The Rubber Stamper has been sold . . . [Archive]

jhitchin

10-01-2007, 11:17 AM

Bummer!

I wonder if the new owners will keep the magazine mostly as is, but done by their own staff or if they bought it to kill the compitition?

Well, it doesn't appear that AMOS Craft Publishing has any magazines devoted to rubber stamping (if I'm reading this website correctly), so it could be they wanted to start one, and it was just easier to buy a current one than to start their own. Who knows?

However, with a different editorial staff, the tone of the magazine may change. Whether that's good or bad...? We shall see what we shall see.

Jeff

XrayAmy

10-01-2007, 11:29 AM

However, with a different editorial staff, the tone of the magazine may change. Whether that's good or bad...? We shall see what we shall see.

Jeff

I've never been very good at keeping my mouth shut....but I'm gonna for now. Except I will tell you that I would get a marketing call from their sales person ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK asking me to advertise with them :angry:. This lasted for at least three months. Good thing I never answer our phone. Unfreakinbelievable.

cmcveigh

10-01-2007, 11:34 AM

Well, I just got a letter from the Editor announcing the change.

It is NOT going to be a dedicated stamping publication. They are going to "incorporate" rubber stamping into their existing publication, bumping up the number of pages from 84 to 132, alleging a 100,000 circulation.

Here's the current magazine: http://www.craftsnthings.com/SeeInside.aspx

This is not my cup of tea.... that's for sure.:(

jhitchin

10-01-2007, 11:58 AM

This is not my cup of tea.... that's for sure.:(

Me, either. So I guess the next issue's the last one? At least, I hope they give the magazine one last issue to tell folks what's going on.

I was never one to play favorites with stamping magazines. I had no loyalty to one title or another. As long as they had articles and ads that I found useful and interesting, I bought them. I enjoyed having multiple magazines to pick from, too. Alas, we are losing one. :(

Amy, I can understand that frustration. Man, how annoying to get repeated solicitation calls like that. I, too, am glad you don't answer the phone.

Jeff

Inky Whiskers

10-01-2007, 12:30 PM

I was never one to play favorites with stamping magazines. I had no loyalty to one title or another. As long as they had articles and ads that I found useful and interesting, I bought them. I enjoyed having multiple magazines to pick from, too. Alas, we are losing one. :(

I rarely buy Crafts & Things as the projects are usually too simple and craft oriented & no where near artsy enough to float my rubber boat. Even if they do more stamping, if the type of projects they offer doesn't change for the better, I still won't be buying it. I know it's a good thing to have different project styles & skill levels available monthly to suit a wide variety of tastes, but quick & cute or "do it in less than 5 minutes" projects in magazines rarely do anything for me as I can come up with my own easy project ideas. I need inspiration from stampers who are more experienced & adventuresome than I am to encourage my growth as a rubber stamp artist.

Stamp & Scrap Arts usually offers me something new each issue, even if most of the projects are not that complicated and to really get the ink flowing thru' my veins, Rubber Stamp Madness is always inspiring. Granted, some of RSMs featured work is not something I want to do for myself, but at least what they offer gets me thinking rather than putting my Muse to sleep. :D

Spideycindy

10-01-2007, 12:51 PM

Bummer...:cry: Maybe it was a good thing I picked up some back issues recently.
Spideyciny

stampin stacy

10-01-2007, 01:49 PM

:cry: I can't believe we are losing another stamping magazine. I am not a crafter, I am not a scrapper, I am a rubber stamper and want publications dedicated to stamping.:angry: . It is an even bigger insult than the usual move to lump stamping in with scrapbooking. :eyeroll:

While RSM is my first preference as a stamping mag and the one I subscribe to, it's nice to have some alternative choices out there when I'm in the mood for something different. Besides, competition is good for the consumer, it keeps companies from getting stale. ensuring a better publication in the long run. If I had a subscription to Rubber Stamper I would be very upset about now. :swear:

Thank goodness for the Internet and Rubber Stamp Chat, we can still come here to inspire and be inspired by each other. ;)

Daniel R.

