Removing hindrances to happy stamping

Three things have hindered me lately from wanting to stamp: my messy stamping room, my frustration over the adhesives issue, and not being happy with the white card stock I've been using. The second and third things are basic stamping issues that all stampers face at one point or another.

White card stock is probably the most used of all card stocks. And if it won't stay glued down then how can we enjoy creating paper art? I don't want my hard work to fall apart after a month. And, as we all know, quality is vital to the card stock we use. We all probably have some old, cheap cs we bought as new stampers, thinking it didn't really matter at the time. But once we saw how much better the nicer cs performed we put the cheap stuff aside (or gave it to our kids to play with!).

So solving these 2 issues makes the paper art experience far more enjoyable.

As to adhesives, I am hoping I have now solved this problem. I have heard nothing but praise for the 3M ATG 714 adhesive gun (used originally by custom framers), but the price! Yikes! But I've been schlepping along for so long with my not-so-great glues and adhesives and just had had enough.

Despite the initial big investment, I think the ATG 714 will pay for itself in cost savings on refills and much less frustration during the creative process. So soon I will be joining the ranks of ATG 714 users! I ordered it and some refills here. It seems to be the best deal, so far. And I've read that their customer service is very good. So, that's done!

And I used to buy large quantities of white card stock from Marco Paper (Beckett Expression Radiance) because it was as nice as SU's Whisper White and was cheaper; and I could avoid shipping charges by picking up my order at the local stamping convention they participate in once a year in our area. But I had heard so many rave reviews about Papertrey Inks' Stamper's Select White card stock; and it's half the price of the Beckett! (My apologies. It's actually the same price - $0.15 per sheet, not counting shipping costs - as the Beckett, but only if you buy the 250 sheet ream, and shipping is likely going to be high. It's $0.215 per sheet for the Beckett if you buy the 50 pack.) Plus, PTI has free shipping on orders $55 or more. So I took the plunge and ordered some. I also ordered some of their 5.5"x5.5" envies and some of their Perfect Match card stock collection. I am very hopeful about these products.

I think the solving of both the adhesive and white card stock issues will make me want to stamp more. I realize now that these two issues were greatly hindering me from enjoying the card making process. Now, to clean up my stamping room!

I'm not into feng shui, but I do think that if there's something in the way that I keep tripping over rather than dealing with, it will have its effect. I just moved two of them out of my way!

Let's hope for good!