Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today’s blog post is about a beautiful and meaningful Bay Window Fold Card. Thanks very much to Ina Eisen for sending me this lovely “Happy Mail in Holland” card. Can you believe that I have not yet made a Bay Window Fold Card?? It is definitely time to give this fold a try. Ina was very smart in that she wrote on the back of the card that it was this type of fold. If you aren’t immediately aware you might be a bit confused when you first look at it folded flat. People who don’t stamp will definitely be even more clueless that I was in the first ten seconds!
Ina’s Bay Window Fold Card
Here is Ina’s card. What makes it even more meaningful and special is that she put a photo of Elora in the inside of the card. Elora is my hometown and where my parents still live today. I am going to take this card home to show them, I know Mom is going to love it. Many people love using their favourite photos as cards, this is a great way to do just that!
Create With Us International Tutorial
Did you know that in our latest Create With Us International Tutorial bundle there is a Bay Window Card by our very own Tamara Bertram? You can get this tutorial for free with a $60 purchase which just happens to be the amount that you need to spend to get a free saleabration item. If you have not yet received your saleabration brochure in the mail or picked it up from my tote on the front porch, you can see it online here.
Just click on the blue word and then you will have a new tab open on your computer and you can see the two categories of. free items. Some are free with a $60 purchase and some are free with a $120 purchase. Below is a sneak peek of all the projects in our Create With Us Tutorial. The theme is Blessings of Home. If you would rather just purchase the tutorial, you can do so here.
Are You Missing Out?
Do you watch YouTube videos? Do you sometimes wish that you could get more information about the projects that were made? Well, you might be missing out because you didn’t know you could click on those small words “show more”. Here is my short little video that I did with Screen Castify. I couldn’t figure out how to end the video so it gets a bit weird at the end.
Thanks!!
Thanks for joining me today. On Wednesday I will be blogging about my Penguin Place cards that are part of this month’s Parcels in the Post. This is a great way to get a package of assorted coordinating supplies so that you can play along with me for a month of cardmaking. It is only $25 for porch pick up or $32 mailed anywhere in Canada. Check it out here.
Please let me know if you received your spring catalog and/or saleabration flyer in the mail. Stampin’Up! was super late in mailing them out and I am so very sorry that you have not received them yet. Nothing I could do about it!!! Have a super day and happy stamping my friends. Hugs from Holland.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today I am talking about sharing creativity. In this blog post I will be sharing creativity from my Happy Mail in Holland contributors. All three are Dutch artists! One of them is my cousin Corien (actually she is married to my cousin Chris) and I am going to start with her card.
Corien’s Card
Corien is the kind of artist that I would love to be. She paints!! When I received her lovely watercoloured Christmas card, I had no idea that it was part of a bigger whole. She told me that later and I thought it was a genius idea. It is so wonderful to be inspired by the creativity of others! First I will show you her card, then I will share the bigger watercolour painting, known here as an “aquarelle”.
I love the calming natural colours of Corien’s card, don’t you? Now here is the much bigger painting that she cut up into cards. What a novel idea! I’m sort of hoping that she made two of these so. that there is still one original large painting hanging on the wall somewhere.
I love the combination of styles here. My eyes see the old world manger scene that reminds me of paintings throughout the centuries combined with the modern feel of the ornaments and the straight lines of the squares. Wow, wow, wow!! Corien, you are incredible. Thank you for sharing your gift of art with us. Isn’t sharing creativity just the best?
Corien lives in Maasluis, the Netherlands which is quite close to where Gerard lives. I love that because that means we can see each other regularly. Chris and Corien are beautiful souls and among my favourite people.
Carla van der Meé’s Card
Carla comes from Drachten, the Netherlands (I’m going to have to look that up!) Her lovely card combines the Arctic Bears stamp set with Whimsical Trees. I love her choice of colours (mossy meadow, soft succulent and old olive) as well as the layout of her elements. Very clever to stamp the saying at an angle as well. It’s catchy and it also means you don’t have to stress out about getting it perfectly straight. That can be especially tricky with small sayings.
Carla’s card measures 4 3/4″ square. Thanks for sending me this beautiful card!
Drachten is located in the northern part of the Netherlands and is the second largest city in the province of Friesland. I think I would love to go to this museum to learn more about the local history, especially the harvesting of peat, as this was a job that my father did in Canada before he bought his farm.
