Stamps, Paper, Scissors

Sing a song of ribbon....

Oh list to me softly,

I'll tell you a tale,

For stampers will buy ribbon

Time again without fail

They'll buy ribbon they want but don't really need,

Every stamper I know suffers from ribbon greed.

 

I'll tell you a story of a stamper named Jan.

She bought many ribbons, said she, "Cuz I can!"

"When creating a card, it is just such a bore,

That the ribbon you need is the one at the store.

It is not in your stash, or the bag still unpacked,

It's the ribbon you left on the store's ribbon rack,

And so I will buy all this ribbon for me,

Because sooner or later I'll need it, you'll see!"

 

She bought ribbon on reels,

She bought ribbon on cards,

She bought by the inch,

And she bought by the yard,

In multiple colors, in each rainbow hue,

From the deepest of blacks to the bluest of blue.

From websites she bought it or in stores off the shelf.

Heck, most of the ribbon she bought from herself!

 

But the worm in this apple,I'm sorry to say,

Is that Jan woke up from her slumber one day

And decided to make something really profound.

But the ribbon she needed was not to be found.

There were ribbons on dowels,there was ribbon in drawers,

There was ribbon in boxes and hanging on doors,

Stacks of ribbon reels teetered on shelves and on tables

To find the one that she wanted she was sadly unable.

 

Instead of spending time in crafting delight,

Jan spent most of the day and half of the night,

Sorting and boxing and rearranging her ribbon,

And so now she hopes that she will be forgiven,

For not posting a card that is wonderfully GOJUS

But instead posts this poem that is rather atrocious.

 

Yes, this is a true story. I have a card about 95% done and I can't find my 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon. Crumbs.

Getting my ribbon act together was one of my resolutions for this year. I have the stuff that is wound on bobbins under control, but the reel ribbon is another problem.

My original organizing system is a simple arrangement of dowlels and plastic chains, but then SU! came out with their ribbon organizers, and like the true lemming I am I bought some and others were gifted to me by a very nice person (thanks, Jen!) But sooner or later, I was bound to run out of room. Then the big blow fell with the introduction of the new catalog and a large percentage of current ribbon retired. So I had to move it out of my current stash in the ribbon holders and put it...where?

So I finally acted tonight and took out some of the ribbon that I acquired back in the day when I was spending like a maniac. I look at the large amounts of crafting supplies I acquired in that time period and I think, "What the heck was I thinking?" But when you're in the grip of obsession, you don't think, and that's a fact. I could have a nice house in the Poconos (or somewhere!) with all the cashola I poured out on craft supplies, not to mention yarn and fabric and...and...ah well...no use beating myself up about it now!

So here is the new rearrangment:

Mostly the current stuff.

Retired plus the smaller reels from {cough} other companies. And yes, I do have a few reels with no home as of yet.

My original ribbon storage that has retired plus {cough}{cough} ahem...need a drink of Diet Coke!

Most of this is junkie ribbon from Michaels...I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this stuff...maybe put it in the garage sale I really need to have?

None of this is really the perfect system, in fact, I have not found a ribbon system that is perfect yet. I like the SU! holders about the best, but if you fill them too full, it can be hard to get a reel out when you need it.

My original system has a few flaws:

1. If you want to take a reel of ribbon out of the middle, you have to remove all the ones between it and the end. And if you have the flabby arms I do, spending time with your arms up over your head is something you don't really like to do.
2. Gravity. Gravity has a tendency to play tricks on you. The ends of the ribbon hanging off the ribbon reel need to be short. If you leave too much hanging off, you will be startled one day by a soft sound, rhythmic, yet quiet...and you will suddenly look up and see a number of yards of quality ribbon unreeling itself from the rack and puddling on the floor. And then comes the horrendous business of trying to get it back on the reel. And you find that there is more of a reason that just sheer OCD for making all the ribbon ends come over the TOP of the reels back to front. Because as you rewind the ribbon, you are UNWINDING the one next to it because the end of that ribbon is coming from the bottom or the reel. Ack! Ack!

So now it's all rearranged and the sad thing is that I am still trying to acquire all the ribbon from the current catalog. Because something really horrible will happen if I don't have it all. Really. Horrible.

Back to looking for the perfect ribbon for this card...maybe I'll find it and be able to post it tomorrow? Ta!

 

Swap Gang

Swaps are still not done...so I have ripped off...I mean, composed this little ditty based on Sam Cooke's immortal song:

SWAP GANG

I hear somethin' sayin'

(ink! stamp!) (punch! cut!)
(sponge! tear!) (glue! fold!)


(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap gang

All day long they're singin'
(ink! stamp!) (punch! cut!)
(sponge! tear!) (glue! fold!)

(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap gang

All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin' down
Working on the swaps until they drop
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away
Then you hear somebody sa-ay

That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap gang

Can't ya hear them singin'
Mm, I'm mail these one of these days
And I’m goin’ to get some great swaps back
That I’ll love so dear
But meanwhile I got to work right he-ere

(Well, don't you know)
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the stampers working on the swap gang

All day long they're singin', mm
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my work is so hard
Give me chocolate, I'm dyin’ for chocolate…

FADE
My work is so hard

Hope you enjoyed that. But I have done some other stuff that I can show you, so let the bragging begin!

Ingredients: Stamps - Autumn Apparitions; Cardstock - Only Orange, Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Grey; Ink - Basic Black & Whisper White Craft, Only Orange, Basic Grey; Other - Green Galore button, black hemp, black gingham ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch, large tag punch, white gel pen, Close to Cocoa marker, Garden Green marker, Old Olive Marker.

