I'm lonely
 

Don't get me wrong, I've got lots of friends and we have a great time together. The problem is, none of them has the slightest interest in crafting. Believe me, I've tried to encourage them, but it's just not there. I love hanging around online with my fabulous Splitcoast sisters, but when it comes to stamping, I'm always alone. I have this great fantasy about getting together with some of you, laughing hysterically, stamping, sharing stories and ideas... It makes me sad. Thanks for letting me unload.

C'mon South Florida stampers! Identify yourselves! Let Katherine be lonely no longer!

There are a couple of threads from florida in the "Get it Together" section... maybe one of these can help?

http:////www.splitcoaststampers.com/...ead.php?t=6532

Having just gone to the Edmonton SCS Stamping Extravagnaza I can sympathize with your desire to get together with other stampers in your area. We had a BLAST.

I have no "crafty" friends either....its just me......I've just learned to enjoy being by myself in my craft room(with my dogs).....

ditto!

If your ever Canada bound I would love to get together!

I don't get much social stamping, either. :( If I weren't on the northern side of the states *I* would stamp with you!!!

I can relate, nobody around here stamps, scraps, paints...so I play in my studio alone...
hugs, Debbie

Thanks for your kindness, all! I don't know why it's getting me so down tonight. It's raining and I'm home alone, I guess that makes it worse.

I don't know the geography of Florida, but are you anywhere near Jacksonville? I know a darling young gal with 2 kids from another board who would be great for you to meet.

I know exactly how you feel! My crafy friend lives over 3 hours away.

Lone Stamper
 

I stamp alone, too. I have a coworker that is my demo, but our lifestyles are so different - I'm single, no kids; she is married w/children and grands - so we rarely get together to stamp. We talk about what we are doing, but just don't have time to stamp together. I rarely post on SCS, but I come here regularly to keep up with what others are saying and doing, so I don't feel quite so alone with my hobby.

I wish, Bugga. Unfortunately I am on the other end of the state. Thanks for the thought, though!

I think this is one of the reasons for this Forum, because we are alone.

When I stamp I listen to music or put on a movie, but I know it won't be the same for you. I have kids. My stamping time is my time alone.

I've thought about asking about using the community hall for a stamping night, have everyone bring a snack and some of their favorite equiptment, but I'm not sure how to get the word out or to whom, since I'm the only stamper I know.

I don't get to stamp with others much. My best stamping buddy lives out in the Midwest and I am here in the Deep South (Alabama) she comes once or twice a year to visit and we stamp away! You're not alone....

I can relate too! I have a couple of stamping friends who will always order SU with me but everyone is soooo busy in their lives to get together. Oh well!

I have a craft room all to myself. I am always in there working on something with my dog and cat. My DH now has a new joke about it. He says that I must have a man in my closet that only comes out when he's not around and I am "crafting". That must be why I spend so much time in there!!! He figured it out, now what??? Ha, Ha, Ha!!! :)

~Diane

I think that's a great idea. I hope you are able to find other stampers to play with. I have children, too (two DS's, 10 and 14). I've even offered to give them free reign with all of my craft supplies, but they have no interest. There's waaay too much testosterone in this house.

As I sit here and think about this, I realize that it's more than having someone to stamp with. What I'd really like is someone to share the entire experience with -- the excitement of hunting for new supplies, sharing stamps, brainstorming about ideas, exchanging constructive criticism (even though I love it, SCSers really only give positive feedback), laughing and eating while stamping, etc.

I have a couple of nearby stamping friends and we get together occassionally. I also have a set of friends with whom I scrap. We plan to meet earch Monday morning and will do that for two or three weeks in a row, but them something always comes up to ruin our plans. I mostly scrap and stamp by myself. I seem to accomplish more alone, but it's not nearly as much fun.

Linda

I think this is why I like blogging. Not a single one of my friends even knows I have a blog. But I get to tell "whoever" is reading what I bought and share my excitement when I make cards. I don't know if blog readers really care what I buy, but I like talking about it. And I can read others' blogs too, where you get little tidbits of their lives, both stamping and non-stamping. I feel like they're my "stamping friends" even though I've never met them, and I know they "get" it.

I hope you find an SCS gal to stamp with. If it weren't for SCS, I wouldn't have met my Iowa friends!

Hi Katharine. I am in South Florida in winter (Official Snowbird)....Fort Myers Beach exactly. We are home in Indiana for summer but will be returning in October for the winter season. Where are you?

I'm in Port Saint Lucie, on the east coast between West Palm Beach and Vero Beach.

I'm in Melbourne, which isn't far from you. Unfortunately, it is too far to get together . :(

Oh darn....that is too far. Sorry. Maybe someone in your area will surface soon. Good luck finding a stamping buddy.

Wow as I read this I think of my good friend, who before I was interested in stamping or any of this crafty stuff, use to take me with her to Mike's or LSS and I was just there to keep her company. I had no interest, just looked at the pretty paper, but thought it was way over my head. She so tried to get me into it so I could scrap with her. Well in Feb. I was invited to a SU workshop and only went so she could go with me (she wasn't invited). I seen how easy it was once I got to actually create something, scrapping still scares me but I love card making. My friend must have felt like you:( , but alot of people might be like I was too afraid to even go there. I hope you find someone cause I love having someone to play with and what makes it even better is that we share everything, so we buy stamps that both of us will use.