Bianca Rebel’s Card
The last card that I am sharing today comes from Bianca Rebel who lives in the beautiful city of Dordrecht. Bianca’s card is clean and simple and I love how she used a corner rounder on the two opposite corners of her card. The cardstock is balmy blue from Stampin’Up! but the stamp is what I affectionately call “contraband”. Bianca tells me that it is from Alexandra Renke.
It was so nice to receive your happy mail Bianca, thank you!! If you want to see another beautiful card that Bianca made as well as read a little bit more about Dordrecht, check out this blog post from two years ago.
Happy New Year from Holland
I thought I would close this post with a photo of my new amaryllis bouquet. Gerard brought in three new ones to replace the Christmas ones. He knows how much I love the salmon coloured ones. The name of this variety is called Desire. Gerard just has a few of these rogues growing in the greenhouse, it is not a variety that he sells. They are just for me!!
By picking these particular flowers and arranging them just so, Gerard also shared his creativity with me and it just makes me so happy.
They look so nice and fresh inside the house and also from outside. The other day we were driving away and I looked back and saw these flowers and I thought, I need to take a picture of these from outside. Lovely!!!
Gerard and I wish you a very Happy New Year. Thanks for joining me today. Just a gentle reminder that today is the LAST day to order from the holiday catalog. Tomorrow saleabration begins!! Have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today’s Happy Mail in Holland features Peaceful Christmas Wishes which was the Paper Pumpkin for October. Paper Pumpkin is a wonderful crafting kit subscription which will bring you instant gratification every month. Have you ever subscribed to Paper Pumpkin?
Paper Pumpkin Instant Gratification
Paper Pumpkin really is about instant gratification! This crafting box comes every month and all you have to do is unwrap your gift, find the instruction sheet and start stamping! I usually make only one of each of the projects in the box and then I go to the Paper Pumpkin Fan Club page on Facebook to see what everyone else has done with it. You can also simply Google it. For example for this kit you would Google “Paper Pumpkin Peaceful Christmas” and then all the projects will pop up; just click on “images”. Here is a link to see what happens when you do that.
If you would like to give yourself a belated Christmas present, just click here. If you really want to spoil yourself, then get a twelve month prepaid subscription after January 4 and before February 28 and then you will get five free saleabration items and about $40 worth of host products as well. How much fun would that be?
Paper Pumpkin Happy Mail
Today I received this beautiful card from Ingrid Vos, from Hamilton, Ontario. Ingrid is a fellow SU demonstrator and we have met at SU events and she has also participated in some of my online classes. I appreciate you Ingrid and thanks for the happy mail AND the gorgeous handmade ornament from your niece.
Do you see what a difference the beautiful red linen twine bow makes? A full spool of it was included in the October Paper Pumpkin. I love all the extras that you get in your Paper Pumpkin kits.
Supporting Local Business
I love when I hear a story about a woman starting her own business so that she can stay home with her young children. Ingrid included a beautifully detailed wooden ornament with my card that her niece made. She started a business called Fox and Leaf Co. so she could work from home and raise their three little ones.
Looking for a Great Deal?
If you are an avid stamper and collector, you might already have this set. If not, it is a steal of a deal right now for only $38 instead of $95. The second best part is that I already have a great tutorial written for it as well, so you don’t even have to come up with your own ideas!! Check it out here.
If you want to see a great card that I blogged about two years ago, you can check it out here.
Stamping Through My Stash
Every Wednesday I do a live video where I “stamp through my stash”. I pick a stamp set from my stash that has not yet seen ink and I made something fun with it. Join me on my adventure every Wednesday at 10am EST (Detroit or New York time zone if that makes it easier) You can check out this video playlist on YouTube here.
Did you know that if you subscribe to my channel, comment on your favourite video and share it to Facebook that you could win the Poinsettia Petals bundle? There will be a draw as soon as I get to 4100 subscribers.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today, it always feels good to connect with you and to share what is happening in my stamping world. The rain is falling here, the skies are grey, but my heart is happy because I am with the one I love. Hugs from Holland!! Have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today I am sharing a Triple Cube card and more happy mail from Holland. There was SO much mail on Friday that my heart was very happy indeed. There are three great cards that I will be blogging about today, one from the Netherlands, one from the United States and one from Canada. What fun!
