Do you see a decline in people doing card making and stamping?
 

The reason I ask is that,I was there almost at the beginning of the latest scrapbooking explosion and slowly watched it crumble. I think I knew it for many years before I heard it mentioned out loud. When I first started sbing, there were about 7 sb stores in our city...5 years or so later they were all gone. Now of course, it is even hard to find online supplies and I feel like that is getting harder. I don't know anyone that scrapbook anymore and it has become a solitary hobby. It really made me sad when it happened as I love crafts and really found my niche with the paper crafting.

I know that stamping has been going strong for awhile. In fact, before I started sbing I went to a Stampin Up party. I then went to a Creative Memories party and decided sbing was what I loved.
About a year ago, I was still doing some sbing and bought some ink to ink up the edges of my pages. That led me to CTMH supplies and from there it took off. I find myself now as about obsessed with card making and supplies as I was with sbing
However, I noticed the other day someone online said that the die cutting phase is dying out. I was surprised as personally I have just kind of gotten back into manual die cutting. I have both a Silhouette and a Cricut Explore and enjoy manual die cutting much more.
It doesn't matter I guess what others do or are into...but it worries me a little. Part of what killed scrapbooking I think is too many trends too quickly and not being able to keep up. I am new to this particular hobby and love it so much. I am hoping it is here to stay.
What do you think? Card making on its way out? How long have you been doing it and do you see yourself doing it for a long time? What about the trends...do you feel die cutting is dying out? (figures now that I just bought my Big Shot) Any other comments?

I certainly can't speak for the nation, or industry, as a whole, but I'm going strong. I've been stamping for about 10 years and dedicated a whole bedroom to crafting when I moved. I LOVED doing Operation Write Home and could crank out the cards for that. I actually had a depression when it ended.
I have no friends who stamp. I have never been to a party. I went to a workshop once, but didn't like that we had to made what the hostess decided...I'm a rebel.
I make cards every month for all our nursery workers at church.
I use dies on 99% of my cards, and just bought a bunch more with Black Friday sales. With all the stamping blogs I see, there is no trend away from die cutting....Got to have layers!
I haven't tried the watercoloring trend, nor the foiling trend. There will be other trends because there are so many creative card artists out there.
Just do what you love!

I see people posting Sb pages here all the time in the gallery. I dont know if the market for buying them dried up, but I suspect a lot of people are still making them. They are a wonderful way to record a child growing up and last I heard people are still having kids. Maybe they are not doing them for everything like vacations, parties, etc. the way they used to, but definitely for kids. Still makes for a good 50th wedding anniversary present, maybe a baby book...

I dont see card making going anywhere and certainly not die cutting. I dont know who said that, but I just got a bunch of dies on black friday. Love them.

Card making fulfills so many things...not just giving to people you know, but to sell, to give to charities...or just to make for yourself. There are people who make literally thousands in a year. People have been making cards here for 20 years. It's fabulous. You can do it till you're 100. I plan to! Of course by then I'll have to totter on my walker to the warehouse of supplies I'll have LOL.

Are there trends in the industry? Sure. They will not sink it. So many people are using it as a social activity...While I like the occasional poker game, I'll make cards everytime hands down. There are all kinds of challenges online, esp here. You can talk about anything you need to here about cards.

So dont sweat it. You're fine. Stay here where we are positive thinkers.

I don't think that cardmaking is going away any time soon. I do think that some people who have been involved for a long period may have hit burnout, but there are also people who are just discovering this hobby/craft, and they keep it going. I get tired of the constant parade of newer/better/turbo-charged "stuff", and I've noticed a faction of cardmakers going "back to basics", so there could be some truth to certain trends dying out. I doubt that die cuts are on that list, though. I still see a lot of people using them, and I've even expanded my personal stash beyond some basics.

I've been stamping since 2003 (earlier than that, technically, but not enough to say so), and have cycled in and out of loving the whole cardmaking thing. "People over paper", as they say, and sometimes life gets too busy, too...

I think that a lot of people are discovering the "art" of cardmaking, as opposed to the "craft", and incorporating things like watercolors, mixed media, etc., as opposed to just stamps and punches and the like. Branching out from that, they are creating art for its own sake, and not as an ephemeral piece to give away to be tossed.

