My mom introduced me to rubber stamping. I was hesitant because I already had other hobbies I enjoyed; reading, cross-stitch, knitting, and painting pecan resin. My mom said she would bring some stamping magazines for me on her next visit (she resides in MD and I was living in NC at the time); I responded, “There is more than one?”
My mom asked me to meet her at a stamping convention in VA (again, I was incredulous that people attended such an event), but I went, and was hooked! I was completely overwhelmed by the different inks and which types of paper to best use. I was given some good advice: take lots of classes.
When I returned home, I checked the phone book for rubber stamping stores in NC. I signed up for Stamp Camp Basics, but was still overwhelmed. After taking lots of classes, I began to create all of my holiday cards. Another stamp store opened nearby, and I joined a monthly card swap club there and I started teaching stamping technique classes.
After a year, 6 of us were ready to move on from the card swap club, and we formed our own club. We named ourselves the Supremes. The Supremes met officially once each month and each of us took turns hostessing a luncheon. We actually saw each other at least once each week for field trips to area stamp stores or to the “trifecta”: Michael’s, ACMoore, and Hobby Lobby. We enabled each other with the ideas which we shared and we made lots of cards and projects.
At one of these luncheons (June 2003), my Supreme friend, Martha, announced she wanted to cross over into scrapbooking. I said, “Martha, that’s blasphemy!” Martha asked us to meet her at a local scrapbooking store (Memories) the following week for a field trip. I saw the gorgeous 12x12 page displays, and realized how similar it is to creating cards. I took several classes at Memories, and then my family moved to VA. I knew I would miss the Supremes dearly, but I found that my new home was even closer to a Memories store!
Before I even met with a realtor, I visited the Memories store in VA. The first person I met was Tracy. In search of new Supreme-like friends (and Tracy is Supreme-worthy), I began to teach scrapbooking and card making classes there. Three years later, Memories closed. I started teaching at another local scrapbook store, and it closed a year later. So I decided to approach the owner of the local coffee shop to sell my cards—and you know the rest of the story!
