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One of my problems is that I see a beautiful card on here and have to have the stamp and embellishments so I can create one. So I order them but by the time they come in I'm on to something else. I will say I'm doing this much less than I used to, but I still do it enough to have too many unused stamps sitting around.
__________________ Debbie
I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end. - Margaret Thatcher
But I really do 'need' it! What if I am making a card at midnight (not unusual) and I need purple ribbon to match it? What if my DD tells me an hour before leaving for school she needs a card for __________ (fill in the blank). A girl just has to have the right stuff to whip that out immediately. Therefore, I need to have my own little Stamps-R-Us on the second floor of our home.
Phew! Glad I got that off my chest to start the new year right! A little exaggeration here but I would take 3 stamp sets to one pair of shoes or one blouse any day. My stamping has become my therapy and my way of making other people happy, so I happily purchase. One thing I have done this last year is use paper and embellishments more quickly and give those cards out. It's the greatest feeling to make someone smile with a hand-made card. Thanks for posing the question and we will see what the other girls have to say today. HNY!
I can fairly truthfully say, I use everything I have.....ok--maybe not right away but I use it.....I currently own 4 Cropper Hopper organizers that are full of cardstock with more than 20 unopened packages in the closet on the wonderful display shelves I bought from a store. I have a tote full of scraps that I am slowly reducing by playing with my punches and creating critters for future use. My Michaels ribbon organizer won't hold all my ribbons so I am waiting for a trip to a large city where Michaels is to buy another one--I have two six drawer carts full of punches(how would I use my scraps if I didn't have punches???) I have hundreds and hundreds of brads of all types and loads of "to be made into" pads, tins and so forth.
when the time and urge hit, I am ready......
OH (confession--) I also have the same attitude/supply of scrapbooking materials.
CB and folders for every season, BIA, inks, markers, pencils, ---I am ready!!!!!
__________________ 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!!!!!
Why not combine the two into a useful artistic outlet????
Yeah I buy more than I use, but I do buy with the intention of using it, and this stuff holds its value for the most part...so I am not worried about being stuck with anything I don't use...I can always sell it.
Seems like a much smarter collection than figurines...which have no use whatsoever.
__________________ Cher No longer stamping...on to bigger things.
Seems like a much smarter collection than figurines...which have no use whatsoever.
I found this very funny! A great way of looking at it - I agree! I collect a lot of scrapping and stamping supplies, but I do have every intention of using them "some day" ... I just never seem to have enough time. I am off for 2 weeks over Christmas and I am doing a bit of scrapping, but time is definitely a big factor for me. I find that I am more apt to use some of my "pretty" stuff if I am scrapbooking a page that I am going to keep in my scrapbook. If I am making a card and I know that the person may not appreciate all the hard work I'm putting into it, I wont use my "best" supplies. However, I do have friends who appreciate my cards and keep them and for those people, I will use some of my prettier supplies. I am trying to be better at hoarding ... the more I use, the more I can buy and not feel guilty!
Oh, I buy with all good intentions of using, but time and other commitments get in the way . . .
I was quite proud of myself this year - my Christmas cards used the Memory Box Polar Bear stamp I HAD to have last year and haven't used along with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder I HAD to have and a couple of the circle punches I've collected . . . unfortunately, I NEEDED to buy some of the shimmery blue paper from Target and some hot fix rhinestones and the hot fix applicator for them!
I figure, life is uncertain. Tomorrow the hubby or I could lose our jobs and we'd have to cut back on fun spending. I'm set for the next few years if that happens . . . (if you ask hubby, I'm set until the apocalypse, but that's another story)
I am telling you the best way to get over that feeling is find a cause! I can justify any purchase now...hheehhhheee.
I taught school and have now retired. I send cards to my buddies at the school and have some "eyes and ears" so when someone needs a little pick me up-I send a card. I try to do 15 a month and they can be hand delivered to the secretary to place in teacher's mailboxes. This year I am adding a nursing home staff since my mom is in an Alzheimer's unit. I see that they work hard and seldom get a special thank you throughout the year.
I cannot tell you A) how,good I feel and B) how many times people have told me how good they felt and, after all, that is the most important thing anyway!
I am telling you the best way to get over that feeling is find a cause! I can justify any purchase now...hheehhhheee.
Yep ~ That's what I'm doing! Order $70 worth of House Mouse last night because the soldiers need cards to send to thier families! I love how that mentality worked out so well! ;)
This is a great question. I think I feel like I spent $$ for my paper and if I make a card from it it will be "wasted" I have gotten a lot better though with hoarding, but have some beautiful SU designer papers that now don't seem as appealing anymore. :( I wish I could get myself into scrapping again, but it involves too much time, and that I don't really have.
When I look at my papers, I feel like I need some new papers, and I will probably get some very soon. And I WILL use it too! I am seriously bored of what I have!
I tend to be one who sees something she likes and wants to make/copy so I buy the items needed to make it. I usually make multiples of the same card. However, if the card body is made of purely pomegranate and I don't have that, I have to buy the entire package. I might use 6 pieces and store the rest.
