Michaels...I am worried
 

Drove to ours and boy the wood stamps are on a small rack. The clear ones across are a whole lot. I love the wood stamps but it sure looks like they are going. It just makes me sick.

I don't think our Michaels have had any new wooden stamps for at least the time I have been going there.

The same thing is happening at my Michael's. Less wood stamps, tons and tons of clear stamps. Although it is the opposite for me 'cause I prefer clear (even crappy non-photopolymer) over wood...I have only bought two wood stamps from Michael's recently (they were on clearance!), but I have bought probably ten or more clear stamp sets ever since Michael's started carrying a larger selection of them.

Even if I liked using clear stamps, I wouldn't buy them from any of those big-box chain craft stores -- sitting out under fluorescent lights is supposedly bad for the polymer material, and all the stamp sets I've seen on display are turning yellow!

Oh, I LOVE wood mounted also. I also have two HObby Lobbys I can go to and three different Michael's (they are all an hour or more away). I have lots of wood/rubber dollar Michaels stamps and about 20 single Hobby Lobby stamps. I would hate to see wood/rubber stamps leave the isles.

My Michaels has gotten a lot of fabulous new clear stamps from all kinds of companies..they have also been getting really great wood mounted stamps. I have a newer store close by and at least 6 or 7 in the area. Lots of different stores that is for sure..no two are alike.
blessings.

I think M's may be stocking more clear stamps because they are cheaper and are probably selling better in this economy. I've bought a couple of Inkadinkadoo sets from M's and haven't had any issue with them turning yellow - turning inky is a whole nother thing :)

My Mikes is one of the new format stores and the rack for clear stamps is the same size as the wood stamps and like others, they just brought in new stamps and companies they didn't have before and they are selling like hot cakes.

I was in the store last week and the new stamp rack was full and this weekend is was almost empty. The closest stamp store is about 25 minutes away and there are no more scrapbook stores. Mikes is it unless you want to travel 25 - 45 minutes. Not that this is a problem, it's just that they are the only game in town for now.

Yes, but while it may look bad (yellow stamps, I mean), it doesn't affect the stamp at all. :)

Good to have your input. We are traveling next week and will find a large Michaels and enjoy strolling down the isles. LOL

My Michaels has greatly expanded its clear stamp selection and I'm happy about it. They've had some of the same wood-mount stamps since I started stamping--4 years ago. :rolleyes:

The Inkadinkado clear stamps are high quality and make great impressions, plus they have a lot of neat designs. Try them! You might like them.

I also prefer real rubber stamps to the clear stamps. I think they just give a much better impression. My michaels is also going the way of the clear stamps. They are gradually reducing the size of the WM stamps in exchange for the clear stamps. I am sure it's better to see a clear stamp set for $10-15 than a small wood mount stamp for $6; They are probably also easier to keep track of since people like to rearrange the wood stamps on the shelves.

I am glad to see the new stamp companies still go the way of rubber. I have however taken a shine to EZ mount; I like the cling ones and I store them in binders. They take up less space and give the wonderful image that rubber stamps do. Wish Michaels would sell plain rubber or ez mount stamps.

Not only does the wood mounts seem to be dwindling but the entire scrapbooking/paperscrafts section seems to be shrinking!!!

I remember going to my local Michaels and seeing the scrapbooking/papercrafts being 6 or 7 aisles wide.. now seems to have lost 2 aisles to other items. Mine has sub'ed 1 aisle for beads and 1 aisle for Kid's Fun Foam stuff. (Is fun foam crafts really that popular? //shrug//)

Michael's is just following the trends. Clear stamps, whether one likes them or not personally, (and *I* DO!), are definitely growing astronomically in popularity. They offer many things- storage, price, better ease of use, etc- that people prefer over wood mounted.

As for fewer aisles for papercrafting in general, if one reads the professional/marketing etc journals for the industry, there is no doubt that papercrafting as a hobby has already peaked and people are moving on.

The needlework industry went through the same rise and fall 10 years ago. There are still some LNS (local needlework shops) around but far fewer than 15 years ago. Where there were 7 within a 90 minute drive for me 15 years ago, now there are 3. While I never bought basic supplies at a "big box" store for stitching back in the old days, now I routinely buy needles, DMC threads etc at Michaels or wherever- the stores still open are just too far to travel for such things. I expect the same will become more and more true of papercrafting- all of the LSS within an hour of me are now closed.

This hobby is not going away, but we will see less easy access to supplies in the near future, I believe.

I wouldn't worry too much. It seems like all of the Michael's stores are on a totally different schedule from each other. I might hear about something new at somebody else's M's and start looking in my store, only to find it takes MONTHS for it to show up at mine, lol!

So, yes, even though they are really beefing up their clear stamps, they still have a large supply of wood stamps. The M's near me just restocked the wood-mounteds after having most of them on clearance for months. Now the clearance section is tiny and there's a ton of new Hero Arts, Inkadinkado and others.

i agree, i think people see one small wooden stamp for $6-$13 OR you can get 12 clear stamps for $12.00...... well it seems like you are getting more for your money with clear stamps.

my question is: why are the wooden blocks so thick? why do they need to be that big? couldnt they cut them in half and that would be more than big enough to hold on to? someone needs to tell the rubber stamp companies to come into the 21st century.

That is why I buy plain rubber too - storage and I just attach them to my acrylic blocks - I don't need the big ol' chunky wood blocks - I don't have the space for them!

My Michaels has a poor selection of both wood and clear. The wood mounted stamps are years out of date and the clear are the poor quality ones. I haven't bought a stamp at Michaels in years for this reason. 40% off of something that is either ugly or poor quality is no bargain!

The AC Moore near me has a better selection. The wood mounteds are not terribly diverse, but at least they are images from the last 1 - 3 years!! And the clear are ok, but nothing spectacular.

