Being a conductor of workshops is fun...it gives my 'people watching' gene a great work out. Truly, it gives me abilities. Assisting a newbie in the craft of stamping and copying a sample card allows me access to all sorts of information about them. I should be a psychologist. *!!*
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| Woodware again, Francoise I've no doubt... |
There are those who are frightened to commit ink to paper for fear of doing it wrong. I get to remind them that it's a scrap of paper that can go in the bin. And then when it turns out just right (as it it so often does!), I get to see there satisfaction levels. I quickly discover if someone doesn't really like to get inky or gluey fingers. If fussy cutting or paper piecing is too much for them...impatience, arthritis, you name it. I can spot a 'save every scrap' personality as soon as they start 'collating' elements on a card. It's about the neat pile of bits in front of them see....the rest of us are just chucking stuff into the bin as we go. Sometimes these personalities give themselves up even more quickly...short gasps when witnessing a brutal act of throwing away more than a square inch of card or paper. Of course I have a built in empathy for the 'just do it' character too, that's me. I get a wicked glee when the lady with the ruler and pencil asks me for the measurement for positioning and I have to admit to 'eyeballing it'.
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| Sentiment by Penny Black, bird die from Die'Sire and my first bokeh... |
What I really need though, to complete my psychological profiling is access to everyone's stash. And this may well be the root of WOYWW. I 'need' to see what the crafters are like at their own desks and more than anything, I need to see their stamp collections. Do they, like me, need a character like Shopkeeper Gal to point out that they have a 'thing' for certain subjects. Birds for me currently. And I hadn't really noticed, so I checked. Yep, I have more than a clutch of bird stamps and dies. How odd. Words and me are a given. I have way too many. So ya see, I'm learning all the time, I have a head full of characters and delightful foibles. And Shopkeeper Gal knows us all better than we know ourselves!
I'm not sat here wondering what you would make of my stash at the mo :-)
ReplyDeleteYou will have guessed that I'm a pretty organised person normally but at the mo I have 'stuff' everywhere....and I have 'stuff' that you would never imagine I would have in my stock too ;-)
Hugs,
Annie x
Julia I'm sad to say I would be the one not throwing anything away!! Perhaps a good job I can't make your workshop, you'd have a field day analysing me,ha,ha.
ReplyDeleteJan x
Ah definitely birds are your thing Julia with two cards and a whole collection of them... Hip great creations both of them... Chuckles at your psychology, Shaz in Ozx.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say that about birds, I'm not normally a bird person, but I saw those new Tim Holtz birds and was hooked.I haven't been overly keen on a lot of his stamps lately, the 'blueprints' just didn't do it for me. But those silly looking birds?- got me in one. Hugs, Shaz xxx
ReplyDeleteI alternate - some days I hoard, others I chuck everything willy nilly and have a huge purge! You should start your own crafters analysis centre :P Ooh how revealing it would be!
ReplyDeleteLess than a 2" square ends up in the bin I am afraid. Anything not used in a while goes to the Brownies via my neighbour.
ReplyDeleteBut then there is my "stroking" stuff, whether it be paper or fabric!
You are always welcome to pop in next time you are in my way.
Hugs
xx
You would just put me down as a very messy crafter, who like to be tidy but will never manage it. I started off very organised at class this morning and ended up hunting for all the things that had hidden under the general mess. I am also a bit of a rebel, and, although the card on offer this morning was very pretty, I took off on my own track with a different set of stamps and style. I did use all the techniques they wee teaching and they worked well with what I did. I do keep a lot of my copy paper apparent messes as they produce some stunning backgrounds, but I have thrown out so much card and paper this week that some folk would have a nervous breakdown. Oh yes, and I eyeball it too, and it often looks straighter than when it is accurately measured. I think I would mess up all your preconceptions. xxx Maggie
ReplyDeletePS I have added toadstools to my essential stamps, almost as good as butterflies when you make a mistake.
I did chuckling at someone throwing away a 1" square piece of paper or card and the person gasping:) I use to save every scrap. Soon realised I don't use them up, so tend to throw more away now and then what I do keep I go through and am brutal:)
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a fab Friday.
