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| Card Size 3 3/8" x 4 7/8" |
To make the heart, I stamped the Kaleidacolor inks onto a scrap of paper using a Hero Arts Shadow stamp. (If you don't have one of these old shadow stamps, any largish solid stamp will do since you're just going to punch a shape out of it anyway.) Then, using a heart border stamp from some Papertrey set whose name escapes me, I created a ground for the large, popped heart. The sentiment at the bottom comes from Keep It Simple: Valentine's Day.
The heart bling was added for interest. Not sure it's needed, really, but once you put it on, you can't take it off. Sort of like my wedding ring on those bloat-y days, if you know what I mean.
Anywho, I had a weird urge to purge...stamps, that is. For the past month, coming back from a rather long break stamping, I've felt weighted down by too many stamps. Too much choice is bad for a soul, or so I read in some recent research on happiness. I pulled out all my white stamp-storage boxes (which mostly contain wood-mounted stamps) and all my clear stamps (mostly stored in the green boxes), and went to work moving iffy or unwanted stamps into an empty box.
I filled the box and needed another one for a bit of overflow. Egads.
And it. was. easy. Sadly easy.
In the end, four white boxes were empty. It felt good. The sentiment dilemma is still there, though. Just too many of the durn things and I still end up not having what I want half the time.
First-world problems are my specialty.
Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by your stash? Does having too much choice stifle your creativity? Do you purge regularly, or do you just hoard and hoard and hoard to your heart's content?
Supplies
stamps: Papertrey
ink: Kaleidacolor berry blaze
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: dimensionals, heart rhinestones
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ReplyDelete"Too much choice is bad for a soul, or so I read in some recent research on happiness." -- I feel like I'm living this one. We moved from the middle of nowhere Alaska to a big city and I feel overwhelmed. I would like to start purging my craft hoard. I think I would do more with less in the way.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I did some purging in DSP scraps this week. I've been looking at some of them for over 5 years at least. I decided if I had not been inspired to use them by now it's time someone else had a go at them. They are headed to the reuse center. Sylvia D.
ReplyDeletehttp://smdgreetings.blogspot.ca/2016/01/share-your-cup-this-week.html
Its good to let go - it makes room mentally and specially for new things. I call it "releasing them back into the wild" so someone else can discover and enjoy, like a catch and release program. Or as I read elsewhere recently, think of your sunk cost as a rental fee - you paid, enjoyed (or not), and sent it "back". No harm, no foul.
ReplyDeleteDarn autocorrect, mentally and *spatially* :-)
DeleteDarn autocorrect, mentally and *spatially* :-)
DeleteLOVE the idea of looking at is at a rental fee. You paid for the opportunity to use it. You just ended up not taking that opportunity. Much less guilt to that.
DeleteAbout a month ago I went through the craft room and totally cleaned it. I love to do this about every 6 months. I got rid of 4 large boxes of stuff, mainly stamps, but also paper and some ink. Some of them were stamps I had given away a few years ago and had been returned to me. I just don't like having a large stash. I also like having a few new things every so often so the only way to do this is to get rid of stuff. Otherwise, my creativity is just weighed down. Fun card -- hope your sister gets a kick out of it!
ReplyDeleteYour sister hates Valentines Day. Come on! How could you not add heart bling? You know, a small bling heart on each side of the sentiment would have been a lovely visual triangle. And I promise I will never again presume to offer you design advice.
ReplyDeleteLove the 2 cards - even if they're Valentine's cards. I think I love the colors the best. As for purging, I have done that twice in the last year. And once you do that, then you have to reorganize what's left. I enjoy organizing anyway, so it was OK!
ReplyDeleteI don't purge regularly enough. The beginning of 2014 I filled a fairly large box with some stamps I hadn't used in years as well as a BUNCH of DP that I'd had for years and years. Most of it was pads of paper purchased because I loved one or two patterns only out of 10. I hid the box away with the date I filled it written on the outside. My intention was to hang on to it for a year and if I didn't "need" anything out of it then donate. However; by about 6 months I knew I could live without everything in there and I took it over to my local Goodwill.
ReplyDeleteI think I could fill another box at this point. There are still stamps in my storage that I haven't used in a long time. And I really could get rid of some of the many rolls of ribbon I just HAD to have. Now, they sit in their specially bought from IKEA storage shelf gathering dust.
