Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Have You Ever Seen These Videos?
Monday, April 12, 2021
Sneak Peek of NEW 2021 Annual Catalog Cover
Are you getting excited to see what is coming in the new Annual Catalog on May 4th? You are going to love the new items Stampin' Up! is bringing to all of us creative types! I've had a chance to look inside and there are many beautiful stamp sets and products to drool over!
If you don't have a demonstrator, I'd be happy to be your demonstrator and provide you with a new free catalog if you are local to me. If you are not local to me, the catalog is free but shipping would be anywhere from $6-$8 depending on how you would like me to ship to you (First Class or Priority Mail.) Just email me at homemadewithheart@comcast.net, and I'll send you a Paypal Invoice for the shipping.
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Batter Up! with May's Paper Pumpkin Kit
Step up to the plate, take a swing, and knock it out of the park! With the Batter Up! Paper Pumpkin Kit, it’s your turn to go to bat for all the people who’ve gone to bat for you. This month’s timeless kit with a “throwback” theme contains enough grand slam supplies to create nine cards—and coordinating envelopes—featuring classic colors, pinwheel and pinstripe patterns, and vintage-washed paper pieces. There’s no “batter” way to root, root, root for your home team and honor the all-stars in your life!
A beloved baseball-themed kit would be incomplete without the sport’s signature, sticky snack—the official bubble gum of the MLB! A favorite in the field, the Batter Up! Paper Pumpkin Kit contains a couple sticks of the chewy staple; chew while you craft, slide a piece into a card, or save it for later.
You know a pack of old fashioned baseball cards always did come with some gum!
Masculine Appeal
Whether you’re crafting for a father, grandfather, nephew, or brother, we’ve got all your bases covered with the Batter Up! Paper Pumpkin Kit! This month’s kit is the perfect pick for making masculine masterpieces.
Then again, we know that grass-stained pants and sliding into home aren’t just for the boys—this month’s kit is a triple threat! Designed with men, sport-lovin’ ladies, and baseball fanatics in mind, anyone would bounce from their spot in the bleachers if they received a classic card from the Batter Up! kit. After all, this month’s kit was made for celebrating the all-stars, MVPs, and the greats—no matter what team they play on!
- This Kit contains enough supplies to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 designs—and coordinating envelopes. The all-inclusive kit includes printed card bases, die-cut paper pieces, embellishments, adhesive, and more!
- Card size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (10.8 x 14 cm)
- Envelope size: 4-1/2" x 5-3/4" (11.4 x 14.6 cm)
- Coordinating colors: Basic White, Bumblebee, Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Real Red, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede
- Exclusive 13-piece stamp set can be used to cheer on any champion—on and off the field!
Saturday, April 10, 2021
Deadline for April Paper Pumpkin Sign Up is TODAY
Friday, April 9, 2021
History and Inspiration - Read all About It!
When I started cardmaking well over 20+ years ago I didn't give it a second thought to inform myself about the interesting history of rubber, rubberstamps, or greeting cards. The only place I went for inspiration was the Stampin' Up! catalog because back then, I purchased one from my local demonstrator. Inside those wonderful catalogs were beautiful photos of cards that I could make or CASE (copy and share everything) if I purchased the needed products. No wonder for a long time Stampin' Up! called it "The Idea Book."
Sitting here in front of my computer screen this morning, I decided to go down a little rabbit hole and see what I could find on the internet that would cover some of the history of greeting cards, the tools we use to make them, and places we find and share our cardmaking ideas.
Here's what I've found:
1) A short time line of the History of Greeting Cards
https://www.greetingcard.org/industry-resources/history/
6) What I find interesting is Stampin' Up! existed before all these other companies.
Amazon 1994, Ebay 1995, Google 1998, Splitcoast Stampers 2002 (the first website especially for stampers to share their card designs), Facebook 2004, You Tube 2005, Etsy 2005, Pinterest and Instagram 2010, and Tik Tok 2016.
That's pretty cool in my opinion.
7) Most of us today can't live without our smartphones. I bet many of you think that the first smartphone was from Apple, but read the info at the link below and you'll be surprised. I was!
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So this little dive into history brings us to today. We have the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. We can create artwork, send digital ecards, do our finances, and shopping all from the comfort of our smartphones no matter where we are in the world. Back in 1962, AT&T coined this phrase "Let your fingers do the walking" to encourage their customers to use the Yellow Pages section in a paper phone book to find businesses and what they offered in your surrounding community. Now our fingers do the walking across our smartphone screens to find whatever we want around the WORLD! Amazing! Many people can't live without this modern convenience. Neither can I.
Some of us slightly older folks (me!) who were growing up prior to computers and smartphones, still like the ability to make things with our hands. That's why making your own greeting cards, scrapbooks, gift items, and home decor items are still such big business today. We did Do It Yourself when DIY wasn't cool!
Going back to my beginning paragraph idea, Stampin' Up! still puts out an annual catalog and two mini catalogs each year, stocked with beautiful card images and the products for sale to make them with. I give the catalogs away free to my customers so they can be inspired and hopefully purchase something.
Thanks to Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and other websites, you can post your finished card projects to share with the world. You can also see other designer's great ideas to adapt for your own cardmaking projects. You may have some favorite companies or card artists that you follow, or You Tube Channels you subscribe to. The creativity and possibilities are limitless!
You might even be one of those people that just sit down and start moving paper, shapes or greetings around until inspiration hits and an amazing project comes to life.
No matter how you approach your cardmaking or papercrafting projects, just be grateful for all that has come before to help us make the awesome projects we do in today's world!