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I haven't had the desire to stamp in a VERY long time. I did not send out Christmas cards this year because I just couldn't get myself to sit down and stamp but I felt too guilty to purchase store made cards. I did stamp some tags for Christmas but it was a bit of a chore. Those tags were the last things I stamped and when I was done I cleaned up my stamp room, put everything in it's place, and haven't even gone in there since! So it's been 3 months since the last time I stamped anything.
I still love looking through the gallery here and I'm curious about how to do things but I can't bring myself to actually DO anything! What is WRONG with me? Am I "over" :shock: my stamping addiction or is this just a very tall bump in the road? Have you ever gone so long without stamping?
I'm seriously considering selling off a lot of my stamp sets (I have close to 200) and maybe some of my papers and embellishments too. They're just sitting there and I sure could use the $$$ right now. But then I'm afraid if I DO start stamping again I'll be kicking myself for what I let go... oh what a dilemma!
Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated - especially if you've been or are where I am now.
I've been kinda in a slump too. I've got so many other committments that I haven't taken the time to sit down and just do it! I think my problem is a combo of not having a large enough space at home to feel comfortable stamping and also that I am a good copier, but have a hard time coming up with ideas on my own. I stress when I have to do a card for card club, I can sit at my desk for hours stressing about what stamp set to use, then what color combos look good etc. So people just have a knack and can whip beautiful creations out without batting an eye!
Maybe you need to join a group and stamp/scrapbook with people. I like doing this cause it's social and you can also bounce ideas off eachother. I have finally started up a scrapbooking night once a month at a local store and have invited a bunch of friends and hope to get a kick in the pants from that. Our first night is the end of the month. Seems like that's the only time I get anything done. Don't sell them off yet, you may kick yourself later!
mommj
You wrote my paragraph. your first paragraph is me exactly, minus all the commitments. I don't even have that excuse. I also spend WAY too much time on SCS.
I would say just hang on to them for a while yet. I think winter has just been too long and we just need some sunshine to cheer us up and get us motivated again.
I haven't had the desire to stamp in a VERY long time. I did not send out Christmas cards this year because I just couldn't get myself to sit down and stamp but I felt too guilty to purchase store made cards. I did stamp some tags for Christmas but it was a bit of a chore. Those tags were the last things I stamped and when I was done I cleaned up my stamp room, put everything in it's place, and haven't even gone in there since! So it's been 3 months since the last time I stamped anything.
I still love looking through the gallery here and I'm curious about how to do things but I can't bring myself to actually DO anything! What is WRONG with me? Am I "over" :shock: my stamping addiction or is this just a very tall bump in the road? Have you ever gone so long without stamping?
I'm seriously considering selling off a lot of my stamp sets (I have close to 200) and maybe some of my papers and embellishments too. They're just sitting there and I sure could use the $$$ right now. But then I'm afraid if I DO start stamping again I'll be kicking myself for what I let go... oh what a dilemma!
Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated - especially if you've been or are where I am now.
It sounds like you're just in a slump. Maybe a class or workshop would inspire you to try something new. It could also be that you were feeling so overwhelmed at the prospect of making a lot of Christmas cards that it turned you off to stamping for awhile. I wouldn't sell of anything just yet - unless, of course, you intend to replace it all with new stuff right away. :mrgreen:
is there a project that might get you excited about it again? maybe not stamping cards, but making name frames, or altering lunch boxes to give as gifts (or donate to a nursing home or children's ward to make them smile), or making a scrapbook for someone (or yourself)?? I was thinking if there was something "out of the box" it might help you get your mojo back without the pressure! good luck!
I go through phases like this, but being in 2 monthly stamp clubs helps an awful lot. Also, the Cuttlebug revved things up a bit for me. I get distracted by the computer, by looking, by shopping online, and by reading blogs. Reading blogs is the only one that is very helpful. I do get inspired and try the techniques. But, if I stamped as much as I thought about, read about it, and organized things, I would really be stamping. I let my stamping mag subscriptions go as they were not helping anything. One thing that has helped is to find a newbie who wants to learn stamping. I enjoy doing that and it brings life back to my stamping. I do go through phases though where I stamp heavily. I stamped more in December than any other time in the year. Had a good time with Valentine's too. When my work overwhelms me sometimes I hardly have the energy to get the stuff out.
