Old and New

Yesterday, I was busy going through all my stamps and I've a rather large collection, to be really honest I actually have too many. I've been trying to decide which ones I really want to keep and which ones I am okay parting with and would like to try and sell. I'll be trying my hand at eBay soon. Hopefully, it works out because I do have too many stamps...and I'd really like some newer trendy ones :) The difficult thing I find in this endeavor is "what if I need it for something later" .... I'm having to ignore that thought and press forward. 

I can only hope that the fact that I remounted all my wooden/rubber stamps does not hinder me in selling them. As a military wife I never know how big or small my next home is going to be. Therefore, I try to keep storage to a minimum and sadly I'm nowhere near as good at it as I'd like to think I am. I've had scrapbook rooms that were utility rooms, extra bedrooms, dinning rooms and in one house all my supplies were in the hall closet (that was at the beginning of course). 

For me remounting my stamps and storing them in CD cases seemed to drastically shrink the amount of space required to store them. However...nearly 300 stamp sets is far too many for me. 

I have 16 of these CD boxes (IKEA baby!) and 10 are full of stamps...

One other thing I realized in my sorting is that I seem to be a 'sentiment' junkie. I've about 3 CD boxes of stamps that are nothing but sentiments! How many different ways can you say "Happy Birthday" and on and on...craziness!

During my sorting I of course had Facebook up to keep me entertained and was also watching a few CTMH videos and other things as well... multi-tasking you know. I came across this post about tying a bow with a fork...I thought "no way" and well I had to try it...

I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. Guess I need to keep a fork in my craft room now. Won't that start some interesting conversations :)

My Close to my Heart kit arrived today!!! So exciting!!! 

I wanted to look inside so badly and check things out but I had dinner to get finished with first...

I might have taken a tiny peek...before finally I got to sit down and really look at it!!!

I think however, my 14-year-old daughter was just a bit more excited than I!!! As soon as dinner was over she asked me, "So, Mom can we go play with the new stamps?" Seriously, how could I say no? If only you could have heard her giggle. :)

She was so excited over the fact that the stamps are clear and she could see right through them that I thought she was going to flip out on me. She even made me look as she stamped an image, "Watch Mom, see when you squish it where it needs more ink? You just push a little harder there and BAM!" 

This is what the stamps look like fresh out the package...

And this is to give you and idea of how CLEAR they are. 

She made 2 little creations in her 'playing around' this evening. Here they are:

This top one this is the CTMH Cityscape set. I honestly had no idea what to do with it myself yet. Ashlynn tends to do things directed toward or from music. Silver Bells is her favorite Christmas song...

This set, the Paisley Perfect set (minus the little leaf - it came out of the Laughing Lola set) was the set she was so excited to see. She loves paisleys and draws them regularly. 

So the first person to play with the new stamp sets from my CTMH kit...my daughter Ashlynn. I've got a feeling she'll be spending a lot of time in my office...good thing I moved her desk in here a long time ago. Speaking of which - that desk is a work of art that she herself created/painted. It was just a boring old brown desk and then she had some babysitting money, a trip to the craft store and some spray paint!

With my girl...it is never boring and it is usually rather bright and bold.

The other thing we got excited about besides the fact that CTMH stamps are CLEAR was the Ink Pads. Crazy thing to get excited over I know. They are not big and bulky or awkwardly shaped. As a matter of fact they're kinda flat and stack right on top of one another. At first we thought we were going to break it trying to open in (they are just a little stiff at first, no worries) and then we realized it flipped and folded on top of itself. So cool! 

At first the ink pad looks like this:

 Then you open it:

Next you twist the top part (where the ink pad is) to the left or right until it meets the front again and snaps securely in place. 

Finally, your ink pads are stack-able! And the shape of them, the flatness I believe is going to make storing a breeze & minimal. I'm so excited to have new toys to play with! :) 

Lastly, I have to mention the acrylic blocks. These (for those of you that do not know) are used to put your stamps on and stamp your image (no wooden blocks remember). Over the years, I've had a variety of acrylic blocks. You see them in a craft store and they're cheap so you pick up another size just in case you need it. 

The thing is out of the acrylic blocks I own I've always had 2 favorites that I use 99% more than the other ones sitting in the drawer...what I didn't realize until last night is that those 2 favorites are CTMH!!! How did I not know this? 

My favs! 

I realized they were CTMH when the acrylic block in my kit was the same size as the one I already have. So why are they my favs? Because they are easy to handle. There is a place for your hand to grip - see the indention on the sides?

Love these blocks! They are the best!

My other blocks look like this...

Try gripping those edges...not always easy and actually they are just very uncomfortable for your hands. Don't believe me? I'll let you have them! haha

That's all for now. I'm gonna try to steal me a small morning nap before hitting the gym. Have a great day and stop by again soon!