by Jackie Bultje | Nov 11, 2019 | Christmas, monochromatic cards, Snow Front, Toile Christmas |
Hello stampers! Does monochromatic Christmas sound boring to you? Or does it sound complicated? This week I had a request from one of my club members to take the mystery out of our wonderful Snow Front stamp set. The sheer number of stamps in there can be daunting. Let’s take a look at why I chose a monochromatic Christmas card for this set.
The Inspiration
I had two sources of inspiration for this card. The first one was the Toile Christmas paper, the second was The Cow Whisperer. Now I love that name as I grew up on a dairy farm. But that is where the similarities end. You see, I was terrified of cows. I had to help with the milking and we had a few cows that were downright mean. They could kick sideways and they would do it when you least expected it. Most cows are gentle, but when you meet a mean one, look out!! There was no whispering then! Anyways, here is her card.
Simply Monochromatic
The idea for a monochromatic card was indeed inspired by the paper as it is also monochromatic. If you would stamp a colourful scene and put it on this paper it would be too busy. When you use Snow Front in just one colour it is not so overwhelming. I chose to use Garden Green, but you could also use real red as that is the colour on the other side of this stunning paper. We used to have wallpaper in our living room that reminds me of this paper. Maybe you did too?
Start by putting all your stamps on blocks. Then decide what sort of scene you would like to make. I like to take some cheap computer paper and play a bit. That takes the stress out of it as you are not wasting any of your precious cardstock.
The Most Important Tip
The most important tip when working with Snow Front is to use a mask. For this card I made a mask of the cabin. The way it works is that you first stamp your cabin where you want it to go. Stamp it again on piece of sticky note paper, cut it out and place it over your stamped cabin. Then you can stamp some trees around the house and it looks like the cabin is nestled in the woods rather than just floating in the scene. The other tip is to stamp multiple times without reinking, that will give you different shades of colour for a more realistic look.
My Card
I stamped the cabin first and then covered it with a “mask” which is just another cabin stamped on a sticky note and cut out. That allows you to stamp over your mask so that the trees and the slope come right up to the cabin to make it look like a unified scene. There are three different sized single trees in Snow Front. Your scene will look a lot nicer when you use different sized trees. I will do an exclusive video on how to make this card on my Pampered Stamper Elite Group on Facebook. If you want to be a part of this group you can be! All you need to do is place an order with me, either for product or for a kit. Kits can be shipped anywhere!
The stitched rectangle framelits are perfect for adding detail. “Lots of love at Christmas” is from Itty Bitty Christmas. What I liked best about using these two stitched rectangle framelits is that I didn’t have to do any fussy cutting. The sentiment fits right under the very vanilla rectangle, and because it is curvy you don’t even have to worry so much about trying to get it perfectly straight.
Don’t you just love how all the Stampin’Up! products coordinate? The garden green double-stitched ribbon is also part of the Toile Tidings suite. Very vanilla is the colour of the card base which is also the background for the Toile Tidings designer series paper. If you want to really take it over the top with coordination you can wrap your gift in our exclusive Toile Tidings gift wrap!
My lovely Clementine
I just had to end this blog post with a few pictures of my darling Clementine. She is my third grandchild who came into this world in the middle of a snowstorm just before 2am on Friday November 8. Oma missed her birth by about ten minutes because of that nasty storm. So did the midwives! My brave daughter delivered her 9 pound 6 ounce baby herself. Both are doing so well.
It is pretty awesome to be able to hold your grandbaby so soon after birth. Oh, those cheeks and that tiny nose! I’m so thankful that everything went so miraculously well given the circumstances. God is so good.
Thanks!
As always, thank you for stopping by today and reading my blog post. I love hearing from you! Thanks for sharing my creations on Pinterest and on Facebook and thanks to those of you who are ordering online from me and also ordering kits. I hope you have a wonderful day.
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 8, 2019 | Brightly Gleaming Suite, Christmas, Christmas sampler |
Hello stampers! I made this gorgeous Christmas sampler months ago before I left for Holland. For some reason I thought I had already blogged about it but alas, it was nowhere to be found. Today is the day then that I will share this beauty with you.
History in the Making
I have been wanting to make it easier for everyone to shop with me and I actually learned how to do this back in June, but I never have done it until yesterday in my newsletter. Today I am going to do it on my blog and I am super excited about it. For the first time ever, you will be able to purchase this kit from me, regardless of where you live! This gorgeous Christmas sampler was designed by Tina Rappe for her Holiday Hoopla in September. I was asked to be a keynote speaker there and was also able to participate in the creative part of the gathering. This was one of our projects.
