by Jackie Bultje | Jan 22, 2019 | DistINKtive stamps, sale-a-bration |
Hello stampers! Sorry for my long absence here but it was all with good reason. Sometimes life has to happen and some things just have to be let go of for a while. So, with the move into my new house, Christmas with the family and then a trip to my roots in the Netherlands, this blog had to take a back seat. Thanks for your patience!! Today I want to share a card I made using Lasting Lily. This is a free stamp set during the famous annual Stampin’Up! promotion called “sale-a-bration”. This sale has been going on almost as long as Stampin’Up! has been in existence. It is the sale that pulled them from the edge of bankruptcy! Traditionally you could get several products for free with a qualifying $60 purchase. For the last two years they have added some options that you can get with a $120 purchase. This beautiful stamp set fits into the last category.
What makes this stamp set, Lasting Lily, so special? Well, in my opinion, three things. 1. It is a distINKtive stamp set which means that it is made to look ombre, or shaded without you having to do anything special. It works best with a light touch and with an ink pad that isn’t all new and juicy. 2. It has LOTS of great words in it with a beautiful font. 3. It has two beautiful calla lily images as well as a great leaf image that can be used in its entirety or just a half. It can also be bent before putting on the block so you get different shapes for a more interesting bouquet.
I would consider this a clean and simple card. It’s the little details that make this card a stunner. The rectangle stitched framelits are a must have for any card maker or scrapbooker. The rectangle framelits not only “stitch” the edge of the cutout, but also of the part remaining behind! That is why you see a double stitched image. I adhered the “frame” flat to the mossy meadow card base and I popped up the middle rectangle with the lilies stamped on it. The sentiment was also cut out using a smaller rectangle framelit. It is popped up on the right hand side and then adhered with regular non-dimensional adhesive on the left hand side. A few pearls were added just because they add a nice touch. The design element that really takes it over the top? Running the stamped image through the Big Shot with the Subtle embossing folder. It is important to do that step AFTER you are done stamping so that you get a good clear image.
The rectangle stitched framelits come with 13 dies and they are $48. By the time you add the shipping and tax in Ontario you are already at $59.66. Did you know that you can put them in your starter kit? Right now you would only pay $135, but you could pick out $225 worth of product. If you don’t have a Big Shot yet, you could start with that, add the rectangle stitched framelits, the subtle embossing folder and a pack of neutrals cardstock. You would also get a Paper Pumpkin kit. No tax, no shipping as well as 8 catalogs for you to give to people who might someday become your new stamping community and best friends!! No strings attached. Worried about what to do with your kit? Just enjoy it and share what you love and you will be amazed at what can happen! At the very least you can come to my Diva Day on March 23 and get spoiled by me!! Click here if you are interested!
I made a video showing a few tips and tricks with this great stamp set. Lasting Lily is perfect for sympathy cards, but also for other occasions such as birthday, thinking of you and get well, not to mention happy anniversary. I hope you enjoy it and have fun playing with all the great new products in the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogs. I am also hosting a Creativity Day next week Thursday for anyone placing a $60 order. Lunch will be included and we will have a lot of stamping fun. All you need to bring is your own adhesive. I have to admit that I do not stay on top of my calendar of events, so the best place to stay in touch with what is happening in my studio is to subscribe to my newsletter.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y48DjHYtTt4
I would be very thankful if you choose to order online through me! The only requirement is that you live in Canada and that you don’t already have a demonstrator who helps you. It is not my intention to “steal” anyone away from their current demonstrator. Working in the craft industry is not easy and I would never intentionally sabotage anyone else’s business. I hope you have a lovely and meaningful day. As a parting goodbye I thought it would be nice to share one of my favourite memories of my trip to Holland.
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by Jackie Bultje | Dec 28, 2018 | starter kit |
Hello stampers. I thought I better write a blog post or you will think I have up and died!!! It has been way too long since I have posted but what can you expect when you are moving into a new house, ending a marriage, trying to celebrate Christmas and get your business set up in the new place? I have to admit that it is finally catching up to me. I suppose it is a little bit like a funeral. Thankfully I have not yet had anyone in my immediate family die, but I have heard that you get through all that needs to be done and when it is all over that is when you crash. That is how I feel now. I got through the move just fine, settled in quickly, set up for my clearance sale, had a fantastic coffee and a card class, got all the Christmas baking done and the presents bought and then I hit a wall. Physically exhausted and emotionally drained.
