I have one (Canterbury Tales) that I carved for a postal ring and haven't been able to bring myself to plant it. However, April is coming, so I may do it as a temporary box with some sort of restriction on it.

Apologies to G. Chaucer:

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
............
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
(And "boxers" for to seken straunge strondes)
............
And specially from every shires ende
Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
The blisful PeeZee Cutte for to seke...

8-)
Booke nutte

Quote

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

Nah. I got tired of PTs that I never seemed to have when people asked for them and started planting the stamps. I figure it is better to have them out there where at least some people can get them rather than sitting in a drawer where no one sees them or getting lost in my letterboxing bag where I can't find them when people ask for them.

Better to have them go missing in the wild then for no one to ever get to see them, right?

Quote

I want to plant them, but can't bear the thought of them going missing.

This is going to come across tactless and blunt, sorry. Just get over it. Letterboxes aren't going to last forever, they go missing and that is just part of the game.

Your wonderfully carved stamp should be enjoyed by those that do find it in a letterbox!
If it goes missing then that gives you an opportunity to try to carve that image better.

Heck it isn't the Mona Lisa, is it?

P and F counts?

Now we have lost our share of letterboxes due to new boxers lack of caution, but have you ever thought where our hobby would be if everyone had an F or P count restriction on all the boxes planted?
New boxers itching to get their first find just wouldn't be able to get envolved.
Some liken the restrictions to the 100 f for Dartmoor books, well that 100f restriction for Dartmoor is a myth. We have a book and didn't find 100 while we were there.

You might want to rethink your placing restrictions on your creation. Think back to when you started letterboxing and had that burning desire to nab your first box...what would have happened if everything in your neighborhood had been restricted?

Put those great carved stamps out there for the enjoyment of the finders!

Don, who loves to find the handcarved masterpieces in boxes.

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

Those are the ones that earn Blue Diamonds. Although planting it as a hitchhiker disqualifies it for those kudos.

*S

Here's another idea for your wonderful carve. Keep it for as long as you want to look at it and enjoy it. It is after all yours. Then, when your desire to keep abates enough plant it, you can. You will get better as a carver and will carve a stamp even better. That might be when you want to let this one go.

Remember this is a hobby and you don't to have to do anything you don't want to do. It's YOUR stamp.

I keep all my patterns/sketches for everyone of my plants. Then if it goes missing, I can recarve it...and often much better ( anyone have the original Moss Island stamp and then go back for the replacement?!?).

I have a harder time losing a logbook full of nice notes, poems and sentiments. *sigh*

LW PhD
"Nice Counts"

If I've used clip art or another image found on the computer, I keep all those in a file so that when one does go missing (happened to two of my very first boxes), I can carve them again fairly easily. Yeah, it kinda sucks, but as my carving skills improve, then those images are even BETTER the second time!

This just happened to me - I turned it into LTCs... and then after I look at it a while I might get the courage to release it : ) Just not yet~~~

mff

Casa,

I can relate! In the beginning, I had a hard time letting stamps go. In the end though, I really wanted to share the stamps with others, so to compromise, I bought a nice little logbook to use as a portfolio of sorts. I only stamp the stamps that I have carved into it. It's great becuase it gives me a permanent record of all the stamps I've carved and I can really see the progress I made from when I first started. And it's so much nicer to flip through the book than to just look at the hunk of rubber. :-)

Also you'll probably find that as you continue to carve, you will get better and better. In a few months, this stamp probably won't be so near and dear to you because you'll have carved others that you like even more. :-) If you really love it, consider planting it in a box rather than releasing it as a HH. And if you're worried about ithe box going missing, you can always make the clue a bit more difficult or make it a mystery box.

Of course, I'm biased! I live pretty close by and I want to FIND this awesome stamp! :-)

YankeeChiK

Better to have them go missing in the wild then for no one to ever get to see them, right?

So true!

Of course, I'm biased! I live pretty close by and I want to FIND this awesome stamp! :-)

When I make a decision- I'll let you know! If I plant it in a traditional box, I'll even tell you which one! ;)

Thanks to everyone for their input!

Quote

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

Get over it. If you don't, as you get better at carving you'll be buried in stamps you can't let go of. Remember, stamps don't really do anyone any good sitting on your shelf.

Quote

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

1) You will still have the image, you do not need the stamp.
2) You would honestly want to plant a lessor carving instead of a good one?
3) As Yoda would say, "Set the bar higher, you must now."

Don't make it a personal traveler or a hitch hiker. Plant it. Plant the best box you can, you have a great start. Think carefully, look closely, analysis why boxes disappear and find a great place to plant it. You can not grow by keeping it.

Your Humble Servant,
OBJuan

I have to say that I am so conflicted. I mean, I want to share my achievement...few will get to see it. Same possibly with with a WOM box. Oh, what to do, what to do?

Easy. Make LTCs. You get to share it and keep it too. -shrug- Null sheen!

Tee

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

Yes, definitely. When I started carving it wasn't for letterboxing (it hadn't been invented in North America yet). I used my stamps for other crafts -- mostly handmade book and handmade card exchanges. So I never planned on leaving them out in the wild. I always expected that they'd stay in my home.

Now with the advent of letterboxing, carvings that go out in the wild are carvings that I don't have a sentimental attachment too. I always assume that any box I hide will eventually go missing, nothing lasts forever. And the stamps that I plant are of images that I could carve a 2nd one easily if necessary - I keep copies of the image just in case. Some of the stamps that I can't part with get turned into Virtual letterboxes.

Lone R

Quote

carvings that go out in the wild are carvings that I don't have a sentimental attachment too.

I hope this does not sound impertinent, but sentimental attachment to a stamp??..I suppose I have been a Jedi warrior for too long...

YHS,
OBJuan

Is this the "It is better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all" theory?

I like it!

Sounds like a T-Shirt...."It is better to have carved and lost, then to never have been planted at all" or something more elequent.

jackbear

Sounds like a T-Shirt...."It is better to have carved and lost, then to never have been planted at all" or something more elequent.

Dixie - are you listening. . .

Quote

Have you ever carved a stamp that turned out so much better than you expected and you just can't let it go?

Quote

I have to say that I am so conflicted. I mean, I want to share my achievement with everyone, too.

Make a LTC with this stamp. The best of both worlds. Send the LTC out for all to see. You keep the stamp, even make it a PT when you are done. I have done this with several stamps I could not part with.