Do you let kids use your stamps?
 

I was just wondering if other stampers let kids use their stamps. I allow my special ed students use them for thank you cards and special occasions. I also host an intramural at my middle school a couple of times a year. My special ed students are easier on the stamps and less messy than the general ed students! So far, my DS hasn't been interested.

I let me 5 year old daughter use my stamps all the time. She is so great about cleaning them. I am also a teacher, (stay at home right now) but when I go back, I will definitlely let students use them for projects like mothers day gifts or such. That is why I was originally attracted to SU. I taught at a school where we did our own art. I am more possessive about my pads. Now that I am obessive about!

I always tell my customers, stamps are great, the kids can't hurt them!
It's true, & I've used them for Sunday School projects too.

If my daughter's "in a mood" I tell her to go make a card for her friends (she's 11) that always cheers her up!

my ds is 4 almost 5 and I let him play with some of the things I don't care about as much. As he gets older, I think I will let him play if he is interested.

I don't have any kids of my own but I have a 5 year old niece who comes over a lot. I let her use them. I figure that I have already spent the money on them and if a little staining brings down the asking price later... I only care if she is having a good time.

Life's too short.

My kids are a little older, 14, 17, and 20 but over the years, we have had some of the best science projects, speech demonstrations, etc from them knowing how and using the stamps. My 14 had a science project go to state and they commented on the stamped letters and how nice and neat it looked. Using the cardstock as backing sheets also makes things look very nice. So yes, I let my kids use my stamps and supplies.

Christyl

my 22 month old and my 32 month old niece use my old style pink/green/blue pads with year round fun....but THAT IS ALL. :)

My 5 yr old is especially hard on stamps. So I buy her Me & My Big Ideas stamps that she loves and let her use my Michael's $1 stamps. But I'm selfish with the SU stamps - does that make me a terrible mom???

My 5yo and I stamp together all the time. I am a sloppy stamper so I am OK when she messes up the wood. She cleans them well and doesn't mess up my inkpads. I would much rather her remember all the stress-free times we stamped together than have clean stamps.

I have just recently let my 2 1/2 year old daughter use my stamps, she generally just makes a huge mess. It is cute, she says, "Mama doin your stampin things?" and then wants to help. She points at the case where I keep the ink pads and says she wants some.

She will also use scissors really well, she calls them "chops", which I think is adorable.

Here is her first creation with on the farm and old olive scrap paper. I'll admit it is a complete mess, but as a mother I see her pure stamping genius!

http://gallery.splitcoaststampers.co...cat=500&page=1

What a fun thread!

My 20 month old dd stands on my paper carrier/box (it is like a rubbermaid box) so she can be right next to me while I stamp. She delights in stacking my stamps (Shapes and Shadows are perfect for this). I just make sure the ink and the scissors are out of reach. My 7 yr old dd stamps with me. She may NOT use my basic black--she has the kids version in black. She has some of her own sets, some SU and some not. Right now her favorite set is Summer by the Sea. She stamps with close to cocoa and then uses colored pencils (I am pretty leary about letting her use my su markers, too). I get more stamping time if they are with me--Although I find I must do my designs ahead of time as I cannot think as well with them at my elbow.

I just let my students in grades 5-8 use several of my stamps sets. They were supervised, but made a mess. Honestly, the stamps stamp the same whether they are stained or not. I am very particular about my personal belongings, but the kids had a great time making cards for the troops overseas. Why keep a good thing to yourself? ;)

I let my 8 yo use everything but the SU paper and the SU markers. She prefers the versamagic pads because she's into muted colors. She likes to make elaborate things with sizzlets and pop dots. She is put on restriction periodically if she doesn't at least make an attempt to put things back. The mess after the mother's day card(ssssss) was impressive, but who can yell at a kid about that?

Absolutely. We have a blast stamping together, and stains do not hurt the wood or the rubber in anyway. I'm a little pickier about my ink pads and *where* they get the ink.