I am right there with you!! I have not made anything real productive since Thanksgiving time, and I question myself almost on a daily basis if I will ever really get back into it. Like you, I would hate to let all that I have go, only to be inspired down the line, once I have sold all that I have. I have no real answer, hobbies and interests change over time... What was once a source of relaxation and fun, has become somewhat of a chore. When I do sit down to create something, it feels forced, so I just put it away. Hoping in time I feel motivated to get back into it, cause I love it! Will be looking on here for some good insight, right along with you!!
I think everyone goes through that at one time or another. I got so burnt out from making cards before Christmas i couldn't make anymore till recently. I thought about getting rid of alot of my stamp sets too. I only keep my demoship because of the cardstock which i shouldn't and i should give that up too but go back to stamping things for you. I think stamp clubs and stuff like that are too much of a time committment. Maybe just make a cup of warm cocoa and pull out some of your favorite stamps and see what you come up with. Definately don't push it if you don't feel like it. Maybe you just need a couple months break, i found that's what helped me the best. Its so easy to get burnt out doing this. I still do more collecting than anything.
I've been kinda in a slump too. I've got so many other committments that I haven't taken the time to sit down and just do it! I think my problem is a combo of not having a large enough space at home to feel comfortable stamping and also that I am a good copier, but have a hard time coming up with ideas on my own. I stress when I have to do a card for card club, I can sit at my desk for hours stressing about what stamp set to use, then what color combos look good etc. So people just have a knack and can whip beautiful creations out without batting an eye!
Maybe you need to join a group and stamp/scrapbook with people. I like doing this cause it's social and you can also bounce ideas off eachother. I have finally started up a scrapbooking night once a month at a local store and have invited a bunch of friends and hope to get a kick in the pants from that. Our first night is the end of the month. Seems like that's the only time I get anything done. Don't sell them off yet, you may kick yourself later!
I have a hard time also coming up with my own ideas. I case an awful lot from this site. I haven't tried this yet, but why don't you try some of the challenges. A lot of the people have said that it really helps them to be creative. I work outside the home fulltime so by the time I get home in the evening, I don't want to make cards or do anything else. I do want to try the challenges, but usually miss them because I don't think about them until I have seen a card or two and then I think it's too late to join a challenge.
__________________ Sandy~
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I was in the same place as you most of last year with my stamping and scrapbooking. Just couldn't get inspired to do it. But a close friend and I started getting together regularly to crop (and stamp). We even got involved with a challenge with some other friends for a 'use up our scrap kits challenge.' And my friend and I planned to make an art journal together with stamping and paper crafting. All those things pretty much pulled me out of my slump funk quick! And looking back on it, I'm so glad I did not sell all my SB and stamp stash! I would have been pretty sick right now if I had (and trust me, I thought about it many times when it was just sitting there unused).
Maybe what got me out of the slump I was in, will help you, too...? :-)
I have not sat down and stamped or created since before Christmas. And like others mentioned, I got together with my stamping girlfriends this weekend and worked on a few projects and that totally inspired me. I went down to my stamping area today and played with some things for a while. So I think getting together with other people or taking a class could do wonders for you. I know that it helped me.
Thanks ya'll! I appreciate your feedback. I did just look into signing up for a local event here in GA... not sure if there's room left but hopefully there is. That will force me into my stamping room to come up with a shoebox swap and then get me "out there", even though I won't know a soul there (yikes)! Stampers are usually a pretty friendly bunch so I'm going to give it a go and see what happens!
Now the stress of "what to create" will set in!! ha ha ...
About the stress of what to create...I bet your stress level will go down if you stay off the internet for a while and don't plan on posting what you make. I know that helps me!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I'm in slumps many times and I totally agree with Joan. Now that I have a blog, I feel even more pressure to produce (and it's not like I'm even in the top 100). I just think I need to find some time to stamp for fun. So what I do is join swaps so that I *have* to stamp.
Then, I go through phases where there just aren't enough hours in the day to stamp. Hang in there. If you feel you must sell, first look at what you haven't used in a year, then look at what you got as impulse buys cuz everyone else at SCS had them, and finally look at what you really truly love and if it was the only set you had left to stamp with, how would you feel?
__________________ Kathy
Proud Mama to Mason 4/3/99, Miles 5/25/02, and Maya 8/26/04
I haven't had the desire to stamp in a VERY long time. I did not send out Christmas cards this year because I just couldn't get myself to sit down and stamp but I felt too guilty to purchase store made cards. I did stamp some tags for Christmas but it was a bit of a chore. Those tags were the last things I stamped and when I was done I cleaned up my stamp room, put everything in it's place, and haven't even gone in there since! So it's been 3 months since the last time I stamped anything.