Sweet card! So my question for you is what do you do with your purged stamps? I'd like to find a home for some of mine that I no longer want, but I'm not sure where to donate them.
ReplyDeleteAnswered on Sunday's post.
DeleteI'm wondering what you plan to do with your purged stamps, too. Should we look forward to a blog sale? (As much as I need to pare down, I'm continually shopping.)
ReplyDeleteYes, I just did a major purge because I won some blog hops that gave me new stamps, dies and such! I thought of selling it but just don't have that kind of time! I decided to host a monthly blog giveaway with all the extras, most never used. I decided to share what I had the only way I know how... give it away!
ReplyDeleteI really love your cards!
I have too many stamping supplies for one human to ever use. I am in the process of purging and organizing. I have not had the urge to create much because I am so overwhelmed. I also feel guilty for having so much. I am finding that I need to purge some more.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! I try to purge regularly, but there are some all time favs I just can't let go of...now that all my adult children have moved out, I'm moving all my crafty supplies into one of their rooms and purging their stuff. Hmmm, slippery slope?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! I try to purge regularly, but there are some all time favs I just can't let go of...now that all my adult children have moved out, I'm moving all my crafty supplies into one of their rooms and purging their stuff. Hmmm, slippery slope?
ReplyDeleteOK, so I'm the oddball that doesn't feel guilty for the collection I have amassed. I could probably pull out 6 stamp sets that I may never use, but for the space it would save its not worth the effort and it would be my luck that I would want them the week after I got rid of them. I have found that I am using my hoard more now that I have cataloged them into Evernote, no instead of randomly searching for what I'm looking for, I query for say "balloons" and can see at a glance all the sets I have with balloon images. Didn't take as long as I thought it would to get indexed either. AND, it keeps me from buying the same set twice because I can check it on my phone before making a purchase at a store or stamp show. I still browse through my stamps for inspiration when I don't have an idea in my head already, but Evernote has been a helpful tool in my arsenal. Before buying another cute set of fox stamps I can search "fox" and decide if I really need MORE fox stamps :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you use the basic free plan and how does it work? You take pictures of all of your stamps and put them into categories?
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DeleteThanks for the info, Karen (and Susan for this blog). I just started Evernote, love it, but ran up against the # I could post in a month. Like the free part!
DeleteBecause I am a what you would call a power user of Evernote for multiple uses, crafting and otherwise, I totally see the value in the $45 per year for the premium version. However, you can start out with the free to see if you like it. I use the manufacturer images online from a quick google search when available for speed and just snap an image from my phone when its on old or hard to find set. I have Evernote on both my pc and phone, its available for all platforms, and user friendly. For crafting, I use it for inventory of inks, stamps, embossing folders, dies, and 6x6 pads. I also use it instead of pinterest because I can tag and search my inspiration by my tags. When I get a new stamp set, I like to google what others have done with it and then save the images in Evernote for inspiration so if I can't remember what the heck I bought the set for, I have some ideas. So many ways to use Evernote but I love that I can set it up the way I think and not be forced into the way someone else wants me to think, ya know? :-) Feel free to email me if you have more questions! karenpagedave at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteOh how well I know the feeling of looking at a set and not remembering why I had to have it - LOL. Your idea of googling it is great - I have been meaning to set my stash up in Evernote and this is the push I need!
DeleteA perfect card for a non lover of Valentine's Day! I have a ton of paper and embellishments, so am making forty cards a month for my local food pantry for their clients to choose from. It may take me years to use my stash! I started stamping with wood mounted stamps, mainly PSX, and have decided that this year, I will stamp each stamp twice, then sell, give away, donate the stamps. I enjoy coloring with pencils, s I hope this system will give me "ready made" images to stamp at my leisure. I take my pencils on vacation with me!
ReplyDeleteI use an app (Mac only) called KRAFTS to list and organize my supplies and ideas. It has a one time cost of about $4, if I remember correctly.
Thanks for the tip, Helen, but "KRAFTS" could not be found in the App Store. Could it be under another name?
Delete
ReplyDeleteI apologize, the name is Krafts Inventory.
http://tinyurl.com/gqac588