Triple Cube Card from Debby Kainu
This first card comes from Debby Kainu from the United States. I met Debby a long time ago at a Stampin’Up! Convention in Utah. Debby often sends me happy mail for no reason at all and as such is an inspiration to me. I feel that I lack in this regard but she inspires me to do better! Debby has also inspired me to try this “fancy fold” again. It looks intimidating but step by step it really isn’t as hard as it looks.
Debby comes from Middletown, New York which looks like it is situated in the most picturesque area with mountains in the distance and the forested foothills in the foreground.
Here is a close-up of Debby’s card so you can see all the lovely details. Thanks so much for your gorgeous creation, I knew as soon as I felt how thick the envelope was that it was a special one!
I made a triple cube card last year, you can see it in this blog post.
Caroline van den Neste’s Card
Caroline not only sent me a beautiful Christmas card, but also a long handwritten letter. That is truly the best of both worlds. Caroline lives in Terneuzen the Netherlands which is in the province of Zeeland where my Pap comes from. I really do have to come and visit you Caroline!
You can check out Caroline’s blog post here. She made a different version of this card for a colleague that includes a tractor!
Peaceful Cabin is going to be retiring on January 4, 2022 so be sure to order yours if you haven’t already. I love this stamp set so much and it pairs well with lots of other stamp sets AND it really isn’t limited to Christmas time.
Hannie’s Second Card!
Hannie really is a woman after my own heart. I smiled a very big smile when I opened her second card as this is exactly the sort of thing that I would do and have done. Better two cards than none at all!! I love this cute little mouse. Thank you so much Hannie for the overflowing of love in your happy mail.
Last Week!
Just a friendly reminder that it is the last week to order from the Holiday Catalog. There are some good deals to be had, so be sure to check them out and place your order. I am also offering some special incentives for you to place an order yet in December. There were in my newsletter, but I will copy and paste so you can read it here too.
1. If you order anything at all from me online no matter how small he amount you will get the pdf tutorial from the Demo Design Dream Team that has the accordion fold card in it as well as fourteen other terrific projects.
2. If you order $50 you will get a package of Heart & Home Doilies and the DDDT tutorial above.
3. If you order $75 you will get the brand new Butterflies and Flowers Layering Decorative Masks, the above tutorial as well as the latest International Create With Us Tutorial.
4. If you place a $100 order you will get a $25 gift certificate to use in January. (this gift certificate will not cover any shipping or tax)
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me again today, I hope you have a wonderful day. If you are looking to pamper yourself just because, then check out my pdf tutorial selection. You will be pleased that you did!!
Hello stampers and happy Christmas Eve to you all. Today I am sharing some adorable Seasons of Fun cards that I made during my weekly Stamping Through My Stash videos. This host set is a real gem. I am hoping that in the coming year we can do some fun parties together. We need some more fun and we need to get creative in the way that we do it don’t you think??
First, Happy Mail
The first thing I want to do is share the happy mail that arrived this week. We have a bit of a black and white theme going and I love it. The third card is the new black- red!!!
Brighton, Ontario
This lovely card uses the Delivering Cheer stamp set which is totally appropriate for a Happy Mail in Holland card don’t you think? I love the classic and elegant black and white colour scheme with some silver embossing to make it pop. Thank you so much Cheryl Ann Pulver for this lovely card. Cheryl Ann is a talented team member of mine who lives in Brighton Ontario. She is also a florist in her spare time!
I looked up Brighton, Ontario and it looks like a fantastic place to visit. Presqu’Ile Provincial Park is here and I used to visit there when I had a summer job in Cobourg. Small world! Check out this restaurant, would you like to join me there some day for a lovely lunch?
Maasluis, the Netherlands
The second card is also from a team member, but she is my very first team member in the Netherlands!! How awesome is that? Thank you so much Barbara van den Berg-Zeegers for this beautiful card. I absolutely love the clean and crisp feel of Peaceful Cabin in black and white. Barbara comes from Maasluis which is a town about 15 minutes away from where Gerard lives. I have a cousin living in Maasluis and I used to visit my aunt and uncle there. Mom’s oldest sister lived in Maasluis until she died a few years ago. This city was founded around 1340; what a history!
Listowel, Ontario
The last card was sent to my by Karen Gerretsen. I have only met Karen via Zoom for Bingo events and other online card making. Karen has supported my virtual coffee and a card classes and my Parcels in the Post. I am so grateful for loyal customers like Karen. Thank you so much for this cheerful and classic card. The Merry Melody embossing folder is the star of the show. Well done!!
