But then, I'm into extreme clean. I've been stamping for almost a decade, and if you consider my AR/OC tendencies, you can just imagine how I was in the early days...needing to try every single technique, every single stamp I could buy, every single product I could sneak into my house. I made paste paper, stamped with bubble wrap, and tore wet mulberry paper. I added acrylic paint and dish detergent to water, blew bubbles in it through a straw, and made bubble paper. Heck, I pounded flowers with a hammer onto paper. I had no shame.
After a while, though, I found out that what really made me giddy was a clean-and-simple style, largely free of techniques and very sparse in product. I don't need a bunch of what I have to achieve my style and have slowly been purging the unneeded supplies. Designer paper doesn't do much for me (though if I start scrapbooking again, that might change). I don't have or want a die cut machine, and the embossed look isn't something I've ever been able to carry off well.
I've found fabulous cardstock, inks, and cutting tools, and it would take A LOT to make me change any of them. I love my Scor-Pal but don't feel the need to upgrade it. Now, the products that get me most giddy are stamps. I have tons of them, but new ones still excite me, still make me giddy enough to reach for my check card. And yes, I recently placed a couple of orders for new stamps. I love buying new stuff and will certainly continue at the controlled and reasonable pace I've set for the past three or four years.
But all this talk about too much stuff and nothing wowwing people has got me thinking. I know, I know. Thinking is dangerous, but I just can't help myself. And it's led me to add a new resolution to my crafting goals. I will quite consciously drag out those older supplies and stamps and use them. My plan is to get excited about what I have, get creative with it...HAVE FUN.
Yesterday's cards that combine new stamps and old ones are a good start. Today, the stamps are all old. The flower stamp and sentiments are discontinued Hero Arts stamps I've had for years. The first card looks pretty fresh to my eyes, not dated at all. The second card looks dated because of the font of the sentiment, but only those of us who stamp AND keep up with trends would know that. The person who receives that card will have no idea.
Do any of you care to join me in this resolution?
Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts discontinued
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white, SU pixie pink
accessories: rhinestones
Susan!
ReplyDeleteLOVE your card and LOVE your resolution! I have been thinking about trying to do the same...I have so much ribbon!! And buttons too...I really need instead of pick out a stamp and papers first try picking out a patterned ribbon or certain buttons and work from that...Thanks for encouraging us to get out that stuff and use it!
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ReplyDeleteI have been following you for the past month and I think your cards are so very pretty & clean looking. I really enjoy visiting your blog. I plan to join you with this resolution.
ReplyDeleteOoops....thank you for sharing your beautiful gift.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I've been working on as well -- if I still love it, I plan on using it. If I don't, I plan on selling/donating it. It feels good!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I still have the first sentiment stamp you used, and I used to have the second! I think you're totally right about looking "out of date" -- only in the eyes of the stamper!
It's exactly what I've been doing since putting a buying freeze on myself since last August. I have SO MANY wonderful stamps that I really don't need any more for a very long while. Although.... Nichole temps me every month - jeepers her stuff still wows me. But, I've held to my vow and I'm really enjoying getting back to stamping and all of the glorious images I have. I'm with you - all the way.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely joining you in your resolution - I definitely plan to make better use of my older stamps - a lot of which are very well suited to Cleaner, simpler styles of cards, my first love of card-making.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Susan! I have really had an aversion lately to reading blogs that only post the "new and exciting" products that the company they design for just released. I just don't need any more stuff. I just want to see blogs with examples containing the stuff I already have. I absolutely love it when I see you use some of your older stamps that I have...it re-energizes me and makes me pull the old stuff out and use. You are absolutely right...the folks we send most of these cards to have no earthly idea that an image or sentiment is not quite trendy at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree! I've noticed that lately I've been reaching for things that were "needed" at the time but didn't get used. When that happens I pat myself on the back and say, "Good Girl" (kinda like what you say to your sweet doggie) -
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower and love your clean and simple cards. I'm with you on using and having fun with what you have already.
