Friday 20 January 2012

Confessions of another stamp hoarder

Last week Rinda posted 'Confessions of a stamp hoarder'.......with photos of her vast stamp collection.....she keeps them in drawers......in the bedroom....even in the bathroom......and she admitted to owning over 3000 stamps!!
I was seriously impressed.....and made the mistake of commenting that I'd never counted mine.......but thought I probably had about 100.
Well.....I only have 3 plastic drawers and 1 wicker basket of them [err....it seems there might be a reason for this....something to do with most of them being acrylic stamps.....and me being highly disorganised].
Rinda was highly sceptical......and challenged me to ACTUALLY count them. I should, of course, have pretended I never received her email......as it seems she was quite right!!!
christmas stamps
When I ACTUALLY counted them........the number was 429.......where have they all come from????.......they must be multiplying!!
In mitigation many of them are small.......lots of them were free with magazines......or kits......and there's a whole load of sentiment stamps.....vital to a cardmaker, of course.
Do I need this many stamps?  YES
Have I used them all?  NO.......but only a few of the free ones haven't been inked yet, any I've bought [apart from my latest must-haves] have been used......and a few I've grown tired of have been re-sold on Ebay.
Do I need more stamps? YES...YES...YES......you can never have too many stamps!!
I mean......with the queen's Golden Jubilee and the London Olympics this year.....how could I possibly not need these latest acquisitions!!!! 

What I need is not less stamps....but a better storage system!!!!!
Are you a stamp hoarder.......will you take up Rinda's challenge and actually count them.......[yes, that does mean you, KathyK]

28 comments:

Alison said...

I'm NOT a stamp hoarder Jackie...though I think I easily could be!
Alison xx

Heather said...

I have a few stamps mostly free gifts on magazines & as I dont do cards most of them are still clean!!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

If Doug ever says anything about the number of stamps I have, I'm totally telling on you and Rinda! I got up and counted my stamps - 74 wooden stamps, and I also have a 3-ring binder with some acrylic stamps - about 20 of them.

Oh...I forgot to count the alphabet stamps in my drawer...ok...there's more than 74...

Anonymous said...

I would go so far as to say I am not a stamper but oddly enough I must have 50+, many unused but I just liked them and told myself that I would use them. I took delivery of a pizza box today and what had I ordered - yes another set of stamps (amongst other things)! I believe that they are multiplying by themselves in my drawer!

Sandra said...

You so make me smile,I LOVE the fact you're happy you have that many and rightly so :) I'm fed up with hearing, oh I'm cutting back or I'm on a stash diet lol. Enjoy life I say, and enjoy your hobby ... If it makes you feel happy, go for it. Just don't ask me to count how many I have lol

Rhona said...

I have no idea how many stamps I have and, to be honest, I don't know if I know where they all are. Indon't know that I'd have as many as 100 though. Maybe I should count them. Did you count each individual stamp on acrylic stamp sheets or is one sheet counted as one stamp ;) xx

Lynne in NI said...

Love your new goodies, but I think I'll pass on counting my stamps! Think if I knew I might not buy any new ones LOL!

Jimjams said...

When I saw Rinda's outrageous collection I was tempted to count mine ... but as tehy are stored in 3 different rooms I couldn't be bothered (and that's why I need a better storage system for them - the ones in other rooms don't get used!)

Did you count each individual stamp in an alphabet???? Or does that count as one? I have about 15 alphabet sets ...

Maria Ontiveros said...

Ok, this post made me soooo happy!
Thanks for taking up the challenge Jacky (and for making me feel less crazy). I really want to get Karen W. to count her stamps next . . .
rinda

scrappyjacky said...

I really should take the 5th amendment here,jimjams....but I admit I didn't count each individual letter in an alphabet!!

Kathyk said...

OMG!!! I probably have that many in one drawer! Do you count sets of clear stamps as ONE or however many there are in the set? I'm almost too afraid to count mine! All I know is that I took the clear and cling stamps out of just three drawers (so I could see the wood mounted images) and filled a storage bin!

My name is Kathy and I'm a stampaholic!

Have a great weekend Jacky

Kathyk

Cheri said...

I don't hoard stamps... yet... give me time to practice a little more and who knows...

Amy said...

Oh Cheri, you make me laugh! I'm not a stamper but I do love a Stampin' Up catalogue when I see one ... there is something very enticing about them ... and don't get me started on Catslife Press!

catherine said...

I know what you mean. I think the stamp fairy leaves them, because I possibly could not have bought all my stamps(LOL).
I had some new ones yesterday -steampunk and london themes. Can't wait to get sterted with them. have a nice weekend
x catherine

Rachel Brett said...

I'm not a stamp addict either but could quite easily be one, especially everytime I see a beautiful hand stamped card Jacky - that always makes me want to go and buy some! :)

Stephanie said...

Wow Jacky, that's a LOT of rubber!!(after my huge clear out I have 30 stamps sets max)...you're making me want to buy more lol x

Unknown said...

Mmm maybe I should go count mine!!

Denise said...

Your post has really made me smile Jacky- I dread to think how many I've got too !

Beverly said...

Jacky, If betting I would have definitely thought your number would have been higher! You make so many cards suing different images all the time. I agree you need your stamps. I do hope you find a good organizational system. I doubt I have over 100, I found I didn't use most of them very often and I am so much better with digi stamps and wonderfully they don't cause clutter, are resizable and don't bring the added bulk of stamp pads ;)

Sandie said...

Yes, you do have a lot of stamps Jacky! Mine are a bit scattered too, I tend to catagorize such as Christmas ones, alphabets, mail art, vintage etc. I have my eye on those gorgeous Portabello Road stamps. I picked them up but am going back next week when my local shop has it's 30% sale for members. I wonder what others might find themselves in my basket?! Enjoy using your stamps, all 429 of them!

Sarah said...

Love this post!! I've recently had a big sort out and sold some of my stamps, the ones I had fallen out of love with or had for ages and not used ..... so now I can buy some new ones!!! lol!!x

Clare Lloyd said...

well done on confessing!! i must count mine up at some point. as soon as i organise my stamps, others sets seem to just appear from nowhere...LOL!!! so must tidy them once again. xx

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Over 400 sounds like loads and I thought I couldn't possibly have as many as that. But now I see them in the drawers, I'm thinking than mine take up more space than that so perhaps I have even more than you! Off to check out Rinda's impressive collection next.
Fiona xx

Scrappi Sandi said...

I don't really consider myself a stamper, but I do have a fair sized collection of clear stamps & a few wooden ones too....I agree with you that there is definitely room in the marketplace for an efficient, easy viw & access storage system!!

Becky said...

I love those Portobello Road ones! I was in my local craft shop this morning trying to convince myself I didn't need to buy them - yet! I haven't counted my stamps yet, but probably will this weekend as I am in the middle of re-organising them in the hope that I may actually use them more!

Sian said...

The only stamps I own are a few sets I have received free with kits! But, to be honest, I can feel myself being drawn towards some of the lovely sets I'm seeing at the moment..I think I'm going to be sucked in very soon!

Peachy Stream said...

I have no stamps! I sold them all as I didn't use them. However, I am seriously envious of those mail-related stamps and may have to purchase!

Sugar Lump Studios said...

I have never counted them - and it has been a few years since I purchased rubber stamps. I just gave a huge box away to good will this month. I will say - that the "Alex" drawers from Ikea - are perfect for stamps and other supplies!