The day you become a stamper...

You start to develop Stamper's Syndrome. It means that you can kiss giving commercial cards goodbye forever. And sometimes, you kiss giving cards at all goodbye as well.

I used to be much more regular about sending cards, but now that I make them, I often forget to send them all together, one of the chief symptoms of SS. Which is quite stupid, really, since I have boxes of the things downstairs just waiting to be used.

But you will also find after developing SS that when you do decide to send a card, you end up making a new one anyway. Because nothing you have is JUST RIGHT for the person you have in mind. Yes, it's a disease and it's hell.  As the disease progresses, you procrastinate making that perfect card until it is entirely too late, and you send nothing at all. You are now in the final stages, but the horrible thing about this is that you don't die of it. It just spreads.

Once you have reached the final stage, you realize that giving gifts with ordinary wrapping paper (except for children, who usually don't deserve anything better anyway) is out too. How can you give anyone something simply wrapped in wrapping paper, without at least stamping your own tag or adding some kind of paper decoration crafted by your loving hands? It becomes impossible.

This happened to me this weekend. I finished knitting a baby sweater on Thursday for my son's teacher, who is expecting her second child in April and her first boy. Knowing that it's necessary to retool when a boy arrives after a girl, I decided that I would give her a little blue sweater I had knitted a while back and had not sewn on the buttons yet. Then I thought that the baby wouldn't get much wear out of a sweater with summer coming, though it's nice to have one for chilly air conditioned situations, and would then outgrow it before cold weather came again. So I determined to knit a second sweater in a larger size and give them both to her. If you want to see the finished sweaters, you can go to my knitting blog.

But the problem arose of what to put them in? Obviously, they are darling and perfect in every way (YILM!) I couldn't just wrap them up any old how, or put them in a gift bag, especially since those are darned expensive these days.  I have, like a lot of moms with kids my ages, a collection of gift bags that have made the rounds more than once. I think we have been circulating the same gift bags among the same group of kids in our school for years now. But this is not a child, who certainly deserves to get gifts in bags or packages to which they will hardly give a second glance so it doesn't matter what you use, as long as it stands up without falling over and doesn't have large holes in it. This is an adult and a teacher, who certainly deserves better. And (cough cough) I do have a bit of a rep at the school as someone who makes things that are nifty. Gifting in store-bought wrapping paper would be Letting Down the Side.

So this morning I staggered down to my crafting area and began creating. Yesterday was spent in a marathon swap finishing session. I actually packed up the various tools I needed into a tote and took them to lunch monitor with me. I took them to the bus stop when I picked up Laurel. I sat in the living room and worked on them some more, until every single last one of them was finished. And, as usual, felt totally demoralized and emotionally bankrupt by the whole process, wondering why, oh why, do I let myself in for this every time?

Only to remember all the delicious swaps one gets back after sending one's own marvelously designed and beautifully executed swaps (YILM!) off in careless postal hands. That is, if careless postal hands actually TOOK the priority mail package that one put out specifically for those postal hands to take and which careless postal hands did NOT take the package as they were meant to. Which meant that one had to drive the package to the post office oneself, even though one is still feeling ill and thought the whole point of click and ship was that one could ship one's packages from one's doorstep and bemoaning the retirement of one's old mail carrier, who was a dang site better than the Philistines who are doing his route now. But I digress...

ANYWAY, I decided I would have to make something to present the sweaters in and since I have an entire box of kraft gable boxes that, in a moment of madness and overweening confidence in my abilities to sign up hoards of customers to take a holiday packaging class, I ordered back in 2003 or 2004, I forget which, I decided that one of these would be the perfect container for two little sweaters. I worked on it this morning and, after a nap (the antibiotic I'm taking now seems to be doing nothing and I am still getting tired) and the aforementioned run to the post office and then the grocery store when I realized that all the milk was gone AGAIN, I worked on it this afternoon. And it was well worth the effort, as you will see:

