by Jackie Bultje | May 24, 2021 | International Tutorial Bundle Team, Pansy Patch, The Netherlands, travel |
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today I want to talk to you about overwhelming dies. Have you ever had it that a bundle has so many dies that you feel overwhelmed? It is a great thing to have a lot of dies in a bundle because that is good value, but then you think, oh no, what a LOT of work!! Don’t let overwhelming dies scare you off!
Overwhelming Dies
One such bundle is Pansy Patch. Now I really love pansies. Those pretty flowers look like they have smiling faces and they bring a burst of joy in early spring. The gorgeous paper was also irresistible, so I took the plunge. Did you know that the die cuts also cut out flowers from the designer series paper? Here are a few photos from my fellow International Bundle Tutorial team members that might be a big help to you.
Caroline van der Straaten made this beautiful photo showing how the dies work.
Another International Tutorial Team member Tamara Bertram made this die graphic.
Create With Us International Tutorial Bundle Team
Did you know that I am a part of this new amazing tutorial bundle team? This month we will have 15 members and that means fifteen tutorials for you all featuring the `Pansy Patch bundle. The tutorials can be purchased for $25 OR you can get them free with a $60 purchase. For May the tutorial features the Sweet Strawberry bundle. June 1 the Pansy Patch tutorial will be available.
Here is a sneak peek of my card for this tutorial. If you want to check out my tutorial offerings, you can do so here. Tutorials are great for instant gratification. They take the work out of making cards. Why not indulge yourself today?
Don’t Let it Scare You Off
Please don’t let those overwhelming dies scare you off. Pansy Patch is a gorgeous bundle and there is a trick to easing the fear. Simply die cut the various shapes in bulk so that you have a good number of each in various colours. Put them all in neat little piles and then you will be ready to get creative! Let me know how it works for you.
Some More Stories from Holland
Truth be told, I shouldn’t say “Holland” for this beautiful country, it is really called The Netherlands and Holland is only a province or two (north and south Holland) My parents always called their country “Holland” so I do too.
I just wanted to share a few more photos with you to brighten your day and kindle your desire to visit here.
Stormy skies make for splendid pictures. The village of Woudsend is so beautiful you can make a whole photo book to capture it all.
Dutch people love their neatly trimmed hedges and “espaliers” which is what you call trees that are trained to grow to grow flat against a wall or supported on a lattice.
The design on these wooden shoes (klompen) is the Friesian flag. Such cute little vignettes!
Prime Time With the Pampered Stamper
Perhaps you have heard of this private Facebook group. I started it shortly after COVID19 hit and I had to cancel all my in person classes. Let me tell you, that was a little scary. Recently divorced, in my own home with bills to pay I was scrambling to make up for this lost income.
I started Prime Time to help fill the void. My thought was that by charging only a small amount of money and hopefully attracting a larger number of people I could do private, exclusive video classes once a week and also offer weekly prizes. The cost is only $10 a month.
Recently Gerard suggested that I give my Prime Time members more perks. One of those perks is exclusive photos and stories of my traveling adventures. I would love to have YOU join as well. This group is for people all over the world. If you are a demonstrator, you can use the cards that I teach in your own classes or with your team. Here is the link if you are interested.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today, I alway love hearing your stories and reading your comments. I love that you send me emails, but did you know that it is even nicer when you leave a comment right on the blog? Then everyone can enjoy what you have to say. This blog, like my Facebook page is a stamping community. I’m so glad you’re here. Have a super day.
PS. Don’t forget on the amazing deal on the starter kit. It ends May 30 and I would LOVE to have you on my team.
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by Jackie Bultje | May 22, 2021 | fancy fold, gatefold card, The Netherlands, travel, tulip fields |
Hello stampers and happy Saturday to you. It’s all about the story for me. I have always loved reading books and words simply delight me. Today’s blog is about how stories let me to plan this little getaway.
It’s All About the Story
The Netherlands really is a small country. It fits more than two times into Lake Ontario. Crazy, right? Don’t let it fool you for a minute. There is so much to see and do here. I have been here many times and believe me when I tell you that I have barely scratched the surface of discovering this beautiful little gem of a country.
I had never been to Friesland which is one of the northern provinces and also the most unique. Last summer we tried but because of COVID19, everyone was vacationing in their own country and there was nothing nice available. This visit, I tried again. The search began with tulip fields.
A Fun Blog
When I typed in “best tulip fields in Holland” one of the search results was this lovely blog called Wanderlust. I discovered that there were three main areas to find lots of tulip fields. One was near Lisse, where I went the very day that I arrived. The second one was near where my father comes from and the third was near Schagerbrug. What made the third one so appealing is that there is a windmill in the background of your photos. When I saw that this was sort of on the way to Friesland, my mind was made up and I was so excited. What I didn’t pay close attention to is that the blog post was written in 2019 and there is such a thing as crop rotation. That means that the fields are not always planted with the same crop!!
The miller traditionally lived in the windmill and you would be surprised at how spacious and cozy it is. These windmills are quite large! Due to COVID19 it was not possible to go inside.
The Glorious Tulips
Holland is of course renowned for its tulips which made many people here quite rich in the 1600s. Suffice it to say that tulips were so popular that people would sell their horse or carriage for a single tulip bulb!! You can read about the history here.
Can you believe that I had never been to the Netherlands in the spring? It was on the agenda last year but then COVID prevented all travel. That is why I was over the moon excited to be able to see the tulip fields this year. Here are a bunch of photos that try to capture the beauty that I saw.
An Idyllic Inn
It was on this same blog that I came across Omke Jan which is an idyllic “herberg” or inn in Woudsend, Friesland. I was intrigued at the story of Omke Jan and the inspiration behind this restaurant and inn. Omke Jan sounds like just the kind of guy that I would have loved to meet. I did meet his relative who owns this unique gem and his love for people and life just sparked from his eyes. A kindred spirit indeed.
If you look closely at this photo you will see the modern “omke Jan” sitting on the edge of his terrasje enjoying watching his customers anonymously.
I could post a ton more photos of this idyllic place but you can check out the Wanderlust post for yourself. If you ever get to travel to the Netherlands I highly recommend this place, be sure to book early to avoid disappointment!
This was out typical Dutch breakfast. My favourite part was the freshly squeezed orange juice and of course room service at no extra cost because of COVID19!! We were exceptionally lucky to be here at this time of year and during COVID19. It felt like we had the place to ourselves! The bonus? We got upgraded to a bigger, better room. Our room is the one that is featured in the Wanderlust blog post.
Prime Time Card
I feel that as a Stampin’Up! demonstrator rather than a travel blogger, I should include at least one card in my post! I was inspired to make this gate fold card because I thought that the die cut trees would look great on a belly band. What do you think?
The paper is Beauty of the Earth but the trees come from the Inspired Thoughts bundle. This bundle coordinates quite well with the trees from Beauty of the Earth. You can see another blog post with this suite here.
Thank You!
Thanks for joining me today. Hope you enjoyed your journey through the tulip fields and to Friesland. It’s all about the story. I love these stories, I hope you did too. Have a super day!!
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