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I'm really interested in getting everyone's opinion on this! I started out scrapbooking. I'm a very slow scrapper (and stamper, but I'm getting a little faster at stamping), and my kids are grown now so I was dealing with old pictures that I was improving digitally. Then I bought Hero Arts Printer's Type alphabet stamps to use in my scrapbooks. I didn't know dye ink from pigment ink from chalk ink. I said I would NEVER get into stamping - and I actually remember looking at stamps at Michael's thinking "Why would I ever want a stamp that says Happy Birthday on it?" Wow - this is embarrassing! <G>
So then I started stamping. I got a lot of help on another message board (wasn't into SU or SCS at that point) and I slowly got hooked. I even got into unmounted stamps! Then I went to my first SU workshop and bought a few things. Then I went to another gal's house who has workshops once a month and I started going to those, placing orders every month. I got totally hooked and became a demo in July.
So WHAT is it that's so addictive about stamping? Why is it more addictive than scrapbooking (at least in my case). I feel a bit guilty that I've neglected my scrapbooks since I started stamping. Is it that stamping has more instant gratification? The projects are shorter term and your family's precious photos aren't involved? What do you think??
For me I think it is b/c cards don't take as much thought and concentration as a scrapbook page does. And I love to see peoples' reactions when they get one of my cards and I know for most people who get a homemade card won't just throw it in the trash in a couple of days (at least I hope they don't!!!! )
I also love the different techniques for stampin'......
but I LOVE to scrapbooking as well, cards are just easier. And now I love to stamp in my scrapbooks!!!
Instant gratification and a feeling of completion within 10-20 minutes tops!
At least, that's the addiction for me, anyway... :shock:
I avoid scrapping because it can take me a weekend to do 1 2 page spread, no matter how much I try to speed things up--I let myself get too involved and concerned with embellishments and "filler".
The only time I'll scrap now is if I'm making one of those 6 x 6 books as a gift for someone! :? And, to make my life bearable during the process (!), I stick to a specific color scheme and theme throughout the entire album.
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
Creative Director - My Favorite Things Dirty Dozen Alumni
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Florida - MFT Land
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MO
It is my most recent theory that in general stampers are giving people. We like to stamp because we like to give things away to people for that persons gratification. Sure, I think what I make is nice, but the true happiness in it is giving it to someone and seeing how much THEY appreciate it! How else could you explain spending $25.00 on a set, $4.50 on a card, $5.00 on envelopes... the list goes on, to then make something for someone else. Okay, I sell some things I make (then use the money for more ink, paper and stamps), but not nearly as much as I give as gifts for friends and family. I think it is in our generous spirits that we get hooked on making more and more things which causes us to spend our "fun money" on ink, paper, stamp sets and accessories. There is just so much of it to choose from. This is what spurs my "stamp obsessed" behavior. You can give to someone while entertaining yourself in the process.
For sure it is the instant gradification. In scrapbooking, all the organizing of pictures, journaling, etc. kind of clogs my creative wheels. I can look at my basket of scraps and come up with thousands of more ideas than I can pictures that need to coordinate and be journaled and dated correctly.
Let's face it, it is just more fun for my dominating "right brain".
I know for me that it's the quick cards I make and how much everyone I know likes them so much. I have a couple friends that stamp and when we send each other cards it's just like having a birthday. We all have saved every handmade card we've received too. I started scrapbooking a while ago and that's not as serious of a passion for me yet.....but I am finding that my stamps help me get going once I stopped thinking about it so hard.
It is the instant gradification and the friends you make along the way.
Stampers are the nicest people I've met so far. They are willing to share everything and anything all the time.
__________________ LeAne SCS#2819 & Grandma to Lindsey! [email protected]
For me it is the satisfaction of a great card done in a little bit of time. Stamping gives me the "me time" I need somedays. I can start stamping and lose all track of time but having fun doing it so it is very satisfying for me.
For me, who was not even the least bit creative until last October, its the thrill of creating something that someone enjoys in under ten minutes. I love making cards with stamps and I love the look on people's faces when they see the card that I have handmade.
