Do you have any extra hours in a day?
 

I'm just wondering when everyone gets time to stamp? There are so MANY beautiful things here and SO many talented people with AWESOME ideas! I'm a stay at home mom of twin girls (6) and a younger daughter (4). They all go to school for at least part of the day and I STILL can't find enough time to actually do the fun stuff I want to do like stamping!

So I basically wrote this to find out if some of you found that extra hour in the day that I don't know about yet! LOL!!

Have a great holiday!!

Get offline, and stay offline! ;) (hard to do when there's so much to see here at SCS)

Do your stamping PRIOR to allowing yourself to do any housework. :eek: If I put all my household tasks first, ahead of stamping, I would never stamp. My house is very cluttered and dusty right now, with a slight laundry build up, but it hasn't quite hit avalanche stage yet. :D

Do not do housework while children are at school; STAMP.

Occasionally have take-out at home, so you can spend little to no time cooking, and more time stamping. Or, make sure you keep a frozen lasagna or other such casserole type thing in your freezer, and serve with pre-sliced and garlic buttered french bread + salad in a bag. Keep paper plates stocked up for these evenings, as well. There is no harm in doing such things to carve out a little "you" time on a regular basis, like once a week.

:D

Yes!! What Julie said.......

I have 4 kids - ages 7, 6, almost 4, and 16 months. Only the older 2 are ever out of the house (and school hours here are *short*). I prefer to stamp in the evening when they're in bed. I learned over the summer to stamp when they're around but it's not really relaxing. So evenings are it for me. I plan my day, get done what I need to do early, if I know I really need to stamp that night (like cards need to go out by a certain date).

I've never had a hobby before. I started stamping in February and love it. I've finally found something I care to make the time for.

I usually stamp at night too, once the kidlets are asleep. But, lately I'm too tired! Probably cuz I stay up until these obscene hours of the night looking for ideas on SCS! I love Julie's ideas! The kids would think it's great to have a casual supper on paper plates every once in a while.

My brain simply does not function creatively at night or in the evening...so here's my plan ((I'm a SAHM)...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday are household days...laundry, errands, grocery store, cleaning...Thursday and Friday are stamping days, and I may even throw a stamping day or two in on the weekend, depending on what's going on w/ our family. Even on Thurs. or Friday I get the "daily" chores done right away, so I have time in the stampin' room to myself.

Lisa

What Julie and Lisa said.

Also, I actually mark time on my calendar just like it is an appt with myself--me time.

Used to be I'd scrap in front of the TV every Thursday night during the 3-hour primetime shows. It gave me 3 hours each week! Unfortunately my children are now older (8 & 13) and don't like to go to be at 7:30 so Mommy can stamp!

I stamp instead of cleaning the house or cooking. My kids are always asking, "when are we going to eat?"

I don't have kids (unless you count dh and two cats as such) and I usually stamp a little bit inbetween housework stuff and in the evening when hubby is at work.

Getting off line is the best advice. Ever since SCS started having problems, I've stamped a LOT more and I like it this way. I work part time, have a son and an elderly mom to take care of (plus my hubby). I end up doing most of my stamping while I'm nagging my son to get out of bed (7 - 8 am!!).

I do my stamping at 4am - generally every day! My career takes about 60 + hours a week and have a family to manage too; so "me" time comes out of sleep time.

I am able to stamp whenever I want to but I only have 1 child at home and he is 17 and he doesn't need or want me to do alot for him so I come home from work and do whatever housecleaning needs done then I can stamp or do whatever eles I want to do. I don't have anything to do on Mon. and Tues. so I can stamp my heart out.