I still love looking through the gallery here and I'm curious about how to do things but I can't bring myself to actually DO anything! What is WRONG with me? Am I "over" :shock: my stamping addiction or is this just a very tall bump in the road? Have you ever gone so long without stamping?
I'm seriously considering selling off a lot of my stamp sets (I have close to 200) and maybe some of my papers and embellishments too. They're just sitting there and I sure could use the $$$ right now. But then I'm afraid if I DO start stamping again I'll be kicking myself for what I let go... oh what a dilemma!
Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated - especially if you've been or are where I am now.
Mass production (beyond 6) of the same thing would kill anybody's creative drive--it certainly kills mine! I am happiest when I create unique single products, as opposed to multiples.
I am going to give myself permission for the future to NOT stamp my holiday cards, but make personalized gifts for family and friends during the season. :mrgreen:
I found myself feeling obligated to hand-stamp my holiday greetings because it had become "expected" by folks--and dreading it!
After a lot of thought, I realized that I have enough expectations and demands placed on my work-related stamping, that I don't want the same for my personal stamping. So . . . I am liberating myself! ;)
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I totally understand your situation. A couple of years ago we lived in an apartment and I had no room to stamp. I had a desk stuck in my living room, but would be too distracted. We bought a house and I was so excited about having a stamp room! We moved in October and my stamp room was the last thing I set up (my DH said something about needing a place to sleep and the kitchen set up for eating??). ;) I didn't make cards for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Valentine's Day. I also neglected my family birthdays for that time period. Finally around last March I signed up for a 6 mo stamp club and that motivated me to set up my room. Now I LOVE it! It is my haven where I can close the door, turn on a chick flick, and stamp away. I work full time and our house is a "fixer-upper," so there's not as much time for stamping as I would like. I didn't sell my things during that time because I knew that there were other things going on. Something about taking a break from stamping completely seemed to give me more inspiration when I came back. I stamp differently than before - and I enjoy it so much! Hang in there and the passion will come back before you know it!
Mass production (beyond 6) of the same thing would kill anybody's creative drive--it certainly kills mine!
I like mass production! I like pretending that I am the CEO of my Card Factory (what I call my stamping room) and am rolling out the season's newest card.
What gets me stamping is a self-imposed ban from the computer.
Mass production (beyond 6) of the same thing would kill anybody's creative drive--it certainly kills mine! I am happiest when I create unique single products, as opposed to multiples.
Me too Julie ... I like change and it bums me out to be a one-woman assembly line! I friend of mine at work today had a good idea for me though ... she said - why don't you stamp like 5 Christmas cards at a time and then by Christmas time you'll have plenty to go 'round! She's not even a stamper and I thought that was a GREAT idea! I have SO many Christmas stamps ... I bought new A Muse stamps this past year and didn't even use them ('cept for tags).
You all have given me some good advice and I'm taking it! I've signed up for a local get-together, I'm *trying* to limit my time on-line and I have a shoebox swap to prepare for as well as my 5 Christmas cards this month! I'm feeling better now ... just need to take that first step into my stampin' room now .....
I find myself being intimidated by some of the artwork I see on this site. I'll make something and be totally disappointed in it. I feel like I can't compare to the artists here, so then I get in a big slump. I find that I get more creative when I spend time away from SCS.
Dina
One thing that helps me stay off SCS is to set a timer. If I do such and such (clean, declutter, etc.) I get 30 minutes on line. I also do this when I feel uninspired...I set a timer and just play with paper and color for 30 min.
I also set color challenges for myself--I get out my color coach and choose a combination outside of my most used colors.
TJ, there's a Christmas Card Challenge here on SCS to do exactly that! Decide how many cards you need by December and do so many each month; no more panicking in December! Challenges, where someone else gives you a starting point might be helpful to someone in a slump too; not so much pressure to do 'everything'!
__________________ If you get and appreciate comments, leave comments! Pay it forward....You'll make someones day!
I am right there with you!! I have not made anything real productive since Thanksgiving time, and I question myself almost on a daily basis if I will ever really get back into it. Like you, I would hate to let all that I have go, only to be inspired down the line, once I have sold all that I have. I have no real answer, hobbies and interests change over time... What was once a source of relaxation and fun, has become somewhat of a chore. When I do sit down to create something, it feels forced, so I just put it away. Hoping in time I feel motivated to get back into it, cause I love it! Will be looking on here for some good insight, right along with you!!
Hey I have been wondering where you were I always check your gallery! I love your cards!! Hope you make some more soon...I am going to see if you have made any today.....
i find I go through stages too, i try and go btn scrapbooking and cards, i have also found that now that I have a workshop, i can work on something for a little bit and just get up and leave it and come back at another time without having to clean up....