10-01-2007, 05:06 PM

While I never had a project in Rubber Stamper [my stamp projects & articles were in StampIt!], I can appreciate how it feels to find that another category-specific periodical [with paid subscriptions] has "gone south".

That said, I would urge all my fellow stampers [especially Rubber Stamper subscribers] to give this change a 'chance'.

Stamper-specific mags are not the only 'niche' ones who are re-tooling. Many 'category craft' pubs are undergoing the same experience.

As a 'stamper', I actually look forward to seeing how this plays out. I was never just a card-stamper, scrapbook-stamper or...? I remain a stamper however the wind shift Industrywise...

XrayAmy

10-01-2007, 06:22 PM

Etha

10-01-2007, 07:37 PM

I wonder what will happen with all those cards that I submitted for future issues.....any ideas?

andreasscraps

10-01-2007, 10:09 PM

Unfortunately some of my cards are there too and I've been told by Christine Chatten that they were sent with all of the magazine's content and they now have all of the samples. It really stinks they did that since I sent postage money in to get the projects back - I'm not going to lose sleep over it, but they should have asked the artists since it's technically not their property, it was loaned. Oh well, another one bites the dust...

Inky Whiskers

10-02-2007, 03:56 PM

What sucks about it for me is that someone was doing an entire project for the Rubber Stamper using all Beeswax stamps. She just mailed me a color copy of the top of a cigar box she did which is fantastic but it was only one piece of many. I'm not sure what will happen with that now.

If she hasn't sent it in yet, maybe she can find another stamp mag that is willing to print it if the new owners don't want it. The same goes for all the cards sent to them. Unless they are totally out of their minds, having a wealth of stamped projects to choose from can only be seen as a bonus when they are setting up the new issues. They will establish their own criteria for submissions, but they won't have much to choose from for awhile.

Don't give up hope that the "new & improved" magazine won't be worth reading! The old version wasn't one of my favs, but we won't know one way or the other until the first issue comes out what it will be like. Who knows? Maybe they will publish the best stamp mag seen in a long time because they do incorporate all kinds of crafting that we may or not have considered before. I know when I occassionaly skim thru' non-stamping craft mags I tend to see project that (for me) have great potential for being stamped projects. i.e. Using hand stamped papers instead of printed (scrap) papers & using stamped images instead printed or computer generated ones. The possibilities are as endless as our imaginations!!! :D

stampin stacy

10-02-2007, 04:51 PM

Thanks for the optimistic view point Jenna, your right about the wait to see.

I have considered using some of my larger floral stamps to make my own "preprinted" cross stitch or embroidery patterns. Problem is I haven't picked up a needle in several years, I always get distracted by rubber. ;)

Inky Whiskers

10-02-2007, 05:35 PM

You're welcome! I find I can get too doom & gloomy if I don't watch myself, so the occassional "snap out of it" is a good thing. :D

I had a similar idea, only mine is to use stamp images as beading patterns! :lol: I too, also have more ideas than time to do them all. ;)

Margaret J.

10-11-2007, 04:12 PM

This has always been my favorite rs magazine, somehow more substantial than the rest. So I am really sorry to see it go, I don't think it will be the same at all incorporated into the other magazine. Thank goodness for VSN and RubberStampMadness.
Margaret J.

cmcveigh

10-11-2007, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by XrayAmy :
What sucks about it for me is that someone was doing an entire project for the Rubber Stamper using all Beeswax stamps. She just mailed me a color copy of the top of a cigar box she did which is fantastic but it was only one piece of many. I'm not sure what will happen with that now.

Amy ~
I got a call Tuesday from Tami the managing editor of RS and she told me all projects, layouts and materials up until the MAY issue have been completed and sent on to Amos Publishing. She believes that they will use what they receive rather than them starting from scratch - so there's a good chance your project may still show up! Let's hope so.

XrayAmy

10-11-2007, 10:19 PM

Amy ~
I got a call Tuesday from Tami the managing editor of RS and she told me all projects, layouts and materials up until the MAY issue have been completed and sent on to Amos Publishing. She believes that they will use what they receive rather than them starting from scratch - so there's a good chance your project may still show up! Let's hope so.

