interesting

So I opened convo with a few sellers on Etsy who do custom stamps, so that I can get stamps for the holidays. (You don't exactly find "Yule" at the local stamp store, let alone the major chain stores.)

As part of my request, I said "Ideally, I would receive just a sheet of rubber, which I could back with cling foam and cut out myself for use with acrylic blocks."

I take this as "less work for you, less materials for you, so my cost should be a little cheaper". Makes sense, right?

Of the four sent, three replied. Two asking for more information before quoting, but the one that surprised me...

Hi Jenn~

Thank you for your interest and for waiting!

At this time we offer wood handle rubber stamps and self inking stamps, but not just the sheet of rubber. I do believe that there are other Etsy sellers that may be able to assist you.

Again thank you for contacting us!

So she won't sell me just the stamp part without mounting it on a wood handle? WHAT kind of business plan is turning away easy business? Makes no sense to me...


The main moving happens this weekend, and then I can begin unpacking all my stuff and have time to get creative again. (I hate the mad rush of packing an entire household, but I love the purging because you decide something just isn't worth packing.

... on a roll...

Not only did I finish my ATC cards, I also had time to create a dozen harvest themed notecards! (And then played around a bit with a new stamp set, but didn't end up with anything worth posting.)

The card and image base are Nature Preserve cardstock, which is 100% recycled (30% post consumer). So in addition to being pretty and crafty, they're fairly environmentally responsible. (The inks and embossing powder not so much, but I haven't found any of those yet which are.) The stamp is titled Harvest Maiden from a company called Stamp Oasis. The ink is again Ranger Distress walnut stain. (I like that it's nice and dark, but it feels more natural than black.) The lovely lady was colored with markers from Copic, Stampin Up, and Zig. Her jewels were then glittered with a Stardust glitter gel pen. There are some irregularities in the coloring, because of stray flecks of embossing powder, but I've found that I like the look it gives.



You can't really tell from the picture, because my camera tends to wash color out, but the card base is actually a nice olive green, which makes the oranges of the flowers and leaves pop quite nicely.

Now to find a source for recycled envelopes. (Would be nice if it was local!)

Aaargh!!!

Since "Talk Like a Pirate" day is this Saturday and I just found a really cute pirate set (Changito Pirates by Stampendous) on sale at Michaels recently, I decided to celebrate the lesser known holiday. Base is a precut ATC by 7 Gypsies, the paper is from CTMH 'Majestic Blue' collection. The images were stamped in Ranger Distress walnut stain (both first and second generation), with the Aaargh in CTMH grey wool, which was also inked around the edges using a large pore sponge. The walnut was also stamped across the base surface using a brillo-style sponge. Images were colored using watercolor pencils and the chest trim and compass rose center were highlighted with a Stardust glitter gel pen.


Since I've been full of ideas but lacking on execution lately, I decided to rejoin the ATC swap group at my local stamp store. True, it's a small project, but it gives me a monthly deadline.

step 1... sort of complete

Okay, so I bought my domain and hosting, now I just have to figure out how this stuff all works again. It's been WAY too long since I tried to do anything like that and I remember absolutely nothing. Sad, isn't it?

I am happy to say that I found a green hosting company - they purchase RECs to offset their usage. How awesome is that?!

baby steps

As I was responding to an email today, I decided was time to quit telling myself that I was gathering work to create a blog so that I could try to launch a web store and actually create the blog. Even if I don't have time to create every day, I can at least post stuff that I've done in the past, or document my ideas for myself...

So I bought my domain and am opening my blog. Watch out world - here I come... one baby step at a time!