Oh gosh, it's painful to think about! Having everything done and putting
final touches on then one small move of the tool and suddenly and E is gone,
or an arm is now a stump, or and eyeball disappeared. Blah, it just makes
you want a time machine!

And then what to do with that now unusable stamp? Toss it after all that
work?

RIFamily

=63430/stime=1233320424/nc1=4507179/nc2=5522132/nc3=5202317>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unless the mistake is so bad it makes the image illegible, makes the text spell something profane or
you just no longer figure out what it is, I still use it. I've got lots of stamps out there with
small mistakes and even a couple with BIG mistakes. although I strive for perfection in carving, I
never really get it. Without start another week long war, I still prefer a crudely done hand carved
stamp that someone labored over, or even one that's less than perfect with its slip of the tool to a
store bought stamp. Not looking down on manufactured stamps mind is you, but I love the idea of
someone putting forth the effort. There no such thing as an ugly stamp, I love them all.



If it's a REALLY horrible mistake, I've been known to turn it over, re-carve on the other side and
mount it.



From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rifamily
And then what to do with that now unusable stamp? Toss it after all that work?







_______________________________________
No viruses found in this outgoing message
Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.6.4
http://www.iolo.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yeah, every time I carve, there are numerous mishaps. Some of them
even involve the carving material. (Oh yeah, I promised to stop
talking about bloody fingers.) Anyway, carving mistakes have never
stopped me from using a stamp.

Taking this philosophy one step further, I think I almost like crude
stamps with imperfections more than perfectly flawless ones.

I know several people (myself definitely not included) who routinely
produce amazing stamps that look like they were machine made. But
something weird has happened in my brain (imagine that!) where I've
somehow become jaded to their level of perfection.

I mean, at first, when I saw these people's stamps I was just blown
away. Like, "OMG! How did you do that?" But now I've gotten used to
it, and I just expect them to produce masterpiece after masterpiece.
Yawn... another perfect stamp from one of the masters. How nice.

I know... I'm horrible. Maybe I'm subconsciously trying to justify my
own existence by shunning people with more talent than I have.
Whatever.

I just know that when I see the work of someone who's still working
on their technique and making occasional boo-boo's, for some bizarre
reason I get more enjoyment out of it. Imperfection lends a
certain "shabby chic" aspect to the artform that I seem to miss when
I see the work of a truly great carver.

And then, when I find a really crude stamp from someone that's just
started carving, I get all goose-pimpley. I feel like I'm getting a
rare glimpse into someone's very soul. And I know that this newcomer
probably put more effort into carving an amoeba-shaped butterfly (or
is it a squirrel? I can't be certain) than the ultra gifted carver
has put into anything they've done recently.

I suppose, as an analogy, it's similar to the reasons why I tend to
prefer old-school blues music rather than a symphony orchestra. Both
are great in their own way, but I'm magnetically attracted to things
that are primative and folksy.

I agree... there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.

--Der Mad Stamper


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, AC wrote:
>
> Unless the mistake is so bad it makes the image illegible, makes
the text spell something profane or
> you just no longer figure out what it is, I still use it. I've got
lots of stamps out there with
> small mistakes and even a couple with BIG mistakes. although I
strive for perfection in carving, I
> never really get it. Without start another week long war, I still
prefer a crudely done hand carved
> stamp that someone labored over, or even one that's less than
perfect with its slip of the tool to a
> store bought stamp. Not looking down on manufactured stamps mind
is you, but I love the idea of
> someone putting forth the effort. There no such thing as an ugly
stamp, I love them all.
>
>
>
> If it's a REALLY horrible mistake, I've been known to turn it over,
re-carve on the other side and
> mount it.
>
>
>
> From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-
usa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rifamily
> And then what to do with that now unusable stamp? Toss it after all
that work?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________
> No viruses found in this outgoing message
> Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.6.4
> http://www.iolo.com
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

> there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.

Oh yes there is :)

> > there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.
>
> Oh yes there is :)
>

Okay... Randy's early attempts excluded ;)

LOL so so funny ! Well call all those misfit carves a series "land of the misfit stamps "lololol
Wildcats

-------------- Original message --------------
From: AC
Unless the mistake is so bad it makes the image illegible, makes the text spell something profane or
you just no longer figure out what it is, I still use it. I've got lots of stamps out there with
small mistakes and even a couple with BIG mistakes. although I strive for perfection in carving, I
never really get it. Without start another week long war, I still prefer a crudely done hand carved
stamp that someone labored over, or even one that's less than perfect with its slip of the tool to a
store bought stamp. Not looking down on manufactured stamps mind is you, but I love the idea of
someone putting forth the effort. There no such thing as an ugly stamp, I love them all.

