Stash: the thrash

I certainly stimulated a very lively debate on UK Scrappers when I innocently enquired how much we all spend on stash.

Lots of replies - 46 - and 779 views. One of the best replies was "I don't spend on stash. I invest in memories." Most scrappers, like me, were anxious to keep their spend a secret from what they referred to as their "DH." (Dear husband?). John is forever seeing mysterious parcels arriving for me, and me scurrying off to the post office to collect stuff that arrived when I was out. He's quite blase about it now. I tell him I spend less on stash than most women spend on shoes each month. Anyway, it keeps me quiet so that's good from his perspective.

I buy most of my stash online, usually from Craft Obsessions or ebay. I quite often hurriedly place an order with Craft Obsessions on a Friday because I know it'll arrive the next day and I can start putting it to good use on Sunday!

I always have a shopping list on the go. It currently reads: chipboard letters (preferably K&Co Twinkle Type in pink), birthday greetings peel-offs (but not the really small ones), some tiny pearls and beads, various inkpads (I am gathering the lengthy list of supplies needed to recreate a small canvas showing the seashore that appeared in Craft Stamper in May), and some swirly brackets. I'm also looking for tactile velvet and felt type embellishments.

I'm going to Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday for a very brief visit, linked to work, but will have some time on Saturday for shopping. And the good news is, I have a craft shop address. I will ring them first though to make sure it's worth my while visiting. I go to the US quite a lot and I find it's difficult to find out where craft stores are.

Today's big news is that I've signed up for an online digital photography course. I read it about it on the UK Scrappers forum. It's 10 weeks long and you get assignments and a place to post your work plus an online forum. Maybe it will help me to make progress in producing the sort of photos I visualise, but can't seem to capture!