Sunday, February 5, 2012

Stuff and Things

First, let's get today's card up because I'm sick and feeling oddly chatty, so this post gets really long and most of you will not want to read my cold-medicine-induced ramblings.



It may be hard to tell, but I stamped the starburst flower (Hero Arts) in two shades of Memento pink. If you click on the picture, you should see a larger version of it! I just twisted the image slightly so the two colors don't overlap perfectly. That way, the flower has a bit of dimension to it.
Looking at the photo, I now wish I'd put black thread or even thin black-and-white gingham ribbon on the button. It would have more punch that way. Oh well. Next time.

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white
accessories: button, DMC floss, corner chomper


And now for the random stuff and things.

1. Did you know that this month marks the fifth anniversary of Papertrey Ink? This company completely changed my thinking about clear stamps. Until I bought Beautiful Blooms, I thought all clear stamps were garbage. Now, I know better. Papertrey taught me the difference between silicone stamps (garbage) and photopolymer (fabulous). This opened up glorious worlds of stamping options for me!

The style at Papertrey in the early years was simple, simple, simple. I wanted to be PTI co-founder Nichole Heady when I grew up. In the past few years, the PTI style has gradually increased in complexity, along with the product line, which now includes custom dies, card stock, inks, and all sorts of embellishments. Nevertheless, it's a rare PTI release that doesn't leave me wanting to buy some stamps.  I'm very excited to check out the sneak peeks as they lead up to the reveal on the 15th!

2. Papercraft Inspirations contacted me a few days ago to ask for permission to publish one of my cards in its March issue (April issue for Americans). How completely cool is that?!?! Tickled pink doesn't even come close to describing how I feel right now!!!!

3. I have A Muse's new catalog in my hot little hands thanks to Lianna Vigil. So much gorgeous eye candy!

4. Inventory Update: I've started work on my stamp inventory, which seems fairly necessary for tracking what I've used for my Use-All-My-Image-Stamps Resolution. I also really miss having an inventory just for inspiration. It's so much easier to flip through a binder of stamped images than to flip through jewel cases or rummage through drawers. Here's what I'm doing.

a. Two separate inventories, both based on where I store my stamps. One inventory is just for Papertrey Ink stamps, which are stored in CD holders. The other is for my drawers of stamps (including clear, cling, and wood-mounted stamps). The drawers are organized by theme. There will be no cross-referencing. This strategy minimizes the amount of time and stamping for the inventory. I want to keep it simple. Of course.

b. Spreading out the stamping. I am only stamping one drawer's contents every two or three days. This should keep me from re-injuring my elbow. I have stamped out three drawers already. Obviously this will take a while.

c. Not stamping some stuff.  I'm NOT planning to include loose sentiments or sets that are all sentiments in my drawer inventory. As nice as it would be to have a sentiment index (all thank you stamps on one page, all happy birthday stamps on one page, etc.), that's a Herculean task given the sheer quantity of sentiments I own. Makes my elbow hurt just to think about it.

d. Keeping track. As I use an image stamp, I'll put a tick mark by it on the inventory in pencil. If I decide after using a particular stamp that I don't want to keep that stamp, I'll put an X on the image and put the stamp in a box in the closet. When the box is full, I'll sell it as a grab bag.

5. Pictures of my craft space are not forgotten. I'm just not there yet. I want to completely refurnish my craft room but cannot afford to. George and I have been working single-handedly to revitalize the economy. We've purchased a new house and are doing our darnedest to furnish it and decorate it to our satisfaction. We are incredibly blessed to be able to do this. But there isn't a spare $1,000 or so in the budget to redo my perfectly adequate craft space. I have, therefore, been thinking, processing, brainstorming, and contemplating how to work with what I  have to make my space as fabulous as I can. I'm slow but steady, and you'll see pictures as soon as I can decide some stuff.

6. Memento's New Colors. About dang time. Tsukineko announced 12 new colors of Memento Ink! I'm still disappointed that there's not a nice aqua or gold, but the new colors fill a need in the line, which until March, contains only 24 colors. I will, of course, be buying them all in the dew drop size as soon as they are available. I have issues that frankly don't need any help.

Wow, if you made it with me this far, thank you ever so much. You are a saint. Now, I'm off to take a nap. Or maybe cough up a lung. Not sure. Have a wonderful Superbowl Sunday.

26 comments:

  1. I'm excited to see pictures of your craft room. I will be moving into a new one in a few months. The plan was to get new shelving and counter tops...but since everything is costing more than planned I have decided to make do with what I have. I have been using coupons at Hobby Lobby and Michaels to buy storage bins which will be nice. Other than that I will use my folding tables, old desk and bookshelves which will be fine! I'm lucky to have the room! TFS.

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  2. Feel better, Susan! I admire your goal to use all of your stamps again. I'm in a stamping funk. I just don't feel like stamping, and haven't felt like it since the beginning of December when I finished my Christmas cards. I used to be one of the people who bought from PTI every single release night. I haven't made a PTI purchase in several months, and am not feeling the love for that company at this point in time. I think it needs to get its customer service house in order and improve its warehouse operations. I didn't make one single stamping-related purchase in January. NOT ONE! I think that's the first time in years. I enjoy the creative satisfaction I get from stamping, so I don't want to give it up. I'm going to try to stamp today. Wish me luck.