It's also amazing what a good stamper my 5 year old is becoming. At the rate she's going, she'll be published in a magazine in a few years! At first I was a little uptight about them getting into my art stuff, but who knows, I could be nuturing a future Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo or Emily Carr.

Sure I let my daughter use mine all the time-and she shares hers with me!
She's 27 and also has the stamp addiction.
I let my DGD use mine she's 11 but she requires some supervision.

I let my DD use mine by herself but she was given a 1 hour training on how to do this and that with them as far as taking care of them. LOL She does really well at it actually. She is going to be 10 on Tuesday but it was just a month ago that I let her use them for the first time without me there and even then I was in the room just not watching.

My son is 4, almost 5, and has been using my stamp stuff for almost a year. I also taught a 3 - 5 yr old class with it. I figure there is no point in me being so picky about my stamps getting 'dirty', some of the ladies that come to workshops are messier then him :)

I have no problem letting my kids use them as long as I am watching them. I bought them the SU kids stamps and markers and they use them rather then my stampin stuff. I wish the marker tips for kids were thinner though for them.

BTW I am not worried about the stamps I am worried but what besides the paper may get stamped!

As an aside do all hold or go to mother/daughter stamp camps. My demo has these and we just adore them.

I let my own kids use them, alone and I let my Junior Girl Scouts use them on their own. Stamps are made to be enjoyed and if ink gets on the wood, oh well...BUT I do clean them again after they have used them as they don't always get the ink off the rubber as well as I would like ;)

editted to add-they are all 12 - 13 years old now, but I started letting DD and the GS use them when they were around 9....

LOL

I let my boys use them , if I am helping them. They have their own set of SU kids pads and collection of $1 stamps from Michaels that they prefer to use.

I allow my 7 yo daugter to stamp alone using mostly her own sets (I bought her three for Christmas...that way I get to use 3 more sets too, but I don't have to fele bad it she stains them!) I also gave her all my old style ink pads, so she has quite a collection and I will keep adding to it IF she can show that she is responsible with them.

Hell No! They are Mine Mine Mine Mine! (They have their own)

It's not my stamps, but my stamp pads that keep me from letting other kids use my stamps. My kids can use them anytime they want, but then they know not to take a stamp that has been inked in black and stamp it on my yellow stamp pads. I've had bad experiences with my Girl Scout troop mixing colors. When I do projects with them I take old and usually non-SU stamp pads.

I let my kids use my stamps, but I keep an eye on them. I have tons of non-SU stamps so that is usually what they use. My youngest has a shoe box of old stamps that have dinasaurs, car/trucks, space things, and one ink pad that he can pull out whenever. He seems to enjoy it. I let them use the old supplies and not worry too much about any "damage." Just be happy they want to share your passion.

Okay....here is my NSHO!
 

Okay, now bear in mind that this is *MY* NSHO and that I tend to be a bit of a freakie-geekie anyway.....

I do not buy stamps to put on display in glass china cabinets with lights shining down on them. I buy stamps to use and demo with. I expect that they will be stained to high heaven at the end of a workshop. The rest of my life is too important to do what *I* consider to be a waste of time: seal every single wood block to prevent staining.

Now, with that said: I have *no* qualms against people who *DO* prefer the look of unstained wood and seal their blocks! For them, it is not a waste of time, it is a personal matter of preference and fastidiousness. Simply said: I am incapable of that kind of thinking....doesn't make anyone right or wrong, it's just a preference.

Now what will *really* blow you away: not only do I let my own kids use my stamps, but I let other kids use them and kids who are at workshops are free to use my stamps with parental supervision, though sometimes that parental involvement is minimal (grrrr...the parent's problem, not the kids!) I can always clean off a stamp pad and refuse to berate some kid (and possibly affect his/her self-esteem...let's face it, you never know what they put up with in their own home!) by getting upset over mixed colors. I also never want a child to believe that an inanimate object is more important than him/her. Finally, I think I've made more sales once mothers realize that this is an activity that they can do with their kids - it just takes a bit of instruction and patience (and they seem to quickly learn: *EL-CHEAPO* non-stampin' up! paper!!)