Like someone else said, I buy multiples of items so I'll have them if or when I need them. It's collecting, a bit, but I do intend to use everything I have and frequently do use what I have without buying something new.
I'm a little of all the above. When I see something I like, I want to recreate it. It's also the follower thing.... if someone raves about it, I have to have it. But mostly it's because when I finally DO have time to sit down and create, I want to have everything I'll need at my fingertips. I don't want to get started and realize I don't have what I need for my particular project. I like havig a "store." lol
I like having a decent stash to create from and am now MUCH better about using stuff rather than thinking "oh, this is too pretty to cut, use, or ruin!" Also, as I have found my style, I make fewer mistakes shopping and don't waste money on stuff I won't use.
My weakness, however, is stamps. While I've improved a bit, I still buy more than I can reasonably use and certainly more than anybody needs. Hence my resolution to use every one of my image stamps before buying more.
It all goes back to the caveman days when the men were the hunters and the women the gatherers. Women were always responsible for stocking up and storing of things and knowing where they were. The pioneers had root cellars and our grandparents had canning. Of course, they were doing it for nourishment. We're just doing it to feed our creative souls.
It all goes back to the caveman days when the men were the hunters and the women the gatherers. Women were always responsible for stocking up and storing of things and knowing where they were. The pioneers had root cellars and our grandparents had canning. Of course, they were doing it for nourishment. We're just doing it to feed our creative souls.
Location: prolly in my 'rubber room'... in the mid-west
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Originally Posted by LateBlossom
I like having a decent stash to create from and am now MUCH better about using stuff rather than thinking "oh, this is too pretty to cut, use, or ruin!" Also, as I have found my style, I make fewer mistakes shopping and don't waste money on stuff I won't use.
My weakness, however, is stamps. While I've improved a bit, I still buy more than I can reasonably use and certainly more than anybody needs. Hence my resolution to use every one of my image stamps before buying more.
totally agree with this!
also my weakness! however... i don't see me stopping buying stamps any time soon!
When I was younger, thinner, richer, no one's mom, I shopped for clothes almost daily (worked in malls for 10 years, so it was quite easy to do!). Shopping is a three-fold thrill: first when you hunt for and find the perfect item, second, when you buy it and it becomes your and, lastly, the day you wear it for the first time and get compliments.
Now sweaters and designer dresses have been replaced with paper and gadgets but the same thrills remain. I buy something with a vision in mind for a page or card, much like assembling an outfit. Then when the paper or whatever is actually pulled out and used, the thrills are in the creative process and (I hope) the final product. The playing field may have changed over the last 20 years but the game remains the same!
Mary Beth
Location: prolly in my 'rubber room'... in the mid-west
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Originally Posted by lutheran
When I was younger, thinner, richer, no one's mom, I shopped for clothes almost daily (worked in malls for 10 years, so it was quite easy to do!). Shopping is a three-fold thrill: first when you hunt for and find the perfect item, second, when you buy it and it becomes your and, lastly, the day you wear it for the first time and get compliments.
Now sweaters and designer dresses have been replaced with paper and gadgets but the same thrills remain. I buy something with a vision in mind for a page or card, much like assembling an outfit. Then when the paper or whatever is actually pulled out and used, the thrills are in the creative process and (I hope) the final product. The playing field may have changed over the last 20 years but the game remains the same!
Mary Beth
not so easily answered. My desire, I think, goes back to when I was growing up, always wanted art supplies, but we didn't have much money so I basically was stuck with the basic pack of crayons and paper (no markers, no paints).
Fast forward and I am now collecting everything, paper, glitter, paint, mica powders, chalks, you name it (well almost, there are a number of die cutters I can't afford nor do I have room for, thus Santa brought me a slice this year which I am LOVING).
My issue is that I love to create unique cards, love to find new techniques, and....well, I "save" all my cards in a binder (how stupid is THAT), but...am going to make cards to give to people this year, I swear, and in the process use up some of the thousands of sheets of paper I am now hoarding...sigh.
Am also going to work on a book this year, something that I have wanted to do since I started my blog and today I think I finally figured out what I want to put in it (a stampers resource book, set up for the beginner to the more advanced stamper).
Biggest "issue" I have is anything shinny, glitter, mica powder, anything like that and I have to have it, sigh.
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
My husband collects books and models, and the wisdom he has around it is that we buy the thing in an attempt to buy the time to use it. I hope to have the time to use it. I have so much more than I need, but I still don't have the one more thing....
It's so interesting to read everyone's ideas about why we do this. For me, I think it's that I'm finally figuring out my style, in stamps and in paper and embellishments. For several years, when I was first starting, I didn't know what my style was, so I bought things that caught my eye. I ended up not using a bunch of stuff. Now that I'm solidly 5 years into stamping. I'm better at realizing what I will really use and what is just the "urge to spend".
But I'm still going to my LSS or to Mikes and thinking, I've got the coupon, it's wasted money if I don't use it, and then I buy a stamp that I think is cute at that moment but then I don't seem to use it.