I don't know if I answered your question or made you feel any better - that was sort of a stream of consciousness reply, lol!

I must be living inside a bubble of wonder because I see the opposite - so much new stuff people can hardly keep up with buying it all - and now nearly every stamp set comes with dies - so I definitely see more of that than a decline.

I do see less scrapbooking - and it doesn't seem entirely replaced by Project Life either - but I know there are big scrap-ins and crops in my area still - maybe it's a regional thing? I would be sad if I thought the social aspect of it was fading - I think the whole crop model is really what got stampers to create together in the first place.

One thing I miss at events is ATC trading. I still participate here, online, but I loved when they were a bigger part of in person swaps.

I have been an on and off (mostly off) paper crafter since the mid-1990s. Creative Memories for scrapbooking and Stampin' Up for card making. My first couple sets of Stampin' Up items came from a 1996 catalog and I still have some Mrs. Grossmans stickers from when they were the "hot" item in scrapbooking.

Then came the Internet and sites like Scrapbook.com where like minded people could share ideas and passions and their love for spending money on crafts. Soon, everyone and their sister was opening a scrapbook store. The market became over saturated and better deals were found online. Many of the brick and mortar stores started closing up shop even before the bottom fell out of the economy in the mid-2000s.

I think there's still a huge interest in scrapbooking and card making. It just looks different. Small shops are closing and no longer offer a place for papercrafting friends to gather. Big box stores are getting much of the mainstream business and bigger online stores are supplying the specialty items not sold in JoAnns, Michaels or Hobby Lobby. And while places like Scrapbook.com and SplitcoastStampers.com still have a place in the industry, more people are looking to blogs and YouTube for crafty ideas.

I don't think the industry is dying out. I just think it's evolving.

I started stamping in 1995, quit for a couple of years and got into scrapbooking around 2000. Then got back into stamping when I had all these beautiful papers I could use on my cards, courtesy of the scrapbooking industry. I totally fell in love with cardmaking and stamping and have never looked back.

I cannot imagine diecutting going out of favor; I have as many dies as I do stamps now, and the coordinating dies? Love 'em.

I bought a Silhouette, thinking that would save money "now that I didn't have to buy dies." NOT! I almost never use my Silhouette anymore; some people consider it to be a diecutting machine, but not by my definition. So I don't know if that particular trend is still going strong.

I don't see myself ever not stamping or making cards. It's more than a hobby. It's a passion.

I think it is a social activity, a good reason to get with old friends and new friends. Just like Quilting Bees and other socials, they will remain popular to the niche and for a good cause.

There is always a new twist in quilting and card making, stamping and scrapping. Die cutting (Ellison) has been in schools for eons and is now opening up in the quilting circles and regular sewing circles as more patterns are small and fun.

We are a unique bunch. Some of us want to do it all ourselves, we are gonna have the Silhouettes; others want to get to the fun of it, they have Cricuts. The rest of us want the flexibility of ALL of it and have all the machines, images and dies!

It is not an art being lost, it is an art to stay. Just like Home Depot with saws and drills...and such. And vacuum cleaners...my mom bought a new one for upstairs, bags for the one we use on the tile and a HUGE Kirby for the carpet....now we want one for the stairs.

And Microwaves, one upstairs for mom, one in the kitchen....we won't even start on the grills for cooking outside and the outdoor kitchens.

I'm glad to see this thread. I just joined this site a few days ago after years of just lurking. I did so bc I had been reminiscing on all my fun times stamping and scrapbooking that I've neglected to do in last few years. I have lately been into art journaling and mixed media stuff bc I have been teaching it for 2 age groups. I previously worked in a stamp store, then a scrapbooking store-- both of them went out of business. Lately, I have been discouraged by people not sending cards anymore, or people not appreciating a handmade card. But, I think it will stay around as long as groups like this exist. After Christmas, I want to get involved on the site and do some swaps. Even if they stopped making stamps today, I would have enough to last me a lifetime. I know I am not the only stamper with tons of supplies.

Just wanted to say......
 

