I went to the gym today since I only went once last week, and as a reward I went over to Michael's Art and Crafts afterwards. I wanted some inexpensive card stock to practice on before buying glossy paper. I looked at their collection of stamps, but I didn't feel like spending money today even though I just got paid. Besides, I have over 300 stamps already. If I buy, I buy for my collections: historical costumes, architectural elements, female figures, and holiday images. I'm especially drawn to woodblock-style drawings. Michael's doesn't carry much of that sort of image, though they did have the excellent All Night Media leaf prints.

While I was there I bought my brother a gift card so he can get some art supplies of his own. I want to encourage him to keep painting. At the checkstand I snagged a copy of The Rubber Stamper which is a good resource for all things stamp-related, though I think Rubberstampmadness is a better one. Unfortunately, Michael's didn't carry it. I thumbed through my magazine while the cashier struggled with activating the gift card. I was slightly bemused by the contents.

You know, I've been collecting rubber stamps since 1981 so when I say the world of stamping has changed I'm speaking as someone who's been around for a while. Heck, I knew Leavenworth Jackson when she actually lived at Leavenworth and Jackson. Catalogs used to cost $2, there wasn't a plethora of other crafts listed in the articles and advertising, and the most exotic thing anyone did to their stamped images was use Marvy Markers to hand ink the stamps. Now it's all wires, beads, reverse embossing, edging, metallic leafing, stippling, and all the extra hoohah imaginable. I'm not complaining, exactly, these things expand and enhance the art in endlessly creative ways, but it just seems to be so crafty now instead of arty.

No, I know that doesn't make sense. But listen, it used to be when you went to a rubber stamp show you were surrounded by people in normal street clothes and there were a whole bunch of rubber stamps, specialty papers, and maybe a couple of marker purveyors. Now the shows are filled with lots of stuff that has nothing to do with rubber stamps and people who look like they need to put the puffy fabric paint away right now. Grump.

All right, I'm way off track. So I bought the things at Michael's and came home to get inspired to make cards. I think I've decided what to do, but it means practicing. It probably means buying some of that specialty paper, and trying out a technique or two I read about in the magazine (I especially want to experiment with laying down ink, washing a bit of water over it, then crumpling the paper, smoothing it out, and letting it dry, then laying down a second, lighter ink for an aged effect).

But right now I'm just having fun looking at all my stamp images. I keep meaning to take an impression of every stamp in every box and making an index of what's in each one. Ha ha. That's way too organized. It'll never happen. At least I have managed to label each box and keep the collection sorted. The categories are Animals, Architecture, Christmas, Costume, Quirky, Shoes, Seasonal, Tropical, Tribal/Ethnic, Vintage, Women, and Words. Yes, some categories share a box. There's a separate box just for sets, and one for my ink pads and embossing powders.

I love stamping.

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