#1: By now, most of you are aware of the Data Protection and Privacy Policy that is being talked about and added to blogs. I wasn't sure if I needed it, but I added a page to include it. See the tab above. I copied and pasted the wording that has been made available, changing only the parts pertinent to my blog.
#2: Email notification of blog comments. As of this writing that handy feature has disappeared. I hope it's temporary. Since there may be a few bloggers who haven't heard of the fix yet, I wanted to pass along that tidbit. In order to receive email notifications, comment on your own post and then be sure to click the box right below your name in the "choose an identity" section. The box is labeled "follow-up comments will be sent to (your email address)". I hope this helps those of you who were yet unaware of the fix.
Okay, moving along to the fun stuff...
Just a little something that kept me away from stamping for a little bit. I've done another stamp purge and reorganization. Tough choices were made, but living in the real world of a smallish stamp room with limited storage space, this is the way it must be.
I can't possibly use all the stamps I've collected. The drawer pictured below holds 22 stamps, and I have 24 drawers like this stuffed full of stamps. There are also several shelves of Stampin' Up, two baskets of Power Poppy, and four boxes of miscellaneous holiday stamps -- Valentines, St. Pat's, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.
Pictured below is my basket of not yet used stamps. It's not bad, really. Two are sentiments and two are sets I've used all but one stamp each. Three sets are Christmas and will be used in due time. I was making good progress. Then along came the latest Power Poppy release. Hey, it's their first since before Christmas and I do use my Power Poppy over and over again. As if I was not going to get the new Power Poppy, sheesh! Some I already have in digital. Oh, yes... not pictured are the digital stamps I've not yet used. Actually, their number has dwindled considerably. Again... progress. Relatively speaking.
But then there are the not yet used dies. To be fair, some are seasonal, purchased on a super sale, and their season has not yet come. Others I have specific plans for, but, honestly, with this many stamps and dies it takes a while to get around to everything.
So... now that I've bared all I'm hoping I'll produce so many cards you'll get tired of seeing them. Every card I make finds a home. Most are mailed by me. Some are given to friends. Occasionally I sell a batch. I can never make enough to keep up with needs.
Just thought it would be fun to do this post.
So, what's your story? Do you have a not yet used hoard or do you use it as soon as you get it? Are you loving on the old stamps once in a while, too? Do tell, please! Back to stamping shortly. I'm glad you could visit today and I'll see you again soon!
22 comments:
gee, thanks for the info on comment emails. I had no idea as I'm sort of out of it anyway!! I routinely get rid of stamps. Storage issues and inability to create with too much stuff around me. sometimes I think I'd be happier with 10 sets only but then I get a grip!
I did this too, and then participated in a local craft sale at the mall. They have it every year, so it's really been helping me purge and organize. And yet, I too have a basket full of things I have not had time to use. It keeps growing. My eyes are bigger than my stomach...haha!
I'm glad you mentioned the new EU thing. I haven't done anything about it yet either. As for new dies....afraid they get opened, labeled & put away the same day I get them & also used the same day. They are an addiction & getting new dies (like I am today) is a cause for a happy dance! I also keep a complete inventory of them. I know...I'm anal. With over 900 it helps me to see before I buy another new one that I might already have but have just not used a lot.
I have TONS of old, old stamps that I will NEVER get rid of. I still use all of them. When I moved to Lincoln from Sioux City, I had to purge boxes & boxes of them and just gave them away to my stamping friends. Now I miss some of them! Lesson learned! ha ha But they were all extremely happy!
If I get a new stamp or digi, it gets colored up the same day.....I know...that anal thing again. What can I say! ha ha
Sherri, you're so good! I'm pretty good about organizing and keeping track of what I have, but I'm like Laurie -- eyes are bigger than my stomach -- always have big plans and then not enough time. Love these stories. Thanks, everyone, for sharing your story!
I guess I'll have to figure out if I should add that to my blog or not. I haven't done anything about it yet:( I try to use my new things before I put them away, but sometimes they just sit around too long and I just file them away. I haven't gotten rid of much of anything since I started stamping over sixteen years ago!
Glad you could use the policy, Leslie, and thanks for passing on the info about the comments, too! I just figured adding the page was easy, so why not so then it's off my mind. That fix of commenting on my own post is a bit of a pain, so I hope they fix it soon.
As to reorg, I sometimes think I love that more than I do stamping! Nothing makes me happier than a good go-through. It's also practical. Since I don't like clutter, I try to keep my NBUS out in a basket(s) until it's used but pretty soon I start to get hives and everything has to be labeled and put in its place. And THEN, wallah, I totally forget I own things! Sadly, my resident hamster therapist hasn't helped me one bit with this conundrum!