Ingredients: (almost all SU!) Stamps - Nursery Necessities; Paper - Delicate Dots DSP, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, So Saffron; Ink - So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue; Other - Whisper White & Bashful Blue 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, small star punch, Scallop Circle Bigz die, Sissix tag die, large star punch, SU! Backgrounds Texturz Plates, 3/16" corner rounding punch, dimensionals, sponge wedge, white gel pen, Sahara Sand marker, Scallop Edge punch, So Saffron 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Kraft gable box, Word Window punch

Yes, it's STINKIN CUTE!!! (YILM!) Here's some close-ups:

Now I'm afflicted with the other part of Stamper's Syndrome: the wish and desire to keep what you make for yourself. Because it seems entirely too cute to give to anyone. How could they appreciate it as you do?

But the fact is, you must give the stuff away or have nothing to give and so you do. And this little box has its load of little sweaters packed up inside nicely (they fit perfectly!) and will be travelling to school on Monday with me, so I can sneak it in the teacher's room just before she comes back from lunch. I was thinking she might even keep the box to use for baby mementos...if she throws it away, I don't want to know about it. Because then I would have to kill her.

Well, this has been quite exhausting and one is tired. So one will toddle off to the recliner and decide what one will knit next and hope that this antibiotic gets off its keister and does something. Because one is tired of having sick ears and one is quite unable to figure out how to stop saying "one" all the time and one needs to just shut up and and hit "save" and let the nice people who read her blog get on with reading it. Ta!

Comments

[Peggy Maier]

The sweaters are beautiful & yes, I think I might be tempted to "you know what" if she threw that box away... but we all know that's not possible - it's WAY too CUTE!!!!

[Jessica Canham]

Jan, this is adorable! So much work. I love it and it deserves to be in a place of honor in the recipient's home.

[Chelle]

This is soooooo purty! I actually gasped when I saw it! The sweaters are awesome too!

[amysings]

That is truly beautiful, Janine. And if she throws it away (which she won't), I will come and help you hurt her. I promise. That's just the kind of friend I am.

Get better SOON!

[Stephanie P]

Oh my gosh, Jan, that box is as beautiful as it could be!!!! I'm sure the sweaters are equally as gorgeous. I'm sorry that you have the never ending virus/thingy/illness, I had some of that earlier this winter and it is such a blessing when you finally kick the nasty stuff and one feels GOOD. Which you will some day, sooner than later. Hopefully. Because we love you and want our old Jan back!!! Big hugs and take care!!

[Deborah]

We must be twins. LOL. Except you do way better work. :)

[DIane McCornack]

Goah I was reading the saga above and it came to me how painful it must be to be as talented as you are!! I think you must live in that same tortured place someone like van gogh must hve lived, please please don't try hacking off your ear!!! Stamper and a Knitter, I'm speechless.
Diane

[Claire V]

Well, I have to thank you for diagnosing me - who knew I had Stamper's Syndrome all this time? Do we have to start calling you Dr. now? At least now I can get some treatment and get on the road to recovery (NOT)!

Your blog is as much fun to read as your projects (stamper and knitter, etc. here too) are delicious to see! However, I'm still new to the bloggers alphabet soup and it took me a while to get (YILM!) - I have to work on that - otherwise, I think we are "sisters"!

[leslie]

OMG, this is hysterical! I make cards almost every day and send NOTHING. NOTHING. Except for the cards I had to MAKE to send with my kids' care packages because they had to be 'special'. I am so there with you.

B-E-A-U-tiful box, BTW. Hope you shake the sickness soon!

[Kathi S.]

I have SS as well but I had to quit cold turkey due to the state of the economy. I have to suffer with using old stuff since I can not afford to support my habit. When things pick up again, I predict I will go back to supporting mu habit. I am so looking forward to that.

Jan, I feel for you. I had strep throat in January which would not go away. After 10 days on penicillin, then next day I knew that I had strep again. I went to the doctors again and she gave me the same antibiotic as you for another 10 days. It left a yucky taste in my mouth the whole time. There was nothing I could do to get rid of that taste. I'm better now but I have to go back in July for another strep test to see if I am a strep carrier (20% of all people carry the strep virus). Oh boy!!

