I have too many rubber stamps to count – probably several hundred if not over a thousand. So I really should be able to stamp for many years and never use the same stamp twice. But as I looked over my card designs from the last few years, I found a few stamps did get used more than once.
Sometimes this is intentional when I want to convey a similar message. My nephews Craig, James and Kyle are all very bright and are older now, so the cars, animals and robot themes seem a bit juvenile for them. In 2009, when I was working on a batch of birthday cards, I came across an unmounted set of stamps I had picked up with an Einstein theme. Perfect for these boys. Here are two cards, one for James and one for Kyle – with slight differences:
When my nephew Jacob was little, I called him Jake-a-bug. The Bugs & Kisses set from Stampin Up was perfect for his card:
Later, when I wanted a tongue-in-cheek “you bug me” card for my brother, I used the same set:
(And yes, inside I told him I loved him anyway).
Other times, I don’t realize until later that I had used the same stamp. Here are two birthday cards using the Stampin Up Tickled Pink set:
Another Stampin Up set – Ancient Art – provided the perfect theme for Susan’s card, as she likes southwestern art:
Then, when my niece Caitlin graduated from high school – the kokopelli stamp from that set seemed just right to convey the celebratory theme:
For get well and sympathy cards, I found I kept using the same teddy bear stamp from PSX – he has just the right expression on his face:
But the funniest coincidence happened earlier this year. I was working on birthday and anniversary cards for a family reunion. Many extended family members were celebrating milestone birthdays and there were anniversaries celebrating 20, 25, and 55 years. I created this card for Susan and Dave’s 25th anniversary using the shore birds from Stampin Up’s Shore Thing:
Not until I was adding the picture of that card to my portfolio did I realize I had used the stamp for her birthday card two years earlier!
Wonder if she noticed?
Love the cards and the title of your blog. 🙂
I like your cards. I was looking for a get-well card for my son to send to his scout leader, and all I had on hand were flowery, feminine cards. My son said, “Don’t you have any cards with people hiking, or camping in tents?” But I can’t make my own cards so I’ll have to go to the store tomorrow to look for masculine get well cards.