I am addicted to both scrapping and stamping but probably lean towards being more addicted to stamping. I agree that it is more of an instant gratification thing plus more people get to see your cards because you give them away then ever get to see all the work you put into scrapbook pages. I know my whole family looks forward to seeing how I out did myself from the last card I made and that makes it all worth it.
For as long as I can remember I have always loved making things. I have always been rather "crafty" as my mother would say. When I first disovered stamping I loved it because I could make something of quality that was useful and I could do it quickly. I liked that I could spend money on stamps that could be used over and over again for lots of things. I didn't have to go out and grab a bunch of supplies everytime I wanted to make something - I had my stamps right there. I love the versatility of them. I have stamped on cards, fabric, my walls, my lamps, and just about anything that will hold still. I love that there is always a new tecnique or project to try.
I just love everyone's answers and have to agree with everyone. But I think the thing that hooked and reeled me in was the artistic aspect of it. I have always thought of myself as an artistic person with no talent. I can see it, I can imagine it, but I couldn't create it, until now that is. Stamping gives me the oppurtunity to express myself, feel artistic, and best of all share it with other. I let them know that I can so much about them, that I actually sit down and create something for them. Sure, I don't actually sketch the image from seaside sketches, but I do watercolor it in. I didn't actually draw those beautiful blooms, but I sure did use those chalks to make them pop. To make a long story short, it fulfills the need to create.
__________________ Amy
Angel #2865
Ask me about TAC.
To make a long story short, it fulfills the need to create.
That's exactly why I became a demo last October after only having the opportunity to stamp twice before signingon the dotted line. This gives me a creative outlet again that I can plug in and out of for short periods of time while the child is busy or sleeping. I don't feel guilty taking half an hour for me doing this.
And now that people are actually requesting to BUY my cards, I'm getting that feeling of satisfaction for a job well done as well.
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. Once I really got into stamping, I've let my scrapbooking slide big time. I just don't feel all that comfortable stamping in my albums! And also, part of it is, that I like how you can make a cute little card and album pages are such a grand scale! I mean 12X12 is a bit much for all the cool embellishments and such! I would go broke if I tried to make all my scrapbook pages as pretty as I can make a little card!
For me was a friend of mine showed me some of the cards she made. I have always been a person that loved to do anything with art and crafts. I bought a few stamp sets 3 years ago started making cards and boom it have been crazy ever since. I just started scrapbooking this year and I love using my stamps for pages... Plus there could be worst addictions right....
I have only been into this for about 8 months or so but I think it is great because I make cards for occasions that I would have never gone down to the store for. People hear from me more so I inturn hear from them. I'm now searching for reason's to make a specific cards. Come on Christmas. :lol:
I'm really interested in getting everyone's opinion on this! I started out scrapbooking. I'm a very slow scrapper (and stamper, but I'm getting a little faster at stamping), and my kids are grown now so I was dealing with old pictures that I was improving digitally. Then I bought Hero Arts Printer's Type alphabet stamps to use in my scrapbooks. I didn't know dye ink from pigment ink from chalk ink. I said I would NEVER get into stamping - and I actually remember looking at stamps at Michael's thinking "Why would I ever want a stamp that says Happy Birthday on it?" Wow - this is embarrassing! <G>
So then I started stamping. I got a lot of help on another message board (wasn't into SU or SCS at that point) and I slowly got hooked. I even got into unmounted stamps! Then I went to my first SU workshop and bought a few things. Then I went to another gal's house who has workshops once a month and I started going to those, placing orders every month. I got totally hooked and became a demo in July.
So WHAT is it that's so addictive about stamping? Why is it more addictive than scrapbooking (at least in my case). I feel a bit guilty that I've neglected my scrapbooks since I started stamping. Is it that stamping has more instant gratification? The projects are shorter term and your family's precious photos aren't involved? What do you think??
Susan
It's a great STRESS RELIEVER and a wonderful way to do "your own thing". Just wish it didn't make you feel like you have to buy every stamp, paper and new "thing". Maybe that's part of the enjoyment.
It's craft therapy at it's finest, it is a great stress reliever and creative outlet. If i never sent a card or got a reaction from anyone, that would be fine with me...although i do like to share, that's not what makes it so special. It is the process of creating..of looking at stamps, shapes, textures and colors and making something completely original with my own two hands. It's a total escape from the demands of everyday life. I also scrapbook, and swore I would never get into stamping..cause i already do too many crafts..but it is by far the most satisfying.
