Sassy Stampers Overrun by Spinning Hippos

Cherlyn Conway

Have you heard the Christmas song “All I Want for Christmas Is a Hippopotamus”? On April 15 the Stampers in attendance weren’t singing a song about hippopotami; however I do feel some felt they got run over by their choice of Pirouette Hippo, Hip-Hop Hippo, or Sweetness Hippo. These were the choices they had to pick from to stamp, die cut, reverse die cut, and color for the Spinning Hippo card brought to the club this month by Lisa Olson.

All the fun, nervous looks, and head scratching got started after the monthly business meeting. The drawings for the Hobby Lobby gifts were announced, and colors for next month’s display window were announced to be any masculine card of any colors for Father’s Day in June. Future card making days are May 5 for Support our Troops and May 13 for Stampathon.

On May 15 we will be assembling cards for Operation Baby Shower for expecting parents (about 60), which are the lower-ranking military stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas, and most do not have family close by. Several groups at Robson participate in giving their time and talents to these special families who are being showered with baby gifts from local merchants.

With the meeting concluded, table teachers took a deep breath and started sharing new techniques for some at their table, such as reverse image stamping and die cutting for the middle of the card so that Pirouette, Hip-Hop, or Sweetness could spin freely. Examples of cards that their teacher might have made of what not to do were shared. I can only speak for this teacher—my cards hit the recycle bin quickly for not passing quality control.

With lots of encouragement and a little assistance, all the attendees had their noses into their project as they started their creative excursion. As a teacher, I feel it is good to let your tablemates see your failures so they know not every card works out the first, second, and possibly the third time, no matter how long you have been stamping, and that there might be different ways to achieve the same results as the project being presented. The best words of wisdom this teacher offers are not to be afraid to step out of the box and experiment.

It brought joy to the teachers to see their stamping sisters leave their table with a smile on their face and the sense of accomplishment and excitement to send their card to that special someone.

Need information about the Sassy Stampers Club? Contact Club President Jo Ann Gantos at [email protected] or 817-832-2739.

Until we share our next creation of the Sassy Stampers Club, “Do you know your authentic self? You can when you start going on creative excursions.”

Don’t forget to stop by the CATC building and check out the Sassy Stampers window, which displays some of the creative excursions some of the club’s Stampers have been on.