Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I have been in a non stamping mood for about 3 wks now. I have had off of work all week...my son was in school for 2 1/2 of those days and I have made a total of 2 cards all week! I sit there and there's nothin'! I don't feel motivated. I've looked through the gallery a ton of times (I'm not a CASEr...so that won't really help me).
Will I ever want to stamp again???? This is the longest I've ever gone without the desire to stamp...and of course I have 14 cards that I need to make by mid November!
I'm afraid that I am stuck with all of these stamps and supplies and won't ever want to use them again! I even sat at the table and started going through my sets and stamping them and labeling them to possibly get inspired...I cleaned and organized my stamping area, mounted some sets that have been sitting around...still nothing!
Anyway...I'm very frustrated with this as I want to get back into this, but I end up just sitting there doing nothing!
Sorry....I guess this ended up being a vent...I'm just very frustrated with myself!
I need to make birthday cards....the majority are for men age 26 and under (brother and cousins)...so that's a hard thing to come up with in itself...put my mood along with that and nothing gets accomplished!
This happens to me all the time. Just don't force it or you won't be happy with what you make. Wait till you're in the mood so you enjoy yourself. You don't want to have any bad associations with stamping for heaven's sake.
The same thing happened to me recently with my cross-stitching. So, I changed to stamping for a while! I just couldn't bring myself to stitch, but I was very enthusiastic about stamping. Now that I've been stamping for about a month, I can once again stitch at night while watching TV.
Give yourself some time. We all get burnt out at times, even from doing what we love the most! (and I can relate to what you said about the masculine cards....they are the most difficult for me)
This is going to sound weird but ya wanna know what puts me in the same rut you are in....looking in the galleries to much. I love to do it and I spend way to much time doing it because everything is so great and wonderful and to much fun to look at but it shuts down my creativity. If I just read the forums and give the galleries a break then I have time to create without all the other ideas going on in my head. Some people thrive on the inspiration the galleries give them... but it seems to cause me to go blank on ideas. Do you like to stamp alone or with other people around?? Just curious.
I usually stamp by myself (or with my son...which means I don't get anything accomplished)...once and a while I get together with my cousin and her friend to stamp together. We end up talking, eating and drinking more than stamping! I tend to watch what they are doing instead of doing stamping myself! I think I work better alone!
I'm trying not to sound negative...I'm just feeling really aggrivated with this and myself...it shouldn't be as big of a deal as I'm making it.
You know what helps me when I am in a rut? Giving myself a project. I pick one or two sets and one or two colors and see what I can come up with. This usually helps and gives me other things that I could do. Hope it helps, and don't worry- you will stamp again!!
-Whitney
__________________ Whitney
"Would you not like to be sitting on top of the world with
your legs hanging free" -Dave Matthews Band
I know you said you are not a CASE'er........butt (heehee), try it. Sometimes not having to think about it and just copying it pulls me out of a rut. Try an inspiration sheet. Maybe use the alternate colors. I love the ones that Lana sent me. Try paper piercing. It is very relaxing.
You don't sound negative...I think I understand because we sound very much a like... when I get together with my friends to stamp I usually don't stamp much at all unless I bring something that I have already created and need to reproduce. That's how I found out I really work the best when I am alone. Give yourself some time... then a burst of creativity will hit and you'll some great stuff you can be pleased about. Often early morning trips to my stamp table puts back the spark in my lacking creativity!!
Don't feel bad about being in a rut! Every one has it happen every now and then..
I actually can work best under pressure.. if I have deadlines I can crank tons of stuff out... I was great in college cramming and doing projects on the fly.
But I do love the relaxing and puttering around in my stamp corner too..
I would switch your focus - like you were talking about doing. My upline came back from leadership a couple of years ago and thats what they actually talked a little about.. doing something OTHER than stamping to spark creativity for your stamping... talking breaks for yourself to destress.
And don't think its the end of stamping as you know it!
Heather
(did I just see that.. did skunky admit that he stamps?)
Unless all the men/boys will be able to see each other's cards I'd duplicate the designs as much as possible. Sort of like a swap. Then you only have to assemble them once you've got your idea(s) down.
Nuttnhoney...unfortunatley my entire family gets together for everyone's birthday...so they will all see eachothers and a few of them will get theirs on the same day at the same time! I have done so many variations of the Classic Convertibles set! I know they are men and probably won't even notice, but I'm kind of AR that way!
As with probably most people here...my family EXPECTS me to make all of the cards that I give people and they make a big deal out of every one of them! I think I would disappoint them more than myself if I duplicated the cards!
