I’ve been stamping for about ten years now and almost from the start I bought more unmounted stamps than mounted.  For these early years it was a matter of space, or rather lack of space!!  I did not have a dedicated room at that time so anytime I wanted to stamp I would bring my supplies from a closet to the kitchen table, work on a project, and then have to put everything away. 

I now have a dedicated room for stamping, but I still seek out unmounted rubber, and more often, clear stamps.

I’ve tried so many storage options for unmounted and clear and think I finally found something that works for me.

My larger stamps I keep in a three ring binder.  I can fit four backgrounds to a page – I stick the stamp on a sheet of glossy (the stamps are mounted with ez mount foam or are clear and self sticking) and place the sheet in a clear page protector.  A page with the inked image of the stamps is placed on the opposite side. 

For my smaller stamps or stamps that come in a set, I needed something better.  I tried the CD cases that seemed to be all the rage, but I quickly gave up on them.  First, the CD cases were just too flimsy.  After opening and closing them a few times the case would break.  Plus, they were too small.  I had to use two CD cases for some stamp sets and some sets had a main image that did not work in a CD case.  I then switched to soft plastic boxes.  This solved the size issue, but the boxes were not sturdy enough and did not hold up well in my stamp room.

Then I found these clear hinged boxes.  WOW – what a difference!!  I love these and think this is my storage solution!!  Here is what I love about them:

Material:  The boxes are clear rigid plastic that hold up well.  They are hinged so they open up and lay flat.

Size:  At 4 x 6 these hold my clear stamp sets perfectly.  Flourishes stamps (and some of the other clears that are popular) come in 4 x 6 and 8 x 6 sizes.  Two 4 x 6 sets fit in these – one on each side.  Here is a photo of two Christmas sets in one box.  For the larger 8 x 6 sets, just sort out your pieces and split half on one side and half on the other side.   The depth of these boxes total ½” with ¼” on each side – a perfect depth for stamps!  I used a label maker to  attach labels to the boxes so that I can find them quickly.   

Unmounted rubber fits in these as well.  The only additional step I do with my unmounted rubber is to stamp the images on a piece of paper that was cut to the size of the box so that I have view of what is in the box

These boxes are now available at Flourishes and come in packs of six.  Six boxes will hold twelve 4 x 6 sets.

Monday is Jan Marie’s birthday and we are having a celebration over at the Flourishes Forum on SCS and giving out prizes!.

Here is an ATC I recently made for a swap.  These little works of art are so much fun to make!  I especially like the fact that you can use up alot of your scraps when you make these.

This one started with an apricot base onto which I added a piece of Basic Grey Romani paper.   Although you really can’t tell because most of the decorative paper is covered, I did match the colors with light blues and shades of apricot.  I stamped the images, all from the Sweet Treats set from Flourishes, in Palette Noir ink and colored first with prisma, then added more color with markers.  A gel pen was used to add a little sparkle to the treats. Corner punches, a brad and ribbon finish it off.

Oh love is in the air - can you feel it?  My dear husband gave me these pretty flowers along with a mushy card today.  Even after 20 years we still feel like “lovebirds”!

And guess what, he gave me the flowers and pointed out the ribbons that were part of the arrangement and said…….”I thought you may be able to use those ribbons on your cards once the flowers die”…..!!!!!!  Does this guy know me or what?

Yesterday I got tagged by Vicki over at Queen Kat Designs, with this card making princess button!  Vicki is one of my blogging sisters and a link to her blog is on the right.   Thanks Vicki!  Flowers and a “princess” designation - what a great way to start the day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Do you have the very popular copic markers and want to make sure you don’t duplicate your purchase?  This chart from Craft Store Junkie will help you keep tract of your copics.

http://www.craftstorejunkie.com/downloads/papercrafts/COPICSColourChart.pdf

On Monday, Flourishes is releasing three new sets, two Damask sets and a sentiment set.

The beautiful Damask stamp is a background stamp measuring 5.5 x 4.25 and will come in two versions.  A regular Damask and a “reverse” Damask.  The”Many Sentiments” set contains 11 stamps of which nine are often used phrases and two flourishy elements to compliment them.

Here is a thank you card I made with the regular Damask stamp and the “Thank You” stamp from the Many Sentiments set.  I wanted to keep the card simple, yet have an elegant touch, so I used a black and white color scheme.

The Damask was stamped in black on white glossy and mounted to a black card.  I then stamped the image again on black card stock and embossed it in white.  Thank you was stamped on glossy and the black satin ribbon ties it all together.

To go along with the card, I made a small bon bon box using a template from Mirkwood Designs.  This was so easy!  Just print off the template onto white cardstock and cut out the shape.  Stamp Damask in black on the outside of the box. Tie a black scallop ribbon around it.  The tags were made using circle Nestabilities.  The white circle was lightly stamped with the Damask and the small Thank You is from the Flourished Words set.

 Here is a look at the box with the ribbon untied.  The corners just fold into each other.  The inside is big enough for a few small candies or a small gift.

Marcie - one of my SBS5 sisters!!  Congrats Marcie!!  You will receive a Flourishes Stamp set, some Basic Grey paper, and some ribbon!!

Please e-mail me with your address:  nkirk@aol.com

I was just looking through my old blog posts and realize that TOMORROW is the one year anniversary of my BLOG!!!    I can’t believe it’s been a year already….so this calls for a CELEBRATION!!!  That means….BLOG CANDY!!!    Now, I have no idea what I will give away, but I promise it will be good! 

So to get this blog candy,  post a comment here about your general impression about blogs.  Are you backing off on reading them, do you have a few that you always go to?  Do you think some are annoying?????  Do you regret having started a blog and now feel the pressure to keep one up?  Are you obsessed with your blog hits!!

I’ll randomly select a winner on Saturday so check back and see it you’ve won!!

Last month Lisa Somerville told me about an online contest going on at Paper Crafts magazine.  They have contests each month and the January contest was to upload cards made with clear stamps.  I uploaded several and this morning found out that I am one of the three winners!!!  This is the card they selected, and you can see the gallery at this link:

http://www.papercraftsmag.com/gallery/

Thank you  Lisa for providing this info to me!!

I love curling up on my reading chair with a good book or magazine.  I’m a reader at heart -probably influenced by my dad, who was a teacher and loved books.  I have several places in my house where I go when I want to sit and read.  There’s the “reading corner” in the main room, the big easy chair in the front room (a spare bedroom we converted into a little sitting area), the back patio - a nice little screened in patio that looks out into the wooded area behind our house and finally my big soaking tub!! 

So when I came across this link to an online magazine (e-zine)

http://sheetload.blogspot.com/

I quickly dismissed it because I could not hold it in my hands and sit in a comfy chair to read it.   (note - I am in no way affiliated with this site).  I revisited the site which is free and has a good premise.  It shows a sketch, how to cut a few sheets of paper and make a bunch of cards from it.  Something like a “one sheet wonder”  idea.

Then I started thinking.  The Rubber Stamper magazine is no longer in print and is this the start of the demise of printed magazines?  As more and more of us use the Internet (and not just the “younger generation”) will online “e-zines” be the new  “print” media?

Certainly online e-zines are easier on the environment and have the potential to reach a much wider audience, but there is nothing like flipping through a magazine, or seeing your card in print.   Even sitting on my sofa with my laptop, well it’s just not as comfortable and I can’t bring my laptop into my large bathtub!  However, I see this will most likely be the way print media will transition and wonder how magazines like Somerset Studios, RubberStamp Madness, etc will shift more to an electronic format.

Let me know your thoughts on this - are paper magazines just cluttering your life and you prefer electronic media, or do you prefer paper.