Just a thought here.. Have you checked with Michaels or Hobby Lobby or LSS's for stamping classes (card making, techinques, maybe Cricut demo) or crops? Perhaps a local church, synagogue, etc. has something pertaining to stamping going on. How about the various demos in your area? SU!, TAC, CTMH, CM... There's GOTTA be somebody out there!!! I know it's very hard to make friends these days.. and Boy Howdy... a new stampin' friend.. what a find!!

I do most of mine alone too. Sometimes my daughter will sit down with me, but it is mostly me. I have the advantage of having a group that tries to meet regularly and when I do my stamp camps that is the feel that they have. Just a bunch of gals getting together to stamp! I just wanted to add my hello and I hear you and send you a hug! It is also a full moon, so maybe that is some of it.

I have finally had some luck roping my friends into stamping with me. One of them signed up to be a SU demo under me! It seemed like there for a while it would just be little ole me stamping along. But now we get together and stamp. It seems like we get more talking done than stamping but it is fun. Half the time I load up the rolly cart and go over and we don't use half the stuff I bring. I just wish I had more room here to have them over. Anyways, my point is, don't give up! Eventually you may be able to sway them into stamping!

OMG Juanita, we live in the same city!!! Yeah, a connection made..

Woohoo! Well, that makes me feel a bit better!

Hi Katherine

I feel your pain. I too have a great circle of friends but none of them are even remotely crafty, nor have any interest in it. I too would love to have someone nearby who shares in the joy, the thrill of the hunt in finding that perfect stamp or embelishment!

I love it here on SCS, gives me some connection to the wonderful world of stampers.

Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in your feelings.

It is raining here too, also just started thunder and lightening, probably should turn the computer off, but just wanted to say *hi* before I did so.

Hugs to you!

Thanks so much for your kindness, Pinky. Maybe we can do some "virtual" stamping together sometime.

I am blessed enough to have found a group of gals, all my age, that get together every Wednesday night to "craft". We all bring whatever we want to work on and have a nice evening away from kids, hubby's, and life in general. Sometimes I scrapbook, make cards, or crochet. Actually, we all do this. It changes from week to week, and I have found some really great friends in the process. I hope you find some buddy's soon.

What about the BYOS party this weekend while DH is gone...???

I know what you mean. I have 1 solitary friend that is interested in stamping. Everyone else things I am some kind of wierdo when I talk about is, they do not get it at all! My sister used to stamp with me but she moved to Italy and she is also my very best friend, so that has been hard.

I have the same SCS fantasy that you do of hanging out with everyone that I am online friends with.

I did go to a swap and dinner the weekend of Regionals here with all the SCSers that came and signed up and that was one of the most fun times I have ever had!! And I was in a shoebox swap that some others in this area of VA organized on SCS and that was a blast, too.

I think you should go over to the Get Togethers forum and just post where you are and ask if anyone wants to get together. That's what I did for the shoebox swap and it got organized and it was alot of fun:)

I know exactly how you feel! It's the same way here in my little corner of SE Texas. ((HUGS)) Hopefully someone close by you will read this & feel the same way, pm you & you both become the Bestest friends!! :-D

I belong to a stamping group that meets once a month, but that is the only time I see any of them. They all do their own thing. I have met several ladies off SCS who live here in Spokane, and I have gotten together with one of the a couple of times. We don't get together often enough. I work with two ladies who stamp, but neither one of them does workshops and they don't seem to have an interest in getting together with anyone else. I would love to get together with some ladies several times a month to just stamp, have coffee, lunch etc, but I'm like most of you, I don't have any friends who stamp.

I understand....I meet with a stamp club as well and only ever see those ladies once a month. Then again, I think I am one of the youngest members of the group....most of them are married with kids...families and all that.

And me...it's just me and the cats....the boyfriend lives here too, but hes quiet...

Hi Katherine! I sometimes feel the same way! Does your upline live somewhere close by? Mine lives about an hour away and we stamp with the rest of the group as part of our meeting once every other month - I wish we could meet more but it's hard with family and kids schedules. My close friends are definitely not into stamping... but..I did meet someone by chance at Michael's. She was demoing the Cuttlebug and convinced me that I needed it (hehe) and then discovered excitedly that she was a fellow SU demo. She made the first move actually to invite me over to her house for a small shoebox swap and I really appreciated that gesture. I went and had a really nice time. But I don't know anyone else near by to stamp with either and spend a lot more time here on SCS and trying things out alone. Anyone in your sideline that you could meet up with?

Elena

**SNORT**

Ha ha ha ha! That is HYSTERICAL!

I am a very lucky gal. When I moved to the Toronto area from Chicago, IL, I knew no one. I decided to take an in-depth scrapbooking class at LSS just to meet people. I knew how to do everything they taught, but it was only $150 for a full weekend, and I met a great woman who lives a few blocks away from me. We exchanged numbers, etc.

Well, a few weeks later, she called me and asked me if I would teach stamping to some of her friends. I said "sure". Well, turns out she has belonged to a group of women who get together once a month and craft for 15 years, and they asked me to join! It's a hoot! We take turns going to eachothers house, pick a craft, buy the supplies, teach it, and provide dessert. Everyone pays the hostess for the supplies. Granted, some crafts are better than others, but I now have 7 "crafty" friends! Most have young kids, except one girl Jane, and she is actually coming over tomorrow for wine and stamping! :)

Anyhow, I know how hard it is to be isolated in your craft space... so, try taking a few classes at your LSS, just to meet people, even if you already know how to do everything... maybe you can even help teach the class!

[hugs}

Katherine you can come to my place to stamp but it is a long drive and swim!!!!

My only stamping friends live a fair distance from me too so I don't get to see them often unfortunately.