If it's a REALLY horrible mistake, I've been known to turn it over, re-carve on the other side and
mount it.

From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rifamily
And then what to do with that now unusable stamp? Toss it after all that work?

_______________________________________
No viruses found in this outgoing message
Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.6.4
http://www.iolo.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

NO NO there is no ugly stamps ! My favorite find was a 7 year olds pick up truck , the effort that he put into the 1 inch cube was wonderful !

-------------- Original message --------------
From: Randy Hall

> there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.

Oh yes there is :)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Many of my stamps have been the victim of "one more cut..." You gotta learn
when to stop!

The other one that comes to mind is an injury - when I'm carving alot I
always seem to have knicks and scratches from the blades and the gouges.
One evening though, I managed to slice and gouge my middle fingertip at the
same time. Blood came gushing and I tried to stop it at my workbench with
stuff out of my first aid kit I keep close by, but there was just too much,
so I went into the house to the kitchen to get some water running on it so I
could maybe counter the flow a bit and get pressure in the right place. I
could've easily handled it myself, but as I walked in, I thought about the
fact that my son, Lightning, was working on his First Aid and Emergency
Preparedness in scouts, so I hollered for him and he came running (something
about the tone in my voice). He immediately saw the blood trail on the
kitchen floor and the stream of blood running down my arm and I thought I
was going to have to revive him before he could help me - he will NEVER be a
doctor. I told him what happened and told him he had to help me, and he
rallied enough to swing into action and get the job done. I had to prompt
him a couple of times about "what next", but he managed quite well. After a
couple of hours of having it bandaged, we uncovered it to look at it, and by
then it was a benign little cut. He said "It sure isn't a very big cut for
so much blood!" I told him fingers often bleed alot even if the injury
isn't too bad. It was terribly sore for days though - the gouging part was
far worse than the slicing part, even if it didn't cause the bleeding!

So there ya go DMS - a bloody finger story.
--
Barefoot Lucy
"Not about footwear, it's about philosophy!"


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Randy Hall wrote:
>
>
> > there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.
>
> Oh yes there is :)
>


And I carved it... :o
Connfederate

Ah, Barefoot Lucy... I hope I never have to call upon my Cub Scout
son (9) to bandage me up, but what a great training opportunity for
him! I myself am CPR and FirstAid-certified, but never had to use my
training until my mom (on blood thinners) fell and hit her head. BOY
was I thankful I knew just what to do! (Even IF I forgot to tell
someone to call 9-1-1; and my dad, whom I THOUGHT had left to do just
that, merely came back with a handful of paper towels. We DID have a
Good Samaritan stop by and make a phone call for us. I couldn't have
afforded to release the pressure on my mom's wound in order to get to
the cellphone in my pocket.) Training... and practice... are good
things, even though we'd never wish for any injuries to test
ourselves with.

Carve carefully, everyone!

Blessings,

hansenclan

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Barefoot Lucy
wrote:
>
> Many of my stamps have been the victim of "one more cut..." You
gotta learn when to stop!
>
> The other one that comes to mind is an injury - when I'm carving
alot I always seem to have knicks and scratches from the blades and
the gouges. One evening though, I managed to slice and gouge my
middle fingertip at the same time. Blood came gushing and I tried to
stop it at my workbench with stuff out of my first aid kit I keep
close by, but there was just too much, so I went into the house to
the kitchen to get some water running on it so I could maybe counter
the flow a bit and get pressure in the right place. I could've
easily handled it myself, but as I walked in, I thought about the
fact that my son, Lightning, was working on his First Aid and
Emergency Preparedness in scouts, so I hollered for him and he came
running (something about the tone in my voice). He immediately saw
the blood trail on the kitchen floor and the stream of blood running
down my arm and I thought I was going to have to revive him before he
could help me - he will NEVER be a doctor. I told him what happened
and told him he had to help me, and he rallied enough to swing into
action and get the job done. I had to prompt him a couple of times
about "what next", but he managed quite well. After a couple of
hours of having it bandaged, we uncovered it to look at it, and by
> then it was a benign little cut. He said "It sure isn't a very big
cut for so much blood!" I told him fingers often bleed alot even if
the injury isn't too bad. It was terribly sore for days though - the
gouging part was far worse than the slicing part, even if it didn't
cause the bleeding!
>
> So there ya go DMS - a bloody finger story.
> --
> Barefoot Lucy
> "Not about footwear, it's about philosophy!"

