by Jackie Bultje | Nov 1, 2021 | blessings, Honour and Remember, Painted Poppies, Peaceful Poppies, remembrance day |
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Card ministry? That is the subject of my blog post today and it is ever so fitting that I am at my parents’ while I am writing this. You see another card from this “card ministry” by Sonja arrived in the mail for them today. Let me tell you a little about Sonja and her card ministry.
Sonja and her Card Ministry
I met Sonja many years ago when I did a fundraiser called Hearts for Haiti. That was the beginning of a long friendship. I found out later that Sonja was part of a card ministry at her church. Every month she would send a card to the people on her list, mostly elderly and shut-in people. She also sends cards to as many veterans as she can, not just in November, but every single month! Sonja has taken her hobby and turned it into a ministry and my family is also now on her list.
My parents and even my brother Oliver now feel like they know Sonja. You see, she doesn’t just send a card, she writes a lovely, newsy letter in her beautiful handwriting in each letter. My mother was touched that Oliver is now also included in the salutation. What a wonderful example you are to all of us Sonja. To make it even more significant, you should know that Sonja is also a long term caregiver to not one, but two people!
Sonja’s Card for Veteran Fred
What an amazing idea for a Remembrance Day card. You see, Fred’s family is so grateful for Sonja’s monthly cards that they send her a picture of their father with his card every month. Sonja asked if she could share his story and his photo with her card ministry people and this is the result. I am so blessed to have met people like Sonja in my business. We really can change the world one card at a time, this is proof of that.
Card for my Family
Here is Sonja’s October card for my family. I had to include a snippet showing her beautiful handwriting and how she included my brother Oliver because she knows that he is the primary caregiver for my parents. What a blessing!!
What Can We Do?
I would love to shower Sonja with cards of encouragement. Share you stories with her and show her some love. Here is her mailing address (she has no idea that I am doing this and I hope it will be a wonderful surprise!) Sonja Russchen 388 Talbot Street West Blenheim, ON N0P1A0, Canada
You could also do what Sonja does. Start gathering names of people who could use monthly encouragement. Word will spread and you will be asked by family members to send their loved one a card.
Thank You!
Thank you for joining me today on my blog. I hope you were inspired. The latest International Create With Us Tutorial has just been released and it features the Painted Christmas Suite. You can get it for free with a $60 purchase or you can buy it for $20US. Just click here and it’s almost yours!! If you want any of the supplies that were used in today’s cards, just click on the links below to shop in my online store. I appreciate it!! Have a super day.
Here is our talented team!
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by Jackie Bultje | May 5, 2021 | Liberation Day, Painted Poppies |
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday. Today there will be no “real” blog post. In a short while we will be getting in the car and driving two hours north to Holten which is the site of a huge war cemetery honouring Canadian soldiers. Today it is the 77th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands. Due to COVID19 there is still no official celebration which is so sad.
Liberation Day in Holten
I am going to see what the opportunities are for giving out cards and books to veterans and their families. Two years ago you joined me in a poppy campaign and made cards with our poppy stamp sets and I even bought a bunch of notebooks so that people could write their stories and share them with other survivors. Sadly I did not remember to take those with me. I really didn’t think there would be an opportunity to give them to the right people so today will be a sleuthing mission.
If you want to see what I had intended to give, check out this blog post.
It looks like the visitor information centre is not open due to COVID19 but here is their website if you want to check it out.
Mindful Gratitude
I am so blessed to be able to be in Holland with Gerard and have relative freedom to travel within the country. Last night we watched the Dutch movie “Soldaat van Oranje” which is based on a true story about a Dutch university student who joined the resistance and fled to England across the Channel so that he could become a pilot for the Allies It was a powerful reminder of what people went through in occupied Holland. Today I will be especially mindful and grateful that we live in peace. Here is another blog post that I hope you will read on this subject.
A fellow Dutch demonstrator sent me this. Thank you Angelique Aupperlee. It translates as such: We who live honour the dead who honoured us with their lives.”
Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a super day and take a few moments to be truly grateful for your freedom. I know that with a COVID lockdown it doesn’t feel very free but it is still so much better than what our ancestors had to deal with.
by Jackie Bultje | Jan 23, 2020 | Blends, Painted Poppies, Peaceful Poppies, stitched shape framelits |
Hello stampers and happy Thursday. For some reason my heart is full today and a little bit sad. Always remember is the theme of my card and it happened quite by accident. Let me tell you the story and set the mood.
Always Remember
My card started with the idea of having a window in the front and layering the vellum poppy accents around the edge. When the card was almost finished I decided that the flowers needed colour, it was just too washed out looking for my mood. I wanted a small sentiment for the outside and “always remember” was perfect. The problem was, I wasn’t sure what to put with it in the inside. Then inspiration hit. It didn’t need anything more.
This is the perfect card to always remember what our soldiers did for us. So many of them were so young, children really, who had no idea what they were going into. The horrific slaughter they would witness. The atrocities they themselves had to do in the face of war. Many, many, many of them gave their lives or their limbs.
Poppies really aren’t peaceful, they are symbols of loss, of war, of death. And yet. Those beautiful, bright flowers also keep growing and blooming and are witness of a hard won peace. Always remember.
War Cemeteries
Three years ago I visited several war cemeteries and it was a profoundly moving experience. In May I hope to be back in the Netherlands. May 4 is the official holiday here (their Remembrance Day) and the entire country will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland by Canadian troops. If you want to read a moving story of how the Canadian war cemeteries are maintained and honoured by Dutch citizens, check this out. A Canadian veteran tells the story of his experience here. This town of Holten is just minutes away from where Gerard’s sister lives!
Reading the stories of Canadians who served in various wars makes it real and also makes sure that we always remember! I hope that you take the time to check this out and also share with your children and grandchildren. As time passes it is even more important to keep this truth alive. Here is a great link to get your started.
