Got stamps?

I love my stamps!! By far, dollar-for-dollar, they are one of the best investments I have in my stash. 

I've used them as backgrounds on my layouts:

Go here for more info.

As my title and subtitles:

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And as a journaling spot:

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Aside from scrapbooking, I've used them on cards:

Go here for more info and to see two other stamped cards.

I store my stash of stamps here:

Yep.  That's all stamps... except for one black box of small color sorted embellies.  Scary right?!

And this is the inside of one of the green boxes:

And this is one of the green boxes... it's filled with sets that are better stored in the plastic they came in... the other green box is alphabet sets.  The black boxes have all wooden stamps.

And here:

This is the binder... it's filled with Technique Tuesday stamps, the big Fancy Pants 12x12 stamp sets and lots of little dollar stamps!

Yep.  It's a lot of stamps.  In my defense, I inherited my Mom's 30+ year teaching collection of stamps when she retired last year, which accounts for a good portion of the stash!  The older wood stamps are a lot of fun and I haven't even gotten the chance to play with them yet. 

So what are my favorite techniques and where do I go to be inspired?

Hands down, my favorite technique is using inexpensive Gamsol odorless mineral spirits and colored pencils to color stamped images.   A great alternative to the super cool, expensive Copic markers (that are on my wishlist!).  Jennifer McGuire has an awesome Gamsol video tutorial and InkyAntics has this Gamsol instruction sheet if you want to know more about this easy, inexpensive technique. 

Splitcoaststampers has a ton of inspiration, as does the Hero Arts blog.  And aside from Jennifer McGuire, I also have learned a lot from Kristina Werner!

And if you didn't already know... Flamingo Scraps carries some fabulous affordable stamps including these:

7 Gypsies Paddington stamps.

Maya Road Milk Cap stamps.

Prima Vintage Script stamp.

Pink Paislee 365 Degrees collection stamps.

Of course, don't forget Susan's tip for stamping the image first on clear plastic to help decide if it's right for your project or Suzanne's technique of using stamps to create a beautiful background on altered art shown here previously on the blog.  And then there are the fabulous talented ladies on our Guest Design Team... have you seen some of the adorable cards that Tiffany has made using stamps?!

So that's my love for stamping.  I still feel like a beginner sometimes despite my extensive stamp collection!
Please share with me all your favorite stamp sets, projects, techniques... I'm always on the hunt for inspiration and ideas!!