"Questions & Answers" Sunday

It's Sunday and that means it's time for some more "Questions & Answers."

As always....some personal and some stamping related. Enjoy!

I want to know how you got started in stamping. and Have you always done/ loved crafting?
Posted by: Amy G.

I was never really interested in stamping before 2001. I had seen some stuff here and there in the stores, but it just didn't strike me as anything I'd really do. Back in the early 90s, a couple friends had some stamps and all they did was emboss with them. Just plain gold embossing. It didn't seem too exciting to me. Besides, all the stamps that I saw in the stores were sold individually and were really expensive. It seemed like something I could put a lot of money into and not have a whole lot of flexibility with. At the end of 2000, I found a foam snowflake stamp and thought it would nice to make some holiday cards, so I embossed a bunch of silver snowflakes on black cardstock and wrote with a gold pen on the inside of the cards. That was it for stamping for me.

In early 2001, my mother-in-law started talking about this awesome company that she had just found and was going to have a catalog party. We were visiting them in PA at the time and I told her I wasn't really interested but I would take a catalog with me and look at it....because it seemed like it hurt her feelings. On the drive home from PA (7 1/2 hours all the way back to northern Vermont), I had my nose in the Stampin' Up catalog and couldn't get my nose OUT of it. I fell in love. I ordered the Sun, Moon & Stars set from my MIL's catalog party and decided that I wanted to be a demonstrator since I hadn't heard of it before and figured that it would be a great business opportunity for me, not to mention being able to build a great collection of stamps.

From looking at the catalog, I could see that there was so much more to stamping than just embossing. A whole new world was out there. I was a scrapbooker long before I was a stamper and it looked like it would mesh really well with scrapbooking.

I made the decision to become a demo before even going to a workshop or holding that first set of stamps in my hand. The only workshop I've ever been to, other than my own, was the intro workshop my MIL did when they came to visit in May of 2001. That workshop got my business started, as it was obvious that my MIL wasn't going to do the 15 hour round trip commute for any bookings off of my workshop. My husband thought it would last about 3 months......that was 6 1/2 years ago and I'm still here, loving it more and more every day!

I shared the picture at left here on my blog back in October of 2006. This picture was taken right after my starter kit arrived when I became a demo in June of 2001. For those of you familiar with Stampin' Up stamps, you know that many of them need to be trimmed and mounted. This is what happens with the hubby gets into the rubber trimmings. And believe me, he's still as silly as he was back then....if not even more so. You can check out pictures from the past here: My Davycakes

Well...I've been thinking about trying to make and sell cards on-line, so...my question is how do you get started?
Posted by: Tara

There are a few ways to get started.

One of them is to set up and Etsy Shop. It's really easy and free to set up a shop. You can check out the site by going here: Etsy

Another way that you get started is to create a store of your own on a blog service like Typepad. There's a blog banner on my side bar if you scroll down just a tad. You can get a free 14 day trial by clicking on that banner.

I have my online store on a separate Tyepad blog. Click here: The Stampin' Mama Store

It was really easy to set up and while I use Cartville for my shopping cart buttons, PayPal also has the option to use their buttons and would probably work just fine for starting out.

It's great to have both, as you can pull people on Etsy over to your blog store that may not have found you otherwise.

What got you in to stamping? How long have you been at and what keeps you coming back?
Posted by: reflections:0)

What keeps me coming back? Well, there is always something new coming out to add to the craft. I love the friends I've made through this craft. There's always something to create. The versatility of the craft is truly amazing.

What's your recommendation for the best 2-3 punches I should have to make nice cards?
Posted by: Sequana

The punches that I find myself going back to over and over again are my two circle punches. The 1 1/4 inch and the 1 3/8 inch punches. I used them quite often. Another favorite has been the Scallop punch. This is newer to my collection of tools, but one that I find myself reaching for a lot.

Do you chew gum?
Thought a less intense question was warranted...tee hee!
Posted by: Kim Marie

I used to be quite a proficient gum chewer, but for the last 4 or 5 years, I just don't find myself chewing much. Most of it is because of the worry of having all that sugar on my teeth for an extended period of time. I envision those little cartoon sugar-demons that we used to see on those "well teeth care" commercials on TV in the 80s.....eating away at my enamel and working their way into my gums with chisels. I'm always afraid of a filling coming loose or a tooth breaking on a hard gumball. I just can't help it. Gum scares me these days so I pretty much stay away from it for the most part.

My question-what is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten and it doesn't have to be people food.
Posted by: jan scholl

There are a few foods that I think of that come to mind when asked this question. I'd have to say: Crocodile, zebra, antelope and wildebeest. I got to try these while at the The Carnivore Restaurant while in Nairobi, Kenya way back in 1991 at the age of 14.