I've always felt that the best selection is online or at my LSS. I'm amazed how many wood mounted and clear sets that my relatively small LSS manages to carry. So many brands. I love that place!

So, I guess if your Michaels is crummy and you don't have any other options, it is online or a local demo.

Joan, I don't know if I would call Tim Holtz and Inkadinkado poor quality clear stamps... thats what my Mike's has started stocking.

I moved to clear because of money - had $10 a month to spend when I first moved and most of my "craft stuff" was in storage so clear stamps and See D's (I had kept them out of storage because of the multiple options) saved the day for me.

If I buy rubber I buy unmounted - I can get 4-5 more stamps in the space that individual wood mount takes up.

Tim Holtz is high-quality photopolymer. Inkadinkado isn't, but still stamps well for me.

That's probably why I have a preference for bare rubber don't have to worry about the clear quality but I haven't had trouble with any of the big name brands of stamps as yet.

I think for rubber as well as clear stamps, there are gradations in quality. I have some solid-image rubber stamps that are hard as heck to ink up properly, even after sanding! Also, I have some shallowly-etched rubber stamps too, that I cannot press on very hard, or the lines get "blobby". Also, I have some "rubber" stamps that I am not even sure is actually rubber - looks like cheap rubber knock-off or something... I almost never use those stamps.

Guess I have been lucky so far!

I love any stamps, but do find that Ms is only stocking the $1 wood stamps as well as tons of clear. Unfortunately their stock doesn't turn over quickly and i'm still looking at the same stamps that have been there for years!!!!

I am SO glad to hear that all these craft stores are beefing up their clear stamps.......maybe now folks will find all that they are looking for and leave SU alone in their crusade to have them offer the clear.;)

Does anyone elses Michaels still have the "class of 2005" wooden dollar stamps? I mean really....there are some in every Michaels in the area that I have been in....wonder why they got so many of that particular stamp...lol
blessings,

Well since you brought it up - I don't look at SU because they don't offer what I want in terms of stamps - bare rubber - I don't need the extras. I understand their policy and I am definitely not on a crusade to change it but given that I gave ONE company this year over $400 for just bare rubber - I think it is probably SU loss rather than my own.;)

I'm pretty certain I saw some the last time I was in... Honestly - gather those babies up and just give them to the "class of 2005"... they will be having their 5th year reunion next year!

We have at least five michael stores in the local area. (About a 75 mile radious) and only one (in Bowie, MD) has a decent store. It is the new Michael's with the scrapbooking in the middle and has a decent arry of unmounted and mounted stamps. It is bright and well laid out.

The selection is nice and I have had no problems so far with inferiour clear stamps or stamp sets.

On the other hand, if you go to Michaels on Route 1 in Laurel the store is terrible.

It is poorly laid out, the employees don't know a stamp from their shoes and try to find stuff is so much fun (not) . I was in an isle with a customer and employee, customer was looking for scissors that cut different shapes. The employee was going to send her to the sewing section. The girl told her twice she wanted the fun ones for paper.

I actually told the employee she should go sit down and rest for a while, I would be glad to help the customer. She wanted the paper shaper scissors, which is what I figured. Was able to get her what she wanted and struck up a friendship. So be on the look out, you never know when God will use you to bless some one else!

I search a Michael's high and low one day and couldn't find anything I wanted/needed... turned around and say a girl with a few things and handed her my coupon that I had printed off. You would have thought I had handed her the Chocolate Factory golden ticket! :mrgreen:

can't speak for the quality of the TH ones...but i can say they do carry a fair amount of older images. That is the biggest reason I do not buy there- by the time they get the image, it is old & out of date. Same for patterned paper. Yes, they now carry some good lines, but I have most all of it already- they get it about 1-2 years late it seems.

My Michales has a great selection of clear stamps now, love it!
just need more money :)

Sorry, but I disagree! I bought the cupcake set from Michael's when they first came in and returned it because the image lines were not solid like the packaging example. It was a defective set. I understand this can happen but it isn't the first set or clear stamp company I bought from and had the same problem.

I like the compactness of the clear stamps and the ability to align images because of transparency but the image quality and high percentage of defective stamps I have come across bothers me.

I love the ,"big Box" selection of all different types of stamps, wood or clear it does not matter. I'm a SU demo and I know that I'm not supposed to love so many other products but I do. We have several big Michael's, Joann's and Hobby Lobby so we can buy just about anything we want. I like wood stamps but I love the clear for the storage cnovenience and the cost. Our Michael's have a hugh new slection of Christmas wooden stamps. We are lucky to have the best of both worlds. I can't say I have ever seen a stamp at any of these that turned yellow.... It's all good no matter what we like or who we support in my opinion. :)

Have you check Hobby Lobby's wooden stamps lately?? They have some great new stamps!! Some of them look so much like some of SU's stamps but here you can buy them separately!! Check out the butterfly and Christmas tree stamps there! :)

Clear Stamps really are cool
 

I am a consultant for the "other" stamping company CTMH.
I absolutely love our clear stamps. Storage is easy, stamp placement is easy and they are very high quality. I have some clear stamps purchased at Robert's and Michael's but they just don't compare. Quality does make a big difference. I would never purchase wood mounted rubber stamps again. I like being able to see exactly where my image is going and what kind of ink coverage I have before I stamp.
If you've never tried clear, give it a chance! But use something high quality.

I have used CTMH before but have not bought any in a very long time. I find the clear stamps by Penny Black, Crafty secrets and most other companies are very good. I think that is why the clear stamps are so popular because they are good. I agree with the comment that there are stamps out there that really resemble Su stamps and for a fraction of the price. Hobby Lobby has incredible sales on the stamps also..Hard to pass up a deal at 50% off....:)