I do want to thank each and everyone of you who have sent me private messages, cards and letters and comments on my blog or on my Facebook page. You have been a source of great encouragement, strength and joy. My stamping family means so much to me!
I just want to let you know that I am taking a much needed break and am going to the Netherlands for 17 days to visit family and friends. I am not sure if I will be blogging from there since I will most likely only have my phone with me. My motto is work hard play hard, so when I do take a break I really do shut down the work part. It is often easier said than done because when you stop posting, blogging and teaching classes you feel like you are letting people down, sabotaging your business and not being very smart. The other way of looking at it is that it is very important self-care. I need to practice what I preach so if I tell you here that I am going to take a break, you can hold me accountable.
I am going to offer an incentive to all of my customers that if you want to jump on the bandwagon of the awesome sale-a-bration sale when it starts on January 3, I will give you a $25 gift certificate in the form of an e-transfer to you when you place a $100 online order (before shipping and tax) using the current host code. To give you a visual I will share the coupon I handed out to attendees at my clearance sale. Those that qualified for a coupon that day will get another bonus for me since I am now making this available to everyone.
Sale-a-bration is also the best time of year to join my team. You get an extra $60 in product to add to your starter kit. You can customize your kit with whatever products you want, even things from the clearance rack. If you love our new Craft and Go tote you can pick that option as well. In that case you will get the tote for only $40 instead of $68. I am planning to have a DIVA day in March where all my new team members can come and craft for a day as well as get some simple training as to what you can do with your starter kit. Use new products, meet new team members and get all your questions answered. Of course we will also share a wonderful lunch together. I did this for the first time last year and it was a huge success. We also have monthly team gatherings where we also have a lot of fun crafting together and talking shop over food and drinks.
Here is a little glimpse at my new house, the kitchen and the stamp room. I hope you can come and see me when I get back from my trip.
Finally here is my bathroom, the perfect place to totally relax. I am blessed indeed!
Finally, here is a peek at the beautiful craft and go tote that you can get in your starter kit. To make it even easier for you, here is the link so you can spoil yourself on January 3. It is a year of new beginnings for me, so why not have a new beginning yourself?
I look forward to resuming classes again on Wednesday January 16 with Blends Club. There will be coffee and a card classes while I am away taught by my talented team member Yvonne Macfadyen. Cost for this class is going up in the new year to $15 for three cards and refreshments. Team members get a discount and will pay $12. If you bring someone new you get a free class voucher. Special needs customers pay $20. (those that need one on one help or come with a case worker).
I wish you all a very happy New Year. I am excited for what this year holds for each and every one of us. Blessing to you. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
by Jackie Bultje | Nov 30, 2018 | Christmas, Uncategorized |
Hello stampers! In the midst of packing up for the move to my new house I cannot resist going into my stamp room to play a little. I simply love stamping with my framelits. With our relatively new embossing mats we already knew we could emboss with many of our detailed framelits but now I am going to show you that you can also stamp with them! That means with a small investment of $21 plus shipping and tax for the embossing mats you can get three times as much use from your framelits. I had hoped to use the Snowfall thinlets as an example, but I have given them to a team member to use for prepping a class for me. Plan “B” was to use the classic Christmas stamp set from the annual catalog Star of LIght. I am really happy with how it turned out. I am simply going to post three pictures and then you can watch the video at the end to see how I did it. With all the new house stuff going on I just don’t have time or energy for a long detailed blog post. I know you understand.
Star of Light cards
Do you see that the card is bigger than the normal 5 1/2 by 4 1/4″? That is because it is! I used the Memories and More cards and they are 6 1/4″ by 4 1/4″. I really love this size and the convenience of having a larger card and matching envelope all ready to go. I cut a gold foil mat 6 1/8″ by 4 1/8″ and the white card front is 6″ by 4″.
Here is one last close-up shot of the beautiful stamped and embossed image using a framelit!! I love the addition of gold metallic thread, metallic pearls and regular pearls. I gold embossed the various stamps in the background. They are all from Star of Light.
The framelit from Starlight thinlets was “stamped” using Vegas Gold shimmer paint and a sponge dauber. Take a look at the video, a “picture” is worth a thousand words! Using your framelits as stamps is such a great way to get more bang for your buck. I would love to hear from you if you try this with other framelits.
