by Jackie Bultje | Dec 15, 2022 | dies, free shipping, kits, loneliness |
Hello stampers and happy Thursday to you. Free shipping today is the big news. Stampin’Up! has also issued a kit challenge to us so I am trying to sell 6 kits to 6 different people and I hope that you will be a part of it. If you read my newsletter you will know why I think this is such a good idea. To encourage you even more I am offering a free draw for the Sweet Gingerbread Bundle which is sold out. See the photos below for some inspiration that I found online.
Here is the link for Martin’s blog so you can read how he made this card. I’m sad that it is no longer available but I am thrilled to offer the bundle as a prize to someone who orders a kit from me. You can find all the kit offerings here.
The Golden Reason Behind a Kit Purchase
Have you ever thought about what “your people” want the very most for Christmas? Most often it is time with you. So many people are lonely and so many people could also use a meaningful hobby that allows them to connect with other people. The answer? A gift of a kit along with a note that says that you will come and craft with them. Today you get free shipping with orders of $100 or more. If that is beyond your budget and you are local, then you can message me your order and I will add it to mine and you can do a porch pickup.
Free Tutorial
When you place an order of $60 you always get a free tutorial bundle from me. This month there are two to choose from, but you can always request an older one. You can see all my tutorials here. I am also part of a Bundle Focus tutorial group and that tutorial is free with a $35 purchase since it is a simpler format.
Free Shipping!
I’ll end this blog post with a reminder that the free shipping is for today only, Thursday December 15, 2022 on orders of $100 or more. As a thank you you will also get a free embellishment of your choice, so let me know what you would like and I’ll pop it in the mail for you with a card. Thanks for joining me today and have a super day.
A Personal Note
Yesterday I drove to my mom’s with my oldest daughter Stefanie and her baby August. What a precious day. Mom was such a trooper, filled with joy and not one word of remorse that Pap was not there to celebrate this moment with her. She just focuses on her blessings and has deep joy and peace. What an example she is to me and to all of us!
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.
Product List
by Jackie Bultje | Oct 28, 2019 | business opportunity, Christmas, embossing, loneliness |
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you! I ran out of time on Friday so you never got to find out why I call myself the “pampered” stamper. Rumour has it that I like to be pampered and that is why. While that may be true from time to time, that is not the real reason I am The Pampered Stamper.
My First Love
My first love is making food. Yes I am that rare creature who likes to bake and cook. I read cookbooks for fun! Before I became a demonstrator I was a scrapbooker and my very favourite place to go was to someone’s home in Mississauga. Together with my sister-in-law Yvonne we would drive more than two hours one way down the 401 to go and scrapbook for a day. Crazy right? Do you know why we thought it worthwhile to drive that far for a day of scrapbooking? It was the food!!! This lady was my inspiration. I realized that paper crafting was much more fun if there was food involved. It really does change everything.
Pampered
Everyone loves to be pampered. It means those extra little things that make you feel special. That is what I like to do for my customers. Sharing my love of stamping AND sharing my love of food. It all starts with a great cup of coffee or tea. Being Dutch, there is no such thing as a “naked” cup of coffee. In the Netherlands when you order a cup of coffee anywhere you will always get a little something with it. So lovely. At The Pampered Stamper you will always get something with your coffee or tea too and usually it will be homemade.
Not only do you feel pampered when you get treats, there is also a different vibe when food is shared. Everyone slows down a little bit. People congregate. They talk more and get to know each other. In short, friendships and relationships are built around a simple cup of coffee.
Beyond Pampered
That is the name of my team! It was my team member Liz Fields who came up with this name and I am ever grateful. She declared that with all that I do for my team they are “beyond pampered”. A generous thought that I am not sure is true. As a leader I feel that I am never really doing enough for me team. I would love to have the time to do more. What I do do however is create an atmosphere of family, of community a “sisterhood of the traveling stamps”! Whenever there is a Stampin’Up! event I try to rent a cool Airbnb or HomeAway place so that we can have a very special time together.
We have monthly gatherings where we create, share and inspire around food. The result is a lot of fun with great memories and relationships being made. I try to do a Facebook live video for my long distance team members.
Loneliness
It is now common knowledge that loneliness is a huge problem for people in all age brackets. This may have to do with social media and our age of technology that hinders people from having real relationships. Let me tell you that joining a stamping group whether just for fun or for the business opportunity will definitely fix the problem of loneliness! The beauty of this stamping business is that it also lets you make a difference in people’s lives by sending cards to dispel the loneliness. I love being in the “happy” business! As you know, there is always room for you on my team or in my classes. Please reach out. You are loved!
A Card
We can’t have a blog post without a card, so I wanted to share this swap card with you that I received from Janice Thompson. She uses a very fun technique, stamping on embossing folders. If you have never done it, check out my blog post here. It make take more than one attempt before you are totally pleased, but stick with it and you will love the outcome!
Here is a closeup. Do you see the snowflake sequins from the Still Scenes Snow Globe suite?
Thanks
Thank you so much for stopping by, it truly warms my heart. We are all connected and together we make a difference in so many lives. I hope you have a wonderful day and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Product List
