37 wood-mounted stamps

32 cards

30 days of colouring

10 brands

1 happy stamper

 

 

Hi everyone!

When Kathy Racoosin announced her latest Daily Marker 30 Day Colouring Challenge at the end of January, I decided that I would play along but added my own challenge – to only use my wood-mounted stamps.

I started crafting over 10 years ago and my two ‘local’ stores at the time had the most amazing stamp rooms full of all sorts of wood-mounted stamps. I would spend HOURS in those rooms. And I have a fine collection of wood-mounted stamps to show for it. Of course, so much has changed since then. Clear stamps have taken the place of wood-mounted stamps – and I can understand why – they’re cheaper, easier to use thanks to stamp positioners, and they are easier to store.

I haven’t been able to part with my wood-mounted stamps but I have rarely used them since I started sharing my cards on social media. I think this coincided with the arrival of the MISTI and the frequent releases of clear stamps that I just couldn’t resist!!

But in January I was determined to show some love to those wood-mounted stamps throughout February.

And I did!

What did I learn?

It’s actually really easy to use wood mounted stamps and get a great impression first time! I had got so used to my MISTI that I was really nervous about wasting card (and time) by having to stamp images again and again. But I got a great routine going where I would stamp a test image on a piece of paper to see whether the image was straight, where I might need to apply some extra pressure etc. Most of the time my first impression onto card was the only time I stamped the image after that test image. By the end of the 30 days I felt far more confident to use wood-mounted stamps again. In fact, when I came to create my latest card for the AAA Cards challenge, I immediately reached for my wood-mounted stamps!

Focussing on my own challenge using existing supplies made me very happy! I spent a LOT less on craft supplies this past month. I admired all the new releases but as I knew I wouldn’t have time to use them, I was far more restrained… in fact I can honestly say that there was no impulse buying! Well, it had to happen some time, right?

My storage system works really well. I store all my wood mounted stamps in shallow boxes. A few years ago, I photographed all of my boxes and then noted the location of each box. When I was choosing the stamp to use each day, I would flick through my photos, make my choice and quickly pull out the stamp. I was really grateful for all the time I had spent organising my stamps!

I missed die cutting! I love stamping but I also love die cutting just as much and by Day 21 I started to feel a little sad that I wasn’t creating much with them. As I work long hours and have a fairly long commute, I knew that I would not have enough time to create many cards in addition to my wood stamp challenge and DT commitments. If I ever do this challenge again, I would definitely build in ‘rest days’ where I could focus on my other supplies!

All in all, I totally enjoyed the challenge and the tips I learnt along with way. I used more wood-mounted stamps in 30 days than I have in the past three years combined and my self confidence in stamping without a stamp positioner has been restored.

You will definitely be seeing more of my wood-mounted stamps in future!

Thanks to everyone who followed along and shared kind comments with me – I really appreciate all of you!

Have a great day!

LucieG.