I Halved Rubber Stamps

Well, if you know me at all, you know that I love being creative. I've done just about every craft going. Rubber stamping is one of those interests that can amount up to quite a lot of money. A good rubber stamp can cost anywhere from $8 to $20. Unless you are going to get lots of use from it, it seriously is not a very good use of money. Sadly, I am a easily influenced by a good image. When the shop displays a beautiful card or scrap book page, I am the sucker who lays down the big bucks. No more, I tell you! Seriously. No. More.

Today I went through my collection of rubber stamps.

For those of you into rubber stamps I wanted to show you my organization of them. It works very well if you have a lot of them and no place to display them. I find, for myself if it is out of sight - it is out of mind and I rarely use them.

Get yourself a big tub, several extra large storage zip bags which fit in the tub standing up, and some stiff cardboard, I reused foam core board for this. The cardboard keeps the stamps from shifting around in the bag and they stand up in the tub like a files would in a file drawer. See pictures below.

Tub with rubber stamp "files"

One almost full "file"

                 

This was full before I halved it!

Let's talk about halving them! Yeah, this was not too hard. The only painful, I should say shameful, part was looking at the brand new stamps, that need to go because I simply will never use them. When I think of the money that could have been much better used, I can only shake my head.

How I made decisions:
I got rid of everything that was no longer "in style" too cutesy, corny or babyish.
I got rid of Christmas stamps that I had already used, or made cards with.
I got rid of those that required a lot of manipulation, or fine work after stamping.

I kept only those I really loved, or thought would be useful in art journaling, gelli printing or very simple card making.

I culled 57 stamps and retained 51. Pictured below are those that are leaving my domain.

Artistic Impressions, Outlines and Misc.

Magenta and Outlines stamps

Hero Arts and Misc.

That wasn't so bad.

I feel good!