Is there truly an answer? It's like the Pepsi versus Coke question, "which tastes better". I don't think there is an answer, only a preference. I like stamping much better than scrapping. Why? I don't know, I just do!
I went to a Stampin Up Party to see about stamping in my scrapbooks, and was hooked immediately! I couldn't believe how beautiful the projects turned out. I couldn't believe I had created these things. I really let my scrapping slide too, because I had gotten into a CAN I TOP MYSELF syndrome with each page. I love my stamping and have occasionally stamped a scrapbook page, but want to try to get back to that. I just started a 10 Reasons I love You page and am using my terrific tags punch for each reason. Wish me luck!
Many of us are probably moms--and so much of what we do each day is undone within days, if not hours (my laundry multiplies at a FRIGHTENING rate). When I found stamping, that gave me something to do with my hands, heart, and time that LASTS; and not only lasts, but passes on my love to others in words as I use my cards. That has been so satisfying!
So many have already mentioned the joy of being creative--that is just part of being created in the image of God, who is the most creative one around! I think He loves seeing the creativity here and in our stamping spaces :-).
I find that I burn out on the same 'creative expression' over time. So I scrap for awhile, then stamp, then crochet, and quilt and then start over again. Moving from medium to medium seems to keep the ideas and inspiration fresher. Stamps seemed to be easier to get addicted to because they were smaller and came in tidy plastic boxes.
First of all I think of both scrapping and stamping as papercrafting so I think they go hand in hand. However, there are a few key differences in my mind. Cards give rapid gratification while scrapbooks are more of a long term satisfaction. Cards are smaller and thus take up less space I've found that if I didn't have a space to scrap and leave my stuff out I probably wouldn't do it. There are more rules to scrapping than stamping. In stamping anything goes heck people even send strange things like shoes that have been stamped. While in scrapping you have to worry about things being acid free, lightfast, and not too lumpy bumpy or the other pages will get dented. I also think there is some more freedom in stamping because you get a chance to start with whatever you want and create where with scrapping you have to look at the photos you have and create around them. With all of that said I love both and thinking about this reminds me that I should go back to scrapping more. I really enjoy being able to go back to a scrapbook and enjoy memories of an event or time period.
Lots of good reasons here! For me, it's the thrill of getting a card completed! Quilting and knitting projects take sooo much longer, and while I still love both crafts, giving a card away is so much easier! And then you don't hear about someone's dog eating the handmade socks you gave a friend for her birthday....! :(
My signature says it all... Let me fill you in: My husband is a talker. He talks almost all the time. I'm not a talker. There is ALWAYS noise in my house. I enjoy quiet and peace.
When I'm stamping, my husband leaves me alone. To eliminate the music from his office (or any of the kids' rooms, if they're home), I asked Santa for noise-eliminating headphones. So stamping for me became my emersion in peace and quiet - it's quite renewing! I am so much more relaxed after a stamping session. There's the added bonus of being able to show a card or scrapbook page as a product of my time.
I prefer stamping or cardmaking to scrapbooking. I love brightening people's days with a card. Scrapbooking, I think, is more for yourself and cardmaking is for others. Or that is how it turned out for me.
I feel quite evangelical about cardmaking, I love to share the pleasure with others and that is why I teach and demo.
I agree with Ally. I have done knitting, needlepoint, crochet, sewing, stenciling, cross-stitch, quilting, scrapbooking and stamping. I love them all but most, for me, take to much time to give away or sell. My scrapbooks are really just for me and my family. But stamped cards and nugget boxes, and post-it note holders, etc. are so fast, and you can give them to anyone! I think it really makes people feel special - and isn't that what it's all about?
I have been all my life and I tried to be in a support group, but I fell off the wagon when I went to the craft store to pick up a harmless refill of adhesive tape. And there it was...spray on glue.
All joking aside though...I just like it because it is an outlet. I started stamping when there was a exorbetent amount of stress in my life and the stamping made me forget about all that for at least a short while. That...and rubber stamps can't stab you in the back or lie about you to your friends. ;)
I'm a paper fanatic. Stamps go with paper. Inks go with paper.
