10th Anniversary Celebration

Rubber Stampers - Visionary People
Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary
As A Stamping Group

On Saturday, August 15, eighteen avid stampers gathered at the Fletcher Library to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Little Rock's premier rubber stamping group. A beautifully decorated cake commemorating the event was the centerpiece of the traditional pot luck luncheon. Our thanks to Virginia and Cynthia for arranging for this beautiful, and delicious, dessert.

We were pleased to have four guests at the meeting, three of whom had never before attended an RSVP meeting: Judy from Hot Springs Village, and Loretta and Ronda from Conway. Sue Senn, who has visited us in the past, made a special trip to be with us during our anniversary event. Thank you all for coming, ladies; we hope you had an enjoyable time and liked us enough to come back.

Below are several photos taken during the afternoon, including shots of all the swap cards. NOTE: all photos may be enlarged by clicking on them. The photos are followed by an article written by Cynthia Hester about the history of RSVP. Please take a few minutes to read it. We have every reason to be proud of our group.

Virginia Moore (left) and Cynthia Hester, two of the founding members, welcome the group.

Cynthia arranged for her husband, Harold (standing at the back of the room), to be present to take group photos. We hope he will share some of his photos with us and will allow them to be posted to this blog.

Note: Table decorations were donated by Nita Clark; thank you Nita. The colored table runners and the pin-wheel buckets added a festive air to our afternoon.

The ladies listen as Virginia (out of sight) explains the make and take project.

Everyone hard at work on the project.

Our community project in honor of our 10th anniversary was to bring school supplies to be donated to a Little Rock elementary school. There will be a report on the actual donation at a later date. Pictured below are the supplies that the attendees brought for this project.
Following below are photos of the swap cards:



Some weeks ago, Cynthia Hester wrote an article which was submitted to the Features Section of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Having had no response from the Features Editor, we assume that it will not be published. Too bad; we think there are other rubber stampers out there who would have an interest in our group and who might have been reached through publication of our submission. So YOU will not miss out on this information, the article is reproduced below. If you have stamping friends whom you think might be interested in our group, send them a link to this blog -- http://rsvpstampers.blogspot.com/

A $20 Greeting Card? – What a Bargain!

By Cynthia Hester

Eleven years ago Virginia Moore received her first handmade greeting card with a pretty flower design on the front. A voice inside Virginia’s head said, “You like crafts. Why don’t you make your own greeting cards and save a few dollars? It will be fun.” That thought led to a visit to the local crafts store where Virginia immersed herself into a previously unknown world of pigment and dye inks, card stock, ribbon and rubber stamps.

When rubber stamps are mentioned, business stamps typically come to mind, such as “PAID,” “PAST DUE,” or “FILE,” usually applied to paper with black, blue or red ink. The rubber stamps that card-makers purchase are images of dragon flies and flowers, architectural scrolls, antique cars and everything else imaginable. Inks, card stock, and decorative papers come in every conceivable color and pattern.

Virginia’s foray into the local crafts store led her to sign up for a basic card-making class. During the class she met others who were equally intrigued with using rubber stamps to make greeting cards. Several class attendees decided to meet regularly to share ideas for cards, swap techniques and learn about the latest products available. Rubber Stampers - Visionary People (RSVP) was formed on August 14, 1999, as a venue for those who were interested in the hobby.

Over the last decade, more than 100 ladies and two gentlemen have enjoyed the club as an outlet for creativity and as an opportunity to learn more about the art and craft of rubber stamping.

Eighteen persons now show up regularly on the third Saturday of each month to make cards together and to share their lives. Elaine Acord, a Registered Nurse at UAMS and a Stampin’ Up!© Demonstrator, comments on the bonds that have been formed: “Club members rely on each other. We’re closer than many siblings or mothers and daughters.” Dear friendships have formed among the members who have seen each other through births, illnesses, deaths and all the in-between events that make up the ins and outs of living. Joys are celebrated and sorrows shared through the process of putting ink to stamp, stamp to paper, then assembling the pieces into greeting cards and embellishing them with ribbons or charms.

Kathy Beck, who joined the club when she moved to the Cabot area, is fond of sentiment (word) stamps. Kathy says, “There is a rubber stamp for every message you’d want to convey.” One stamp she thinks is amusing is ‘Stamping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.’ One of Virginia’s favorite stamps boldly states ‘Get well soon. I’m in no mood to make a sympathy card.’ Both are true sentiments for this group of dedicated card-makers and their surprising sense of humor.

Collectively, RSVP members have spent thousands of hours making cards. Club members have made and sent more than 1500 handmade cards to U. S. military troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and military installations elsewhere in the world through a program called “Cards for the Troops.” Military members use these cards to send to their loved ones. Nationwide, in the past three years, card-making groups have provided more than 120,000 cards for the troops.

Since RSVP was created, club members also have made thousands of cards which have been distributed to various local institutions: a retirement center, a shelter for battered women, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Little Rock Ronald McDonald House, the VA Medical Center and Heifer International. RSVP participates in other community-service projects, and has bought conference tables for the library and school supplies for children in the Central Arkansas area.

According to Pat Phillips, the club’s current newsletter editor, “RSVP will celebrate its tenth anniversary at its meeting on August 15, 2009. After ten consecutive years of monthly meetings, RSVP is one of the oldest card-making clubs in the nation. Since its inception, the club meeting has been canceled only twice, both times due to icy roads unsafe for driving. When the club meets at Fletcher Library on August 15, it will celebrate its tenth anniversary and 110th meeting."

As to saving money by making your own cards― over a number of years, rubber stamp enthusiasts can, and do, spend hundreds of dollars on card-making supplies. When the expenses are totaled, all the supplies needed to make a card might call for an expenditure of $20, or more. Should you think that’s very expensive for a card, keep in mind that dozens of additional cards can be made with the same materials and without further expense – at least until the ink pad goes dry, the card stock supply is exhausted, or the glue runs out. Once purchased, a rubber stamp can be used for hundreds of impressions.

Lest you think that sending a handmade card is “the easy way out,” a card-maker may spend up to an hour, or more, to create each unique work of art. A message some card-makers stamp on the back of their cards states, ‘Paper - $1; Ink - $7; Stamp - $10; Card - Priceless.’

If you are fortunate enough to receive a handmade card in the mail, think twice about what went into its creation before you cast it aside. A handmade card is a hug with a fold in the middle.

For more information on RSVP, which is open to all interested persons, call 501-227-4022 or email vrm2@aristotle.net.