by Jackie Bultje | Dec 9, 2019 | Christmas, collage stamping, So Many Stars |
Hello stampers and happy Monday! Have you ever used words as a collage? It is such a cool thing to do and I have to admit I don’t do it often enough. Take a look at this great swap card that I got from Mary Louise Hamill and you will agree. She used words as a collage on this So Many Stars card
The Card
The words on this card are from Itty BItty Christmas and the stars are from the So Many Stars bundle as is the word JOY. Let’s take a closer look.
Collage Stamping With Words
I just love how Mary Louise used the star dies in this card. The words are stamped on a white panel that gets adhered behind the card front. The words are stamped in basic grey and offset to make the collage stamping more interesting. You could trace the star lightly in pencil so that you can have just the words you want showing through the “window”. A stitched star opening is cut in the card front and then a smaller sparkle glimmer star is layered behind it before adhering the white panel on the inside of the card front. Simple but stunning!
I’m so happy that I could share this card with you today! Swap cards are great for busy times when you don’t have time to create from scratch yourself. It’s also a great way to shine the spotlight on someone else’s talent. Hopefully I will remember to use this great collage stamping with words technique for other cards too. It would be great for birthday cards, graduation and Valentine’s Day.
Free Shipping on Wednesday
I just found out that Stampin’Up! is offering free shipping on Wednesday only for orders of $65 or more. That is the same day that I am flying to Holland! How awesome is that? Be sure to use the host code and order online so that your order goes straight to your house. My orders have been arriving in ten days or less, so you should get your order before Christmas is you order with the free shipping on Wednesday. Happy shopping! You can click on the images below in the product list or you can click here to shop online with me. This is the current host code: 6KVMESQ6
A Personal Note
My suitcases are almost all packed and my excitement is building. I had a wonderful weekend with the kids and grandkids and we got a great picture of me and the kids with Leo sneaking in. It was simply not possible to get one with everyone so this is it for now!
Here are the three grandchildren, Leo, 2 1/2, Ana, 1 1/2 and Clementine 1 month. My heart is full, I am so, so blessed. It was the perfect weekend to have before I leave for my other blessings in Holland. Modern technology is wonderful, I will be able to Facetime or Skype with them while I’m away. That is what I love about my Facebook live videos too. It is a great way to stay connected with all of YOU!! There will be official Facebook live on Tuesday as I will be on my way to my parents place for a last visit with them before I leave. I do hope to do a short video from there is Pap is up to it.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I will do the draw for the free stamp set Holiday Haul tomorrow at noon. Anyone who has commented and shared on my blog post or Instagram will be entered.
P.S. If you are looking for a very special gift for yourself, sign up for my retreat in February. Idyllic surroundings, no cooking, lots of stamping and relaxing in nature or shopping in lovely boutiques and bakeries. Did I mention snuggling by the wood stove? Read more about it here.
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by Jackie Bultje | Dec 6, 2019 | Botanical Prints Product Medley, product medley, retreat |
Hello stampers! Have you ever gone on a retreat with like-minded people? People who share the same interests and passion as you do? It is so rewarding to do that! I have gone on several in the past few years and it has been such a worthwhile investment of both time and money. When I was looking for a great cottage to spend some time with my kids and grandkids I was inspired to also offer a retreat for stampers. Do you want to hear some more about it?
My Retreat
My retreat will be the weekend after Valentine’s Day and Family Day in Canada. The cottage is near a town called Huntsville in the Muskoka area of Ontario. It is two hours from Pearson International Airport in Toronto. More importantly, it is nestled in the woods with complete privacy. You can see no other cottages from this one!
What will you do? What is included? Good questions! Wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and home baked scones! Sit around in your pajamas and ease into the day. We will explore the town, go for walks in the woods and of course we will stamp.
I hope to teach you and inspire you based on my fourteen years experience as a Stampin’Up! demonstrator and global and national achiever. All your meals will be provided for you as well as a beautiful creative kit called Botanical Prints product medley. I will have a ton of projects made with this medley to inspire you and enable you to recreate some of them at the cottage.
