Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!

Today is 2007 World Cardmaking Day! And, to help mark the day, I'd like to invite you to take a trip down memory lane with me. I found pictures of my cards from the very first one I made, to one of my favorites from this year. On 2peasinabucket.com, I found nearly 500 projects of mine. A collection of cards, tags, photographs and altered art. I can't believe I posted that much on that site! On the Stamp Shack, I'm getting close to 80 gallery posts! Whew! But, since I don't want to bore you, I've picked four cards from the many I've made, I wonder if you'll notice a change in "style?" LOL!
This is my very first rubber stamped card. I visited a rubber stamp store in Minot, North Dakota (my husband was stationed at Miniot AFB between 1998 - 2002). I went to this store with my good friend, Tami, just to accompany her. I had no intention of buying any rubber stamps. I was so intrigued by the time we left. I went back to the store the next day, and the shop owner was demonstrating heat-embossing. Well, I thought I just HAD to give it a try. I bought stamps (two on this card), cardstock, heat tool, powder, Top Boss....all with the intent of making 150 of these puppies! Can you say OUCH?!?!?! My wrist and hand hurt so much from stamping, I decided to put away my rubber stamps for good (or so I thought). Tami thought I had developed a new hobby so she gave me a set of rubber stamps for Christmas. It was a large set of Christmas-theme rubber stamps from Stampin Up. I still have it too! I don't think I'll ever part with it.

So, five years goes by without even giving any thought to stamping. Then, in April, 2004, my next door neighbor told me about a rubber stamp store in town that was going out of business. I said, "Alright. Let's check it out." I went down there and found a gazzillion glorious stamps that I really wanted. All of her stamps were marked 70% off, can you believe it? I spent $60 in stamps and supplies before I left her store. That's $200 worth of products! It's so funny, because back then, I thought my husband would kill me for spending "so much" on stamps! LOL! Now........oh my.......I just have to laught at that thought. hehehehehe Here is a card I made in 2004, after getting back into cardmaking. This is the very first card I'd posted on 2peasinabucket.com, circa August, 2004. This is also the first card I'd made for my first swap. It was with a group of cardmakers (and military spouses) at Vandenberg AFB, California.

In one year, I had learned a plethera of techniques. It's amazing what happens when you log on the Internet and connect with others who share your passion for rubber stamping and cardmaking! I joined the PaperCrafts message board; participated in swaps, and just soaked everything and anything I could learn about rubber stamping. I went to a rubber stamping convention shortly before we moved to Nebraska. Shortly after, I learned how to play with a wonderful new product called Alcohol Inks. This is one of the first projects I'd made with AI's, back in 2005:

In 2006, I had one of my cards published in my favorite Stamping Magazines, Stamper Sampler. I created this card in January, 2006, and mailed it to Stampington & Co. I had forgotten about it, thinking it was a long-shot to get published by such an esteemed magazine. I got my card back in the mail in August, later that year. I thought they didn't want to publish it, after all. No letter. No reason why it was sent back. Well, imagine my surprise, when two weeks later, I had a postcard sitting in my mailbox saying that the card was going to appear in the October/November 2006 Stamper Sampler:

Fast-forward to 2007. I joined the Stamp Shack community, and am now a volunteer Creative Team Member. It's amazing how much the stamping industry continues to grow as it continues to struggle. Many shops close down because of a variety of factors. I believe the biggest one is lease being too expensive and not enough folks are shopping. Online shopping has become increasingly popular. Another HUGE change I've seen in the past three years is that unmounted stamps have surged in popularity due to the availability of EZ Mount and Creative Cling. Regardless of the changes, my passion for stamping and cardmaking continues to change and grow. This is a card I made earlier this year, shortly after learning how to color in images with prismacolor pencils and blending with gamsol. If you look to the sidebar, on the right, you'll find other cards and projects I've made over the last two years. Isn't it interesting to see where I had started (my first stamped card, above), to where I am eight years later, today? Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for stopping by!