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So, I stepped away from my stamping for awhile due to life events happening. It's been several years. I still have a huge stamp collection and lots of color supplies. I'm ready to get back to it! But times have changed. Looking at the galleries and samples now, so many die cuts are being used! I kind of feel out-of-the-loop. I don't see die-cuts in my future. (I live overseas, and had to bring my supplies with me. I likely won't be investing in die-cutting tools and trying to bring them over, and local supplies are not available.) Die cuts aren't the only things, either. There are products and adhesives and embellishments that I'm clueless about. I'm sure I'll learn by spending time reading in the forums again, but I probably won't be able to add these supplies to my stash, and even if I could, I have so much that is unused, I'd feel guilty about buying more! I still love what I can do with what I have. Just wrestling with feeling outdated, and not fitting in with the newer trends. (I'd also like to participate in the next VSN, but I'm concerned there will be challenges that call for things I don't have.)
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
Welcome back! Just to make you feel a bit better - there is a "movement", more or less, among us of getting back to basics and using older products and all the rest of it. True, there are a lot of new things out there, but they certainly are not necessary to produce beautiful cards! Also, there are all levels of stampers that get involved in VSN, with varying amounts of supplies, and it's perfectly acceptable to improvise if you don't have the exact thing a challenge calls for. Jump in, join in, and HOORAY - YOU'RE BACK!!!
Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Alumni Creative Crew SU Design Team Alumni
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For the record, I balked big time when die cutting became popular....I didn't need a big shot and those silly dies...I can't tell you how many I have now, lol! So...never say never ;-)
Welcome back though! I'm sure you'll do just fine with what you have and what you like!
I'll add...so many of the dies being used today are used to cut out the images that are stamped. I find (after buying a couple of those) that I can just as easily fussy-cut them out with scissors. Saves me a lot of money.
I have dies and a cutting machine. Sure, I like them, and I do use them sometimes. But life doesn't revolve around them. Don't feel like you have to "keep up" with all the trends. Use what you have (a lesson I could surely learn!) and enjoy what you do!
Hmm....I know I've been away for awhile, but this is REALLY strange. I posted this initially earlier today. Now coming back after several hours, the forum shows that there are more than 70 views, and 3 replies. But when I open the thread, none of the replies are showing. Any suggestions? Am I missing something?
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
Hmm....I know I've been away for awhile, but this is REALLY strange. I posted this initially earlier today. Now coming back after several hours, the forum shows that there are more than 70 views, and 3 replies. But when I open the thread, none of the replies are showing. Any suggestions? Am I missing something?
Okay, I think it's back now. Whew! I don't know what happened. I switched my display mode, and then switched it back again, and then everything appeared. Not sure why - but glad it's taken care of!
Crisis averted! We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread...
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
Thank you, ladies, for your welcome and encouragement. It's good to be back! (Now at some point, I'll just need to make the jump from forums and galleries to actually getting my supplies out!) :rolleyes:
I am glad to hear of the bit of trending that leans toward a "back to basics" approach. That will be for me, for sure!
It's a little hard browsing the galleries to find ideas for things I can actually do, but I'm finding some, and the new addition of Pinterest is helping a little bit with finding some CAS designs that I can pull from.
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
One thing I'd like to mention Cindy, is that if you do feel a need for die cuts, try having a look on e-bay. Many people are selling pre cut die cuts on there. One way to make some money from the outlay of a die/set. I have bought a few that way, if I liked the look of a certain die, but knew I would not use it much. They usually come in a quantity like 10 or so, for very little money. I always ask for white, so I can add colour myself.
pinterest is a great way to organize ideas. Even bringing up your stamp sets here, or on pinterest can get your imagination going. I have been inactive in my craft room the last two years because of caring for elderly care; but, have stayed in the loop with splitcoast stampers and pinterest. there is a buy and sell forum here to purchase products cheaper you want to add to update your crafting, not sure what shipping cost would be for you Forums at Splitcoaststampers
__________________ Carolyn
my avatar: (such desparation), Dear God, if you can't make me thin; make my
friends fat"
Welcome back! Definitely participate in VSN. They are a lot of fun and actually a wonderful way to make creative use of what you have. I have noticed more threads on here about using what one already has, stamping clean and simple, and falling in love again with older products. Since you haven't stamped for a few years, the great news is that all your thungs are new to you and that is fun! I don't buy much and I love shopping my stash. I don't have a lot relatively speaking since I have just a desk in the corner of our family room, but it is still amazing and exciting what I find when I really dig through my baskets.
Please jump in to SCS and do NOT worry about a thing!
Oh, and about your threads disappearing.....that happens to me when my display mode is set to Threaded. I also will get an Invalid Post message when I write something and post it while in Threaded mode. Linear mode shows everything for me, though, and eliminates the Invalid Post message. No clue why this happens!
Welcome back to SCS and stamping in general! I ditto what Fionna said about Sue.
I actually have been buying old, discontinued stamps myself on ebay so no, many of my images will not be the "new trend", but I like them. If you like what you have-that's what matters most! You are making cards from you, not some mfg!
Good news-watercoloring is very hot now and usually does not have die cutting. One way to breathe new life into older images. Do you have watercolor pencils?