My other thing is that I don't really shop for myself. In the middle of last year -- in 2007 -- I lost my interest in going to the mall and buying clothes. I was dealing with a broken bone in my foot and couldn't walk very far without crutches. Giving up shopping was what the doctor ordered, basically. So I guess I got it in my mind that buying stamps and accessories isn't as wasteful as buying a shirt that I'd never wear.
My goal for 2009 is to fake myself out. There are some really beautiful stamp sets I *know* I'd use. So if I get the urge to spend, I'll try to put the money that I'd waste in Mike's into an envelope and then I'll have enough to buy what I know I'll really use.
__________________ Now I see the secret of making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth. -- Walt Whitman
It all goes back to the caveman days when the men were the hunters and the women the gatherers. Women were always responsible for stocking up and storing of things and knowing where they were.
See, and this is why we shop, too! Back when we were living in huts & gathering stuff, we had to take our time and visit every bush to see which one had the juiciest berries, sample the nuts from every tree to see which were the ripest, hold up one flower against another to see which one would make the brightest dye for our loincloths... it's all just nature in action!
And here I thought to blame everything purchase on you'all here at SCS!!!! tehehheee........ I was just moving along in my own little world, until I discovered SCS, and had to HAVE IT!!!! All the latest and greatest papers and ribbons, and the ohhh so cute stamps!!! You enablers, you!!
Cheers
Jennik
For me, it's because I have to have one of everything. If it comes in 8 colors, I have to have all 8, even though I may only use 2 of them. I may 'need' one of the other 6, then I would be upset I didn't buy it in the first place! And it doesn't ever get better. No matter how much ribbon I buy, I almost always never have the right one when I am making a card.
I know I have way too much stuff, but I really do plan on using it one of these years!!
I'm with you - I have TONS of stuff. I try and use it, but so many things, so little time! I think I have enough paper to last me another 10-20 years. And embellishments - oh my!
I think I buy because it's either a sale to good to miss, or an idea pops in my head before i go to the store or while I'm in the store so it makes me feel like "I gotta have it."
I also buy because it makes me feel like I'm doing something for myself. I love being creative and shopping for craft supplies brings me so much Joy I think it's great therapy. When I dont have money to shop I seem to get miserable but I do try to use as much of my stuff as possible and much as possible but having too much does cause some of it to be ignored but not on purpose.
BTW, it took me three whole hours to clean up my craft table and space last night. Everything had gotten so out of control there was no organization and I couldn't see my table. so I had to take it upon myself to clean, reorganize before I could begin creating again. So after that I don't think I need anything else so I told my mom if she even hears me mention going to the craft store tell me to snap out of it.
__________________ Those who fail to plan... Plan to fail.
Those who refuse to work for themselves will always work for others.
I try not to hoard and try not to buy the newest and greatest of whatever. However, last Christmas, I saw a card in a stamping store that was so cute; and, of course, they had the stamps to go with it, so I bought. Then this year, I had no clue what the card looked like so ended up not using it very much. But when it comes to papers and embellishments, I try to be careful. I walked in a scrapbooking store yesterday spending about an hour. I walked out with 2 pieces of paper!!!
I agree with the OP's reasons but there is also something I like to call Crafting ADD. Once it is bought, it is forgotten about, and I'm onto buying something else.
My question is why do I need each thing in EVERY SINGLE COLOR offered?? Even colors I'm not so fond of?? I'm not generally such a pack animal...except when it comes to craft supplies. Really, did I NEED to puchase 8 canvases yesterday @ Mike's??
__________________ Everyday should hold the possibility of an adventure!
Personally, I buy because of having the variety of stuff to play with. The inspiration may not have hit me yet, but SOMEDAY I will get inspired to use that new such and such toy I bought.
When I got started stamping, I bought ALL of the SU stamp pads at once. Then I saved and got all of the markers. The cardstock I had to save and get a few at a time, but you get my point. When my creative juices get flowing, I like to have the things there that I need to create.
That said, it doesn't always work that way. I'm actually more creative when I'm too broke to buy anything.
Hahahaha!!!! That's the perfect answer! And after two babies, I'm desperate to find something that always fits! ;)
For me my buying has gone in stages...first it was patterned paper (OMG, I don't want to think about how many trees worth of paper I have), then it was stamps (what else can you do when you are a new SU Demo?), then it was accessories (glitter, buttons, ribbons, etc), lately it has been punches (I made the cutest turkey place cards for Thanksgiving, impressed hubby = less guilt in spending). Now I am expanding my buying circle...I am looking at new stamp companies, new design lines, etc, but I am trying to buy only what I really will use, because I have so much.
At some point I need to cull some of the things I never use (the stamp sets that are still unmounted, or only used once, the paper I really don't like, etc) by either selling, giving away or finally putting to use. For 2009 my goal is organization - we are moving my daughter into the spare room I use for crafting so I'll need to consolidate to a cabinet of some sort that can be kept in the living room, safe from curious, creative toddler fingers. So containers/organizers will be my bigger purchase area this coming year. Not too glamorous but it is what it is.
__________________ Melanie "Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry."
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