Last spring I finally went through all my wooden stamps and gave away or dewooded 98% of them. (Two preschool/elementary school teachers were thrilled to get them!) I never thought I would do it, but with the MISTI it was silly not to and I love it! More space now for clear stamps, bwahaha! Hugs, Darnell
For the last few years I have been purging mostly wood mounted stamps as I find them harder to work with. But yes, I still have way to many and a lot of stamps that have not even had ink on them as well. Oh, and that same thing goes for my dies too. So in the last few years I have given lots of my stamps away to others. Some had never done cards before in their lives but I am so happy that by giving them my stamps they are now addicted to the hobby too. So at least the pain of giving up some awesome stamps was relieved when I found out they were being well loved. I just had no room anymore for a lot of them. I still have lots of unmounted ones in notebooks I should downsize on too. But maybe another year that will happen. And, if you are addicted to stamping like I am, having too many still does not stop me from buying more. LOL But it is an addiction I don't plan on quitting soon if I can help it. I enjoy my card making too much.
that's quite a dew stamps going going gone... I only have 1 small 6 drawer tower of wood mounted stamps. Everything else are unmounted rubber, clear stamps or foam mounted stamps. Whether I use them or not, can't part with any... But there isn't one stamp I haven't at least stamped once, since I keep a database of all my stamps and other products I purchase. Haven't gotten in to purchasing digi images. Have a great day
Hi, Leslie. Well, the good news is that you really don't have to do anything about at the GDPR. Google has done it for us. My hubby visited my blog (making it appear that he was from another country), and he got the appropriate warning at the top that we've been seeing from the EU countries. So you really don't need that.
Blogger (Google) is working on a fix for the comments. Until then, I just visit my "comments awaiting approval" to be sure they are all approved (or marked as spam). I am sure they are working on a fix that will come through eventually. But that's a great temporary "fix" until they resolve it. Thanks!
As to stamps and dies and everything...I am a mess! I am very organized and unmounting a lot of stamps that I love and will keep. I was using Tack It Over & Over, but now I am not. If I want to use a plain rubber stamp, I just use a glue stick for my MISTI and then clean it off. Saving me a lot of work. I am finally using Evernote and love it. It's really been helping me find a particular stamp, and I've been adding notes. For example, Verve has notes about the sentiments and sizes of their stamps. I copy and paste that into Evernote below the image of the stamp set. Wonderful! But I need to continue to purge more. Interestingly, I have a box filled with stamps that is going to our church card ministry. Yay! I am not like Sherri, who uses it as soon as she gets it. My good friend does that, and I highly commend them both. I would love to do that. It's a great way to make sure the stamp makes a good impression, which doesn't always happen.
Thanks for sharing this post. It is really helpful, and I know there will be lots of other thoughts that I will check back and read. Hugs!
Hi! It's so disappointing about the notification option being disabled. The best way to bombard Google about this is in our dashboard. At the bottom right is an orange tab that says FEEDBACK. Click on that and leave the pertinent information. Usually, when I do that, things are resolved within the week. So far, that hasn't happened with the comment notification. I encourage every blogger to leave feedback!
Love your purging - I need to do a bit more, too. Like you, I have a "not used" section that includes my dies and stamps - but my SNS and Stampendous stamps are kept in separate containers, so there are many unused stamps there, too LOL
I always enjoy your personal sharing, Leslie. It's like conversing on the phone, or sitting in your home chatting.
Wishing you a fantastic summer! We are in the process of installing a "whole house" generator, which should be completed within 2 weeks. I never recovered from Hurricane Irma, so we're hopeful that this will make life easier on Jack, and better for me. Then we will sell our other generators. I've also been busy doing some of the ickier house cleaning things which require "deep cleaning". It takes longer these days LOL - my snapdragons are seeding from the heat - hopefully there will be lots of volunteers again next winter. My other flowers and caladiums are looking good, and lots of pollinators are enjoying themselves, including hummingbirds! The veggie garden has produced tons of peppers, squash, sunflowers and beans. Now we have a few tomatoes straggling, lots of peppers, and are growing okra (I love it roasted) and creamer peas. By the end of July, it will be too hot for anything to grow until November.
Thinking of you so fondly, Leslie, and wishing you well. xx
I don't purge often but I do keep buying stamps & dies & paper, etc. So, I finally filled two boxes of mostly SU stamp sets and may just try and sell them at a yard sale this summer. I don't know what else to do with them and don't know where I can donate them! I go to a stamp show every year and come home with lots of new goodies and need more room for them! My stamp room isn't going to get any bigger so I need to make room by getting rid of stamps I don't use! My taste has changed over the 19 years I have been stamping and it feels good to make room for new things. I, too, keep new stamps & dies in a basket until I use them - and sometimes even move to another basket! I know if I put them away, I'll forget I even have them!!! Thanks for all you share on your blog - always enjoy reading it!!