As a fellow teacher I have witnessed the same as you...though have not stopped to see what I am like or self analised at all...this makes me wonder...what am I really like? Now you have me thinking...
ReplyDeleteToo many word/script stamps?? don't get that concept...lol! as you have seen I have "ahem" one or two.. I try not to save silly sized scraps of paper, but it's hard, it really is! I realise I need to be very careful with what I bring next week, now in case you're assessing me, lol!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a truly thought provoking pots, Julia, Jo x
ReplyDeleteHi Julia,
ReplyDeleteLove this post. I honestly don't know what kind of crafter I am. I must admit to holding on to tiny bits of paper and yarn. Wonder how I can combine the two?!?
I'm getting ready to have my knee replaced the first part of June so I've been getting help lined up (to/from hospital about 45 miles away), dog sitting while I'm in hospital, someone to stay with me the first week I'm home, etc., etc. I have been knitting but just haven't been posting.
So glad I came by today!
Hugs,
Kay
I wonder how you would assess me lol.
ReplyDeleteLong standing "Shopkeeper friends" know me well so it is no longer a surprise when I walk in and they say "you might want to take a look at..."
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend Julia.
Toni xx
LOL very entertaining psychoanalysis. I too taught classes and finally had to measure every detail to pass on to the gotta have 'exactly' what you have made in the end. I have taken classes and will say I always learn something if not from the instructor, from a fellow crafter. Back in my happy place, I am trying to lighten the stash {this is painful and not very satisfying} I have to keep telling myself "It will be okay if you throw it away...It will be okay".....It is slowly getting more organized. But, I have a pile of bits that I just can't commit to the recycle bin. On my tough day's I will use an entire sheet of paper, and NOT cut the hidden center out for another project. As for the things I gravitate towards, I notice it more in my color choices, sea and sand are my favorites. I can also see it in the colors I do not have much of...Pink, Yellow, Primary brights.
ReplyDeleteFor the stamps, I do more realistic, love a good fantasy stamp that looks like it could be real and stay away from cute or cartoon. I need the shop girl to focus me too. LOL Keep smiling and creating
I would love to attend one of your workshops. I'm just too far away...sigh. The more I do the less apprehension I feel. And while I do keep scraps I no longer feel the need to keep every tiny piece. Cleaning is an ongoing problem but since joining your WOYWW I no longer feel guilty.
ReplyDeleteOoo, analysing? I'm a neat freak and a not so secret hoarder, haha.
ReplyDeleteLove your cards and posts, sweet Julia!
Warm hugs
Maarit
Not sure what Shopkeeper Gal would make of me, I couldn't say what my largest collection was - used to be flowers but now it could be anything.
ReplyDeleteOne question about the atc's - what is it we put on the front hidden amongst the design - WOYWW and then is it the year or will it be 6 for the number of years it has been running - or something else - or have I dreamt this and there is nothing.
Sorry to be a pain
Hugs
Neet xxx
Now you have me worried! I'm just a crazy mixed up err….old woman! Chrisx
ReplyDeleteI'll have a good stash photo for tomorrow's WOYWW if I remember to take photos and post... I like to see those taking classes too and how they treat it. Lately I've been noticing a lot of people who are okay with a "meh" image or a not so stellar job when I have more paper and you can have a do over!!!
ReplyDeleteOH fun...watching people. It makes the world go round. I tend to get in a color rut, image rut etc..that's why I like the ATC swaps..you have a theme. I should take a calendar, mark themes on it and get busy. I'm way behind on birthday cards again. I truly love your card...the birds are adorable and all the various sized dots and shades of color are fun. Enjoy the week
ReplyDeleteI like to think I have everything that I need and yes it is all labelled and neat and tidy but then there is the piles that need finishing. I have a thing if you like to call it that for Christmas, love Christmas and I can't help myself. Other than that I have flowers, lots of flowers. Me I am a who cares kind of crafter if it works great if it doesn't then maybe I have learnt something, it is all about the therapy crafting gives me and the pain relief from the Fybromyalgia the reason for starting this blessed hobby over 30 years ago. Everything is a bonus along the way.
ReplyDeleteHugs Eliza