I Know Exactly What I Like

When I first started stamping I could go in a stamp store and want almost every stamp. Over the years I got pickier. When I first started stamping, if I wanted a dragonfly, almost any dragonfly would do. As time went on, I could look at a dozen dragonfly stamps and maybe only one would appeal to me. I used to agonize over which stamps/stamp sets to buy. Now, I almost always immediately have a very strong reaction to a set I end up buying and don't buy the sets that are "kinda" OK. In other words, I know at first glance if I have to "have" a set or not and that opinion really does not change. The instant I saw Inkadinkadoo's Birds Galore it was just IT. I knew instantly that I wanted that set. Same thing with MFT's Baby It's Cold.

The delightful result of this is that the stamps I have bought in the last couple of years really do get used rather than using them once or twice and putting them on a shelf. If I really love a set, I will use it over and over making it well worth the money I spent on it. Any set that doesn't just grab me hard immediately doesn't get purchased. Rarely, but very rarely, a set will grow on me. That set will be risky for me to buy as it may or may not become a loved set. The sets that grow on me are fewer and fewer. I am really glad that my desires have evolved to this. I can also put things in perspective. If I love it and it is in good quality clear stamps, then I will buy it. If it is red rubber, I have to really, really love it to want to add it to my collection. In the last year I have only purchased a handful of red rubber stamps and most of those were individual and unmounted. My clear collection has grown by leaps and bounds. Being able to perfectly position is just a dream come true. Additionally, in my opinion, the clear stamp companies seem to be the more innovative these days. They are putting out the designs that do grab me.

Over the years I have also learned which stamps are most versatile, which lend themselves to favorite techniques, which are going to take so much time that I probably won't really end up using them, and which I will bore with quickly.

It is just SUCH a relief, LOL!! to finally know my own mind where stamps are concerned.