ReplyDeletesusan, I love your card and your resolution, too. Something similar came in my mind as a goal for 2011. I am into rubberstamping for almost eleven years and I have really so many stamps that I haven't used for ages. If I won't like them anymore I might already sell them -but I still love them. So it's time to use them instead of buying new stuff...
ReplyDeletelooking forward to see what you'll do with your old stuff ;-)
Sandra
Absolutely, Susan - couldn't agree more! I was like a kid in a sweetshop when I first started but, over the months, have finally realised that it's only CAS type stuff that does it for me & I'm always on the lookout for likeminded crafters. Keep up the good work! x
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, an admirable resolution and I would love to try and join you!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make a renewed effort to join you in your resolution! I'm definitely more cautious when it comes to buying stuff, but I do fall off the wagon, and I also keep reaching for the same stamps and papers over and over again. If I wasn't such a hoarder, I'd have purged long ago, but I find it hard... So, I'll just have to make sure I do use what I have! Thanks for the continued inspiration,
ReplyDeleteAnne
You've been talking to me through your blog :) I am not as clean and simple in style as you are (I love bows...but not bows with flowers attached to them!). However, I hear you loud and clear on only buying stamps that fit my style and using them tons. I have been making an effort to go through a lot of my stamps and I have loved it. I'm seeing which I really don't like and those that are my go to stamps that I keep coming back to over and over. Thanks for encouraging me to really use my supplies and think about future purchases clearly!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds DO think alike--I've been singing the same tune on my blog since the New Year. Lately, what I've been seeking out, are new techniques rather than "stuff." Our main difference is that I love designer papers, especially for the paper weaving I've been doing with them. Still, I don't like to use a lot of embellishments, especially ribbons, since they make cards bulky to mail. Thanks for all your one layer inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI'm in! I have less time to create than I'd like. I end up buying things because it satisfies that urging when I don't have time for stamps and ink. What usually calls to me is stamps, always more stamps. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI have some old favorites, but I purge often since I don't have much space to keep my stash. I have some stamping friends that love it when I clean out! And old stamps make new cards!
ReplyDeleteI miss the EONAC (Everything Old Is New Again Challenge). Maybe we could talk her into resurrecting it again, with a link to you, or vice versa. So many supplies, so litle time.
ReplyDeleteGosh, yes I’m in, I agree older stamps are dated to us, but not to most recipients. This will work well with my other stamping resolution, Buy Less, Use More. Just before Christmas my stamp buying was revolutionised. I purchased the Poinsettia stamp set from Waltzing Mouse. Using this set I made over 30 Christmas cards, no two were alike and I’ve just scratched the surface of possibilities; some of the stamps lend themselves to use at other times of the year too; great value and what I would call ‘timeless’ images. It truly has revolutionised my stamp buying, I expect so much more from my stamp purchases these days. On trend stamps will still have a place in my collection, but I shall be searching out more ‘timeless’ image, quality, stamp sets. I hasten to add that I have no affiliation with Waltzing Mouse, this set just blew me away and changed my ideas of stamp buying, a light bulb moment. Hero Arts, Flourishes, Papertrey, MFP, all make quality, ‘timeless’, stamp sets and I’m sure there are many more.
ReplyDeleteYes please, sign me up!! When is the next Stamper's Anonymous (sp?)? I don't an extremely large collection but I do have stuff that I don't use as much as I should to justify the cost. And from my blog hops, I have discovered this is a sentiment echoed by many hobbists. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLiz
Liz
Oh, yes. I'm there. I have often thought about going back and forcing myself to USE all the stamps I'm hoarding. Maybe if I try to use them and find I can't, I'll purge. But then there's the stack of bags of new stuff not even inked yet, and I'm torn with my allegiances. But at least I'm THINKING about it. :) Baby steps.