If you live in the Chatham-Kent area, then you are welcome to come to the in-person class on Saturday November 23 at 1pm. For everyone else, you are able to purchase a kit right here with the click of a button!
The Sampler
I took one more picture just so you could get a really good look at it.
Here is a closeup.
This sampler was a lot of fun to make, I think you will also love making it and displaying proudly in your own home. It is so very gratifying to hear your family and friends exclaim, “Wow! You made this?” It also makes a lovely gift.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today. I just love learning new things and changing my business one step at a time. It is wonderful to make your life a little easier by offering an online kit. Have a super weekend. I have no baby news yet. My third grandchild is now officially overdue by a few days. His or her brother was born while I was on the train to OnStage two years ago in April. I’m hoping this little one won’t wait till next week Friday when I will once again be on the train to OnStage in Toronto.
Post script- this post was not published until now because my adorable granddaughter chose to be born in the middle of the night in the middle of a snowstorm! More details to follow, thanks for your patience!
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 6, 2019 | Christmas, Cup of Christmas, stamp of the month, wrapped in plaid |
Hello stampers. The stamp of the month is back! A few years ago I offered a stamp of the month. The first Tuesday of every month my coffee and a card class was free to those purchasing the stamp of the month. This time I would like to take this idea online as well. Are you interested?
How it works
The cards for the stamp of the month will be posted ahead of time so that you can see what we will be making. If you order the stamp set online with me, I will send you the card pieces so that you can make the same cards that we will be making in class AND that I will be demonstrating in my weekly live video. How much fun is that? I also do a blog post with these cards so you will also have a handy reference there.
Not in Canada?
You can still join in the fun without buying the set from me. Sadly even with online ordering I can only sell to Canadians. If you live in the USA, just click on the shop with Julie link in the sidebar. There will be an option to just get the card pieces. This will cost $15 including postage. I cannot include stamped images but I can include punched or die cut pieces.
The First Stamp of the Month
The first stamp of the month class will be on December 2, 2019. I have chosen Cup of Christmas after seeing some beautiful work by other demonstrators. When I first saw this set in the holiday catalog I had decided that this was one set that I didn’t need. Was I ever wrong! It is not well represented in the catalog, but I am hoping to change your mind as well over the next few days. I am super excited about the possibilities with this set.
I have shown the bundle because I love the detailed framelits, but you only need to get the stamp set to get the free class. Did you know that there is new technology in this stamp set? The mug stamps are reversible, they can be stamped on both sides!! Pretty fantastic I think.
Card Number One
So far I only have one card made with this set to show you, and it was made for me by my talented team member Alison Reid. I love it so much!! What do you think?
The plaid paper looks MUCH better in real life. This picture did not capture the pretty gold lines in the paper. This card is definitely not a five minute card but whoever receives this beauty will be displaying proudly on their mantel or on their string of cards. Here you can see the detail close up.
The Reason
I am a firm believer in complete transparency. No gimmicks with me if I can help it. There are two reasons why I am offering this stamp of the month. Stamping is not a cheap hobby. Most hobbies are not cheap. However, once in a while I would like to offer my regular customers a bonus and the stamp of the month fits the bill for that. The second reason is that it is crucial for me to develop more of an online business as well. I need to keep generating income even when I am in Holland with Gerard for longer visits. My hope is that the stamp of the month will encourage new people to order online from me and that they will also feel like a part of my stamping community by being able to make the cards at home during my weekly live videos.
You can help me with this by sharing this great class idea. You could even participate with a group of your friends. If you all take your card kits with you to one person’s house you could have a virtual card class with me while I do my video. That would make me so happy!!!
When I have all three cards ready I will have a “buy it now” button for the card kit if you already own the stamp set or don’t live in Canada and can’t order it through me. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day.
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 4, 2019 | Christmas, Merry Moose, Snow Front |
The stories we tell ourselves can have either a very good effect or a crippling effect on our well-being. There are three little stories I want to share with you today to show my point. Two are negative stories and one is a positive one. I have a feeling that you may be able to relate to at least one of them. Do you want to hear more?
Old Photos
If you are like most women you are not always satisfied with the way you look. I have found myself telling my daughters that they are so beautiful, inside and out and yet I didn’t always believe that about myself, not even when I was young. When I look back at old pictures, even sometimes from two years ago I find myself saying, you actually look pretty good! Why were you being so hard on yourself? You see we so easily get caught up in negative self talk harming the one we should love most. Even the Bible implies that we should love ourselves. We are told to love our neighbours “as ourselves”. If we can’t be kind to ourselves how can we expect others to be kind to us? So go ahead, get out some old photo albums or go back to your Facebook pictures and look through new eyes. You might be surprised!