Welcome! This place is another addiction.
:razz:

I've been stamping almost 30 years and have seen most of the stamp stores and scrapbook stores close and I do all of my shopping online. I miss seeing the papers and stamps in person but it's much easier for me to shop at home than to shop in person. I started a Card Making group about 8 years ago and 7 of us meet every other week for 3 hours to make cards. All of the original card makers still come except for one that moved out of state and we've added 2 over the years. Others have come for a while and then gone on to other interests. I did some scrapbooking in the 90's when I found all my photos stored in magnetic albums were discoloring. I spent a year doing scrapbook pages on my dining room table - 40 years worth of photos. Then 10 years ago I did an album of my daughter's wedding. She didn't want an album originally but after she saw mine, she wanted one too. Then I got 2 huge boxes of photos when my mother went into a nursing home. My dad's hobby was photography and there were thousands of photos, sometimes 10 or more of the same photo - enlarged, cropped, etc. I made albums for my sister, niece, nephews, daughter, and mom and mailed any extras to cousins. I already had most of these photos but added some to my albums. I will only be doing scrapbooking of photos sent with Christmas cards [I have 5 years worth to do already]. I don't have any grandkids or a camera and my daughter takes photos and puts them on Facebook and if I want a copy she prints one for me.

I think the reason is so many shops closing is they jump on the current newest craze and end up losing money. I think that carrying a good supply of card stock, inks and current dies that can be used in a multiple of ways is a good base. We had a store here that just went with mostly AC items and while she did well there was never enough stock after taking a class to make more of the pages. Another store in my area has hung in for a long time and lately has some new employees that is encouraging her to explore different techniques and even having a better selection in the store.

I make and sell cards at Farmers Markets (approx. 1300 each season) so I do not do much Scrapbooking. I did try the Project Life pockets but I am going back to more traditional 12 x 12 I think. I also find there are lots of store online that carry all kinds of full lines of scrapbooking supplies. You just have to do searches for them.

Lorri

I've been stamping since '94! But I there were a few years when I didn't stamp. Got distracted by other hobbies. I think the brick stores went away because online stores became more plentiful. I can't stand going out so I shop from home.

I've been card making for ten years. There are a number of SU demos in my small rural area still going strong after at least ten years of offering classes.

I was surprised that a scrapbooking/stamp store opened in Cedar Rapids Iowa about two years ago. They seem to be going strong and are located close to Hobby Lobby and Michaels. I don't get there often but they always seem busy

I have been offering SU classes with a demo friend and our classes had 15 or more participants last winter/spring each class and then there were a few we had to cancel due to low enrollment. I see new people try card making and never really get full on into it and some do.

I think like any craft there is potential for it to die out but I don't get the feeling card making is losing steam and especially not die cutting!

I feel that card making is still pretty strong among long-timers and new people are taking the plunge. Scrapbooking, on the other hand, seems to be on life-support. It's way more time and supply consuming than card making and many, many scrappers felt too far behind and gave up. Plus, social media and smart phones gave people way to share photos faster and cheaper than scrapping. I will do both until I die but it's getting harder and harder to find scrapbook stores and crops. Sigh.
Mary Beth

Scrapbooking is still alive and well. I belong to several message boards, and the online stores are hopping. Stamping is still going strong too, and many scrapbookers are also stampers (like myself).

The closing of brick and mortar LSS's really isn't any different than the closing of other type of brick and mortar stores - remember how many bookstores there used to be? Fifteen years ago I practically lived at Borders, and now they are no more. The huge growth of online vendors has certainly been a big part of the reason for this.

I agree with Lydia. I've only been into this craft for a few years, but even in that short time I've seen the marketplace continue to grow exponentially, with new products appearing constantly (far faster than I can buy them!), so plenty of people must still be very involved in stamping. And I don't think it's lost ground in popularity - I don't think the majority of people were ever doing it to begin with. Before I got started in stamping, I personally knew only one person who was doing it.

For me, though, it's not even anything worth thinking about. I don't care if anyone else does it or not. I know that some people appreciate my efforts more than others, but I don't care about that, either. (Although there are some people on my "card list" that never get a handmade card from me because they so obviously don't get it, they get store-bought.)

I do think that recently some card-producing companies have stepped up their game, and I wonder if it's to compete with the stamping community. I'm thinking particularly of the Hallmark Signature cards, which are very beautiful and highly and cleverly embellished.