She was still working on the project though. She's is determined to get it published somewhere, somehow no matter what. She seems pretty feisty! :)

j3annin3

10-12-2007, 01:53 PM

Hello Etha!

Is that your excellent black and white "Thinking of You" card in the Sept/Oct issue of The Rubber Stamper? It's a great card!

Glomom23

10-12-2007, 06:12 PM

I just checked out the website and the new magazine isn't my cuppa of tea either...I have a subscription to Rubber Stamper. They probably will send the new magazine until my subscription runs out.
Bummer!

inkieroo

10-14-2007, 06:22 PM

Big time Bummer as lots and lots of ideas flow on those pages. It has a different flavor than RSM --they come and go--I remember when I had a fit when another stamping mag bit the dust years ago and then RS came in and took the lead, so maybe someone else will step in too if they think there is a big enough void.

Marie

10-15-2007, 03:59 PM

Stampo

10-15-2007, 06:31 PM

I have a subscription to RSM too and it will run for a couple of years. I sure hope the new magazine will be good. I am not a fan of the one that bought them out but, I will keep an open mind until I receive the first edition. RSM was one of my favorite stamp magazines. Sad to see it go!!

RSM didn't go anywhere... it was Rubber Stamper... I'm old enough to remember when there were only TWO RS magazines... RSM and National Stampagraphic!

Marie

10-15-2007, 08:20 PM

Opps, I meant Rubber Stamper Magazine.

Daniel R.

10-15-2007, 08:26 PM

Appears to me as though we have a choice. We can mourn the 'loss' of a favorite resource [The Rubber Stamper] or be pro-active in supporting its move into Crafts 'N Things.
While I appreciate the fact that this is not 'good news' for many of those who are primarally paper stampers [cards & such], I accept this as 'Business Reality'.
Hard copy mags are in dire straits. 'Merging' is one way to keep them alive.

debz

10-22-2007, 11:41 PM

Jill, Chris, and the gang at Rubber Stamper are truly kind...The magazine has always embraced all stampers, as well as many small companies! It never mattered who you were, how long you've been stamping, what stamps or techniques were used...admissions were welcome and encouraged!

Thank you all!

Uncle Stamp

10-30-2007, 12:39 PM

Interesting....

stampin stacy

10-30-2007, 01:41 PM

Looked it over last week, "new" paper crafts section and all. Soooo disappointed there were hardly any stamps used in the projects. Of course they took a Rubber Stamping mag, merged it the a general crafts one and then titled that portion of the mag as paper crafts so kinda knew what to expect before I even opened it up. yuk :sad:

So unclestamp what exactly do you find interesting or was that just an excuse to advertise?

jhitchin

10-30-2007, 01:50 PM

So unclestamp what exactly do you find interesting or was that just an excuse to advertise?I'm going with the latter, but then I'm a heartless cynic.

Jeff

XrayAmy

10-30-2007, 01:51 PM

I'm going with the latter, but then I'm a heartless cynic.

Jeff

Me too! But he is pretty transparent....

Inky Whiskers

10-30-2007, 02:53 PM

but then I'm a heartless cynic. Jeff

You're NOT heartless, Jeff! You're just tired of all the :cow: pies people try to pass off as something else. :D We each only have so much (time, energy & resources) to give w/o running short ourselves, so not wanting to share with those who don't really need it but stick their hand out anyway isn't heartless. It's pragmatic. :D

The same goes for YOU, Amy!

alsmouse

10-30-2007, 09:36 PM

Will all the cynics to this thread, please raise their right hand. Now will you all count off starting with "one". :)) :)) :)) ~C8>

XrayAmy

10-30-2007, 09:44 PM

One.

alsmouse

10-30-2007, 09:53 PM

ONE!

XrayAmy

10-30-2007, 10:38 PM

ONE!

:laugh: What happened to two?

jhitchin

10-30-2007, 11:46 PM

Well, if we were doing a Fibonacci sequence, the two would come now since it goes 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.

