by Jackie Bultje | Jan 13, 2020 | More than Words, Snowman Season |
Hello stampers, and happy Monday to you. This is a standard greeting from me but I don’t mean it to be flippant. The truth is, it might NOT be a happy Monday. It might be a very difficult Monday. That is why I am choosing to write about “the plans I have for you”. This is part of one of my favourite Bible verses from Jeremiah 29. Verse 11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Let me tell you why it was on my heart to share this verse with you today.
Prayers for Aileen
Last week my team member Aileen Boersma messaged me on Facebook. For me, it was just past breakfast time. For her, it was 2:30 in the morning. I knew right away that something was not right. Indeed, she was messaging me from her hospital bed. She couldn’t sleep and no wonder. She knew that today she would be undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour. You need to know that Aileen has just finished a big battle with breast cancer. She was just getting back to regular life, having fun at stamp classes and restarting her own stamping business. We don’t know the plans that God has for us and we often don’t understand them. I do know that God promises to never leave or forsake us, he walks the difficult paths along with us. The ultimate future he has planned for us is of course heaven.
Please pray for Aileen, for her, for her family, for the doctors and nurses taking care of her. If you want to send her happy mail, that would encourage her family as well. Here is Aileen’s address: 13123 Beechwood Line R.R. # 3 Ridgetown, ON N0P2C0
Happy Mail from Ingrid Vos
This cheerful card from Ingrid Vos is very fitting for this post, as it says “New Year’s Wishes” on t he front. I love the monochromatic theme of this card. Ingrid must have been paying careful attention to my blog posts and she noticed that I was often at a loss to know exactly which products were used. She made it easy for me and wrote in pencil on the back of her card. That is how I know she used the saleabration ribbon from last year in Grapefruit Grove. The stamp set is More than Words from the saleabration coordination product offering last year. Would you like to see Ingrid’s beautiful card?
Ingrid comes from Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton was known for its steel production for years but when my daughter Katrina moved there and also son Alex with his wife Amelia lived there for just over a year I found out that this is a city of many beautiful water falls and hiking trails. As a young girl I went for a rare family outing to see Dundurn Castle and the Royal Botanical Gardens. Hamilton is a great city to explore! Thanks Ingrid for this great card! It was great to meet you in person at #OnStage2019 in Toronto and also to have you in my training group.
If you want to see what this stamp set looks like and some cards that I made with it last year, you can check out this blog post.
Deborah Kerns’ Card
This next card is made by artist Deborah Kerns. Deborah follows my Pampered Stamper page and is a source of encouragement with her comments on posts and videos. Debbie is also a member of my training group, it is so nice to have a stamping tribe! Debbie used the stamp set Snowman Season. This fun set is being carried over, so that means it is still available!! I love how the snowman pops with the shaded spruce background!
Debbie is from Little Hocking, Ohio. I am going to look this up on Google maps right now because I think it must be close to the Hocking Hills which is a beautiful area in Ohio that I had the great pleasure of visiting several years ago. Amazing hiking trails and caves and lovely forests and rolling hills. I would love to go back. It is about a four hour drive from Chatham and the hikes were so easy and gratifying. Thanks so much for your cheerful card Debbie! I love this happy snowman. If you click here you will see some of my previous posts featuring this happy fellow.
Facebook Live Tomorrow
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my regularly scheduled Facebook live. It will be at 9am EST or at 3pm here in Holland. I will be featuring a teepee card. I haven’t made one of these fancy fold cards yet, but I am told that they are super easy to make and I like that idea a lot. I know you will too! Thanks so much for joining me today and for all the happy mail that is coming to Holland. It really does make my heart happy and it has provided a whole new way to blog and connect people around the world.
Don’t forget about saleabration, you can order online just by clicking on the images below in the product list and you get a free item with every $60 you spend. You are also most welcome to join my team by getting the starter kit which is the best deal in the catalog and comes with no strings attached. Just click here to start the big savings and the fun journey. My plans include the hope and joy of a growing team and more online customers! I hope you plan to take advantage of the great saleabration offers and all the beautiful new products in the mini catalog.
