year or so later, I was invited to an SU! workshop and was hooked! About a month later, I became a demo! I LOVE making cards and sharing the craft with others. I try to really watch my budget, buying what I really need. My Big Shot was my latest big purchase and I love it!
I was hooked at a craft fair. Lori Jacobs was demonstrating making cards using the Lasting Impressions templates. She was a wonderful woman that was a joy to visit with and a real inspiration for cardmaking. Once I got hooked, I started up a cardmaking club that meets once a month and is still going strong! My methods and supplies have grown and still there is always a new technique to try! Cardmaker for about six years now and loving it. I make cards for gift sets, to donate to a nursing home, to give cardmaking classes at a nursing home, for kits at SU parties since daughter is a demo, to send to family and friends, and to socialize with a great group of women that love making cards too! I have sold some cards, but mostly I give them away. What I spend on supplies a month varies with the "want list", but I never seem to hit the end of my list! Currently, a tape gun is top priority, I just hope I like using it!
I went to a small town street fair and there was a RS booth. I bought a few stamps so my girls and I could make Birthday invites. I was hooked and their were not any RS stores then and had to buy mostly by mail when RS catalogs were free. You could find a few Hero Arts in the store. Stamping was not mainstream and was mostly mail art.
About 10+ years ago I was brousing the aisles at Michaels and saw the cutest pilgrams stamp set. I was bored with little ones at home and decided that making some cards for Thanksgiving might be fun. I bought that one stamp, a black stamp pad, and a packet of blank white cards. I "borrowed" markers from my son's school box. While I still have that stamp (it's one fo the few non-SU stamps I still have) I would be embarassed to show the cards I made.
Ftrom that one stamp and ink pad, my collection grew to a shoe box, then a large Rubbermaid contained, to an underbed storage unit and now an entire craft room in the house!
Pandagirl...I live in southeastern Ky. It's been so fun reading how everyone got started cardmaking and scrapbooking! I'll be going to Lexington in 2 weeks to get dd's wedding dress. I hope they have a great sale so I'll have some extra cash to spend at Michael's! LOL That's the closest one to me and I don't get there very often. I'm also going to start working on my Christmas list. I won't be hard to buy for this year! ;)
Cool thread! I say I officially started this year, but I think it was 5 years ago I went to a SU stamp camp and had fun. The SU demo had the coolest room for her crafting hobby. Her entire basement was for her crafts. It was out of my league!! I did end up buying the Frosty stamp set for my Christmas cards, and I did go out and buy my versamark, and glitter, and some card stock and some funky ribbons. My son's girlfriend saw me making my own Christmas cards, and she was very interested. I used the dining room at that time and had to package up everything when I was done. What a chore! I did about 55 Christmas cards that year, and some were OK, the rest were awful, sent them out anyway, and still liked it stamping.
Then I got busy and put the stamping hobby stuff in a large rubbermaid container and stored it for about four years. I went back to college at a ripe ol' age--mom of three boys -- two in college one in high school...so I kept busy with studies.
Then my SU demo moved a little further out, and a friend went to her stamp camp, and told me how her craft room now was even more spectacular! I was invited to the next stamp camp and I think that did me in!
In May of this year I started buying more supplies. Then I discovered all the stamp stores in my area, and with all the extra spending money I have--which is limited because of budget, I buy supplies and cardstock. It is an expensive hobby but I love it so! I have a small craft room now, and it makes life so much easier!
I make cards for all my family and friends.
I am going to showcase several cards at my first craft show in October. I will show/sell any, but will also take orders to make more now that I am done with college!!
We have a personal budget to stay within each month, but my personal spending money goes mostly to my supplies. I buy most of what I can on sale and with those fun coupons from Joann's, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby!
I also love Archivers, and use their specials and coupons each month! Archivers is getting a new line of cardstock with tons of new colors. The clerk said they will have more than ever before. Trouble for me--hehe!!
My family loves the cards I make, so it makes it all that more fun.
My mom is a talented artist--she watercolors and paints oils, and can draw out of this world. I did not inherit her talents--my brothers did; but I could always color well. I feel I can be just as creative with my stamped art now!
I was a scrapbooker. I was interested in stamping but had NEVER heard of SU or CTMH. Well needless to say I was invited to a SU card party and I guest the rest is history. I fell in love with it. Not only to make cards...but incorperating it into my scrapping. I am addicted to stamps...mainly SU and CTMH. I love both. I did however just take all my SU off their wood blocks and now store them in CD cases...but that is okay. I use my stamp-a-magig and it is all good.
My husband, thank God, is very supportive of my addiction...oops I mean hobby.
In February 2005, I was invited to a Stampin' Up party that my friend was having. I decided to go to see what it was all about. I loved making my own cards because I hated spending $$ on cards from Wal-Mart, Hallmark, etc. So I bought the stampin' scrub & mist at the first party. About a month later, I was invited to another party & I bought 4 stamp sets at that party.
I now make it to a party about once every 3 months since I moved away from the demo that I use to buy from. I still order from her & another demo friend when I find something in the Stampin' Up catalog that I can't live without.
I make cards, coasters, etc. to send to family & friends. I use the SCS website to get ideas & to get my questions answered. I didn't realize that I had only been stamping for only 3 1/2 years. WOW, do I have a collection of stamps & accessories in that short of time.
__________________ Picture is of the real rose dipped in 24K gold that my husband gave me before we were married.
How did you get started card making?