RnRuns60-we are about to have a fun thing of the year in January-CHA. Which is the annual national convention...I have never been. Given how overwhelmed I was by a local small one in NJ (total bliss) I think I might explode in a shower of glitter if I ever went to CHA! lol

I think they say it's a billion dollar industry...I dont think the bulk of that is in the expensive machines...I suspect it's in us buying a couple stamps/dies/embossing folders/inks, etc here and there...and that's a LOT of business! And that's despite all the trading and selling we do ourselves. At any given moment there is about...180K rubber stamps for sale on Ebay. No small number. So there is a lot of recycling circulation going on between us there-though some of that is new product from mfgs and distributors. There are a couple of little guy stamp makers I discovered there.

Rents are going, up so all small brick and mortars are struggling imho. Esp here in NYC. I keep losing all the cool stores of all kinds to chains and bars. Heartbreaking really. :( I think one reason my LSS (there is only one) survives is they get a LOT of international tourists coming in and between the opportunity to get brands and the currency benefits-they buy a lot. Another driver for her was her manager got them on social media so people know they are there in the first place.

LSSs also offer things online cant like live classes, sidewalk sales you can be in, relationships with the staff who can help you so much, esp as they get to know you, etc etc. But they have to do it. If they just sit there like a lump on a log, I dont think they will do well. Business today requires being proactive.

Anyway..there will be a lot of online reports from CHA for us to peruse and see what is new, what's trending in terms of color, product...are we interested, etc. Tim Holtz's Crazy birds imho, got hot right out of the box from last year's CHA. I know it was one of only two things I saw I really wanted. You can just google CHA and see both live and recorded stuff.

Rachelrose-that is an interesting observation about the commercial makers. I know in the past..5-10 years I have seen a big uptick in small stationary stores of what is supposed to be "handmade" but really is mass-produced and hand assembled. Going for 10 bucks a pop too! :shock: Makes me mad-I see so many WAY better cards here in the gallery and then hear people cant even get 5 for them. Not right. For years now Papyrus has had single embellished cards for around...6 is it? I think they do a buy x and get one free deal. We lost a lot of the big company stores like HM, American Greetings, etc-now you get them at CVS and Duane Reade drugstores.

Hallmark actually did a pop-up here to launch that new line...you could take a bunch for free if you promised to take a picture of it and put it on your social media like Facebook. They have now hit the stores and I think are around 8 a piece. They are pretty though I still like a lot here way better. I think they also will definitely need extra postage.

This is why my Etsy shop has remained empty. I listed a couple of handmade books there for what I considered a reasonable price considering the labor, and no takers. I'm simply not giving away my lovingly handcrafted items! People who give cards away for $2-3 (and there are plenty on there) cheapen the whole idea of handmade. You can't even get a mass-produced Hallmark card for that!

I like to remind myself that trends come from two directions. Some do come from on high - some celebrity or company declares something the Next Big Thing and inundates us with it, and just as many come from the grassroots, starting in and spreading through the general populace. This is true in everything, not only crafting. This helps me see "trends" more usefully - no matter where they originate, they are simply predictors of what I might have a hard time or an easy time buying or finding or doing. We live in a marketplace, and we can either let it run us or stand back and look at it and make our own decisions. We all joke around here about enabling each other, but we also talk a lot more about how to make do or repurpose or spend smart.

And of course some "Next Big Things" deserve to be. Yes, lots of folks here have jumped on the MISTI bandwagon, including me, but that's because the MISTI is an innovative product. I didn't buy it because "everyone else has one", I bought it because it could help me do things some things better and more cost-effectively. Just as those who haven't bought one have obviously decided it wouldn't enhance their creative process in any meaningful way.

Interesting topic. ;)

From my personal experience, I feel it comes in waves. I have a close friend living in TN and we send each other cards all the time. I have been finishing my Masters program and so I had to stop making cards for months. I just started again today! The semester is finally over and I am graduating, which means more time for crafting. :)
I started scrapbooking in 2007, then went to card-making. I would spend a bunch of money from SU! and online stores for a month, then consume myself in crafts for weeks at a time. Then something in life would happen (moving, school, job, etc.) and I would have to stop. I buy new stamping items at one time about 2-3 times a year. I have not stopped crafting, but the buying does stop for long periods of time because I just can't afford it. I think it's much easier to keep up with crafting when you have a friend or friends to share the experience with as you create along the way. :)

I think the good thing about trends is the access to new tools and supplies and possibilities. People were stamping and keeping scrapbooks decades and decades ago, but it just wasn't as orchestrated as an industry. and people worked with what they found in hardware stores, office-supply stores etc. I can remember my mother's friend making amazing scrapbook pages for me and my brother that were just paper piecing with construction paper!

