P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday! Did you know March is National Craft Month? Whether you’re a die-hard paper crafter, quilter, painter or candlestick maker (or you want to be), this is the month to celebrate your love for crafts.
Created by the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) in 1994, National Craft Month is “designed to help people learn about and rediscover the joy of crafting and all its many benefits.”
And while general crafts keep getting bigger and better each year, one sub-category of paper crafting shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, some people think it should be a craft all by itself. Can you guess what it is?
STAMPING!
Laura Williams' Heart Flutter Card from Stamp It! Cards (2010)
Of course, what’s not to like about stamping? The versatility of product and crazy cool techniques (anyone tried stamping with condensed milk?) easily make it one of our readers’ top favorite paper crafting techniques.
Care to “rediscover the joy” of stamping? (It is National Craft Month, after all!) How about getting inky with Unity Stamp Company’s Following My Heart stamp set (the same set used in Laura’s Heart Flutter Card above):
Leave a comment telling me what craft or hobby brings you the most joy. I’ll pick three lucky winners to take home Unity’s Following My Heart stamp set and a copy of our new special issue, Stamp It! Techniques. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, March 6.
Happy Friday (and National Craft Month)!
Kelly
P.S. It’s time to announce the two winners from Kim Kesti’s Everything Old is New Again post:
1. Yasmine (March 2, 10:44 a.m.)
2. Brittany Kohl (March 2, 2:56 p.m.)
Congrats, ladies! I’ll be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
Cardmaking is my first crafting love even though it takes me longer than most to create. Gotta love all the supplies out there to make each card just a little bit different. One just never has enough stamps, paper, ribbon, embellishments, etc.
Laura’s card is so bright and happy – I love it! Stamping is fun but all kinds of techniques in card making would still get my vote. And being able to mix papercrafting up with other crafts, like sewing and jewellery making, just make the creative experience even more joyful!
Thanks for the giveaway chance – that’s one lush stamp set
The hobby that brings my the most joy is scrapbooking because it involves all of my favorites-My family, art and photography. However I also love cardmaking for the joy it brings to others.
Scrapbooking brings me the most joy because I can share my thoughts for generations to come.
Art Journaling because I’m able to get out pent-up feelings. I still love my cardmaking though and it especially makes me happy when the recipient appreciates it.
Stamping, stamping, stamping = Joy, joy, joy!!!! I do find this the most wonderful way to create – especially with ‘element’ style stamps ~ the possibilities are simply endless!
Scrapbooking is my first love but I am definitely learning the love of stamping as well.
Lately I have been making mini notebooks out of paint samples…but I am a scrapbooker at heart <3
Loved your bright card and answering you question is so easy! I absolutely love rubber stamping and cardmaking. If I had the time I would do it everyday!
My favorite craft is papercrafting because I include all the others in it. I love to create minibooks and 3 D items. And there are so many creative people in this art.
Cardmaking, to include stamping, is the hobby that brings me the most joy! I absolutely LOVE it! It makes me smile when I finish a card. I have a shelf where I display them and sometimes I come in my craft room just to look at them because they make me that happy.
I also get such joy sending them to the people in my life that I love. I love the reactions that I get when it makes someone’s day. 
What could be better than that?
Scrapbooking!!!!!! I love it all
Any kind of paper crafting – but especially creating little mini books that I give as gifts at Christmas (made school teachers and sunday school teachers cry this year!) I also love counted-cross stitch, even if my husband is faster and better at it than I am!
Papercrafting brings me the greatest joy of all that I enjoy doing. It relaxes me help me to unwind after a long week. Looking through all my craft magazines, especially when my new copy of Papercraft comes in the mail.
I love to scrapbook and make cards, but I also love sewing. These bring me great joy when I can create something!
My fav craft is stamping by far! However, I can really relax doing simple emproidery or needlepunching!
I love card-making and looking at bright beautiful cards(like Laura’s card above) give me immense joy and lift up my mood.
Thanks for a chance to win this awesome Unity set and wish you a very Happy National Craft Month!
Card-making, especially with heat embossing and then using watercolor pencils to color, is my favorite!
I love making cards and scrapbooking.
I have many crafts that I enjoy doing but right now I am loving making cards. I love using watercolor pencils.
The hobby of card making brings me such joy because of the expression on the faces of all who receive it. Before I even begin making the card I’ve already had such a good time reading PaperCraft magazine to get inspired. So, maybe it might be said my real hobby is reading all your magazines, taking them apart carefully, and refiling them by subject and technique for reference. Sometimes I get so carried away by the sheer genius and beauty of the projects it’s hard to put the magazine down and become a do-er instead of a dreamer.
I would have to say scrapbooking brings me lots of joy. It’s fun to remember events that have happened, to share them with my family so they can remember as well, and the sense of accomplishment as the stacks of photos decrease.
Cardmaking (which includes stamping) is a very close second. For those times where I don’t have time to scrap, cardmaking allows me to be creative and to spread the joy by passing on the cards to others.
My favorite is stamping and cardmaking. I love trying new stamps, new techniques and combining interesting paper and stamps to create something beautiful and unique. I would like to learn more stamping techniques.
I love the bright card! Making cards is my favorite hobby because it’s a project I can usually finish quickly and my kids love to get them as little surprises!