Yes...Skunky did admit to stamping...or at least to getting supplies from Lana. One talented skunk I tell ya!
Ick. Well, you can always keep the theme similar, but change colors. Have you ever played around with your scanner to see what a card would look like in different color schemes? Believe it or not, I've found inspiration that way! lol! You have my sympathy.
Michele,
I just decided to chime on in here. If I remember right, you are a single mother? I am thinking maybe you just need a day or two off to recharge your batteries, take a load off and do nothing! Maybe go watch your two favorite movies (there was a great thread awhile ago about all time favorite movies!), eat your favorite foods and rest! Stop worrying about the cards you *have* to make and think about things to do just for yourself, without guilt involved. Then after a couple of days taking care of just Michele, you will feel rested up enough to start stamping again? Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you deserve a break and take it if you can! I am sure your motivation will come back soon! When it does, maybe you can borrow a couple of men's sets from another stamping friend or customer to make some unique cards and then give them back when you are done?
Good luck!
I like Laurie's idea!! You have a good memory! Yes...I am a single mom!
Thanks for everyone's ideas...I'm glad to know it's not just me. I think I will be crocheting this weekend...eating chocolate and watching a sappy movie. Hmmm...that kind of made me sound like my grandma (except for the sappy movie part!), but I guess she always seemed stress free, so maybe she knew what she was doing!
I didn't know I could change the color of my scans to see what my cards would look like in different colors! I'll have to play around with that this weekend! That sounds like fun!
I've been in the same "funk' myself since I got back from our vacation to California! It's been compounded by the fact that school started on Sept. 1st, just a few days after our return, so I'm back at work. I can't seem to get anything going creatively. :?
I don't CASE, either, but usually find inspiration in some small detail on a card in the latest samples. I'm trying not to stress too much about my lack of interest.... I know the passion will return soon.
A few things that have worked for me in the past: I've challenged myself by picking out a set and seeing how many different ways I can use one or two of the images. I choose a color combination and see what I can do with it. I stamp a lot of images on neutral CS and just spend time coloring. I look through my cache of already stamped images and scraps and use them to make a card. I try a new technique or decide to incorporate a new product into a card. Oddly enough, the thing that works best to get me motivated is cleaning my stamping room! I'll pick something up to put it away, and the ideas start coming!
I have a long weekend due to Labor Day, and I'm all alone today, so I'm going to spend the whole day up in my room with hopes that the "Stamping Muse" will visit!
__________________ "Life is much too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde Proud to be a member of Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge DT! My BlogMy Gallery
I agree that looking at too many cards up here or elsewhere will shut down my creativity. I occasionally look through the latest cards posted, but for the most part, unless I am really stuck for an idea for a set, I don't look at everyone's cards. :oops:
What I find helps kick me out of a burned out feeling is just to get a good novel and lose myself in it for a while. Living someone else's life through the pages of a book will lift me out of that and give me new creativity.
And sometimes, yes, just copying something someone else did will get me jump started. And another thing I sometimes do is to give myself permission to NOT work on a specific project, but to do something completely the opposite, something totally frivolous.
This has happened to me right when the girls went back to school and I was at home all day by myself. The stamps were staring and so was I!!! I had NO desire to stamp or do anything else but surf the net and eat! My girlfriends called it an adjustment period and I called it a funk. Anyhow, it passed although I closed the doors on stamping for the next few days so I can get some cleaning done. Oh, that might be the ticket...start cleaning something and I'm sure you will want to stamp then! Whenever my dear girls say they are bored I tell 'em to get a rag and clean the baseboards. Amazing, but they find something to do everytime! :lol:
__________________ "Nothin' could be finer than to be in Carolina in the mornin'!"
LOL Sahm_I_am....I'll have to try the cleaning trick with my son! He always seems to be bored!
I have decided to not think about stamping for a while...it's kind of a bummer though as I had vacation this past week and have this long weekend...was hoping to get a bunch of stamping done! Next week soccer games start and take up a big chunk of my Saturdays (and next Sunday too!). I'm sure I'll want to stamp next weekend because I won't be home!
Michele, why not take the pressure off of yourself and CASE some masculine cards just this once? No pressure to come up with original ideas just copy, copy, copy. They actually emphasized this at convention. It saves a lot of time. Who knows, you may get inspired with your own ideas after CASEing a few. If not, just keep CASEing.
Kathleen
__________________ I LOVE being a SU demonstrator! my gallery my blog
Will I ever want to stamp again????