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by Jackie Bultje | Dec 10, 2019 | Christmas, Framelits, Snowman Season, Toile Christmas |
Hello stampers! It is my last day here in Canada so I thought happy mail would be a great topic. Happy mail is a handmade card between the bills and flyers and it is always appreciated. When you see that special sized envelope in the mail with handwriting on the front of it, you just know you are in for a happy surprise. I received happy mail yesterday so I thought I would share those cards with you today.
The Cards
I got this lovely card from my team member Karen Gardner. The snowmen are vintage, from many years ago. She told me it was one of the first sets she got. I love that!! This card has so much sparkle in real life.
This stunning cardinal card is from team member Jean Burke. I think the paper might be contraband but the cardinal is from Toile Christmas. Her idea of putting the sentiment on an angle like that is really great!
This last beauty is from fellow demonstrator Marion Greenlund. I love how she combined the trees from Winter Woods with the Feels Like Frost paper and the stitched rectangles framelits. The foil is from the Peacock suite.
A Great Idea
I had a great idea this morning. SInce happy mail is so wonderful I was wondering if you would like to send ME happy mail in Holland! I would then blog about the cards that I get in the mail and at the end of my stay in Holland I will choose one lucky winner to get the Poppy framelits from the new catalog. Here is my mailing address:
Jackie Bultje c/o Gerard van der Sar
Bloemenlaan 6,
2691 JC ‘s-Gravenzande,
Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands
Free Shipping Tomorrow
Just a reminder that tomorrow there is free shipping on orders of $65 or more. This will be the perfect opportunity to try ordering online and have your products delivered straight to your door. Please do use the current host code as that is a great help to me. Do NOT use the code if you are placing an order of $200 or more, then you will get your own host benefits.
Thanks for dropping by, I am now off to my parents and then on to the plane tomorrow at 6pm. Yay!!!
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 29, 2019 | Christmas, sketch challenge cards, Snowman Season |
Hello stampers! I’m curious. Where do you find your inspiration? Today I’m talking about finding inspiration, mainly for card making but perhaps on a grander, deeper scale as well. A very simple way for finding inspiration for your card making if you want to create your own design without copying someone else’s work is a card sketch.
A Card Sketch
What is a card sketch? It is simply a line drawing of a layout for a card, a guideline of what shapes to use and how to place them. I find it rewarding to participate in a sketch challenge so that I can see how other people have created their cards. The reality is that I don’t participate in these nearly enough , but I am working on making this a regular habit. This week I participated in the Splitcoaststampers weekly sketch challenge: SC777
My Card
Here is the card that I made using this sketch. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew that I wanted to use the Snowman Season bundle. I love snowmen and it was time to use some of the snowman found on the coordinating paper as well as the cute embellishment kit. What do you think?
I cut apart the sentiment to create three mini banners to comply with the sketch challenge. Doesn’t this card just make you smile? All the snowmen come from the paper that coordinates with this suite, the bottom snowman is punched out and adorned with the embellishment kit felt pieces. The top snowman has a carrot nose from the embellishment kit.
Deeper Inspiration
I find my greatest inspiration in nature. God’s creation speaks to me deeply and inspires worship and gratitude. As a Christian I know I should be spending more time in the Word, but to be truthful, this waxes and wanes. For months I read my Bible faithfully and then I go through a drought. This makes me so thankful for Sunday worship which grounds me and feeds my faith.
Other people also inspire me through their words, their actions and their creativity. I am so thankful for everyone in my life. We do not walk through this life alone and it is truly incredible how small actions, words and deeds and touch us deeply and can really change our lives.
Take some time to get outside, breathe deeply and think about everything that you are grateful for. I am always amazed at how much better I feel when I do this. Small things, small things. Have a wonderful day and know that you are loved. Thanks for dropping by.