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  3. That wasn't too long, and everything was interesting to read! I need to inventory my stamps too, but in the scheme of things its the last thing I want to do when I get time to craft!

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  4. Fabulous card Susan, sorry to read that you have another cold, I hope you feel better soon. Congratulations on starting the herculean task of organizing your stamps:0) I'm ignoring the pangs of guilt about mine and just hoping they will go away( the guilt pangs not the stamps LOL) I know where everything is,........... don't I? xxx

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  5. Great read. Sorry you're not feeling well. Loving the PTI celebration. Such a fabulous company.

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  6. Love today's card, hope you feel better soon

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  7. Your card is lovely - the subtle shadow gives some dimension. Super card!

    The new Memento colours are lush! I think they are on my "must have" list!

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  8. Great card! Sorry to hear you are not feeling well :( Good luck on your reorg endeavor!

    We have something called Craig's List up here in Canada where people can list things for sale and you can get some great deals on it - could maybe be something to help you get some goodies for your craft room at rock bottom prices.

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  9. The card is very pretty Susan, it's very inspiring.

    Hope you'll feel better soon, I do like to read your ramblings, medicine induced or not.

    Take care
    Maarit

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  10. I love your starburst card~I think it's perfection.
    Congratulations...you deserve the honor Susan! I pray you get better soon.

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  11. Your starburst card is lovely, the subtlety of two pinks works beautifully. Congratulations on the publishing invitation, I am very pleased for you-long overdue I would say but very exciting all the same.

    I am considering reorganizing my stamps and supplies but I am not sure how or even whether to start. As I was an SU demo for 5 years I still think in terms of their sets and their colour families etc. Breaking up those sets would not come easily to me but now I have a bunch of Penny Black, Flourishes and Darkroom Door stamps which don't fit the system.
    Thanks for giving me some ideas to think about.
    Hope you are feeling better soon.

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  12. I SO need to organized my stamps...I think I have them in 3 or 4 different places and can never remember all of them! I also can't imagine the time it would take to index all of them. I've thought of giving away/selling some of my stamps, but sure as I do, I'll want to use one of them! What's a girl to do!

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  13. Your card is absolutely stunning! I just love how a tiny turn of the image and a subtle change of color added so much dimension!!! WOW.
    Your resolution to use all of your stamps is quite something. I say this because I'm almost afraid to even start an inventory of my stash. I honestly think I have way more than I realize hiding out in my craft room...it's nice sometimes to live in denial. Then again, knowledge is power. Maybe I'll start the whole inventory process now that you've reminded me to do so. :)

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  14. Interesting post:) Congrats on getting published - and not even submitting something! That is awesome!! Pretty card. Can't wait to see your craft room.

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  15. Love your inspiration..hope you are feeling better very soon. You have so much energy, even when you are sick. Amazing.....

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  16. Grin, always love reading your "ramblings"-- made perfect sense to me :)

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  17. I like the offset images in pink. And I hope you feel better soon. Congratulations on the invitation to be published- it's a well deserved honor.

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  18. No problem sitting through your ramblings, it was a good read catching up with you. Feel better soon! (Of course, love the starburst flower card!)

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  19. Beautiful card. I enjoyed your ramblings! Congrats on your impending publication, and sorry you are under the weather.

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  20. Susan, I'm glad you introduced me to PTI through your blog. I love the stamps and dies, but I've also had a problem with customer service. On my last order in November, it took 9 weeks and several emails to get the last item.(NOT out of stock)

    I'll continue to look at the new releases but as a way to use what I have.

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  21. Congratulations on your upcoming publication! If cold meds affect you like they do me, mail your beautiful card to yourself. When you receive it, you'll be overwhelmed with gratitude that someone was thinking of you -- and you won't even remember you made it. I've sworn off cold meds for obvious reasons. ;)

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  22. So sorry to hear that you have a cold. I hope you feel better soon!

    I'm so happy that I read all the way to the end! I had not heard about Memento's new colors. I'll probably be buying them also.

    I won't comment on everything you said, but lastly I'll say that I, unfortunately, don't own any Papertrey stamps yet. I say "yet" because I see them used on various blogs and love so many ot them and wish I did have some. Maybe someday.

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  23. Susan, thanks for the post on how you're doing your inventory. Especially the tip on only stamping one drawer of stamps every two or three days. If I hadn't read that, I'd probably have got started and kept right on going and ended up injuring myself - I never thought about that.

    I love your starburst card! I could see the paler pink ink and it does add a nice sense of dimension.

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  24. I'm working on creating an inventory of my stamps, too, but I dread the idea of stamping (and cleaning!) each on individually. I'm considering taking photographs of them instead - while they would not be "actual size", it would take so much less time!

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  25. So excited to hear that you are getting published in Papercrafts! I am getting published for the first time in the same magazine and can't wait to see your card. I love your cards and am not surprised that they contacted you wanting to publish your card. They should be doing that all the time!

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  26. wow you were chatty ... yeah for getting published ... and they contacted you to do it - extra impresive!!

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!