Again, just remember that these are my NSHOs and just the way I am. I tend to be pretty intolerant of adults; but I am *exactly the opposite* with children. And oddly enough, I find that if I show them the trust, they're often more careful that their mothers! Go figure.... ~ K

My girls are 9 and 12 years old. I let them use anything in my stamping room, except MY new colors! They usually ask first, and if it is a mess in the stamping room they will usually straighten up. They are good to their momma!:)

You bet I let my kids use them. My 12 y/o DS though is losing his interest in stamping, since it's not "cool". Go figure! My 8 y/o DD and I stamp a lot together and she has even stamped at camps and classes I've given with a friend of hers. I did a birthday stamp camp 2 yrs ago and let the kids use the Sketch It set and the inks by themselves. Since stamping is something my DD and I both enjoy, hey let's have some mommy/daughter time before she grows up. :(

I have a daughter (7 this month!), and 3 boys (5, 3, and 11 months).

I let my daughter use them if it's only the 2 of us. If the boys are around, only I use them.

They have stickers, crayons, markers, shaped hole punches, scissors that cut wavy lines, foam things to decorate, and decorate with. They really aren't that interested in the stamps/ink.

My kids don't have any interest in stamping whatsoever! They do like the foam and rubber pieces left over from trimming stamps, to stick to their faces, but they don't even do that as often now. I was making cards for a couple of birthdays the other day and asked my kids what kind of cards they'd like me to make for their birthdays. DS#2 just made a funny face and DS#1 said, "A store bought card... with money in it." Oh well!

I have no problems with my kids using my stamps because I know the stamps can handle it. They have their own inkpads so they can't destroy mine. But the reason I still supervise them (ages 7 and 5; the 7 year old isn't interested anyway) is that my 5 year old does still have some difficulty with the concept that the only places where ink should be is in the ink pad, the paper, and on the stamp. Unfortunately we're still having some problems with ink getting on the dining room table when I leave him alone. My DH dragged the card table out of the garage this morning so maybe that will be my solution. But I love letting him make birthday cards for his friends, he gets so much enjoyment out of that!

Julie

I let my own children stamp with my stamps and use my stamp pads.
They are clean and neat and almost always remember to put my things away.
I however make messes! And then pay the kids to clean my stamp area after a stamping frenzy! ;)

I let my 5 yo DD use my stamps under my supervision only. She is really good with them, but I'm not going to chance leaving her alone just yet.

That's just too funny. LOL :)

My kids, the neighbor kids, the 4-H kids, the Sunday School kids . . . let's see . . . did I miss anybody? Anybody and everybody can and does use my stamps! I seal them with a spray varnish before I mount them. I was brought up to keep things neat and clean and I found that when the wood blocks got dirty, it bugged me! I really don't think it takes that much extra time to do and I like that they stay new looking even though they get used like crazy. My ink pads are a little messed up, but it doesn't really bother me. Isn't that weird? I guess because I can close them up. Even though they look dirty, the colors still stamp fine with a little squirt from my re-inker.

Oh, what an image!
 

SPEW ALERT!!

Okay, now I'm laughing hysterically! Can't wait 'till my two figure that out.... Oy! ~ K

My 5 year old son is loves to stamp. I let him use any stamps he wants. He does a good job of cleaning and I sort of got over any staining on the wood of the stamps b/c it doesn't really hurt them. I am a little protetive of my stamp pads though. If I'm with him I will let him use my SU ones, but otherwise, I let him use some old cheap ones I got at Michael's when I first started stamping.

My grandkids take better care of my stamps then some of my customers. I had stamp class this past week and you would not believe how messed up my brand new set of "Mixed Bouquet" looks. Stains all over the wood. My four year old granddaughter does better and even knows how to clean them!!