The retreat will be from Thursday February 20 at 4pm until Sunday February 23 at 10am. There is a gorgeous provincial park nearby that has a skating trail that I hope to visit. The town of Huntsville has some lovely bakeries and boutiques. One of the nights will be a cozy pjs and hot chocolate movie night. The cost for all this is only $400. A small deposit of $100 will guarantee your spot and the balance can be paid the week before. You can etransfer if you live in Canada, otherwise just click on the buy now button to use PayPal.
Here you can see one of the cozy bedrooms. There is an assortment of sleeping options- three queen beds (price is based on double occupancy, that means you share with a friend) four singles and two doubles. If you prefer to have a queen bed to yourself there is $200 surcharge to offset the loss of one more person being able to attend.
Business or pleasure?
This retreat will definitely be both!! If you are a business minded demo there will be lots of informal training available for you as well. Creating together and chatting in a relaxed setting is priceless. When is the last time you just had fun with no agenda? I hope this excites you as much as it does me. I’m looking forward to spending time with you.
Botanical Prints card samples
The following are some cards that were made at #OnStage2019. Inside the hall the lighting was terrible, so these aren’t the best pictures, but rest assured, this product medley is gorgeous!!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for dropping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, mine will be filled with kids and grandkids and my heart is full just thinking about it! I have a favour to ask. Even if this retreat is not something that will work for you this time, please share this post with anyone who you think could use this in their lives. Together we can make a difference.
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 5, 2019 | Little Ladybug, sale-a-bration, starter kit |
Hello stampers and happy Thursday! I am getting ready for saleabration a little bit earlier than usual this year. Do you know why? It is super important to me for everyone to realize the opportunities that are there to get more free stuff and to save more money AND have more fun. That’s quite the winning combination don’t you think?
What I want you to know
The reason that I am so passionate about the starter kit, especially during saleabration is that I think a lot of people are missing out because of misconceptions. Heck, I missed out for a lot of years. I had no idea that I could take advantage of the great deal on the starter kit and NOT be a demonstrator. There were five little kids needing my attention and I had no time or inclination to teach anything to anyone but I did love to scrapbook and stamp. A continual discount would have been great!
You need to know that you can get the starter kit with no strings attached, just for your own discount! There will be no pressure from Stampin’Up! or from me to achieve anything or to reach certain sales goals. Regardless of how much you buy or sell, you have six months to take advantage of your own discount which will be 20%. You also get early access to new catalogs. For example as demonstrators we can already order from the new mini AND earn free saleabration sets already.
The Details
Many people ask me, what is in the starter kit? Whatever you want! Yes, that’s right. You get to decide what you want in there. It’s like placing an order but with a limit. You only get to choose $165 worth of products, you can go less but you can’t go more. That is the hard part but it doesn’t have to be. Whatever doesn’t “fit” into the starter kit can go on your next order where you will get 20% off AND you will earn free saleabration items with every $60 you spend. Once your order gets to $200 you also get host benefits even if the order is just for you. If your order gets to $375 then you also get Little Ladybug for free. Did I mention there is no tax and no shipping? Also, you only pay $135.
The saleabration bonus
This is the best part. Not only do you get an extra $30 worth of product in the kit, you also get to choose a free stamp set. ANY stamp set in either the annual catalog or the mini catalog that you want, regardless of price!! You will also get a FREE paper sampler with 48 sheets of paper from different paper packs in the mini catalog. Lastly you will get an adorable mini paper trimmer that has a guillotine cutter! Let’s summarize the extra freebies:
- bonus free stamp set, any value from annual or mini catalog
- free paper sampler with 48 sheets
- free mini paper trimmer
- Diva Day March 27 from 5pm to 9pm
Diva Day and Beyond Pampered Team
These are the fun extra perks of getting the starter kit. I have an annual Diva Day for everyone who joins my team. The format varies from year to year but what remains the same is that I gather with all my new recruits to enjoy food, to stamp and to get spoiled with an amazing goodie bag to help you on your stamping journey. If you live far away then I will do a Facebook Live event with you and you will get a lovely surprise in the mail.
