Inventorying rubber stamps

Well as much as Spring should be here the weather hasn’t quite made up its mind yet. But my studio is filled with sunlight which has me motivated to continue the inventorying process.

I took a breather from organizing in March, and instead reviewed my life. I dug up my diaries and reread what I’ve chronicled since 1982. It’s been a fun journey and gave me some good perspective on how far I’ve come over the years. Sometimes we need to look back to get out of an “existentialist funk” and appreciate all the things we accomplished that we tend to now take for granted. My 1989 self was quite wise, I have to say, and there are a few pages I’ll refer back to for some good writerly nuggets when my book begins to materialize. 🙂

This past week I perused the wide range of Angel Policies stamp companies have to ensure I’ll be using mine appropriately as I convert to “for business use”. Angel policies describe what crafters can and cannot do when they contemplate using craft materials for sale. A good definition is here.

If you’re unfamiliar with Angel Policies, take a peek at these links:

• A summary link of Angel Policies focused on rubber stamping
• Useful links covering Copyright
• I also recommend the Craft Artist’s Legal Guide by Richard Stim and The Public Domain by Stephen Fishman

I own just under 700 stamps, but will have to “let go” of some to be compliant with copyright requests. 🙁 In spite of some restrictions, I was happy to find that I have many I can play with. Lost Coast Design made me laugh: “Buy our stamps and use them. Make as much money as you can, and buy more stamps from us.”

As a writer, I want to make every effort to honor the copyrights of others, even if it means giving up using some of my favorite stamps when I open for business. There are some stamps whose companies are out of business, other companies I couldn’t find, and in those cases I’ll err on the side of caution and only use the stamps for personal use (or part with them when I am ready to). But guess what, I can now make a business investment in locating similar stamps (perhaps on Lost Coast Designs)! Nice excuse to go shopping, isn’t it?

I’ll also be looking into making my own stamps. Here’s a lovely link about that process.

Meanwhile, the travel plans are progressing and I am watching every DVD Netflix has about Greece. I’ve also renewed all the library books to continue brushing up on the overwhelmingly rich history I’ll be seeing in person soon!

This coming week, I’m moving on to ribbons and embellishments. Best to tackle it one trinket at a time!

I hope your arrival of Spring is as joyous as it is here, and that whatever Spring cleaning you are doing progresses swimmingly.