Clothes in my closet
A few years ago I bought a lovely tunic top from Yolanda’s Boutique. It was a beautiful turquoise and black soft knit but it was form fitting. I had worn it happily the year I bought it but the following year I looked at it longingly and decided that I could not wear it this season. I thought I had gained weight and that it would not look good any more. So it sat in the closet for a whole season. Near the end of the season I thought maybe I should try it on. It looked great!! I had wasted a whole season because of the negative story in my head. How silly is that?
The other side of the coin is that if there are some favourite clothes in your closet that aren’t even close to fitting you should put them away where you don’t see them every day. That way they don’t mock you every time you see them. No sense being reminded of what you can’t have. It might even be time to give them away so that they can be enjoyed for a season by someone else. If you do end up changing sizes you will be rewarded with a new outfit or two.
The Incentive Trip
When I first became a demonstrator I was vaguely aware that there was an incentive trip to people who did well in the business. It seemed like a huge accomplishment that was way out of my league so I dismissed it. The crazy thing is that as soon as I changed my mindset and believed that this WAS possible for me, everything changed. I mapped out my goals, changed the way I do business and the next year I had earned the trip. Success and happiness really do start in your head!
The Reason
The reason that I am sharing these stories with you is that I know that you can relate. Your stories may not be the same, but you will also be astounded at how much the stories in your head affect your everyday life. I’m encouraging you to rewrite the story in your head! You may have convinced yourself that you are not creative or that you don’t know anyone that is creative. This afternoon, take out some of your supplies and spread it out on your table. Ink, paper, stamps. Play. Even if you only have a piece of whisper white cardstock, take it and ink up your stamps. See what they look like in different colours. Find your favourite patterned paper and lay it beside what you have stamped. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you put together.
Some Cards
I made this monochromatic moose cards using only Memento Black and Delicata silvery shimmer ink. I added some wink of stella to a few of the trees but the picture didn’t capture that beautiful detail. You can see the snowfall accents puff paint. What a fun product that is! Don’t be fooled. It comes out like milk, but when you activate it with the heat gun it puffs up like popcorn. Very satisfying for all ages!
I added this picture because I think I like the card better without the moon. What do you think? I was able to take it off and use the small adhesive remover tool to clean it up. Good as new! I also like the red background. This card is really lovely in person. The saying is from the Greatest Part of Christmas host set. You can get it for free by hosting a qualifying workshop or by placing a $200 order.
This card makes me very, very happy. Do you know why? It was made by my daughter-in-law Amelia who isn’t really into card making. She uses stamps to make wrapping paper, tags and very occasionally a coordinating card that is super simple. I think she knocked it out of the park with this creation! It was totally her idea and her creation with NO help from me. I am so proud of her.
Can you believe that this card was made by a first time stamper? Yes, my son Oliver’s girlfriend, Laura made this beautiful card, also without any help from me. I love the way Laura did her trees adding in a tree from Rooted in Nature.
This last card was made by my son Oliver. I’m pretty sure this is the one of the first cards he has made in years. He made one probably six years ago for his girlfriend then. He did a great job didn’t he? It was his idea to sponge some yellow behind the trees. My photo is a little blurry but it will have to do. My heart was full having my family stamp with me and create memories. Here is a photo of the creative mess! We had one abstainer, but he was looking for a cabin for us to rent during reading week in February, so all is well!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope that you get a chance to stamp with your family. It is so much fun to share your joy of stamping with those you love. I hope you have a super day. Please let me know if you need anything of if you want me to blog on a certain topic or stamp set. If you live in Canada and would like to order from me, it’s easy! Either click on any of the items below or click on one of the catalogs in the sidebar and away you go.
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 1, 2019 | Christmas, loneliness, Still Scenes Snow Globes, technique cards |
Happy Friday stampers! Sharing what you love is a huge concept. Some people have an advantage in this department. If you have an outgoing personality then it probably comes naturally to you to share what you love, but if you are more shy then it might not be the case. Today I want to talk about why this is so very important to me.
Why you should share what you love
We naturally make many assumptions. That can really get in the way of great happiness. Take for example the assumption that your spouse or your kids or your friends should simply know what you are feeling or thinking. It should be obvious right? No. That is why communication is so very important. The same principle applies to your stamping hobby. If you are like me, stamps ink and paper make you very happy. Yet when I encourage my customers to invite a friend to a class they are quick to say that they don’t know anyone who stamps. Think about that for a moment.
Were you always a stamper?
When you say that you don’t know anyone who stamps you need to remember that you weren’t born a stamper either. Before you were introduced to the joy of stamping you had no idea what you were missing out on. Now you know what fun it has brought to your life in the form of a meaningful hobby, with all the new people you have met at classes and events and with discovering your creativity you really should share! Simply tell your friends that you have found something and some people that make you very happy and you would like to share that experience with them. You have nothing to lose, neither do they and you might be opening a whole new world for them.