For me, I found participating in swaps to be a nice way to get me to pull out my stamps and do some fun things with them. Sometimes, just having to make one card for a birthday or other celebration is just too much work and clutter. If I have to do several then it seems to be a good enough reason to pull everything out. Also, the theme of the swap helps me focus on the project and I can pop them out and feel I've accomplished something.
I've been stamping for about 3 years. I've been through several slumps, some that lasted 3-4 months, but I always come out of them. Sometimes casing something I really like the looks of gets the juices flowing again. Sometimes I've even been away from SCS, but coming back and perusing the gallery will inspire me, especially if I have a specific project I need to do. Don't sell out unless your slumps lasts for more than a year!
__________________ Cindy
"Just when I think I have all the stamps I need... I get a new catalog in the mail!"
Sometimes we go through a creative slump...Ive been there lots of times. Just walk away from the stamps and let it be....you will come back to them in time. I went months once without stamping. Dont sell off your stamps....I have heard of girls who didnt stamp for years, and then they picked it back up again.
Hang in there...your creative juices will flow again.
I am right there with you!! I have not made anything real productive since Thanksgiving time, and I question myself almost on a daily basis if I will ever really get back into it. Like you, I would hate to let all that I have go, only to be inspired down the line, once I have sold all that I have. I have no real answer, hobbies and interests change over time... What was once a source of relaxation and fun, has become somewhat of a chore. When I do sit down to create something, it feels forced, so I just put it away. Hoping in time I feel motivated to get back into it, cause I love it! Will be looking on here for some good insight, right along with you!!
Someone else mentioned having missed you of late, and I just wanted to say that I had been, too. {{{hugs}}}
A visit to your gallery is like breathing in clean, fresh air, for my own creative spirit.
I dabbled in a wide variety of creative pursuits, before getting into stamping, and, for me it was "the one" that grabbed hold, and never let me go. I did enjoy my dabblings in the others, but, they never had a "magical" effect on me.
The only thing I can figure on why it did so much, when others did not, was the instant gratification factor: I could make a finished card in 15-20 minutes, but I couldn't make a porcelain painting, crochet an afgan, or pretty much anything else within that time frame.
I am also exceedingly linear sequential; it is excruciatingly difficult for me to start on another project without finishing the first one--and juggling multiple projects, each at different stages of development, is basically creative purgatory for me, because of that.
I think every artist goes through "drought" phases, where the muse is silent . . . it's OK to take time out, and leave it alone, until she wakes up again! ;)
Sometimes, I think:
If I sold off all my stamps and my paper, and well, everything, what's the worst that could happen, if I decided to get back into it later on?
I'd get to go shopping all over again . . . hmmmmmmmm. How bad would that be? chuckle!
;)
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I had to get rid of some stuff to feel motivated. Hoarding was my problem! When I first started stamping......I bought a little/lot of everything from everywhere! I couldn't leave a store without visiting the craft section...and if it was on clearance, I had to have it! It was overwhelming and boy was I po'd to finish a project and then run across the perfect embellishments for it where I had otherwise improvised. I didn't realize how much paper, unmounted stamp sets, embellishments, stickers....I had. I counted over 100 packs of vellum stickers and have never used a sticker on a card yet. Sell some of it. It brightens me up to get rid of something I never use and use the $$$ to buy something I've been wanting. I cleaned up my paper....gave alot of the cheap stuff to my kids for their projects and I don't buy anything I don't need. My hobby store 40% off coupons usually go to adhesive...and I use things up until they are gone. I also recently hosted a SCRAP SWAP and we had a ball using up our scraps on similar but not identical projects. Hope you get your inspiration back!
Julie said it! We all have our "droughts", but don't sweat it. Take the time you need away from it. I was recently in a slump of nearly 3 months!
I always tell myself "I yam what I yam" (wish I had that stamp):mrgreen: As long as you like what you make it makes no difference what anyone else thinks. You see people use the same 3-4 sketches w/ their cards..it's their comfort zone or one might call it "back to basics" and they are your no fail always looks great sketch!
I have dabbled in a few different crafts: I do stamping, scrapbooking, sewing, crochet handtowels and make hangers. I have a few favorites crafts that I do so when I get in a slump I can go to another so I still feel creative.