ReplyDeleteI'm in!! I've put myself on a spending freeze which means I must use what I already have ... which, honestly could last a lifetime to be honest. I could do with a little purging!! I too am trying to pull out the older stamps I have (as well as other supplies) and use them more often! You are able to voice this in such a poetic way!! Love your card ... off to dust in my craft room :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly new to cardmaking (2+ years) but I sometimes can't believe all the supplies I have. I'm even starting to buy duplicates because I really don't know what I have and I certainly haven't tried out much of my 'stash' yet. I'm hoping that organizing my supplies will give me a better idea of what's there. And I'm hoping it will help me develop a more realistic idea of what I need and will use.I'd like to spend more time creating and less time &money shopping? Any and all ideas would be welcome and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteLovely cards.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention pulling out the old stuff as one of my 2011 resolutions was to use all of my Stampin' Up sets this year to make sure I still liked them now that I know what I'm doing. The last two cards I posted on SCS were the beginning of that process.
ReplyDeleteLove your pink flowered cards! And also all the OLW cards this week - I wish could participate but am travelling so the most I can do is look (but I'm missing stamping very much - I feel like an addict going through withdrawal).
A blogger friend of mine was writing about pretty much the same thing - partly as a result of reading the book "Radical" by David Platt. She said that we pay our pro athletes so much, but can't afford to properly pay our teachers - what's wrong with that picture? I can't point a finger at any of these folks without pointing it at myself too - when I think of how much money I spend on card-making supplies, and quilt-related items, yet how little I spend to help someone living in third world conditions (even here at home) - well, it's more than embarrassing. So yes, I'm pledging to use and re-use those oldies but goodies!
ReplyDeleteI have just found your blog and I love it...possibly because I'm in the same place that you are in my stamping. I'm also a stamper in that while I love looking at all the stuff that comes out and I've bought my share, I love stamps and using stamps. I'm particularly enjoying seeing how simple, yet how wonderful your cards are. Bravo! I'm on board.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Susan. I have done some of the same, shaving foam and re-inkers comes to mind. I started the year out with a post very similar to this. For me I've called it Grab and Go! Meaning just pick something out of the stack and start stamping. I also have a challenge to myself to Use it Up and that includes the stacks of DP. Every week I will make a card using some DP. Do you know how many pieces of DP can come out of just one sheet? Check out my Grab and Go if you would like.
ReplyDeletehttp://janeen-alittlebitofthisandthat.blogspot.com
I tried the bubble wrap, too! Never did use the result, and finally tossed it out of my scrap bin. :P I will try a technique once in awhile, but like you, I enjoy playing with stamps, ink and paper. Well, I like colouring a bit more than you. :P
ReplyDeleteYour two cards today are beautiful! I like those little flowers a lot.
Thanks so much for your perspective! While I, too, get excited at new releases; I get frustrated that Design Team bloggers don't ever go back and use "old" stamps--even if the rest of us can't even get our hands on them for a while. I plan to dig out my "old" stuff and really use it this year. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThese are super cards. Lovely simple flowers and bright colours - fab!
ReplyDeleteAs for your resolution. I know what you mean. I think I'm still working out my style - I do CAS (thank you for your inspriation) and I love it. Then I play with layers and lace (thanks to Mona, amongst others) and love that too! I'm still at the playing and working out stage - but I have too much "stuff" and I know that I'm unlikely to use it all.
I have to say that I think I get most excited about stamping and colouring and I love to see new stamp releases. But I'm trying to be good this year - and use my old stuff too!
I don't think those stamps look dated at all! Your cards are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThose two sentiment stamps are in my purge box, and likely to stay there, even though I love your cards. Although I must say I've pulled some back out after seeing some of your other cards. That's the good thing about holding onto your purge box for a while. Now that I've been through it a few times, I'm finally ready to let it go...
ReplyDeleteThis subject always makes me smile because I will never need to make this resolution. My finances are such that I must be very careful of my spending. Although I enjoy seeing all the new products on the market and how fellow crafters use them I’m the gal who buys stuff other people purge from their craft rooms. Even then I only buy items I know I will be able to use for years to come. Nearly all my stamps, flowers, a great deal of card stock, paper and ribbon have been purchased from thrift shops or yard sales. No one I send my cards to knows what the latest trends are. All they care about is I took the time to make them something special.
ReplyDeleteBlessings Bernie
Yes! I am determined to use my unloved stamps this year!
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