I got the bloody finger a few times. Now, I use a cheap finger and
thumb guard. I think I got it from stampeaz. It is pretty cool.
But, it took some getting used to.

I've been thinking about a series with some of my mistakes called "What's wrong with these pictures?" Or maybe not.

Lady Eilonwy

Dear Lord! That's like when people say 'there's no such thing as an ugly baby' - gotta wonder what else they lie about! =oP (PS, I have my daughter's baby pic if anyone wants proof - BTW, she agrees and thankfully grew out of it!!)

--- On Fri, 1/30/09, Randy Hall wrote:
From: Randy Hall
Subject: Re: [LbNA] New Topic : Carving Mishaps
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, January 30, 2009, 11:23 AM

> there really is no such thing as an ugly stamp.

Oh yes there is :)

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links








[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What about a stamp that was suppose to be a bowl of rice pudding, but
doesn't look like anything. I have looked at it many times and tried
to come up with an image I can use it for, but nothing comes to
mind. this sure is an "ugle stamp" I'm not even sure I still have,
might have tossed it.--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Barefoot
Lucy wrote:
>
> Many of my stamps have been the victim of "one more cut..." You
gotta learn
> when to stop!
>
> The other one that comes to mind is an injury - when I'm carving
alot I
> always seem to have knicks and scratches from the blades and the
gouges.
> One evening though, I managed to slice and gouge my middle
fingertip at the
> same time. Blood came gushing and I tried to stop it at my
workbench with
> stuff out of my first aid kit I keep close by, but there was just
too much,
> so I went into the house to the kitchen to get some water running
on it so I
> could maybe counter the flow a bit and get pressure in the right
place. I
> could've easily handled it myself, but as I walked in, I thought
about the
> fact that my son, Lightning, was working on his First Aid and
Emergency
> Preparedness in scouts, so I hollered for him and he came running
(something
> about the tone in my voice). He immediately saw the blood trail on
the
> kitchen floor and the stream of blood running down my arm and I
thought I
> was going to have to revive him before he could help me - he will
NEVER be a
> doctor. I told him what happened and told him he had to help me,
and he
> rallied enough to swing into action and get the job done. I had to
prompt
> him a couple of times about "what next", but he managed quite
well. After a
> couple of hours of having it bandaged, we uncovered it to look at
it, and by
> then it was a benign little cut. He said "It sure isn't a very big
cut for
> so much blood!" I told him fingers often bleed alot even if the
injury
> isn't too bad. It was terribly sore for days though - the gouging
part was
> far worse than the slicing part, even if it didn't cause the
bleeding!
>
> So there ya go DMS - a bloody finger story.
> --
> Barefoot Lucy
> "Not about footwear, it's about philosophy!"
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Host a contest. post the image, let the boxers vote on what it should be then the winner gets a
pre-made box to plant.



From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of casac14094
I have looked at it many times and tried to come up with an image I can use it for, but nothing
comes to mind.



_______________________________________
No viruses found in this outgoing message
Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.6.4
http://www.iolo.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

We have a box out there called 'Mystery Creature' due to either a
carving mishap or perhaps just poor carving skills. People seem to have
fun trying to guess what we were going for...
EllBee

casac14094 wrote:
>
> What about a stamp that was suppose to be a bowl of rice pudding, but
> doesn't look like anything. I have looked at it many times and tried
> to come up with an image I can use it for, but nothing comes to
> mind. this sure is an "ugle stamp" I'm not even sure I still have,
> might have tossed it.--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> , Barefoot
> Lucy wrote:
> >
> > Many of my stamps have been the victim of "one more cut..." You
> gotta learn
> > when to stop!
> >
> > The other one that comes to mind is an injury - when I'm carving
> alot I
> > always seem to have knicks and scratches from the blades and the
> gouges.
> > One evening though, I managed to slice and gouge my middle
> fingertip at the
> > same time. Blood came gushing and I tried to stop it at my
> workbench with
> > stuff out of my first aid kit I keep close by, but there was just
> too much,
> > so I went into the house to the kitchen to get some water running
> on it so I
> > could maybe counter the flow a bit and get pressure in the right
> place. I
> > could've easily handled it myself, but as I walked in, I thought
> about the
> > fact that my son, Lightning, was working on his First Aid and
> Emergency
> > Preparedness in scouts, so I hollered for him and he came running
> (something
> > about the tone in my voice). He immediately saw the blood trail on
> the
> > kitchen floor and the stream of blood running down my arm and I
> thought I
> > was going to have to revive him before he could help me - he will
> NEVER be a
> > doctor. I told him what happened and told him he had to help me,
> and he
> > rallied enough to swing into action and get the job done. I had to
> prompt
> > him a couple of times about "what next", but he managed quite
> well. After a
> > couple of hours of having it bandaged, we uncovered it to look at
> it, and by
> > then it was a benign little cut. He said "It sure isn't a very big
> cut for
> > so much blood!" I told him fingers often bleed alot even if the
> injury
> > isn't too bad. It was terribly sore for days though - the gouging
> part was
> > far worse than the slicing part, even if it didn't cause the
> bleeding!
> >
> > So there ya go DMS - a bloody finger story.
> > --
> > Barefoot Lucy
> > "Not about footwear, it's about philosophy!"
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>