I loved your box. I would have probably not given it away or I would have tried to get it back later (you know, I wanted to make another but needed the orginal to look at).

[Gail S.]

Jan - what a beautiful box to hold the sweaters! My guess is of course she will keep it, it is just too cute to throw away! I love coming to visit your blog because you always make me smile!

[Linda Watts]

Jan,
I suffer from SS too! Thanks for coming out. I feel less alone.

I LOVE the box and the sweaters. I'm amazed you can create such masterpieces when you CLEARLY need complete bed rest. Your family should be catering to your every whim and bringing you high quality chocolates. Get Better!

[Cia Tate]

Oh boy, can I ever relate. I am deep in SS.

[Kathi Crouse]

OMG Jan, I thought you were writing about me! I'm so glad I'm not the only one with SS! I too have boxes of cards that I just can't send and by the time I get around to making one for the recipient it is much too late to send it! Your gable box is adorable and I can't imagine her wanting to throw it away! I hope you start feeling better soon, even though you are still not feeling well you are still making us smile! I love your sense of humor!

[Kraftyaunt]

That's me too! That's me too! Thanks so much for the chuckles. I've made everyone in my family read your blog entry so that the GET IT. I have SS too, but I don't want a cure. I'm having too much FUN being sick :-> Thanks for your time and your talent. You should write a book!

[Kim]

OK, so after seeing your crimped scalloped border, I thought, "WOW, she's somebody to watch." Now, after reading your blog, finding out that you knit (me too, but only blankets as I'm a beginner), and laughing as I wonder if one always talks about oneself like this, I realize, you're too cool! I'm glad I subscribed!! Thanks for sharing!

[Janet Sisk]

OMG, I gotta laugh. I am a SS sufferer, too. Is there a support group yet? Maybe we could start meeting at Scrap & Yap! I am sitting on a card I am trying to get done for my nephew's birthday which is March 25. His party was yesterday in TN. I missed getting it there obviously by his party. I shall try and shoot to get it there by the 25th. I guess it will be by Priority Mail. :D

[Cindy Harris]

Wow! Darling box, I think it should be displayed at convention or something!! You are one talented lady. I am always happy when I open my google reader and see a post from you! Thanks.

[Karen L.]

Oh, my gosh@@ I laughed all the way through my reading of this post. LOL! You describe me to a "T," as well as many of my friends who also could be diagnosed with "SS." I feel so guilty when I know a special day is coming up and I plan a wonderful card but never get it made. And the day goes by and weeks go by, until it's embarrassingly just TOO LATE! You've described the "SS" all too well. Woe is me.... :)

[Maggie]

Hi Jan, Love, love, love your blog and all you do. You make me laugh and I'm so glad I have you for inspiration! I'm relatively new to cardmaking and would appreciate it if you or someone out there could tell me what some of the abbreviations are that a lot of you ladies use, especially YILM! Thanks so much. I look forward to your posts.

[Angji]

Just to represent the abused mail carriers, not all of us are careless Jan!

[Debbie Fisher]

Jan, this box is awesome!!! I ck'd out your knitting site and the sweaters are adorable that you made (and YES I love the buttons Ü).

[Lela]

I have the exact same malady. I have THREE sympathy cards that I am avoiding making. THREE. And the clock just keeps ticking.

YOU CRACKED ME UP.

The cool thing is, once we DO make something, well it may or may not be ON TIME but it is worthy :)

And Jan, your creations are WORTHY.

Hope you feel better. Blessings,

Lela

[Tina]

Imagine being a nurse and not knowing I had SS. You could be a MD! I have all the symptoms you described. Can't believe you have time to knit too. I started knitting two years ago and I hope to begin socks this year after I finish the hooded vest I am working on. Thank goodness it doesn't have buttons that I have to specially select! :) You have awesome talent and I love reading y our blog and seeing all of your creations. Keep inspiring us little people with your work both stamping and knitting! Tina

[Kim Howard]

I hate that I had a comment all typed out and now it's gone!! This gable box is so stinking cute and I never would have thought to decorate the outside like that without stamping on the box itself.