I would miss the choices and options out there now while it's still "hot" hobby. Luckily I have enough die-cutting basics that I can keep going without veneer embellishments and sequins and glitter paper and all that other stuff that they might stop making one day. :D

I don't really see a decline in card making. Though there maybe phases in which it seems more popular at times than others. I can honestly say this past year I have not been making much of anything due to personal things in the family, but eventually I'll get back to it. That said, last month I stayed at a hotel that was connected to a convention center that was hosting a scrapbook/stamp show. I met a trio of women that attend the show every year to get new ideas for their Christmas cards. I see this as a perfect example of the staying power of card making and creative people.

Barb

Truth.

Probably the most thoughtful observation I've read on this subject - thank you...

Don't think card making/stamping is winding down I think the mindset of the consumer has changed.

I Have seen these changes with a variety of hobbies over the years. When Beading, Macrame , Paper Quilling, counted cross stitch, and quilting were very popular there were so many stores , gadgets, books, patterns and classes it burned out the consumers. People could not keep up with the cost and/or storage of all this stuff.

I think the same has happened to stamping/card making . Consumers have become more selective shoppers and it makes it look like the hobby is declining .

I think stores shot themselves in the foot by tripling their prices and then offering 50% off, but only on certain days and times . Consumers got tired of dropping everything to chase sales and coupons for more stuff that will sit unused.

People realize they don't need nor will they use every brand and color of ink, paper and marker on the market or every color and width of ribbon .

You actually save money if you pay full price for only what you will use. If you are paying full price you don't "stock up"

Now they buy what they need or will used for a specific project instead of a shopping cart full of ribbon or stickers or what ever just because they are on sale .
This selective shopping falsely makes it look like the hobby is declining .

My 2� worth
Barbara

What Barbara Jay said resonates with me. I do not have a craft room, and I am at the point where my stamping stuff has filled the space I have. I do not need anything new, really, just paper from time to time, and I want a few colors of ink, so I do not need to be buying anything new. I still am stamping and making cards, party decor and so on.

Now, I do sometimes do other crafts, but things that take up tons of space (sewing, for example) I cannot do much because I just don't have a place to keep that stuff out and it is a pain to get out the sewing machine.

Cardmaking and stamping are great crafts that you can go back to year after year, because the space and time needed are small.

The scrapbooking "fad" will not go gently, if my experience is any indication. My local camera store recently hired me to do photo-specific crafts with their customers, in an effort to urge Millennials to get their photos off their phones- preferably convince them to buy a legit camera. As I did my research, I realized that these kids are scrapping the way I did when I was in my teens. (I'm 57). They pull stuff out of magazines, they splash paint on the pages, trace the bottoms of cups, do rubbings with coins and even tombstones. They use what they have laying around the house and pick up stuff on their travels- napkins, news headlines, maps. They do not spend money on embellishments and papers, they glue together composition book pages and they are ready to go! They don't care if they rip or cut by hand, they don't like that nicey-nicey fussy cutting that drove all of us crazy. I think these kids are so comfortable with digital that they prefer die cutting machines like the Brother Scan n Cut, so they don't have to buy dies- it's all about the money! So the scrapbooking hobby is going strong, we are just clinging to an outdated and very expensive way of participating. I adore my rubber stamps, have been collecting for many years and have hundreds. Hello- how many flowers do you actually need? So I am not buying that much anymore, but I am certainly using what I have. And I am teaching card classes that are filling up, selling kits at the classes that are selling out. I guess it's the SHOPPING that's ending, not the MAKING.

I started stamping when I went to a Stampin' Up workshop back in '99. Life got in the way and I didn't do anything from about 2008 - 2011. I went to a class at Archiver's and got re-hooked! I took all their card classes until they closed a couple of years ago. Like someone else said, I actually went into a little depression too. I don't know anyone who makes cards or scrapbooks, so I can't say whether it declined, or many people don't know how or what. The only place around here to buy supplies is Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann's, and Michaels. But the problem is, if you don't know how to use the products, why would you buy them? I think there is just a lack of information out there. There are no places around here that have classes. At Archiver's, they had classes, and you can see the products and ask questions. Now they are just online. Sad, for sure.