My kids are 15 and 12 (both boys). Now that they are older they are bonding with Dad much more and that frees up my time. I get all my chores and errands done during the day when they are at school. I stamp at night between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. I tried stamping during the day, but felt guilty about neglecting chores. My stamping time is "me time" at night and I don't feel guilty about that. I find myself running to my computer during the day in between chores to check out the daily download of cards and have become more active in reading threads.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! My house is more than a little cluttered. It really seems like I can never catch up. Laundry piles up from time to time, and the dust is out of control. Thank you for admitting this! My DD daughter even vacuumed the steps the other day because they looked so bad. (People are tracking in leaves.)
I do more than just a frozen lasagna once in a while. My kids are 18 and 15 now, and my son is at college, so that changes things. However, for the past few years, Weaver or Tyson frozen chicken nuggets, and Ore Ida fries or tots, together with frozen broccoli or a can of peas has been a meal at least once a week. We also do pizza on Fridays. My DH cleans up the kitchen, so that helps too.
My job requires lots of at home time. (I teach high school,and have almost 200 students, so the paper grading never ends.) This year, I decided to leave my dining room table set up for stamping (my son's room will become a stamp room when he finally leaves the nest). Just having to not drag out EVERYTHING has helped a lot. I had a wedding, and took a couple of hours out of paper grading on a Saturday, and made a beautiful wedding card. The same goes for other needed cards that pop up.
I send out about 12 Chanukah cards each year, so I usually set aside a day in July, and get those done. Those stamps get put away until the following year. Lately, I have been having two friends over one Friday night a month to make Christmas cards. (Pizza gets cleaned up fast, and my DH takes care of picking up my DD.) This is nice because I only have the Christmas stamps out.
Well, I have certainly rambled. Maybe I'll go through a stack of mail that's piling up. OR.... I could go stamp!

time!
 

I'm a SAHM with 2 boys (ages 3 and 22 months), and I try to use my evenings for scrapbooking/stamping whenever possible. After they're in bed, I get the dishwasher going, or wash the diapers, etc. and then I get to it!! (Except on Survivor night!) Every other week a friend and I take turns hosting a scrapbooking evening to MAKE SURE that we make the time.

- Krista

I don't work outside of the home but have many volunteer jobs that take hours plus babysitting my GD three days a week. Stamping time will never 'come' around......it has to be 'made'. Sometimes the dusting just lays waiting for me to notice. The biggest No-No' in my book are stamping when hubbie is home or letting stamping pre-empt dinner! My DH works hard to support my habit and I don't want him to be unhappy with it!!

Sometimes I set a time limit..........on my housework that is!! I work like mad for a couple of hours and reward myself with stamping for a couple. It is amazing the work you can get done when you have that carrot in front of your face. I don't except that I will be completely done with the housework (is it ever really DONE?). I find that if I say I will stamp when it is done, then I NEVER have the time to stamp.

Lisa and JulieHRR had great ideas as well.

One thing that I like to do (since I make multiples of my cards) is to create a design and all the components to make the card BUT I don't assemble. Then when DH is home and I really want to work on my cards, I take the unassembled pieces up and watch a movie together when I assemble. Kills two birds with one stone!!

You can find some good time-saving info here:

http:////www.splitcoaststampers.com/...ad.php?t=97159

Bohoo Spammie, your link must be in the Demo only area!

I, too, have been wondering how some of our talented stampers, moms, career woman find time to create!

I am very organized and keep my house clean and neat and I think I get to absorbed in doing that and loose precious stamping time. I don't know how to overcome it though! I really think I need to get my timer going again..I forget how well that works! (it's a flylady tip!)

Any other ideas? This is a good thread.

Thursday my neighbors emailed and said "lets stamp Friday ngiht", it was last minute for me, but forced me to get my cards done which was good. I too, work full time and have a 6yr old and a 3yr old. My time to stamp is AFTER they are in bed. I tend to do laundry during this time as my stamp table is in the laundry room! :-) You have to make the time or you will never use all your stuff. Good Luck!!

Great thread - very creative solutions!!

Nibs

I'm a SU Demo so stamping is my job. I'm trying to make this my full time job. My boys are almost grown - 2 married, 1 in college and the baby is almost 17. I didn't have as much time when they were younger.

I have a full time job that requires paper work (unpaid OT) at home, too, and I also teach floral design 2 nights a week for the community college. This means going to the wholesalers on my day off (???what's that???) to get fresh supplies for the students. I belong to a civic group that meets bimonthly, having activities on the opposite bimonthly weeks. (works out to once a week) DH & I have no kids, so I can find time for me when I need to, and DH also has hobbies, (building miniature models & painting) so we are doing things we love, but still spending time together. :) I wanted to get a Yorkie once, but when would we have the time to walk and play with, and feed it? Now I just figure it would be covered in ink or have adhesive rounds and squares sticking to its fur. lol :p :D I also am a demo so I have to make the time to stamp. Being busy forces me to give up my procrastinating tendencies, and also makes me more organized out of necessity.