Not a bother
I think the main thing to remember is that you are not bothering your friends when you invite them to stamp with you. Use your stash to bless others in your community. Everyone could use happy mail, or even a note of encouragement passed to someone in the grocery store. Life can be overwhelming at times and it can be a huge encouragement to a complete stranger that someone actually cares. Keep some random cards in your purse in a clear stamp case to keep them from getting bent and damaged. Then be prepared to share!
Most of us have no problem sharing a good sale at the grocery store or a fantastic deal at our favourite shoe store or clothing store. What makes sharing about our hobby so different? If you had the cure for cancer you would definitely share that right? Well, I think stamping is a cure for loneliness and for boredom. What do you think?
A story
This morning I went to play pickleball but it was canceled. I was chatting to the staff while they were all eating my cookies warm from the oven to find out why there was no pickleball. They told me there was a craft show this weekend. My comment: I should probably be at this show since I make cards for a living. The manager says, “I know, here is a card you gave us. We show it to someone when they are having a bad day and need some encouragement.” I had given that card back in February during sale-a-bration. It was a froggie card saying “You can do anything.” That really touched me and reminded me of the power of affirmation with a hand made card.
The challenge
My challenge to you is to share what you love with others. Invite a friend to come and stamp with you. Make some cards for your local women’s shelter with notes of encouragement. Drop off some thank you cards at your local hospice, family there will need them soon. Bring some cards to your local nursing home to cheer up residents who hardly ever get company. The list is endless. Invite a neighbour to come to coffee and a card class. Some people have very few friends. Some people are exhausted caregivers and they could really use a break. It may not be about card making, but that could be the vehicle to give someone meaning and joy in their lives.
A card
Besides a sermon, you would probably like to see what I have been up to in my stamp room. You are in luck! Yesterday I made a fun card using the snow globe dies and the woodland embossing folder. I used a technique called “tarnished foil”. I have an old video that I did and I will share it here, but I promise I will make a new and better one very soon.
I had some other pictures with my good camera but the photos on my computer seem to be frozen. I think it may be time for me to get my Mac cleaned up. It has been super slow lately, I should never have updated it with the latest version. Technology is really not my strong suit. This will have to do for now, I hope to do a video on this card this weekend.
I was finally able to access my photos this morning so I thought I would edit this post to add this one. It shows how I swiped the StāzOn before embossing. The next step is swiping Versamark on the embossing folder, running it through the Big Shot and then sprinkling on silver embossing powder and heat embossing it with the heat tool.
Now I need to get ready for my Fab Four card making event tonight. Have a super day and thanks so much for stopping by. If you want to see the products I used, just scroll down for a complete list. Click on them and you will be taken to my online store which is quite handy if you are a Canadian and like to shop online. Remember, $200 will get you free host products too. Questions? I am only an email or a phone call away.
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by Jackie Bultje | Oct 31, 2019 | Christmas, Most Wonderful Time |
Hello stampers! Happy Thursday and happy Halloween. It is cold and rainy here today, not great at all for the little tricker treaters. Today I want to talk to you about mixing and matching. Amazing things can happen when you think outside the box and combine different products from different suites together.
I Love Deer
Have you seen the amazing deer stickers in the Most Wonderful Time product medley? There are more than two sheets of stickers with the deer standing, eating and facing either way not to mention with or without antlers. The variety is truly wonderful! I really love these deer and I think you will too. Remember that this is a sticker sheet so the deer are more delicate once they are removed from the sheet. Let’s take a look.
Mixing it Up
While Most Wonderful Time is a great product medley and you can make beautiful things just using this suite of products, it can get even better! When you add different embossing folders, the deer framelits from the annual catalog or the framelits from the Still Scenes snow globes you will simply go ga-ga!! The best part of the suite is that it allows you to create lavishly since there is just so much to work with. There is no need to skimp an I truly love that.
The Cards
New Traditions
I would like to suggest that you use this product medley to bring some joy to your family, to your neighbours or to your friend group. Just spread the products all over your kitchen counter or dining room table and let people get inspired by what they see. Have some white cards ready to that everyone can make what they want.
When I bought my first Stampin’Up! products I sat around the kitchen table with my kids and together we made Christmas cards, tags and even some ornaments. It was so much fun.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot for stopping by today, I appreciate you ever so much. I love it when you pin my cards to Pinterest, when you take the time to comment and when you order online from me. You need to live in Canada to shop with me, but you can still support me no matter where you live and I know you do. Big hugs back to you and have a super day.
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