I feel that many card makers are out there and that the hobby will stay strong. I feel that you can make cards with limited supplies if you want, and that many of us have dedicated rooms designated to the hobby that are getting very full. So although we don't shop as often and are more selective with our purchases, it's not enough to keep local stores in business. I too order online and buy some local. I also go to parties for more selection. I use quantity since I belong to a card making club, but I must use supplies out of my room as well as bring the supplies in.

I've gotten into a slump in card-making. We've moved 2-3 times in the last 24 months and didn't have all my toys with me all the time. I had a huge stash of cards and have been using those. We are now settled into one home but I still haven't gotten into the swing of making cards again. I've been looking at some of the Christmas cards I had left over from previous years and really like what I see!!!! Hopefully, I'll start making some more cards one of these days. So, to answer the question, I don't know if stamping has slowed down or not because I just haven't been looking for ideas lately.

You know, I'm just not seeing any evidence of a slow-down. Vendors are expanding - just look at what SU is doing. Yes, some have shut down, but more spring up to take their place. And did anyone notice that there were any fewer card-related/stamping vendors at CHA this year?

It's very true that the closing of LSS's creates a void for those who want to take classes, and that is a shame, because you need a place to learn. But SU demos are going strong as far as classes are concerned. And online offerings grow all the time. I started three years ago, with a box of stuff my SIL (an SU hobby demo at the time) sent me as a gift. I have never taken a live class, and know nobody else where I live who stamps. I learned entirely from looking at galleries here and being a pest with questions on the forum, and from taking some online classes.

I think online is the future, really. Yes, there will always be people who will do live classes, which is wonderful, but many are realizing that they can reach so many more people working online. And with Facebook Groups and Google Community pages, there can be real-time feedback.

Card makers have not had the game changer that scrapbookers have, in the form of digital scrapbooking. Card makers can buy images digitally, but they still have to buy everything else the same as they ever did. Maybe some time in the future we will all be designing our cards online and having them sent to us, but it seems like a far distant notion.

Neither can you say that we are an aging population and there are no young people coming up to take our place. There are plenty, right here on the forum, on blogs and YouTube. I don't agree that these young people will disdain traditional materials for "found items." Vendors aren't stupid. They will continue to develop new materials that are better and cooler for whatever audience they find themselves catering to.

At least this is how it seems to me. But what do I know? ;)

I have been stamping for 20+ years and scrapbooking 15+. We recently moved to the Louisville, Kentucky area so I lost all my paper crafting friends. I am happy to create alone, but it is always fun to spend time with others who share my passion. Is there anywhere on this site or online that I can search for people who live near me?

There's a Get It Together forum on this website, just below the Challenge Forum, where you could post. I can't believe there aren't people in a city the size of Louisville!

Good luck and hope you find some new crafting friends!

Oh I hope not. If that happens I'll have to find another hobby.
I'm computer literate. That's not the problem. But computer design is just not the same as hands-on paper, scissors & glue play.

Not where I live! Just 40 minutes away is an AMAZING scrapbook store. They have been in business for 17 years and they are huge! I also have a stamp store about 30 minutes away that is also incredible with the nicest, most talented woman (it's been in business for at least 12 years because that is when I first went there). Both always have the latest and greatest and adapt their classes to what their customers want.

Love to work with paper and stamps!!
 

Here in Katy, TX, when our local Archivers closed, 2 different groups have been formed meeting at local hotels (meeting rooms) monthly. We get anywhere from 20 - 30 ladies each Saturday we meet. We all pay $20 and one lady is kind enough to take care of everything with the hotel. Last month we even had a mini retreat - Saturday and Sunday for $30/each and some of us slept at the hotel. Lots of fun. We all learn from each other and have a great time. Everyone brings snacks and we can scrap from 8 am to 11 p.m. Woohoo! You don't have to scrap alone anymore.

Ronda, can you give me info on your meet ups? I live in the neighborhood right behind where the Archivers was :) I was so bummed when Archivers closed. I craft by myself now and it gets pretty lonely. [email protected]