Karen lives on a farm just outside of Listowel, Ontario. I know from my daughter Stefanie that Listowel is in the “snow belt”. Stefanie used to have to drive through Listowel when she worked for the Huron-Perth Centre in Stratford. Listowel is beautiful farming country with rolling hills and lovely farms. It became a village in 1866 and was named after Listowel in Ireland.
Seasons of Fun Cards
Normally I would not add any more cards to this blog post, but next week it will be after Christmas and then it will be too late to share Christmas cards don’t you think? These cards turned out so well in my Stamping Through My Stash video on Wednesday. If you missed that video, I will include it here for you. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and to comment on a video and share it so you can have a chance to win the Poinsettia Petals bundle!
These are both fun and easy Z-Fold cards. Just take a piece of thick basic white cardstock measuring 4 1/4″ by 11″ and score at 2 3/4″ and 5 1/2″. Fold in half and then fold the front flap back towards yourself.
I used Whimsy & Wonder paper to finish off the Seasons of Fun cards and the images were stamped on shimmery white cardstock and coloured with Blends.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks for joining me today and I hope that you have a very merry Christmas with the people that you love. Perhaps like me, you will only be able to be with some of the people that you love, and you will be missing the rest. Thankfully we have technology to help us stay in touch. God bless and keep you!! Big hugs from Holland from both myself and Gerard.
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Happy Mail Works!! It;s true. Happy mail really does make everyone in the house happy. It is such fun to see those special envelopes in the mail in between the flyers, bills and newspapers. You right away know that someone has thought of you and made something just for you. This makes you happy!!! And happiness is contagious. Thank you!!
Happy Mail in Holland Contest
Did you know that if you send me happy mail in Holland you will go into a draw to get a Friendly Hello stamp set and paper sampler? You can see the mailing address here. I am including Christmas cards sent here as well even if they weren’t expressly sent to be a part of the contest. Who knows?
We got lots of happy mail today, there were three cards just today!! I am still catching up. Today I have a card to share from Elfie Kron and from Hannie VanderZanden. Would you like to see them?
Hannie’s Card
Hannie made an adorable card with mini ornaments and a bejeweled garland from which they all hang. My brain is scrambled to let you know which stamp set this is from, but maybe one of you can help me out in the comments? Then I can edit my post to include this important information.
Hannie immigrated to Canada about 15 years ago. She has a twin brother and most of her family still lives in Holland. Hannie is an inspiration to me. She is a hard working pig farmer, a talented card maker as well as a dedicated mom and oma. Before COVID she flew to Holland more often than I do!! Hannie lives with her family just outside of Morpeth, Ontario. Hannie (it is NOT pronounced “honey” more of an “awe” sound is short for Johanna)
Elfie’s Card
I met Elfie at a Stampin’Up! event. Elfie is a delight. She has a huge personality and an even bigger heart. Elfie lives in Guelph, Ontario just a short drive from my parents’ place so she has had the joy of meeting my parents too. She even made a lavender sachet for my mom out of lavender from her own garden!!
Elfie’s card features the Poinsettia Petals stamp set and our beautiful shimmer vellum paper which I have but have never used!! Thanks for this lovely card Elfie; you even decorated the envelope so beautifully!
I have no idea why my photo turned out so small!!! Now it is too late to make changes, it is dark outside and not a good time to take photos.
I think my phone is playing tricks on me. It is time to check the settings because this is highly unusual. This card is so lovely it deserves a full size photo!!
Want to Win Free Stuff?
If you want a chance to win the Poinsettia Petals stamp set and dies, then head on over to my YouTube channel and subscribe. After that be sure to leave a comment on your favourite video and share it to Facebook. That will get you entered into the draw that will take place when I get to 4100 subscribers.
Another way to win is to place an order with me in December. You then have a chance to win the Amaryllis Abloom stamp set. Of course you always get a free pdf tutorial with a $60 order. These tutorials are chock full of great ideas and 15 projects!! Can’t order from me? No worries, you can purchase these tutorials as well right here.
Thanks!!
Thanks so much for being a part of my stamping community. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. You brighten my days with your comments, with your happy mail and with your purchases both small and large. I will do one more blog post on Friday to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