Always Remember Card
Blog posts don’t usually drain me like this, but I am just heaving a huge sigh. This is heavy stuff, but I am so happy to be able to share the honour that these children and this nation bestows on soldiers who died so long ago. It really is true that Dutch people today still love Canadians so much. They have always remembered!
I first adhered the striped patterned paper from Peaceful Poppies to the front of the card and then I used a stitched circle die to cut out a “window”. In the inside of the card is another circle with contrasting paper from the same suite. The vellum elements were coloured with mossy meadow and poppy parade Blends.
The stark simplicity of the sentiment suits the purpose of this card. I am hoping to some kind of fundraiser for our veterans using this suite of products. I am hoping that we can make a ton of poppy cards that I can take with me to Holland so I can give them to both soldiers, their families and also to the local Dutch people who have maintained the cemeteries there.
Feeling Deeply
I can now tell you why my mood was sad to begin with. When I create I often watch Netflix and the show I was watching involved a mother who was a drug user and her own daughter had to report her so that her three year old sister would not be in danger. Yes, it is only a show, but I know this happens in real life and I can just get way too involved and feel so sad for those who do have struggles like this in their lives.
Good thing those sad feelings culminated in this great card! I really am happy with it. It evokes just the right feeling that I want to express to those receiving it. Making a card is like writing a blog post or cooking a meal, you have to feel it in your heart to make the magic happen!
Thanks
Thanks again for joining me today, it makes my heart happy to see you here. I love your comments, your silent footsteps and of course happy mail. Thanks if you have ordered online from me and thanks to my team members for their love and support. My tribe is awesome and please know, there is a place for you too!
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by Jackie Bultje | Jan 17, 2020 | Painted Poppies, paper, Peaceful Moments |
Hello stampers and happy Friday to you. Today I am going to be talking about Peaceful Moments, the stamp set, and peaceful moments with my Tante Nel. How fitting is that? In face, I am thrilled that the poppy suite is in the mini catalog because poppies are the flower that Canadians use to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of life of our soldiers. This year is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland by Canadian soldiers from World War 2 and there will be epic celebrations all over Holland in May and I hope to be here again. Let’s take a look at the sets.
Peaceful Moments and Painted Poppies stamp sets
Painted Poppies Card
It really is just so lovely the way the paper, the stamps and the dies coordinate. I added some vellum to soften the patterned paper under my sentiment. I had these silver sequins laying around, I think they were from a Paper Pumpkin kit. Do you see the leaves? They are also cut from the Painted Poppies designer series paper.
I was curious to see what the card would look like with a black sentiment instead of highland heather. I also knew that you would want to see a card with a different sentiment. There are lots of great sentiments in the Peaceful Moments stamp set.
What is your preference? Do you see that I also added a stamped and coloured poppy to the sentiment? I like that extra pop of red.
Peaceful Moments Story Time
I haven’t forgotten my promise to tell you the story about my high tea with Tante Nel. Let me introduce Tante Nel to you. You see, my mother came from a family of fourteen children. Yes, fourteen!! All from one mother and one father. Tante Nel is my mom’s younger sister by thirteen years. She is also the aunt that first hosted me when I came to Holland as a fourteen year old teenager. I thought she was super cool, after all, she listened to and sang along with ABBA!! She wore makeup and high heels. Jeans!! Totally different than my mom. Without Tante Nel, I would never have met Gerard. He came to her house when it was my cousin Corrina’s 17th birthday. Gerard has always maintained his friendship with Tante Nel and her family.
Since Tante Nel had hosted me so many times over the years, I thought it was time that I hosted her for something. Therefore, I invited her to high tea at De Bosrand. I knew that this was a lovely little restaurant in a peaceful little corner of the world on the edge of the Staelduinse Bos. What a lovely time we had catching up on everything that was going on in our lives. Here is a picture of us and of some of the delicious treats we enjoyed.
I am sure that “high tea” is something different depending on where you go. I would consider this a “low” high tea in the sense that it is rustic and relaxed and utterly unpretentious. There is of course a tea pot with numerous choices of tea. There is a tiered tray with all little savoury sandwiches on the bottom and sweet treats on the top. In between all of this the waitress brought little cups of coup, a chicken satay, some sort of battered shrimp in a delicious sauce and who knows what else.
The best part of course was the company and the conversation. This is just another huge blessing of being in Holland, the possibility of seeing my Dutch relatives. It was wonderful to enjoy peaceful moments with Tante Nel over high tea.
Rustic Retreat
There is still room for you to be pampered by The Pampered Stamper. You can join me for a three day, three night retreat in Muskoka. Imagine staying in a lovely cottage and having someone cook and bake for you. Then imagine that you will also be stamping and creating without having to think of your own ideas and being able to take home all your extra supplies and a pdf tutorial for more creativity? There will also be little excursions into nearby Huntsville to check out the shops and bakeries. You could choose to go to Arrowhead Provincial Park and skate on their beautiful groomed skating trail through the woods. All this for only $400. Save your spot for a $100 deposit.
Sweet Suite Saturday Free Class
Did you know that on Saturday February 29 at 1pm you can come to a free class if you purchase either of these bundles? It is time to continue with the Sweet Suite Saturday classes. You can also make four cards for $25 if you do not wish to purchase a suite or bundle. This card will be the first one we will make but there will be more coming up which I am also planning to make a tutorial of to help you create more beautiful things with these amazing products.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. If there is happy mail tomorrow, there will be a blog post. If not, you will hear from me again on Monday. I am hosting some cousins from Zeeland tomorrow afternoon. Happy stamping and remember, the best way to get these products at an amazing price is to put them into your starter kit. Here is the link to help make that happen really fast.
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