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by Jackie Bultje | Nov 27, 2019 | Christmas, double tri-fold shutter card, fancy fold, Snowman Season, Uncategorized |
Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I have a tri-fold shutter card to show you. I made it two weeks ago for my Upon Request Club. Trust me, this is NOT the card to make if you are pressed for time. That will take all the fun out of it. You want to make this card when you have time to fuss a little.
The Inspiration
Normally I would not make a card like this for a class since it is just too much cutting and scoring, not to mention all the little pieces and layers, however…. For my Upon Request Club the host gets to request what we do so I could hardly say no! I’m glad we made the card since it really is lovely. The important thing is that you need to have the time to actually enjoy the process. Be sure to make a bunch of bases right away while you’re in the groove and then you will be all set to make more when you need them. Teri Pocock from the UK was the original creator of this card and her tutorial was super helpful. You can find it here.
My Card
When you see it all closed up like this with the cute belly band it looks like a pretty box.
It is a gray, rainy November day here so the conditions were not great for taking pictures. Please excuse the shadows! You still get a good idea of what the card looks like. This paper is so, so cute! The combinations are endless. I followed Teri’s tutorial but I balked at adding more little layers in the tiny squares that you see are just pure red. Follow your heart as to how much layering you do!
Here you can see a close-up of the middle part of the card. The felt hat and scarf and other embellishments are from the Let it Snow Embellishment kit which is so much fun to use! I used some Snowfall Accents puff paint and ice stampin’ glitter as well.
In the picture above you can see how the fold actually looks. If you go about it slowly and breathe deeply AND follow Teri’s tutorial, you will have no problem at all. This beauty definitely deserves a place of honour among your Christmas decorations this year.
A Reminder
I just want to gently urge you to order any Christmas items from the holiday catalog as soon as possible as things are beginning to sell out! I hate to see you disappointed. Be sure to tell your loved ones that I offer gift certificates that can be redeemed for product or classes. Have a super day!
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by Jackie Bultje | Oct 16, 2019 | Christmas, Snowman Season, Vintage |
Hello stampers! This crazy squirrel has landed back in Canada and I am happy to share with you a vintage snowman card. The card that I am going to share with you is a swap card that I received from the talented Jackie Topa. I have admired Jackie for a long time. She first caught my eye with her fantastic punch art.
The Card
Jackie’s vintage snowman card is real red and crumb cake. She used the snowflake stamp in Snowman Season to repeated stamp and make a wreath using mossy meadow. A hole punch was used to punch holes throughout the wreath so that the real red would show through and look like holly berries. So clever! A little slit was cut in the wreath so that the snowman could be tucked inside.
If you look closely you can see that the Merry Christmas was embossed with our new shimmer black embossing powder. Jackie also brushed Wink of Stella on the wreath to add some subtle sparkle.
The inside is also finished up nicely using real red and pool party.
The Joy of Swaps
It was so nice to come home to a pile of happy mail. There were actually more handmade cards in my stack of mail than bills! The reason for that is because I was involved with two swaps. One of the swaps was a Canadian Business Leaders swap and the other one was a Pampered Stamper Training Group swap. I am so thankful for this vintage snowman card by Jackie Topa. It really is wonderful to have the support and involvement of the broader Stampin’Up! community of demonstrators.
I had a lot to do today so it was a Godsend to have this beautiful vintage snowman card to feature in my blog post. This morning I played pickleball and I made 6 cards for my Feels Like Frost class on Thursday night. I also have to make some beautiful things with brand new product that Stampin’Up! sent me from their head office for my presentation at OnStage in Toronto. Enough to make your head spin, but thankfully I got a great night’s sleep last night. I was in bed at 8:30pm and slept till 7:15am! Tonight I will probably go to bed early again and after that jet lag should be behind me.
A Funny Story
My daughter Katrina picked me up at the airport yesterday, but she is dog sitting for a friend in Oakville, so we first headed back there and then I drove home alone. It was lovely to drive through our beautiful province with the sun shining on all the beautifully coloured trees. Using the great bluetooth technology I was able to call some of my family on my drive, but that ended up biting me in the butt!