Have a super weekend and if you want to get in on the Snowflake Showcase bundle, today is the last day, you have a few hours left!! Check out this blog post for item numbers and descriptions.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QEYKCVJlG4&t=2s
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 26, 2018 | Christmas, Christmas Traditions Punch Box |
Hello stampers! Today I am focusing on the Christmas Traditions punch box. Let me tell you why. I love a product that can be used in many different ways. I love what I do and I love to share that as well. I think we all know that the world needs more joy and happiness and one way to achieve that is through creativity. When we use our hands to make something pretty it alleviates our stress, it takes our mind off daily problems and it brings joy to other people. With this pretty tin you have creativity in a box. It comes with a big clear block, two ink spots, a punch and a six piece stamp set. All you need to do is add some card stock, envelopes and pretty paper and you have a portable card making station that you can take with you anywhere. You can stamp with people who have never stamped before and you can bless them with a Christmas card or a tag. I challenge you to take this box along to a doctor’s appointment, a hospital visit or a coffee shop. Just start creating and see who comes to see what you are doing. Then invite them to join you and then send them home with whatever they have made. Bingo! You have just brought unexpected joy to someone’s life and made the world a better place. It really is that simple.
Pay it Forward
In order to help you do this I am going to offer 25% off on this Christmas Traditions Punch box. That means that instead of $61 it will be $45.75. Since this is my sale instead of Stampin’Up’s sale it doesn’t work when you order online, so for those of you who order online from me, I will send you a package of pearls and a package of rhinestones in the mail because Christmas cards can always use a little extra bling! Just be sure to use the current host code: NKS3BT2T. Here is a picture of the punch box:
You could be totally selfish and just order it for yourself. My perspective is that if you know what you want you should just get it. You are allowed to spoil yourself. It looks pretty amazing under the Christmas tree, it doesn’t even need to be wrapped!
Do you see how pretty those tags look? That’s right, you can cheat a little. You can take the products out of the tin, use them to make pretty tags and packaging for your loved ones and then tuck it all back into the tin as a guilt-free gift to yourself!!
Not only is this Christmas Traditions Punch Box great for making cute tags, it also works great as a focal point for cards. My talented team member Alison Reid made the following three cards for me to use for coffee and a card class next week. If you live near Chatham and have never made it out to one of these classes I would love to have you join us. We have a wonderful group that comes regularly and they are always happy to welcome a newbie!
Christmas Traditions Punch Box also for Cards!
Doesn’t it look great with the Winter Woods trees and the Farmhouse Christmas paper? So simple to stamp the trees on the barnboard paper and then cut it into three pieces for added interest. Simple but genius.
Sadly this beautiful Joyous Noel paper is sold out. The lesson in this, just like with clothes shopping or shopping at Costco, is “if you love it, don’t wait”. Get it before it’s gone. It’s always better to err on the side of caution. Thankfully I have enough left over to share with you in a class!
Small but mighty is how I would describe the cute punched images from the Christmas Traditions punch box. They would also look great on little 3×3″ cards that you could tuck into our mini pizza boxes as a gift or party favour.
I hope that I have inspired you with this beautiful tin Of course you could also fill it with some Christmas Cookies or some of your lovely handmade Christmas cards. There are LOTS of great things to do with this beautiful tin as well as all the great things that come in it. Please take advantage of my 25% off deal, it ends Tuesday at noon. All stamps from the annual catalog are also 10% off today.
As always, the best deal in the catalog is the starter kit. Have you seen the beautiful tote that is only available to demonstrators? We got a sneak peek of it at OnStage in Orlando and mine is on its way right now. You can have one too! If you put it in your starter kit you can also get two stamp sets, a package of patterned paper, a package of assorted cardstock, thick bakers twine, glimmer paper and dimensionals all for $135. If you purchased them the traditional way you would pay around $205 and you would NOT be able to get the tote. Check it out. Tell me you don’t love it!! The tag matches my gorgeous luggage and purse. If you do decide to get the starter kit, the item number for this tote is 149696.