Fionna made the great point that you can fussy cut images-and some do b/c they dont like the white border left by dies anyway.
Most of my dies are not tied to a stamp image. I would just cut them from paper as a layer/border. But let's face it...you can cut hills out on your own-you dont need a die to do that. (popular one lately).
My observation is that a lot of what is coming out is stuff people were doing by hand and now they can just run a die-and I will admit, some of that works for me well. But is it really "new"? I dont know that. Want a pierced border? If you have a piercing tool, you can go around an edge and do that yourself for example. You dont have to buy a pierced border layer set.
Most people have techniques they like and dont. Not everyone stamps at all, some never color, some never use a die, etc etc. So never fear there "isnt room at the table for you". There ALWAYS is. Especially here!
Dont worry about what's hot product. It's hot today and tomorrow it's gone anyway. Be more about techniques-many of which can be adapted to what you do have. Like blended backgrounds very nice and big now. You can sponge, you can use a brush, you can watercolor it...a lot of different roads can get you to the same place!
Do you have stencils? We've been chattering about all the things you can do with those in the revival mentality Sue was talking about.
So you just sit yourself right down here, hang out and you'll be fine!
Welcome back.
I agree with above...some trends have emerged but I think it's all about you and what you want to create. You don't have to go with the trends. I personally love seeing cards with die cuts but I seldom reach for them. I think I am more pure at heart with the inking and stamping and just creating. I say, use what you have and make it wonderful.
Just a suggestion but why don't you start back simply and check out some CAS or Clean and Simple cards. They are less overwhelming with embellishments and dies yet show such great visual impact, great layouts and design. One place to start is to look at the CAS Favorites for the week...amazing cards there.
Wavejumper, thank you so much for taking the time to respond! Your message was very encouraging! I do have watercolor pencils, as well as aqua-painters. I was noticing some watercolor backgrounds in scanning a couple of pinterest boards this afternoon. I'm not great at it, but I was practicing and getting better before my break. I do love the way they look!
As for scissor-cutting, I don't do it much, because of two things, primarily because I'm impatient, and want things to come together quickly, and secondly because, shhhhh!, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I will do it sometimes when it's really worth it. And, you're right - who can't cut hills?
I do have some stencils. Saw another post about those, too, this afternoon. It was interesting! They were using some terminology I wasn't familiar with, but it did remind me that I have some stencils tucked away in a notebook that have hardly been used, and sponging through them would at least be something!
As for piercing, I was just showing a friend how to do that a few days ago! My piercing tool is a large safety pin and a mousepad!
I do appreciate your encouragement and enthusiasm! Makes me want to stamp!
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
I do enjoy what I have. I guess my discouragement this weekend has come from opening up SCS and going to the gallery for inspiration like I always used to do, and so much of what I was seeing made me think, "I can't do that, because I don't have such-and-such." I'm pretty good at adapting, but a lot of it wasn't something I could come close to because so much of seemed to be using die-cuts. So I switched to some galleries that were older and still found some good inspiration.
I really do love the CAS style! That's what I always tended to be drawn to. I enjoyed looking at the CAS favorites thread, and I've found some CAS boards to get some ideas from. It's getting better, especially with the kind words from fellow stampers!
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
When I first started making cards I didn't have dies or a machine to cut them. But I wanted to have decorative mats around my images. I know you said you don't like to cut stuff, but I used stencils I had with basic shapes, ovals, circles and squares. I traced the shapes and hand cut them to mat my images. They weren't perfect, but I got the look I wanted without dies or a machine. I found if I inked the edges of the shape, it covered up any jiggles in my cutting.
I was thrilled when they came out with the Cuttlebug, and it was one of my first "big" purchases. I remember getting it at Michaels with a 50% coupon. I was very worried about spending $40 for a machine! It turned out to be one of the best things I ever bought, and I'm still using it years later.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
I think if you do come across something in your gallery travels that your first thought is "I cant do that because, I don't have X supplies... means you could come back to the forums and ask...
how did she do this? ( most likely there is a way around it)
as far as VSN goes, they do publish a "shopping list" for people a little ahead of time to gather anything they think of as being not so common to have on hand, like oh you know something with a feather or some clear acetate or acrylic paint.
Wavejumper, thank you so much for taking the time to respond! Your message was very encouraging! I do have watercolor pencils, as well as aqua-painters. I was noticing some watercolor backgrounds in scanning a couple of pinterest boards this afternoon. I'm not great at it, but I was practicing and getting better before my break. I do love the way they look!
As for scissor-cutting, I don't do it much, because of two things, primarily because I'm impatient, and want things to come together quickly, and secondly because, shhhhh!, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I will do it sometimes when it's really worth it. And, you're right - who can't cut hills?
I do have some stencils. Saw another post about those, too, this afternoon. It was interesting! They were using some terminology I wasn't familiar with, but it did remind me that I have some stencils tucked away in a notebook that have hardly been used, and sponging through them would at least be something!
As for piercing, I was just showing a friend how to do that a few days ago! My piercing tool is a large safety pin and a mousepad!
I do appreciate your encouragement and enthusiasm! Makes me want to stamp!
Mine too Works beautifully!
Welcome back to the community! Still lots of us around that don`t jump on the trend wagon, we make what we love and use what we like
Back after a lengthy break