So, TWO!

Jeff

XrayAmy

10-30-2007, 11:54 PM

Well, if we were doing a Fibonacci sequence, the two would come now since it goes 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.

So, TWO!

Jeff

OMG., I've actually heard of that I think....but only because of the show Numb3rs. :)

alsmouse

10-31-2007, 08:08 AM

So the next person should say 3. :))

It was actually meant to have all of us cynics raise our right hands and say "One" as a unit. IE: we are all cynics. Sorry It's a VERY OLD line from a movie. I can't remember if it is a Marx Bros, or a Monty Python. Just a on your toes type humor movie. Jeff, Does that line ring a bell?

stampin stacy

10-31-2007, 08:08 AM

So I guess I'm 5?!

Inky Whiskers

11-02-2007, 02:12 PM

alsmouse

11-02-2007, 07:35 PM

I'm skipping 8 & claiming 13! :D

Just because I shoveled a line about Jeff not being a cynic, doesn't mean I ain't one. :lol: My cynicism is often dunked in irony and heavily laced with sarcasm so it may not always be readily apparent.

Boy, that's a heavy load to drag around. I find it is easier to just be snarky as needed. Small, compact, fits in your pocket & matches most events. :))~C8>

Inky Whiskers

11-03-2007, 12:37 AM

Boy, that's a heavy load to drag around. I find it is easier to just be snarky as needed. Small, compact, fits in your pocket & matches most events. :))~C8>

If I did full sized cynicism it would indeed be a heavy load, but I too like to keep it light. I think of my cast-iron b***hness as doughnut hole size rather than the jumbo size filled & frosted cakes. They're easier to toss as required than the full size model. :D

Margaret J.

11-08-2007, 05:07 PM

It is breaking my little heart that they sold the magazine. This really was my favorite, I just liked the focus. Good thing there are other nice rubberstamping magazines out there.
Margaret J.

cmcveigh

12-16-2007, 10:31 AM

I'm just wondering if anyone has received the latest Craft-n-Things magazines which replaced The Rubber Stamper. They were mailed last week. I got December 07 and February 08 in one day's delivery.

Several of the Yahoo groups that I monitor had multiple members who just lambasted it and are all set to cancel.

If you did get it and had a chance to browse it, what do you all think of it? My opinion is the photography/layout and paper quality aren't anywhere near the quality that TRS published. The paper they use is so thin, you can see the print of the backside's article through the paper.

However, both TRS and Scrap & Stamp Arts magazines have been getting thinner with each new issue. Both are/were less than 100 pages now. Last S&S was only 88 +/- pages total.

The Crafts-n-Things February issue actually had 59 out of 160 pages dedicated to Paper/Stamp Crafts. It's just what they chose to publish didn't tickle my fancy whatsoever. Everything looked pale and washed out. I also don't like that one has to reference the back of the magazine under Buyer's Guide to find out who the maker of a stamp is.

On the plus side, though, because it's a mixed-craft magazine, I see a whole lot of ways that stampers can step out of the "card-making box" and apply their love of stamping to a whole variety of other projects and gift-giving items. A majority of the other featured projects lend themselves to stamping quite nicely.

Anybody else???

piecesandpom

12-16-2007, 12:33 PM

I received mine and felt that although the stamping was adequate and I was happy to see so much emphasis on stamps and paper arts, there really wasn't much to make me 'grow.' If you check out the new designers a few pages in, I think they have a chance of pushing the mag forward in this area. At least I'll be crossing my fingers on that one!

I agree that there were some other craft articles that could push into the stamping arena. The quilting, for instance, might be interesting as new designs, ideas for iris folding technique and could be enhanced by tiny stamping around the edges for a card or as a focal point for a stamped image. Too bad my eyes and hands aren't more coordinated to try this myself! I also keep wondering how to bring cross stich into a card without cramping my hands. . .

StampinNancy

12-16-2007, 12:52 PM

I have not received mine yet (and I had just renewed my subscription to TRS two months before they announced their sale). I'm patiently stalking my mailbox these days!

stmpstone

12-16-2007, 05:10 PM

I was disappointed in the Crafts and Things at first glance.

