If it doesn't move...

I'll stamp on it!

I love rubber stamps.  They can be cute or sophisticated, detailed or simple, single or multi-colored.... They can be used for cards, scrapbook pages, notes, recipe cards, jewelry, home decor projects, backs of hands to ensure re-entry into a special event...

The possibilities are just endless.  Endless, I tell you!

Back in the mid-90's Michael's craft store had name stamps, and I actually found one with my name spelled correctly.  That hardly ever happens!

Isn't that cute?  I love using this stamp on the backs of cards I make.

Over the years I have accumulated thousands of stamps.  I don't think that's an exaggeration.  Everything from dollar store stamps to Stampin' Up!  I love them all, especially if I can get a good deal on them.  My Mom has brought me back stamps from Germany, and my Mother-in-Law has even found a few for me at the thrift store.  I'm not terribly fond of the "acrylic" or clear stamps.  Yes, you can see where you're stamping, but they feel very flimsy to me, and I tend to lose the smaller pieces (especially the dots for the "i"!).

As such, I have a full bookcase devoted to mostly Stampin' Up! sets and large background stamps, and one cart on wheels with each drawer for a separate "subject".  Here's a picture of the "stamping" corner of my room:

The black and green tote is for stamping tools and cleaners, and the plastic box under it is for my inks.  I have another little box for SU! pens.  If you look really closely (or click on the picture to enlarge it) you may be able to see that I stamped on the drawers, so I know at a glance which one to go to when I need a certain stamp!

I have a very full-featured stamp index to make sure I know what I have, where it is, and what I've used on various projects.  It'd be horrible if I used the same stamp for someone's birthday card two years in a row!  I'll explain that index more soon and show a page from it.

In the vein of "if it doesn't move, I'll stamp on it", I'd like to close this post with a few pictures of my Guitar Hero guitar:

When Steve got his "Flying V" (or whatever it's called) guitar, he let me stamp the original guitar.  I had wanted to do it from the moment I gave it to him, but he steadfastly refused.  All bets were off, though, once he got his new guitar!  The faceplate came off, and I used black and purple StazOn ink with a bunch of different stamps to make a cute, girly, cat-lovers guitar.  For those who have played Guitar Hero, my "character" is Midori (Japanese, which is no surprise with how much we love the culture there), and my guitar in the game is the kitty.

Now I want to go stamp something!  No, no, no... I have my challenge piece to work on!  So much left to do, so little time to do it.