The very first stamps that I had were two wood block stamps; one said “be Happy” and the other said “Hug!”

My husband got them for me one time we were at Michaels. He took me there because I like crafting and he wanted me to get some art supplies. I wasn’t sure how to use the stamps, I knew they would have to be inked up somehow, but I didn’t give it much thought. This was back in fall 2010, and until then my entire knowledge of stamping consisted of small round self-inking toy stamps which I used as a kid.

However, a few months later I decided to visit Michaels again and get some inkpads. There were so many different kinds and I wasn’t sure which one to get. In the end I settled with a couple that were on clearance. While rummaging in the dollar section I noticed some clear acrylic stamps, at first I didn’t know what they were, then I realized that they were also stamps (it probably said “stamp” on the packaging somewhere), and got myself a couple of them.

I got home and started trying out my rubber stamps with the ink pads. I wasn’t quite thrilled with the results, the impressions were very poor (I think the ink pads were drying, they were on clearance after all!) then I decided to try the acrylic stamps. I found them very hard to use (I wasn’t using any blocks!). Then I remembered that Michaels had clear blocks along with the clear stamps (which at the time I was wondering what they could be used for) and realized that I should have gotten those too. So again I went to Michaels to get those. I got one block for each set of stamps, thinking I would have to permanently store the stamps on the blocks!

Sometime later I came across a video in YouTube showing how to make a stamped background image. I noticed that the inkpad the person was using was giving really good impression; such vibrant colors, nothing like my inkpads. I paused the video a couple of times to get a good look at the name. It said “Close to my heart Exclusive Inks”. So then I searched in that name and got to know all about their acrylic stamps and inkpads. That is probably when I got fascinated by stamps and the beautiful things you can make with them. I stocked myself with Close to my Heart stamps and inks, and was ready to go…making cards and art pieces.