I started stamping in 1977 -- in middle school -- the library. I loved stamping the "date due" on the books. I thought it was SO COOL! Now it's led to an addiction. I also knit, crochet, and x-stitch, but stamping is more satisfying/gratifying. I've been "seriously stamping" since 2002 when I found SU.
I love to make cards for other people. I have every card (bought or handmade) that I've been given (at least since the early 70's). If they cared enough to get me a card -- then I keep it.
Now I get to share, with others, the feeling you get when you get a card. And it's handmade ... something I created ESPECIALLY for them. One of a kind. Just my way of saying "I think you're special enough to spend my precious time to make it myself".
The only time I BUY a card now is if I've let the event slip up on me and didin't get a card made -- or it's for someone that I don't know very well (wedding/baby shower). Maybe 1-2 times a year.
Other than that -- it just puts me in a "happy place".
I just love everyone's answers and have to agree with everyone. But I think the thing that hooked and reeled me in was the artistic aspect of it. I have always thought of myself as an artistic person with no talent. I can see it, I can imagine it, but I couldn't create it, until now that is. Stamping gives me the oppurtunity to express myself, feel artistic, and best of all share it with other. I let them know that I can so much about them, that I actually sit down and create something for them. Sure, I don't actually sketch the image from seaside sketches, but I do watercolor it in. I didn't actually draw those beautiful blooms, but I sure did use those chalks to make them pop. To make a long story short, it fulfills the need to create.
This says it exactly for me too! I could NEVER draw, or when we painted in elementary school I used to get frustrated and just make a big mess because it didn't turn out like in my head. So I never touched anything "artistic" since I didn't have to take art class anymore.
Then enter SU and there is such a wealth of information and ideas and inspiration. I don't always have to know how I can use a set. I can come on here and look around the gallery. I can CASE a few...and they look great! (The person I give it to doesn't necessarily know I did't come up with it!! hehehe) ;) And now, surprise of all surprises, I am starting to come up with my own layouts, ideas and color combos. I am just starting to get into scrapping and I find it scary! But it also feels good to try something and slowly improve, and I like the pat on the back I get from the people I give them too also.
What can I say, it makes me happy? (Plus I LOVE making my wishlists and shopping!!)
__________________ -- Jacine -- I can, I will, I DO.
- Verna C. Powers
I grew up being told that "crafts" were silly and a waste of time. I NEVER did crafts, even as a child. No pot holders! The one time I made some earrings for my mother at scout camp, she refused to wear them.
Now, decades later, I'm learning that it's not a waste of time! And I AM creative! It's very therapeutic. Pretty colors and textures. I love texture. This is such an amazing outlet for creativity. When I stamp I feel creative, artistic, and feminine. AND, I then bless others by sending cards to them, and they are so amazed that I cared enough to send the "truly" best - something made out of love.
__________________ Janet aka Granna 'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver...'Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. but he's good. He's the King, I tell you.' --The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
I started stamping when a friend/co-worker had a CTMH party (when it was DOTS). The first party I went to I thought - what a waste of money. The second party hooked me! I stamped a little then ... and then kind of packed my stuff up.
Then, several years later, a neighbor asked if I wanted to go to a SU party. That started the stamping bug going.
Why do I love it?
1. The supplies are SO much fun to buy!!
2. I am primarily a scrapbooker but cards are fun way to get instant gratification. I agree with those who have said that a two-page scrapbook spread can take a weekend -- but a card only 20 minutes.
3. I love the reaction my cards get -- even my husband likes them!
4. Did I mention how much fun it is to buy the supplies?
5. I love that I can make cute little gifts for very little money - I just gave out eight teacher gifts today and it cost me less than $10 total -- and it only cost that much because the pocket cards I made were stuffed with chocolate.
I, too, rotate hobbies - I paint, stamp, scrap, crochet -I have a little of each going on all the time. But I always finish my stamping projects - and that's more than I can say for the rest of my obsessions! That's a reason to love it right there! The sense of completion is very rewarding.
Tell me - what is SO addictive about stamping??