The other would have to be canned cat food. I think I was about 6 or so. There was a can of cat food left on the kitchen counter and I thought it was tuna fish. I'm sure there WAS something akin to tuna in that can, but it certainly wasn't meant for human consumption. My mom didn't realize what I was eating until it was all gone. I wasn't able to eat tuna fish until 4 years ago.

My question would be..what is your favorite dessert? Great Blog keep up the good work. :)
Posted by: kim3timemom

I actually have a few. My mother has made me a Jello-cake with Cool-Whip frosting on it for my birthday since I think I was 4 years old. This last birthday in December was no exception. The only birthday that was missed was my 21st birthday (I was married and living in PA at the time and my parents were up here in Vermont). You can check out the recipe here: Jello-o Poke Cake

I've always loved my father's Kahlua Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake. I'd eat that for breakfast every morning if I could. We haven't had it in a long time.....I'll have to make it myself one of these days. I'm sure it won't be quite as good as my father's, but it would satisfy the craving for me.

The other favorite is Uno's Peanut Butter Cup. It's like death by chocolate and peanut butter. A true symphony of chocolate and peanut buttery goodness. Hook me up with a liquified version of that in an IV line and I'd be a happy chocco-peanut-butter-holic, indeed.

So - what is your favorite animal and why?
And my dd wants to know what is your favorite color?
Posted by: Juli Smith

My favorite animal is the cat. I love my kitties and have had them around since I was born. I was very blessed to marry a man that love kitties just as much as I do. Right now, the two kitties we have are very loved....just like all the kitties that have come before. Noah is the baby in the family. He'll be 4 this year. He came from the farm of a friend and is an absolute beauty. He's long haired and seems to be part Maine Coon. It's hard to imagine him coming from a farm. He's so in love with himself and thinks he rocks our world....well, he does. *wink* He's also in love with my daughter and we've had him since he was a kitten. He'll let her do practically anything to him. Noah is quite vain but he really can't help it. He's just so beautiful. The picture at left is one that my friend, Jen, took while she was here in May. She was doing our family photos and Noah came waltzing in and made himself at home on the backdrop. He was all, "Here I am. You know I'm beautiful. Photograph me!"

Bertie is our other kitty and he'll be 15 in March. I've had him since the day he was born. His mama was my kitty and she gave birth right outside my bedroom door to a litter of 4. He's a big black kitty with a white belly and chin and weighs a good 18 pounds. He's such a sweetheart...so gentle and timid and loves to climb up on my lap on the couch in the evenings. Bertie is so affectionate and it makes me kind of sad to know that he's getting older....I wish that kitties had a longer life span. I could keep him forever.

My favorite color goes back and forth between 3 colors. Blue, brown and green. Muted earth tones of those three and I love them together.

Check back tomorrow for a great Groovy Give-Away and have a groovy week!

-Erika

Comments

[Lori J]

Jell-o cake is the best. I should make that again as it has been awhile since we have had it. :0)

[Seongsook]

Thanks for your kind and very open information on how to get started.
Hopefully this hobby can be more than a hobby for me, too, one day.
Have a great day, Erika!

[Patty W]

We love Jello poke cake too...yummy !

Love your kitty too... we have two that found us! Someone dropped off 2 at the back of our property and we kept them. The male is a grey and white Maine coon that looks exactly like our other Maine coon that passed away a few years ago at the age of 14. Identical in personalites too...he's very loveable with a bit of feisty in him. The female is a tortoise coat (is that right..doesn't sound it..not calico exactly) anyway, she is very timid and shy.

Nice reading about you Erika :)

[Kimmiek]

Yummy!
My kids love Jello Cake as a sumemrtime treat an they getto help so it's even more fun!

I'm UKING over the cat food, just so you know I have a very weak stomach! UGH!!
I have not eaten any seafood, EVER.
Our trip in the Harley's to Miami and Key West ..my hubby and 2 pals loved fresh seafood.. I ate chicken ceasar salads at every meal except one on our trip.Good thing I like those salads so much...;]
((hugs)) K

[Marie]

Your kitties sound so sweet and Noah is GORGEOUS!!! I miss having cats - I have 2 dogs (big mistake!). Oh well....

[Patti P.]

Erika, I just wanted to leave you a note and let you know how much I enjoy checking your blog. I found the picture of your cat the other day but have been busy with my mother-in-law who is in poor health and didn't have a chance to comment then. My husband and I both think Noah is gorgeous. We both also totally love our babies. We have 4 inside cats and each of them have different personalities. We have 2 that are aging...we lost 2 other inside babies several years ago and the pain is so difficult to understand unless you also adore cats. Hopefully Bertie will live to a ripe old age. Keep up the great work and I will continue to check in often.