My DH sees it as hoarding more stuff :twisted:
TJ Stamper...DO NOT FEEL BAD! Not only did I not stamp cards, I didn't even decorate this Christmas!! Not the house, not the tree, nothin'! I too am in a slump. I went to a crop a few weeks ago and had a ton of fun and haven't done a thing since. I keep telling myself we all go through this and I think we do. So, my advice, like you need any more, sit back and let it flow. The inspiration will come back...probably with a change in weather! So, TJ, join me in my slump...we will be back and we will be better than ever!! Good luck, your stamps will be lonely but I promise they won't leave you!!
I was first introduced to stamping by a friend who had been in it for 25 years. She gave me some die cuts and some blocks of wood, and I learned about indexing, etc. Then I found out about embossing and bought a heat gun. Then I got into pop up cards. Soon after I got into pen pals, then chain letters...AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!! (This was before I was introduced to Stampin' Up.) I had spread myself way too thin, plus every time I wanted to make a card, I felt like I had to go to the stamp store! Enough already! I packed up everything and shipped it to my sister in the Midwest. I said, here, you can have my headache. She told me, you might get it back. Well, a few years later, I was invited to a Stampin' Up party. My husband said, you need a hobby. I told him that if I went, I wasn't buying anything. When I saw how Stampin' Up delivers their product and how much less expensive it all was, I was soon buying a few sets. A while later, I spoke with my sister and she asked me if I wanted all that stamping stuff back. I was in a creative zone again, and said that would be nice. When I got it back, it was SO COOL! It felt like Christmas! I oh'd and aw'd at the different ones I had completely forgotten about! Soon after this, I fell into what I call 'creativity desolation'. It was awful. Again, hubby to the rescue...I had done some research on stamping magazines and so we were off to Barnes & Noble. I couldn't decide on which magazine and sweet Steve told me to get both. I was elated! I am very blessed to have a husband who wants me to have a hobby and even supports it! (Especially since I am currently unemployed - but this month was my birthday and he gave me a decent amount to spend!) It really helped dissolve the creative desolation I was in by getting these magazines and reading different articles. I have a few copies of RSM, some of RubberStamper and one of Stampler's Sampler. I have some favorite articles I have bookmarked. Plus, our local library allows older RSM to be checked out for a week at a time...how cool is that?! The moral of this story is, find out what you really like it stamping and then stamp it! Mine is coloring...what's yours?
[quote=JulieHRR]If I sold off all my stamps and my paper, and well, everything, what's the worst that could happen, if I decided to get back into it later on?
I'd get to go shopping all over again . . . hmmmmmmmm. How bad would that be? chuckle! /quote]
Julie - you are SO bad!! I'm a "closet collector"... so this would be great fun for me! Even when I'm not stamping ... I'm STILL buying. Ugh - it's an illness.
I'm dusting off my stampin' stuff this weekend to get ready for my local event and try to design a Christmas Card for 2007. Wish me luck and thanks, everybody, for your support and kind words. I really apprecaite it. I feel MUCH better now and I won't be selling my stuff just yet!
I go through this every so often. It just depends upon what is going on in my life. Job stress seems to make a huge dent in my creativity. Planning a wedding did too... not to mention packing stuff up and moving.
Whatever you do, DON'T decide that you are "done" with stamping. The urge WILL come back.
I got back into stamping by taking a few stamping classes here and there. It was nice to get together with other people with an interest in stamping. I also resubscribed to the "Rubberstamper" magazine.. I had let that lapse during one of my moves.
Kimberly
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
I really don't have time to read through the whole post, but I have to tell you, this is exactly how I feel!! I have been talking to my girlfriend back home (my bestest stamping buddy) and I have come to a conclusion. I sit and look at all the beautiful stuff that is posted on SCS everyday, add this and that to my favs all the time, buy new stuff, collect all sorts of things to alter etc. But in the end, I feel like I can't even come close to comparing, or I can't even come up with my own ideas. Then when I actually make something, I never feel like it is good enough..........I don't know how to get over all of this. If anyone has any suggestions, short of not looking at SCS (not an option!! LOL) speak up, and hurry up too!! LOL
__________________ Jennifer Hensley
Beech Grove, IN
Hang in there, girl. I went over a year without stamping! I'm just now getting back into it and while I've done some stamping and coloring, I'm still not able to get the oomph to actually DO anything with the images. I made one card a week or so ago and I'm so ashamed of it I wish I'd trashed it! But, it's a start
So, don't despair and don't get rid of your stash just yet. If there are things you didn't use even when you had the urge, that's okay but if you make a drastic cut, I'm afraid you'll regret it.
Have you tried getting together with some others for a "stamp night" or such? That might help...you may need to "fake it till you make it"