I really loved the Rubber Stamper magazine. It was one of my favorites.

I'll look at the next one before I totally pass judgment on it. My subscription runs out this summer so I'll let it run. I'll pass them on. Maybe somebody will love it.

Claudia in Las Vegas

Marie

12-16-2007, 06:42 PM

Hi, I received mine yesterday. While it is not TRS it is better than I anticipated after seeing the Crafts and Things Magazine. They have improved the quality and I was glad to see the space dedicated to rubber stamping, although I wasn't all that enthused with the samples. Hopefully it will improve. The Rubber Stamper was one of my favorite stamp magazines. So sorry it is gone.

StamPoor

12-17-2007, 05:40 PM

Hmm... I have a subscription to TRS and have not received my issue of Crafts and Things. I would be concerned, but since you haven't received yours yet, either Nancy, I'll hold off on that. And Cheryl, thanks for alerting us that the copies were mailed. If I don't get mine relatively soon, I guess I'll have to make a phone call.

StampinNancy

12-18-2007, 02:46 PM

Well, I just received my copy today, and it was very disappointing, but then I really liked TRS. I hate having to go thru 70 pages of "tea cozy" type articles before I reached the stamping section. While they have some very good stampers on board, the samples seemed "lightweight" - unless that was just the paper! oh well - my subscription runs for another 2 YEARS!

andreasscraps

12-19-2007, 08:17 AM

A friend in California got hers around last Friday I think, but nothing on the east coast here in FL yet.

Glomom23

12-21-2007, 06:37 PM

I got mine and it's not my style...I don't know when my subscription ends. I'll have to look at my label.

joanofgos

12-22-2007, 08:28 AM

Well, I didn't like Crafts and Things--in general. But these are the things I did like....

I did make the recipe for the Black Bean soup on the yummy pages of the *sorta* inspirational "Rubber Stamper Studio" on pages 98-100. I liked Kerri Posson's backgrounds, but I really liked her black bean soup....and my beloved husband did, too.

I also like page 120--"Well Versed." A nice, set of quotes. Another of *our* magazines could pick that feature up.

I'll give the magazine one or two more chances, and then I'll cancel it. (And, of course, I just renewed it for two years fairly recently. You think I'd learn after Expressions went out of business....

joanofgos

StamPoor

12-22-2007, 01:16 PM

Still no sign of my Craft and Things magazine . Are others in the East still waiting for theirs to show up? Maybe someone who has a copy would be kind enough to post a phone number from the masthead. I would like to give them a call after Christmas -- or maybe New Year's -- to make sure they have me on their list for the remainder of my Rubber Stamper subscription. Thanks.

andreasscraps

12-22-2007, 01:49 PM

I did just receive mine in South FL on Thursday, so it may be on its way. The mag was ok and I'll give it a couple more issues.

patiak

01-13-2008, 01:08 AM

I'm very sad that TRS is no more! I enjoyed reading it. I had just renewed my subscription for 2 yr before finding out it was sold. I finally received my Craft n Things but was not impressed. Knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, ... are not my thing. Only 59 pages (some 1/2 pages) were devoted to cards but very few used rubber stamps. I may glance thru this magazine in stores but I have no interest in a 2 yr subscription to an all-round craft magazine.

Amos also publishes Paper Made Easy which I thought was a closer comparison to TRS though its focus is not rubber stamping either. I considered transfering my subscription to this but decided to cancel it and use the refund to subscribe to a stamping (my current craft of choice) magazine. The search is on...

stampin stacy

01-13-2008, 07:09 AM

I heard some interesting things about this mag and some of the things they are still planning for it, like contacting well known stamp artists to actually write articles for them. Maybe we need to do a little more "wait and see", it sounds like they really are interested in keeping their stamper clientele and aren't finished with the paper arts section.

Uncle Stamp

01-16-2008, 10:31 AM

Bummer of a birthmark....

alma

01-16-2008, 01:46 PM

Funny thing is....