I took a screenshot of some of things I would suggest you put in your starter kit but you can add whatever you like to make the total come to $165. You only pay $135, no shipping and no tax. I would love to help make this happen for you. If you want to do it all on your own, here is the link that will get you started on your fun journey. Remember, there are no strings attached. You don’t need to ever “demonstrate” anything or sell anything or hold a class. You can just get the great deal and after that it is up to you if you want to take advantage of your very own 20% discount. Did you know that in December you can already preorder from the Occasions catalog and earn free sale-a-bration items? Just one more perk to joining my team.
I will finish this post with sharing a video that I did showing you the Christmas Traditions Punch Box. This beautiful tin also holds all the current Blends, so that is an added bonus don’t you think? I wish you a very happy day and thanks for reading to the end!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU2a3PWnvqU
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 16, 2018 | Christmas, Uncategorized |
Hello stampers! We are having an early winter here in southern Ontario and Christmas music is even more appropriate. I love Christmas. I love how we celebrate that God loved us so much that He sent his son as a baby into the world so that he could truly understand what it is like to be human. I love the cozyness of decorating the house and the smells of Christmas baking. I love Christmas stories. I always read beautifully illustrated Christmas books to my five kids and now I can do it for my two grandchildren. One of my favourite songs is I’ll Be Home for Christmas.
Our stamp set Farmhouse Christmas with it’s adorable truck reminds me of this song. It is also extremely on trend. While I was in Orlando we did some shopping with our team. You can imagine how excited the shopkeepers were when we ten women walked in talking and giggling. Ka-ching, Ka-ching they were thinking as they imagined their cash registers in action. When we were in Joanne Fabrics and in Pottery Barn I noticed lots of Buffalo Plaid and Farmhouse trucks with trees in the back. Do you know how hard it was to leave those things there?! Amazingly in the last few weeks I have been surprised by little gifts from my team members and customers who were also similarly inspired. I am so very blessed to be surrounded by so many lovely people. My heart is full. I have the best job in the world!
Unexpected Gifts
Here are a couple of things that I received that inspired this blog post. I think you will agree that they coordinate perfectly with our stamps.
Doesn’t this remind you of the truck in Farmhouse Christmas? Thanks so much Amy for this lovely gift, it will be a treasured part of my kitchen in the new house! Just looking at it makes me happy.
Thanks Debbie for this lovely gift. Debbie is a fashionista. I can always tell if Debbie is at a class because of the cute footwear by the door! So it was no surprise that she took the time to make a coordinated tag and gift liner to put her gift “over the top”. She told me she whipped up the tag in just a few minutes. Do you recognize the old stamp set Loads of Love? The gift was three coordinating tea towels. I think the white one with the truck will have to be purely decorative. I don’t want to get it stained!!
I just had to include a closeup so you can appreciate that gorgeous truck. This will be the inspiration for my Christmas home decor piece that I will design next week. If you have made the Spring, Summer and Fall sampler you are not going to want to miss the Christmas one that I am designing to fit the frame.
Some Actual Cards Made with Farmhouse Christmas
Now I guess I should really show you some cards made with these stamp sets! With all the early snow it really gets you in the mood to make Christmas cards and to start decorating for Christmas too. I hope you are inspired here today.
I love this swap card I received from Dana Hancock. She used the Farmhouse Christmas stamp set, the tin tile embossing folder and the Festive Farmhouse paper to make this beauty. The next card was made by Helen Bennett for our team swap. No truck in this one, but I love how Helen coloured the house and decorated her fence. That fence will be so versatile for your cards all year long and also a lovely addition to a scrapbook page or a home decor piece.
So now that we are talking about I’ll Be Home for Christmas, who are you expecting home for Christmas? Do you have some big ticket stamping items on your list? If so, don’t forget about the best deal in the catalog, the starter kit!! I know that some of you are secretly disappointed at Christmas time because well-meaning family members give you gift certificates to other crafting stores, but what you really want is more of the best stuff, Stampin’Up! So you can do a number of things to fix this problem. You can tell them that I sell gift certificates. You can tell them to get a starter kit for you (even if you “started” your stamping stash a long time ago) When you tell them that they will be paying no tax and no shipping and that they also get a $30 bonus of products they will be very happy indeed. Then you can start getting your own discount. No need to ever teach a class or “sell” anything. Don’t want to save money? No worries, you can also order online using the host code and I will send you a lovely Christmas card in the mail. I’ll even leave it blank so you can gift it to someone else.
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