Coloring is my first craft love!!!! With Copics, water color pencils, colored pencils, crayons, melted crayons, Sharpie markers in all of their fabulous colors….. and when you color, you need paper! And, stamps! On…. and on….
Mail Art! I love making collages and ATCs that travel throughout the world via the postal service.
Stamping makes me happy, I just love it!!!!
Cardmaking brings me the most joy. Doesn’t matter whether it’s stamped, painted, paperpieced, or stickered…whatever! There’s nothing like surprising a co-worker who’s going through a tough time with a handmade card to let them know someone cares. Or a birthday card for one of my sons – made just for them. I feel blessed to not only enjoy my favorite hobby but also share love and joy with others.
I love to use stamping when making cards. It is so much fun, and I love that I have a finished product in about 20-30 minutes. Thanks for the chance to win.
I love stamping and card making! It isn’t necessarily my most joyful craft but it fits better than sewing, takes less time and emotional investment than scrapping, doesn’t hurt my fingers like lace making, no splinters like woodworking and is easier on the eyes and wrists than knitting or crochet!
I love stamping & creating projects to teach to friends & other crafters I know- to see the joy from those that are new to crafting, that they have created something themselves & the “well done, did you really make that yourself!” they get from their husbands when they take their projects home to show.
I enjoy cardmaking and scrapbooking the most, cardmaking because not only can I create whatever I want but then I get to give it away, a double bonus, and scrapbooking because I am saving a moment in time for all others to see and remember.
Although I have discovered a love for many types of crafting (almost too many to keep up with!) I really love to make cards. Two years ago I collected the birthdays of all our family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, their children, children’s children, etc.) and now I send everyone a card on their birthday! Everyone really seems to appreciate the thought and their own one-of-a-kind card!
I am completely over the moon right now with card making … especially paper piecing, dry embossing and coloring with markers and pencils. I could get lost in this for hours!
My favorite is makiing board books. I buy children’s board books from my local Goodwill store. I make a template of the shape, then cover each page with patterned paper and go to town adding ribbon, lace, buttons, mixing other patterned papers, all around photos of my children or any or all of my 10 cats! Everyone who sees these books loves them. I am recycling, and, since these books are usually small, I use up tons of my scraps. Yay for me!
I enjoy making cards. It gives me the opportunity to try different techniques on a small scale as well as using up all those scraps we all have.
My favorite craft is card making. I’ve been involved with many crafts over the years from cross-stitching, knitting, crocheting and scrapbooking, but I love to make cards. It tempts the creative side of me and I love to mix and match colors and patterns. Some words of wisdome I live by; doing something you love is never a waste of time, believe in yourself and happy is the person with a hobby. Happy National Craft Month.
What brings me the most joy is taking my passion for all things paper crafting and being able to share the techniques and projects with my clients at work!!!
Anything creative using paper, stamps, paint, ink, and the right side of my brain brings me joy. I love to scrapbook because I get to relive the memories of the ones I love while I make the pages. I love making and sending cards because of the response I get when people receive them. And I love making home decor items and all of the rest because I either decorate my own home or give as presents, all of which make someone happy! And I had no idea how much I need this hobby to distress me until I recently lost many of my supplies in a basement flood. I can only say from experience to please be careful of where you place all that matters! Thanks for giving us this chance!!
I just love making cards for other people…nothing is better than playing with stamps and inks and ribbon (and glitter, rhinestones, buttons, the list goes on and on) to make the “right” card to reflect the personality of someone special.
What a fun and cheery card. Makes me smile just looking at it.
I’ve long been a huge fan and lover of cardmaking. It’s a bit of art condensed on a small canvas with so many possibilities.
Awesome stamp set by the way and thanks for a chance to win one.
I have interest in a lot of different crafts, but right now my favorite is card making. I love that I can make something specific to the person; it just makes it more special. I also love the feedback I get from friends and family, which encourages me to continue. They always seem to love the cards, and I have some friends who won’t throw any of them away. (I’m trying to design a book or something to give them to store them in.) Thanks for a chance to win this stamp set.
I love making cards. It gives me a special pleasure to send a handmade card to my friends and family. They seem to appreciate the effort that goes into them and each is made with love. This awesome stamp set would make some great cards. Thanks for the chance to win one.
Stamping and scrapbooking are definitely my favorite. I can’t separate them since I “cross over” between them so often.
Definitely cardmaking…I dabble in lots of crafts, but cardmaking is my top fave right now!
I love cardmaking and that is definitely my favorite type of crafting right now!!!
I am a scrapper at heart.I enjoy any type of memory keeping whether it is in the form of a mini album,photo collage,or my favouite “Life”journal.I thintk it is so important to document who we are with words and pictures.
I am a scrapbooker and card maker…..I havent been doing my scrapbooking as my love for making cards is taking over…LOL!
Cardmaking is, by far, my favourite craft and brings balance into my hectic life. After a long day of thinking rationally at work and starting at a computer for hours on end, Cardmaking and stamping provides me a chance to switch over to the right side of my brain, be creative and decompress.
Over the years I’ve tried many crafts but card making seems to be the one that is able to be shared with more people as I make cards for a friend to send as well as the ones I send or give to family and friends. So many techniques can be used that it is impossible to get bored or run out of ideas.