I don't think that I had purchased TRS in the last year it was in print. I picked it up each time I saw it on the newstand and put it back down. Nothing seemed to interest me.

Then in December I picked up a magazine loaded with crafts and stamping and bought it and didn't even look at the name. Then this month, I saw a magazine filled with Valentine things. I didn't think twice about looking at the name. I got the magazine home and realized it was Crafts n Things. I looked at the one I got in December, which was still out cause I was still planning a few projects from it, and it was Crafts n Things.

My thought is, if we can get more people exposed to stamping by being in a general craft magazine, then maybe this industry will survive. So many stamp stores closing and businesses folding, maybe we need and "injection" of new stampers to keep the craft going.

alma

StamPoor

01-16-2008, 05:03 PM

I would like to at least look at a copy of the Crafts and Things magazine but have not been able to find it anywhere. My stamp store doesn't have it nor do any of the book stores I frequent. I don't go to Michaels much; does anyone know if they carry it?

stampin stacy

01-16-2008, 05:38 PM

Stampoor you might try Walmart, they used to carry it and probably still do, I think I even saw it at a CVS when I was picking up a prescription for hubby recently.

Ya know Alma you might be right, it is much more mainstream and maybe the exposure will be good for stampers.

cmcveigh

01-16-2008, 07:04 PM

The total page count dedicated to card making was 59 someone said... and some of those were half-pages because of ads - however, if you've seen TRS or Scrap-n-Stamp lately, their entire magazines are dwindling to a total page count of 83, 88, 89. I almost confused them with the Dell catalogs and was going to throw them out they were so thin.

I think this new multi-mix of crafts is a very good potential idea generator for using our own stamps in other ways. One can incorporate a lot of the ideas and transfer them to stamping. And, as has been said, it could bring crafters into the stamping realm who have never been exposed to stamps before.

I had a phenomenal response to my first ad in that magazine, and I'm hoping the exposure will produce more first-time customers. It could just be a fluke and it was that one image that caused such an interest.... but we shall see.

:wave:

Taniwolf

01-16-2008, 07:04 PM

i loved the Rubber stamper and was dissapointed when it
merged with the Craft n things.
I will try looking at this magazine.

alma

01-17-2008, 08:19 AM

StamPoor

01-17-2008, 09:46 AM

Thanks for the ideas on where to look for a copy of Crafts and Things. I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday and they didn't have it. I don't have access to a WalMart, but I'll check my CVS. I hadn't thought of them because they don't seem to have much in the way of crafting magazines. It's certainly worth checking out. I appreciate the leads and I'll keep looking.

Fliss

01-17-2008, 12:10 PM

I can't believe what is happening to our craft programmes in the U.K.

1. Create and Craft, our channel is 661 for sky, appear to be promoting nothing but kits that have nothing to do with stamping!:shock:
Where are they coming from and what is their point?:confusion:
Who but a complete novice would want to purchase a ready to assemble card kit? Would you get a sence of achievment!...:hissy: Not!!!

2. I can't wait to see www.qvcuk.com, or chanel 630 on our sky, which starts it's craft day at midnight friday 19/01/08 through to Saturday midnight 20/01/08...Yes 24hrs!
But will they have rubber stamping?:confusion: Or even a selection from U.S.A?, which funnily enough is the most popular purchase for us in the U.K. Also taking into account that U.S.A. products are far cheaper than ours and so different. That is why we can't purchase from your QVC site, they don't ship to the U.K. due to cost!
I will keep you posted on the choice and outcome.

Talking about stamping, I have noticed that the majoriety of U.K. sites (Gallery's) are not about stamping any more!!:confusion: All I can see throughout the gallery choices are instant kits! :angry:
I have been a member of www.docrafts.co.uk for many years now, but only visit now and again due to the fact of not much stamping! :hissy:

Surely this can't be a trend that the editors/magazines are dictating?:shock:
Maybe there is something in it if there are so many closures of stamp stores.:confusion:

But I for one say "Keep Stamping",:lcow: that's what I call ART.:applause:

It really is:cool: to stamp your ART out:applause: