CCC # 6: The Politics of Stamping

Last month, I received a package of YNS stamps from Karen. I had no idea what was in the package. I vaguely remembered a message in the design team forum about signing up for stamps for an upcoming release, but I was a$$ deep in alligators at that moment with finals, the holidays, etc., so I blew it off. After all, I figured, I’m not full-time on the design team. With YNS, I am the stamping equivalent of permanent guest star on a television show; I write my monthly CCC posts, and do a little designing here and there, as time permits. It’s an awfully sweet gig, I’ve gotta say.

So, anyway, I get this package of stamps, and of course, it’s full of wonderful purple rubber and dies. Manna from heaven! Upon closer inspection, though, I spy an image for which I have gone on record MULTIPLE times regarding my ambivalence. Yes, my friends, I see an… elephant. Karen had sent me the Special Delivery set from Jenny Suchin’s new line of stamps.

Now, ordinarily, I’m thrilled with any new YNS stamps I receive because – let’s face it – they’re all adorable. And it’s not that Special Delivery isn’t cute. It’s just that in the U.S., elephants are a symbol of the Republican party, and I am a Democrat with a capital “D.” Seriously. My children are named Truman and Carter (after the 33rd and 39th Presidents, both Democrats), and my husband is the minority leader (and thus a Democrat) of the Oklahoma State Senate. In other words, we are more political than your average bears, and thus, I generally eschew anything with an elephant motif.

That doesn’t mean I avoid having anything to do with Republicans, mind you. After all, I live in the reddest of red states. Oklahoma is the only state in the union in which the majority of people in every single county voted for John McCain, the Republican candidate, in the the 2008 Presidential election. If I refused to be friends with people based on their political views, I’d be a pretty lonely gal. Really and truly, some of my best friends are Republicans. Bless their hearts… πŸ˜‰

I realize most stampers are able to overlook the whole elephant/donkey thing. (Donkeys are the symbol of the Democratic party, by the way. I could tell you the whole story behind the animal symbolism of the U.S. political party system, but frankly, it’s not that interesting; here’s a link that explains it, if you really want to know.) Then again, most stampers haven’t had to knock on strangers’ doors in 100+ degree heat and beg them to vote for their husbands. To get into my head on this issue, look at it this way: think of where you went to high school or college. Now, think about your alma mater‘s main rival. Would you ever wear a tee-shirt emblazoned with your rival’s mascot? Of course not. The only way an Oklahoma Sooner would be caught dead wearing the orange and black logo of Oklahoma State University is if he or she lost a bet.

Being a Canadian, I’m sure Karen didn’t have a clue about my elephant idiosyncrasy until the moment she read this post. I actually considered mailing the stamp set back to her and explaining why it wasn’t for me, but that seemed a bit silly, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to support the launch of Jenny’s line. So last week, when I sat down to stamp something for the YNS/Jenny Suchin blog hop, I had a dilemma on my hands. Should I just make a baby card and ignore the political implications I imbued the stamp with, or should I stamp it like I saw it? Well, you know me: if there’s an elephant in the room, I have to acknowledge it…


I figure I will send this card to one of my favorite Republicans, our longtime babysitter, Larami, who just went back to college after taking a semester off to recover from back surgery. She is absolutely dear to my family, and we think of her as one of our own. Even though she’s a political science major and a proud member of the University of Arkansas College Republicans. Larami will love this card, precisely because she will know how conflicted I must have felt making it. I will definitely recommend she frame it. I know all handmade cards are one-of-a-kind, but this one really is. I can guarantee the likes of it will never be seen again.

You Republicans in the audience don’t have it as bad as us Democrats. For whatever reason, elephant images are everywhere, and have some how become associated with babies. Elephant stamps are inexplicably ubiquitous. Donkey stamps, on the other hand, are as rare as hen’s teeth. Fortunately, though, Karen and YNS happen to have a donkey in their catalog, so I was able to give equal time to the Ds:
I used the So Sorry Donkey image to create this Yankee Doodle Dandy, and colored him in with Copic markers. I created the donkey logo background paper by copy-and-pasting the logo into a Word document, reducing it, and then copy and pasting the reduced size over and over again. I printed the document out with a color printer onto white card stock – easy peasy!

Here’s a close-up of Mr. Donkey, so you can see the coloring a little better:
You can see where I added some strokes with a gray colored pencil to give his fur a bristle-y look, and to give him a spiky forelock. Isn’t he a cutie?

What about you? Are there any images you stay away from? What’s your reason? We all have our biases, and I’d like to feel like I’m not the only weirdo around here. Leave me a comment and let me know, and you just might be able to do a little bi-partisan stamping of your own for FREE! Everyone (regardless of political affiliation πŸ˜‰ ) who comments on this post by 12:00 a.m. EST of January 25th will be entered into a random drawing to win the Special Delivery and So Sorry Donkey sets!

You know one of the things I love about stamping? It transcends politics. Get two stampers in a room together, and the last thing they’re going to talk about is an election. THANK GOODNESS!

See you next month on the 18th!

xo – Carole

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25 Comments

  1. 1
    Shari says:

    Carole; Great story. Thanks for the chance to win these fab stamps =)

  2. 2
    Julie E says:

    LOL! I don’t have any biases when it comes to stamp supplies, at least none that I have found yet!

  3. 3
    Lisa T says:

    LOL! Well, I too am a Democrat. I live in a swing state (MO) but really it’s one big red state with 3 blue spots and I just happen to live in one of those spots. πŸ™‚ Ironically, I’m originally from the blue state of NJ but hail from one of the red ares of the state. (Go figure.) Anyway, despite my political leanings, I do have an fondness for elephants. (I always coveted the original elephant Sissix die but never bought it because I didn’t think I’d use it enough.) My advice is – embrace the elephant! (Stamps only, of course) Admittedly, elephants are cuter than donkeys (at least IMO.) πŸ™‚ And your card is adorable!

  4. 4
    Katherine says:

    I am not into politics and never like it in anyway but my grandfather became Municipal Vice Mayor, my Uncle is now a Municipal Councilor and my Aunt is a District Captain. When it comes to stamps, I don’t like flags but elephants and donkeys are my favorite! Thanks for the chance to win!

  5. 5
    ScrapinShana says:

    What a great post! Can I just tell you, when I first saw the picture of the elephant, the lovely parachute colored red, white and blue and the yellow ribbon it made me think of the military here at Ft. Bragg! Ft. Bragg is an Army post and home of the Airbone units, you know; those people that jump out of perfectly good airplanes (including my hubby). The yellow ribbon reminds me of all the yellow ribbons I still see on the cars around here in support of the troops. I know your post if talking about the Republican and Democrat parties, but I just wanted to let you know the first thing I though of when I saw it before I even read your post. Love it, such a great card =)

  6. 6
    Joan B says:

    both cards rock.

    I stay away from religious stamps and tend to avoid all people and animals. not completely, but generally.

  7. 7

    Carole, I never knew you had a thing against elephants (not that I meant it in a bad way) but with politics involved…Better safe than sorry! As for me, I don’t have a thing against elephants let alone donkeys or other animals. Heck, I don’t follow politics. I can’t understand politicians. That my way of thought anyways. On a positive note, I love both of your cards. Love the added touch with the pencil on the donkey.

  8. 8
    g says:

    oh man- i’m so hoping you’ll publish a book or two someday! πŸ˜‰ i’m a GenX democrat and all stamps are valued here LOL! thanks for the chance to win!

  9. 9
    Trina says:

    I thought it was bad out here in Georgia! I was too young to pay attention to politics when I lived in OKC…

  10. 10
    febe says:

    I love the concept. Great work on the color and design. And the story too!

    builders

  11. 11
    Heather says:

    Interesting sotry and as a Canadina I had no idea about any of this. That being said, I tend to stay away from all butterfly images. That is because I am deathly afraid of butterflies ~ real mostly ~ but why push the limits so I stay away from them all.

    Heather
    princesspaperprojects at yahoo dot com

  12. 12
    Karen L says:

    OMG…your post cracked me up!! I too am a Democrat….but hey, I love elephant images so you can always send that one to me!!
    As for images that I would avoid, that would be caterpillars and earthworms…yuck…shudder…

  13. 13
    FrancineB says:

    Spiders and clowns. Images or real, they both creep me out. BLEAH!!

  14. 14

    Shoot Carole!!! You have to publish a book sometime girlfriend, seriously. lol Your babysitter is going to love that card, and if she doesn’t send it to me. We have a bipartisan household here, but I seriously didn’t think anything political about the card until I read the post. Just make sure no spiders or snakes make their way to my house please.

  15. 15
    Anonymous says:

    Oh wow, the donkey is the best! I needed it for the last election! I live in Iowa and played host to all the candidates in some form (D-though). A few Rs mixed in. It is sort of fun to put in the Christmas card that you had lunch with Hunter (Biden) the other day or had a Diet Coke with Chris (Dodd) etc. I loved your story as well as your cards. Just gave me a big smile as well. I would love to win the donkey one as I can also think of some fun puns to go with that! But, if not, at least I know where to find it now though I am not on the committee anymore. Love your background paper as well!

    Chris R. from Iowa

  16. 16

    The background paper for the donkey is so clever…the colors are striking on this card. It really pops. I pass a ranch that has mini donkeys every day I drive into the office. I am a big D living in a very RED state (your neighbor, Arkansas). Most the blues here are actually reds if you peel back the onion skin. My husband is a big D, and I don’t know how since he grew up in New Orleans in a staunch Republican family. He would really appreciate the donkey card.

    I stay away from the religious stamps – and clowns have always freaked me out. Other than that, I will use any stamp. Thanks for the opportunity to win these sets.

  17. 17
    Brenda says:

    Any stamps accepted here! Love your cards and the chuckles I got from reading your post.

  18. 18
    Kelly S. says:

    Awesome story, Carol, and such adorable cards to boot. Love your personalized donkey dp, hee! I gots to go with the poster above…there will be no stamped clown car pulling up at my house letting 15 little stamped clown images out into my papercrafting space! No. clowns.

  19. 19
    Maria says:

    LOL…great story! Can’t really think of any stamps that I shy away from. I like all stamps big and small!

  20. 20
    Makalah says:

    There are certain stamps I avoid – religious stamps, ones that will be impossible for me to color, country scenery type ones, certain people/kid stamps… but you can’t go wrong with cute animals (especially if they’re donkeys with a capital D). πŸ˜‰

  21. 21
    Noelle says:

    haha! Carole, I’m not sure if I’m too late to comment/win, etc….. I am partial/partisan to the donkey card;) but that being said, decorated my youngest son’s nursery in a circus (you guessed it) ELEPHANT theme! Without even putting the 2 together until the nursery was complete. I agree, Republicans have it easy in this way, can you imagine ANYONE making a donkey nursery for their baby? ;D Would LOVE to win both these darling sets! I’ve used elephant stamps before and won’t quit based on my political affiliations! Elephants are CUTE! πŸ™‚

  22. 22

    HAHAHA! Great post, Carole!! I adore your donkey card, and I can appreciate your elephant card too. πŸ˜‰ Seriously never thought I’d see the day that you made an elephant card. WOW!

  23. 23
    Kelli Jo says:

    I am JUST now getting here… I was SO looking forward to this post as I have been in need of a SERIOUS Giggle…. ALWAYS to be found in your writings…. unfortunately Work IT has decided to crank down the screws in what opens and what doesn’t… TRUE Donkeys! πŸ˜‰ Bwahahahahaha….. Sorry didn’t mean to make an a$$ outta myself… bwahahahahahah….. In the words of the GREAT Jim Carrey… SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!! πŸ™‚ hahahah…. Well, I only have my beliefs in what someone should do for their Country and it has NOTHING to do with R/D/I/ TP…. it’s all about the PEOPLE…. SO with that said, I have issues with GOATS, Snakes and Midgets… I LOVE Gnomes though! πŸ˜‰

  24. 24

    Carol, you never seem to surprise me! Lol! I love this card and although being a Republican, (I say that loosely) it is a perfect card! I don’t stay away from much when it comes to stamping, but really anything that is creepy looking makes the top of the list! πŸ™‚

  25. 25
    TikiBwana says:

    Such cute cards– both of them! Love the background you printed for the donkey card– very clever!

    I admit to a partiality for elephants– especially of the Indian kind. Vera Bradley just came out with a new print with very regal Indian elephants on it, Ellie Blue… had to run out and get a tote!

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