My Beyond Pampered team has a monthly gathering as well, the fourth Thursday of the month. We have a LOT of fun together, eating, drinking, stamping and laughing. We share our creativity and stories of what we have done in the last month. We talk a little shop but mostly this is just a fun time where we deepen our friendships. When Stampin’Up! has events we travel together as a team and stay in amazing places. I am loving the memories and the friendships that we have made as Beyond Pampered team.
This was the view from our Airbnb where we stayed for #OnStage2019 in Toronto. Without my team traveling together we could never stay in places like this!
When can you get the kit?
Of course you could get the kit right now but then you wouldn’t get the saleabration bonuses. Join on January 3 and you will have the most to gain! You will be able to enjoy three months of saleabration and even if you don’t intend to sell a thing, you should give out the free catalogs that you will get and share the great deals. It is so much fun to have some stamping buddies!! I will do a short video showing you the basics of how to sign up but of course it will not be completely accurate as there are no bonuses to include. That part should be quite straightforward as you will be prompted to make those extra choices. You can see the video here. A little later on you will also be able to see in on YouTube. If you have not yet subscribed to my YouTube channel, you can do that here as well.
A few little things
I thought I would share with you the cute little projects that we made during my saleabration Bingo last week. The purpose of this is to introduce my people to all the fantastic new products coming up in a fun way (everyone wins a prize!) as well as stamping with new products. We keep it simple so that we have time to play bingo and socialize too.
Thanks….and a contest!
Thanks for dropping by and if you haven’t already done so then do leave a comment and share my post or my projects on Pinterest or Facebook. Then you will have a chance to win the stamp set Holiday Haul. I will do the draw on Tuesday at noon. Some people were asking how to pin to Pinterest. If you hover with your mouse over one of my images a red Pinterest icon will appear. Just click on that and it will prompt you to “pin” it to one of your boards. If we need a video on how to do Pinterest, let me know!!
If you missed my Facebook live on Tuesday, you might want to check it out as I talk about the starter kit there too. You can see it here. Thanks again for stopping by, I appreciate it ever so much!!
by Jackie Bultje | Dec 4, 2019 | Christmas, Holiday Haul, simple stamping |
Hello stampers. I am feeling philosophical again today. Simple gratitude. That is what is on my mind. My heart is overflowing with gratitude today. Pap is finally on the mend. His appetite is back, his pain is under control and he is scheduled to go home from the hospital tomorrow. This lovely 93 year old man will be home for Christmas with the love of his life and he will celebrate simply. I am also grateful for simple cards and that is what I am going to share today!
The Joy of Simplicity
It can be so very refreshing to make a simple card. Clean lines. Simple elements. Just some pretty paper and ink put together to express your love. How awesome is that? Sometimes we can make things too complicated and the frustration of it can suck our joy. With the busy season upon us, maybe you are also ready for some simple inspiration. Don’t be afraid to extend this simplicity to your food prep and your decorating. Take time for what really matters! You, your family and your friends. And of course God.
The Cards
I am grateful for swap cards like this one that I received from Cheryl De Souza from Markham, Ontario at OnStage in Toronto. Such a pretty card with lovely clean lines and elements. the jingle bell actually rings when you shake the card. My inner child really likes that.
This card is also a swap card from OnStage and I am so grateful for them during this busy season. It was wonderful to have some extra cards on hand to share with you on this blog. This weekend I am celebrating an early Christmas with all the kids and grandkids before I leave for Holland, so this is a happening place at 81 Delaware. Michelle Sturgeon from Long Sault, Ontario made this card and you can see more of her wonderful work on her blog here. I called Michelle to see if there was a framelit for the tree. There is not. But she dusted off her Brother Scan-n-Cut and it did a fine job cutting these for her!
