Last night, after I finished reading Alphabetica by Lynne Perrella, I put it under my pillow in hopes that some of the techniques and good ideas would seep into my brain while I slept. Instead, I dreamed about visiting stamp stores with my sister. The stores don’t exist in real life, and they weren’t very good stores, but I managed to find something to buy in each one!
Oh. MY. Run, do not walk, to reasonableribbon.com and join her ribbon club. Debbie finds the most gorgeous stuff and it’s all lovely. I have never once been unhappy when my ribbon club or any ribbon order arrived. Here’s what came in this month’s mailing.
I made this today, using an old cardboard box that a gift came in. I used the insert in the box to create a little frame for the stamped wooden piece (from judysstonehousedesigns.com).
Tonight, I was working on a project where I needed to stamp outlines of squares onto my surface. Not having that kind of rubber stamp, I knew if I could only find a square gift box or similar somewhere in my stash, I’d be set. I found a 2″x1/2″x1/2″ (approx) matchbox in my “trash†cabinet! I spread acrylic paint onto some waxed paper and made a makeshift stamp pad. I stamped the end of the matchbox cover onto my project! It was perfect!
The best part was while I was stamping, I wondered where the matchbox came from. I realized that I picked it up in a restaurant in Kansas City when I worked for Hallmark Cards around 1998. I kid you not, that matchbox went from Kansas City, to my home in Albuquerque, then moved back to New Jersey with me, where I moved two more times and now it’s settled in Colorado, where I’m at my second address.
The point is that you never know when something is going to come in handy. As long as you are collecting a stash and you have the space for it and you USE stuff from it, it’s never a waste of time and effort when it comes to your altered art. 
Whenever you are about to toss something into the trash, take a second look at it. Can it be used as a stamp? Try it out! Not only are you expanding your design potential, you’re saving that stuff from going into the landfill. I’m starting a drawer called “Weird stuff to use as stamps.†Comment and tell me what you’re using!
Well, soon, anyway. I’m slowly moving my art journal over from LiveJournal, but in the meantime, I’ll be posting all of my art-related ramblings here.
I’m also in the process of upgrading my site, and I’m very excited! I’ll let you know when it’s ready for viewing. Thanks for reading!