I had the brilliant notion for this card after thinking about how the tag punch, punched side by side, would look a bit like a cloister or a series of windows. No, I am not doing this for the ControlFreaks swap, even though I have signed up to do this set. There is WAY too much work involved to make 38 swaps! I started this at Paula's house and finished it when I got home; I just needed the black hemp for the button. Okay, you're dyin' to say it, I know...this is STINKIN' CUTE!!!! (YILM!)

Ingredients: Stamps - True Friend, Boho Friend wheel, Canvas; Cardstock - Whisper White, River Rock, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky; Ink - Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Whisper White; Other - White grosgrain, stampin' sponge wedge, Ice circle rhinestone brad, dimensionals.

I started this at Paula's house and finished it at home as well. I was disappointed to find that this big medallion does NOT fit into the scallop punch; I thought it would for some reason. You could punch it out with the scallop punch, but it only lines up with about 3 or 4 of the points on the medallion and cuts off parts of others. But I can't complain, because I got this set for free with my hostess bennies. So I cut it out by hand and was pleased with the result. I inked it with Groovy Guava and sponged Purely Pomegranate around the edges before I stamped. I think it's GOJUS!!! (YILM!!) And I'm lovin' this wheel...unlike a lot of the standard wheels that have fine details that blur out when you wheel them, this one is nice and solid. Originally I had wheeled it on the Groovy Guava and it was just so contrasty. But stamping on top with Canvas took care of that and gave the card more texture.

Ingredients: Stamps - Supersize Snowflake; Cardstock - Soft Sky Textured cardstock, Blue Bayou, Whisper White; Ink - Whisper White craft, Blue Bayou; Other - Elizabeth fiber, Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Pretties Kit (clear rhinestone brad)

I used the Stampamajig to get this lined up the way I want it and let me tell you, this is some big honkin' stamp to try to use with the 'Jig! I actually wasted my first try because I didn't stamp the image completely. So plan on practicing with this one a bit first. Otherwise, I really love this set. No I didn't mount the saying on the end, I left it as is. It's easy enough just to ink up the saying by itself. When I stamped it, I just used a larger piece of cardstock, then cut it down to size. Don't you think it's so GOJUS?!?!? (YILM!)

Ingredients: Stamps - Star-Studded Season, Flannel Plaid; Cardstock - Naturals White, Rose Red, More Mustard, Always Artichoke; Ink - Summer Sun, More Mustard, Always Artichoke; Other - 5/8" chocolate grosgrain, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Sponge wedges, Paper Piercing Tool/Template, Ticket Corner Punch.

I used the same technique as the True Friend card above; inked the star in Summer Sun, sponged More Mustard around the edges. I tried rock 'n roll first and it didn't look right.

Okay, enough of showing off...at least in that way! Let me show you some new toys!

I'm excited, because I got these absolutely FREE! I went to a picnic that Chris, the owner of Scrappy Chic, held for her employees/design team. She had gone to CHA in Chicago and had won one of the survey drawings from MakingMemories and as a result got enough of these to give one each to all of her employees! I had been debating about the grommet kit for a while, but hadn't bought it. So now I guess I have to buy even more grommets for it! Right?

The Tag Curler looks interesting. I saw them when they first came out and resolved not to buy one, as I already have so many of these sorts of toys that I don't use. But who can argue with free?

The picnic was lots of fun; Chris and Mike have a nice pool, which my kids enjoyed greatly. The food was great and getting to see some of the new stuff from CHA was even better!

I also stopped by the store the other day and got my August design team pack:

Melissa Francis - I'm thinkin' heritage page here!

Reminisce along with some Bazill Bling - girly pages here I come!

Well, as you can see, lots to do, not to mention getting back to the swap gang...

My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my work is so hard
Give me chocolate, I'm dyin’ for chocolate…

Stamper's Lament

A Stamper's Lament
By JanTink
after Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Power of the Dog"

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Stamping Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your art to a child to tear.

Purchase a stamp and your money will buy
Fun galore till the day you die -
Pleasure with ink and cardstock fed
By Mastercard and the dreams in your head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your art for a child to tear.

When you begin to make your art
You will find your children will always start,
Asking you “to make me one!”
And it always seems like it would be fun,
Then you will find - it's your own affair -
That you've given your art for a child to tear.

When you’ve handed over the beloved thing,
Decorated with stamps, embellies and bling,
And two weeks later, you open the door
To find it abandoned on the bedroom floor,
Stomped on, ripped, and crushed, beware!
Yes, you gave your art for your child to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to giving our stuff away.
Our art is not given, but only lent,
We certainly don’t expect to find it bent!
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've worked on ‘em, the more do we grieve:
For, when it comes down to it, in the end,
A child’s love on art does not depend.
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our art to a child to tear?

Hee hee...I thought you'd enjoy looking at what happened to William's mailbox not too long after I gave it to him. I didn't take a picture of the kids' mailboxes to post because I thought I could get away for once without showing something off. But now I wish I had! I'd at least have a picture of it to remember it by. [sob!]

The girls' mailboxes still look fairly good:

They've removed the greetings from the flags, but otherwise, they are much as they were when given.

But, you'll be glad to know, William's mailbox has entered a new incarnation:

It now exists to be a hat for "Soldier Bunny".

In other news...I finished the Busy Boy Squash Book:

I'll be making instructions for the squash books and will post them when I'm done. In the meantime, I accept your accolades to my writing genius (yes, I ADORE me!) in the spirit they are given...Au revoir, my friends, au revoir!