I also have done this GDPR Leslie, was told we as bloggers did`nt need it! but went ahead anyway, rather be safe than sorry..
I`m also leaving a comment now on my posts as I miss my email notifications.
Recognise some of my unused stamps there lol.
Hugs Pam x
Reorganization and purging is always tough for me. I never want to let anything go. I always think I will be able to use it for something along the way! I always save my scraps as well, but when they get out of control I have been donating them to Jennifer's daycare and Sunday class. They love having them for all their cute projects they do with the kids. Stamps are another issue - I will have to work on that one! LOL! Have a great week.
Thanks for the tip about the emails-wow and I thought I had a lot of stuff I will never use--actually I recently lost my craft to a bedroom-I know priority-so with everything down one wll in our bedroom stuff had to go-I gave absolutely loads away to our grandaughters school who have an after school craft club and I still have must have stamps and dies not even used and papers which will take another lifetime to use!!!Hoarders??? never let it be said of crafters in their hearing anyway lol
Carol x
I think you are so strong to be able to part with your stamps. I keep trying, but they find their way back to me. LOL!
Thanks for the email notification tip. I have noticed I wasn't getting any notifications of comments, but didn't realize why that was happening. Maybe I'll be able to figure it out.
I sure do hope these problems get resolved quickly with blogger it is such a pain, I don't like that we can't respond through email on post either.
Good for you to clear out your old stamps. I have such a hard time doing that, but I really need to I am running out of room. Your garden stamps there looks like a fun assortment to play with.
Look forward to seeing the cards you come up with all the goodies you have yet to use.
I have a couple baskets of stamps I have yet to use, one of them are the ones I have bought at the yard sale at LSS but the dies I have all put away, so not sure how many of them I have. I do like to go through my old stamps and use them in between using my new stuff, spread the love :)
I love that you are sharing your re-organizing with us, Leslie! Your pile of unused new stamps is smaller than mine. I did a big purge when we moved into this smaller house. My daughter handed me each stamp set one at a time. If it brought me joy, I got to keep it. Ever heard of Kon-Mari's organizing tips, lol?
Truly, having less did really help me feel less cluttered and free to enjoy USING the stamps I have. I've bought plenty more, and it's time for another purge soon! I so admire you for finding a home for all the cards you make. Mine are in little piles, and a few boxes. We will never get tired of seeing your cards!
Oh Leslie..if only I could even organize the items that I haven't used...but cannot stand to part with! My space is a cave and I MUST do something about it! (Is there something I have to do on my blog for this new privacy thing? I thought it was kind of an automatic addition by Blogger. Guess I need to read everything again.)
Oh Leslie, I’m with you on the confusion over this EU thing. I’ve read different articles and it honestly leaves me more confused! And ditto to the blogger issue too. I can’t WAIT to see what you do with Power Poppy goodness! I’ve honestly planned on going through all my “stuff” purging and sorting and giving away things, and then sometimes it seems too overwhelming to start! But I’d love a more simplified supply as I don’t have dedicated studio.
Always happy to see what you create friend!
Well I have to admit I don't purge my stamp room too much at all, but the rest of my house is another story. I have been cleaning out everything and have made numerous trips to the Goodwill, in fact my car is loaded int he back right now. I have been trying to re-organize my room starting with my stamps, someday I will do a post about it, I did by the 3 sizes of Avery Elle stamp bags and have been transferring most of my stamps to those including SU that I have peeled form the wood blocks. My dies I use notebooks and magnetic sheets, organized by theme the best I can, but it makes for LOTS of notebooks!! I was drooling over all those stamps too..you have lots like me!!
I definitely need to have a clear out... Okay, I have to share my room with club stuff too and that means keeping a lot of things... As for new stuff... Yes I have lots never yet used and I think I'm starting to forget what I do have and where I have it LOL!
It has been so interesting reading everyone's comments as well as yours Leslie. I feel like I have a lot of stamps, (very few dies due to cost), but I have next to nothing compared with three of my friends. I still purge though. Usually wood mounted stamps. I've never bothered to take them off & put them in a binder. Might be a good idea though. I tend to get something & put it away immediately as I like things neat. That being said, my stamps haven't been organized by category or supplier, so really, I even have a hard time remembering what I have. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. lol One tip I may suggest is if a person is feeling overwhelmed by the sheer size of the job, put a timer on for 1/2 an hour & when it goes off, leave the room & reward yourself with a cup of tea, coffee, or a glass of wine, or chocolate (yum) or just sitting outside in the fresh air. Whatever makes you feel good. Don't "grade" yourself on whether you think you got enough done either. :)
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