I sure am glad this topic came up. I don't post much, I read a lot of
posts but I'm a REAL newbie and have not even found my first
letterbox yet let alone put one out. It's been on my "to-do" list for
some time now, both to find and to plant, but there aren't many boxes
in my town at the moment and I don't "get out of town" often. Plus my
husband & kids have gotten into the geocaching hot & heavy and there
are LOTS of those in our town. Anyway, the lack of boxes in town is
why I want to plant one or a few, I have great ideas. I've mostly
just not got around to it because I think deep inside I'm a bit
intimidated by the thought of trying to carve my own stamp(s). But
you guys have given me hope and encouragement, I hope, to get
started. I may have to get back over to the craft/hobby shop this
afternoon and get some supplies and just go for it and "dig into" my
own stamp finally. I may, however, also invest in a finger/thumb
protector thing too! My boys were not in scouts so I'd hate to depend
on them to help me out if I had a "mishap".
Again, thanks to everyone for sharing and encouraging!
"Mama Dawg"
Webster's Boxers


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, EllBee wrote:
>
> We have a box out there called 'Mystery Creature' due to either a
> carving mishap or perhaps just poor carving skills. People seem to
have
> fun trying to guess what we were going for...
> EllBee
>
> casac14094 wrote:
> >
> > What about a stamp that was suppose to be a bowl of rice pudding,
but
> > doesn't look like anything. I have looked at it many times and
tried
> > to come up with an image I can use it for, but nothing comes to
> > mind. this sure is an "ugle stamp" I'm not even sure I still have,
> > might have tossed it.--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> > , Barefoot
> > Lucy wrote:
> > >
> > > Many of my stamps have been the victim of "one more cut..." You
> > gotta learn
> > > when to stop!
> > >
> > > The other one that comes to mind is an injury - when I'm carving
> > alot I
> > > always seem to have knicks and scratches from the blades and the
> > gouges.
> > > One evening though, I managed to slice and gouge my middle
> > fingertip at the
> > > same time. Blood came gushing and I tried to stop it at my
> > workbench with
> > > stuff out of my first aid kit I keep close by, but there was
just
> > too much,
> > > so I went into the house to the kitchen to get some water
running
> > on it so I
> > > could maybe counter the flow a bit and get pressure in the right
> > place. I
> > > could've easily handled it myself, but as I walked in, I thought
> > about the
> > > fact that my son, Lightning, was working on his First Aid and
> > Emergency
> > > Preparedness in scouts, so I hollered for him and he came
running
> > (something
> > > about the tone in my voice). He immediately saw the blood trail
on
> > the
> > > kitchen floor and the stream of blood running down my arm and I
> > thought I
> > > was going to have to revive him before he could help me - he
will
> > NEVER be a
> > > doctor. I told him what happened and told him he had to help me,
> > and he
> > > rallied enough to swing into action and get the job done. I had
to
> > prompt
> > > him a couple of times about "what next", but he managed quite
> > well. After a
> > > couple of hours of having it bandaged, we uncovered it to look
at
> > it, and by
> > > then it was a benign little cut. He said "It sure isn't a very
big
> > cut for
> > > so much blood!" I told him fingers often bleed alot even if the
> > injury
> > > isn't too bad. It was terribly sore for days though - the
gouging
> > part was
> > > far worse than the slicing part, even if it didn't cause the
> > bleeding!
> > >
> > > So there ya go DMS - a bloody finger story.
> > > --
> > > Barefoot Lucy
> > > "Not about footwear, it's about philosophy!"
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> >
> >
>

alice.stone@comcast.net wrote:
> NO NO there is no ugly stamps ! My favorite find was a 7 year olds pick up truck , the effort that he put into the 1 inch cube was wonderful !
>
>


Have to agree with Randy on this one, yes they are some horrible, ugly
abuses of rubber out there. Heck, some of them are mine!

--
Nathan Brown

AKA Cyclonic
Penncoasters.com

The Insensitivity rolls on...

McCarthy was RIGHT!