Here it is…the blog you have been waiting for your entire life!
I am happy to introduce you to Stamp with Brian, my paper crafting blog that allows me to share all of my new experiences with you as I stamp, snip, ink and paste. Let’s get started!
As a young child, I loved anything to do with paper. I could (and still can) stand in a stationary store for hours and just stare at all the paper, envelopes and pens. I guess it’s not typical for most children, but I moved directly from coloring books to construction paper collages, origami and calligraphy.
When I was in the seventh grade, my family vacationed in the South Carolina mountains. The vacation really came to life for me when we stumbled upon a small cabin that housed a rubber stamping store in the middle of nowhere. I had never seen rubber stamps before (other an the “sign here” and “paid” stamps in my Dad’s office). I could not take in all the colors, all the textures, all the images. Within a few minutes of entering the store, the kind lady behind the counter heat embossed an image of a cartoon frog stamp for me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I bought the frog stamp, along with a “Brian” stamp and a couple of ink pads. I used those stamps on everything for the rest of the summer. I got “the bug” but that was to remain dormant for many years.
The stamping bug returned in 2000 when I found Stampin’ Up! A work friend invited me to a Stampin’ Up! demonstration. We made a couple of simple, but beautiful, cards. I poured through the catalog and was mesmerized by the stamp sets, colors and papers. I signed up as a demonstrator and spent many, many hours stamping over the next two years. Since my stamping friends were outside of Atlanta, I traveled long distances to stamp in friends’ dining rooms
over the next two years and stamped in my make-shift stamping room (my guest room). After I fell out of touch with my work friend, I stopped stamping. I found several other outlets for my creativity, but I still came back to my box of sample cards, wondering why I wasn’t still stamping.
Fast forward to 2012. After moving into a new house and unpacking all my stamping supplies, I had to get back in! I now had the physical space to craft again, so why not? When I first spoke with Pam, I knew we’d be great friends. I immediately signed up as her down line and began to rebuild my stamping collection. We’ve stamped together several times and have introduced stamping to several of my great friends. Great times!
So, here we are. From here out, I hope to use this blog to share special projects, crafting tips and Stampin’ Up! news. I want to inspire you to create beautiful things you love. I hope you’ll come along with me.
your blog and new venture are perfection. pam is an amazing mentor. congrats!
What a great blog and a great story! I too have always loved paper, and markers…I remember vividly the first time my father took me to Staples – an office supply super store! I felt like I was in heaven 🙂
Good luck with your new venture.
I had no idea when I stumbled upon this blog a couple of hours ago that I would end up spending almost 3 HOURS perusing it & wanting to know more about this funny, clever guy who makes beautiful cards. That’s how I ended up here reading how your paper obsession of younger days has evolved into this blog & those great cards. I adore you & your hilarious musings, wonderful, to-the-point instructions and most of all the Tips you add to your posts to help fellow crafters with their creations. All with adorable humbleness & not an ounce of arrogance. I am envious of your great relationship with your upline & I can see how easy it must be for your crafting friends to want to spend their crafting time with you. Your enthusiasm is infectious! It must be a lot of fun to have a conversation with you Brian. I will admit that I normally don’t read everything in a blog post, l often scroll the pictures & stop when I see something I am interested in, just because there is always so much to see I’d never get through it all if I stopped for every word- but I read all of yours! Every single post, lol. I couldn’t help it, your ability to draw us in with perfectly chosen words to relay your directions, feelings, thoughts etc is too rich to scroll through. Can I hire you to type my blog posts? 🙂 Everyone who knows me knows that Staples is my absolute favorite store in the entire world! I have spent many hours visiting my local Staples, I sometimes feel like the employees wonder what the heck it is I’m doing in there for so long, lol. I have to walk through every isle, and appreciate all the wonderfulness that Staples has to offer but my most favorite is anything that can store or better organize something else! Boxes, binders, note pads, dividers, totes, folders, paper clips, all the new Martha Stewart stuff of course! I don’t need to list everything, you fellow Staples lovers know exactly what I’m talking about. I definitely bring home many items that I have no immediate use for, but you bet I will find a use for it! There’s always something that could use some better organizing & I definitely have just the thing for it stored down in my basement just waiting to fulfill it’s destiny of making all my stuff look pretty & orderly. I am so glad I came upon your website today, and the 3 hours spent soaking it all in was totally worth it. Thanks for sharing your passion, I look forward to checking back in daily to enjoy your creations and your wonderful wit. Your site is definitely one I will be sharing with all my crafting friends!
Wow, Brandy! Just wow! This is a lot for me to take in. Just checking emails first thing in the morning an came across this. Brandy, this is precisely why I started my blog – I feel like I might have a unique perspective on a few things and thought it would be fun to share it with other people who also love to make beautiful things with paper and ink. I am, most certainly, humble and grounded about my talent and vision, but it doesn’t stop be from being filled with enthusiasm to share. I know I’ll probably never make a penny from this blog (as far as I can tell, 4 out of 4 visitors are also SU! demos), but I am loving the challenge and crossing my fingers still. Thank you, Brandy! I hope you will subscribe to my blog and come back for more. Thank you a thousand times over! You have made my day.
You are very welcome! And don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have more visitors in no time, I have only had 3 people subscribe to my blog the entire time since I started it almost a year ago, lol. Thank God for supportive friends, ya know? 🙂
Curiosity struck…. where does your blog begin? Wandering thru 2012 was fun!