I was just entering Chatham-Kent when Rachel called me. She reminded me to slow down since Chatham-Kent is notorious for its police presence on the 401, so keep that nugget of information in mind. After that we were in such deep discussion that I was not paying attention to my surroundings. In my defense, there was also construction going on BUT I ended up missing BOTH of the Chatham exits so I had to drive all the way to Tilbury before I could get off and drive back to Chatham. You would think that 285 km was a long enough trip not to want to add another 25 kilometers to my journey.
Thanks
Thanks again for joining this crazy squirrel! I appreciate each and every one of you. It is so nice when you take the time to comment, when you pin my creations to Pinterest and when you share on Facebook. All those things make such an impact on my business, but they also provide crucial emotional support. Owning your own business is not for the faint of heart! I was just talking with Katrina about that yesterday. Sometimes it can be daunting but I am happy to be able to do what I love and to share it with you.
If you live in Canada and want to shop with me, just click on the images below and you will be in my store! If you use the host code then nothing will go to waste. If you order $200, then you will get 10% in host benefits and can also get exclusive host sets. Do NOT use the host code if you are ordering that much. Of course, you also know that if you are placing an order for more than $110, then your best deal is really the starter kit. Let me know if you have any questions! Have a super day.
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by Jackie Bultje | Sep 27, 2019 | Christmas, corner flip fold cards, Snowman Season |
Hello stampers. Have I told you that I am a bit of a lazy stamper? I really do like a special fold when I am making a card but I don’t like it when they are super complicated. There is one exception to this and that is the twisted pop-up card. I really do love this one and find it is worth the extra time because it is just such a cool card. You can click here to see my post about this fun fold. When people open that card they get such an amazed look on their face that it is totally worth the extra effort. The special fold card that I am sharing with you today is much more simple but also fascinating. It is called a corner flip fold and is quick, easy and fascinating.
How to Make this Fold
I have discovered that this fold is indeed called a corner flip fold. During my Tuesday Facebook live I showed everyone how to do it and you can see that here. My setup was very interesting to say the least. Since I don’t have my Arkon phone mount for videoing another solution had to be found. We actually used a fork lift truck with a piece of sturdy cardboard across the tines with a hole cut out of it for my phone! It worked quite well but I think you will find Dawn Olchefske’s video quite helpful for a closer up look. You can see that one here.
I have to admit that I do find it supremely frustrating to work from another computer. While I am thankful for all the things that I am able to do so far from home, it is time consuming to learn different ways of doing everything. For example, I had a great sketch I wanted to share with how to make this fold but I can’t find a quick and easy way to do it. What I can do is give you another link. Not as much fun or as easy as me putting it right here for you, but now you can share in my pain just a little bit! Check it out here.
The Cards
Peggy Murwin designed this corner flip fold card for her Holiday Hoopla event in Illinois that I was privileged to speak at two weeks ago. It has been a long time since I made a card using this corner flip fold technique. I thought it would be fun to try it with Nature’s Beauty as well. Necessity is the mother of invention and I had no coastal cabana card stock with me in the Netherlands, so decided to use thick whisper white card stock instead. Take a look at how it turned out:
You can see that for both cards I used the new snowfall accents puff paint. This is a great new product but you do have to be careful as it tends to come out of the bottle quickly. Always do your larger snowy areas first before you do the small snowballs. You activate it with a heat tool, that is what makes it puff up. The background for this card was stamped in bermuda bay stamped off to lighten it with the Crackle background stamp. The snowflakes in the background are from Frosted Foliage. The Merry Christmas is from Snowman Season and was stamped in real red.
Feedback
I am by nature a curious person, so I would love to hear from you. I value your feedback and am curious where you like to connect with me. What is your favourite platform? Is it my business Facebook page, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or is it this blog? Going forward it is important for me to know where I should spend the most of my time and energy.
If you live in Canada I would encourage you to either shop with me or join my team. When you join my team you will get your very own discount starting at 20%. Of course there are many other perks and possibilities, the discount is only the beginning. Want to join? Click here. Want to shop? Just click on the images below of the products I have used. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day.
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