This last card is my own design. I love using paper strips to make a big present. Each strip is 1″ by 3″. That means you can get 12 strips out of one 6″ x 6″ piece of patterned paper. This card uses Wrapped in Plaid paper and the saying is from Snowman Season using the Stamparatus of course to get it nice and dark and perfectly straight. A card like this would be perfect for a family card making night. You could have all the strips cut out and put in little baskets so people could mix and match to make their own unique “presents”. It’s also a great way to use up paper scraps.
Gratitude Made Simple
It truly is amazing what simple gratitude can do for you. Take a few moments to think about what you are grateful for. Not just big things, but especially little ones. Your whole day will change! Add a few deep breaths (yes, it is amazing that we forget to breathe meaningfully!) and your spirit will feel lighter. I am ever so thankful for each one of you, for your loyal following, for taking the time to comment, for the surprise online orders, for buying my tutorial, the list goes on!
Giving Back
I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude and to offer some blog candy. It’s been a while and it is fun to give away a present to “my people”. If you take the time to comment on my blog and share it either on Facebook or Pinterest, then you will be in a draw to win Holiday Haul. The stamp set will be mailed out on Tuesday. I will do the draw at noon on Tuesday, so any comments and shares done by then will be included. Good luck!!
Thanks for dropping by. If you need anything and you live in Canada, you can order from me online, just be sure to use the host code posted on the right side of this blog on the home page. Orders placed by December 10 should arrive in time for Christmas.
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by Jackie Bultje | Dec 3, 2019 | dinoroar, embossing, Sip Sip Hooray |
Hello stampers! Sip, sip, hooray! Doesn’t that sound like a fun stamp set? It is!! ‘Tis the season where we gather with friends, relatives and coworkers and raise a glass for a cheer or a toast. While this stamp set can be used for celebrating the season, it is also very well suited for many other occasions. Let’s take a look!
The Stamp Set
Here you can see all the possibilities with this bundle: a bubbly border, olive stick, greenert sprig, a strawberry a citrus slice, mint leaves, filler for the glasses. Your choice of martini, wine or champagne! Add in some fun sayings and your in business.
My Card
My card was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. What caught my eye was the colour combination, the brick embossing and the chalkboard look of the saying. There was no link to a website for the card but I will include it so you can see how I adapted it to make my own card.
I added crystal effects t the strawberry, olives and lime and it looks so pretty. You can see it better in the closeup below.
My Inspiration
I love Tasha’s card. The paper strips along the edge are so clever! They come from the dinosaur paper in the annual catalog. The sparkle along the rim of the glasses is also a great touch.
I found one more card that I would like to share with you since it is a quick and easy card and it uses the “bubbly” border. It came from Amanda, and here is her website.
Sale and Retiring Christmas Items
There is a year end closeout sale happening right now, you can check it out here. Be sure to also check the tab that says retiring favourites. I am hoping that this link works and takes you to the shopping area. This day is a great one if you are a demonstrator because we get to preorder from the Occasions catalog AND get free saleabration stuff already. This has put me in the mood to prepare for saleabration and that is why I am already telling you about a unique club opportunity.
Unique Club Opportunity
Saleabration, the best sale of the year for Stampin’Up begins on January 3. I am in Holland until January 29 but no worries, I will be preparing and creating from there to give you an amazing saleabration season. If you want to earn free host sets including the Ladybug set you may want to consider being a part of the Saleabration on Steroids club. This club will meet three times during saleabration: Saturday Feb 1, Saturday Feb 29 and Saturday March 28 all at 1pm. There are three people in each club. Each person gets a turn to host and each person commits to spending $65 at each meeting.
We will create beautiful projects using saleabration and Occasions products. Most clubs have commitments that last a whole year, but this club has only a two month commitment. Space is limited so let me know as soon as possible. You can also participate online in a club if you like. I will offer exclusive videos for those participating online and you will be given a host code to use so that your order will be included in the club order.
Thanks
Thanks again for stopping by to read my blog! I appreciate your feedback as this blog is written for your enjoyment. Wishing you a lovely day with some time to reflect on all the good things that you have been blessed with and also for the challenges that you face that make you stronger, more empathetic and a better person!
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