Hey friends!
I made a quick card today to sum up how I generally feel about leaving 2020 behind... FINE BY ME!!
This is not an original idea but I put my spin on it and it made me smile to make this card. The donkey stamp is part of the upcoming Sale-a-Bration so stay tuned for all the details when the promo starts on Tuesday, January 5th! WooHoo!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sarah
Hey Stampin' Friends!
I am pretty sure this is one of my favorite places to go and wish people a Happy New Year - all of you! It's impossible to not think back on 2020 and realize all the change, inconvenience, suffering in some cases, and confusion the year brought to us. Most of us probably had big plans and goals for 2020 and by March, we were shaking our head wondering what each day would bring. I really don't want to rehash it here because I'm looking at 2021 with hope and optimism that life will be somewhat like it was pre-Covid. One thing that I want to get back on track is my stamping life, including social media, classes and just being creative! Here are some of my goals (I figure I'm setting up some accountability by publicly sharing these!
#1 Daily posts and engagement on my Facebook Page and Group.
My FB Page is Big Sky Stampin'- Sarah Cade. It's open to anyone and features posts about projects, video tutorials, the latest Stampin'Up! news with sales and promotions, etc. There are links to my online store and more. All you have to do is "like" it to keep up with me and what's going on!
My FB Group is called Big Sky Stampers. This is a private group so you have to ask to join but then I will add you and you can get in on all the fun! It's similar to my FB Page and includes much of the same content but you are more likely to see a group post than a page post so it's a better way to stay connected. Occasionally I post unique material and plan to offer some unique specials to my group members. Simply request to "join group" and I'll add you!
#2 Make at least 2-3 videos per week including FB Live, product and class tutorials and even YouTube Live content. Videos have been shown to be so effective in sharing ideas, "how-to's" etc and they are fun to do.
#3 Offer 1-2 online classes a month in some form. I will resume in person classes when safe to do so but too many people I know are sick, have been sick, etc. and I just want to be cautious for all of us.
#4 Form a Paper Pumpkin club for my Paper Pumpkin kit subscribers which includes a monthly video on alternate ideas using the kit that month as well as other content that I come across.
#5 Restart my Stamp Club which is a 6 month commitment but a reasonably priced and fun way to accumulate supplies. More details coming!
#6 Be flexible and modify goals and ideas that respond to the times and situations we find ourselves in!
2020 has caused me to take a hard look at my Stampin'Up! life and figure out what I want to do going forward and what's important to me. It comes down to this:
#1 RELATIONSHIPS! I wouldn't enjoy any of this without the connections I've made with new friends who also like to stamp. Many of you I wouldn't have even met without stamping and all of you have made my life much more creative, fun and blessed. Thank You!
#2 CREATIVITY! I figured out in about 5th grade that I like to make things, i.e. craft. I've tried so many crafts over the decades and many I still enjoy including knitting and quilting but paper crafting tops the list because it can be easy, quick, complicated, simple, gorgeous, life-blessing and so, so fun. I try to spend at least 10 minutes in my stamp room everyday, but hopefully much more time!
There are other things I value but they are secondary to the two above and change depending on my motivation and mood ;). I hope you have some time and interest in joining me this coming year and we will together make the world a happier place, even if it is in our own little world with handmade gifts, cards, decor and more to brighten our life and the lives of others.
Happy New Year!!
Sarah 😍
Hi Stampers!
I am steeped in Christmas nostalgia the past couple of weeks as I've spent some time updating my family Christmas scrapbook which is 2-4 pages of every year's celebration since 1980. My, my... they years fly by don't they? It's so fun to look back and see what pictures I took that commemorated the year and of course smiling and laughing at all the clothing and hair styles. For the most part, things have only gotten better. The bittersweet part is remembering who is no longer with us and what a big role they played in our lives. I'm so grateful for Christmas and the opportunity it provides to focus, ponder, and savor the memories, the traditions and most of all, the reason for it all, Jesus.
Today I wanted to highlight some card ideas I came up with, using this year's Christmas products, that focus on the birth of Jesus, Savior of the world and the true light of mankind. There were several products that were overtly religious so that was helpful and then I co-opted some other products when I could. Here are my favorites, in no particular order:
Hi Friends!
I don't have anything to show you that involves a card design tonight! Instead, I felt I could spread some much needed Christmas cheer by sharing our decked halls virtually as we won't be having any big parties or celebrations here, other than our kids at Christmas.
A little history... I grew up with a mom that loved Christmas and loved to decorate for Christmas. We had live pine boughs and red velvet ribbons in all the rooms of our main floor and wound around a full staircase that opened up into a foyer at the front door. There were lots of candles, some figurines, fresh poinsettias and of course, the centerpiece was the tree. It was such a magical and festive time as our house was transformed. It was amazing and it laid the groundwork for what has become the Cade Christmas decorating traditions.
By God's grace, I married someone who likes Christmas as much as I do and is even willing to go crazy with the decorating. It has escalated over the 40 years of marriage and there have been years of purging some old to make way for the new. Several of my most cherished decorations are from the local Gibson's store that was here in Bozeman 33 years ago! I saved and scrimped when money was soooo tight and waited for every sale that all the stores had. I shopped all the after Christmas sales to scoop up 50% off bargains. I collected Santas on vacations and ornaments as momentos for the kids. We made decorations through the years and I incorporated a lot of cross stitch, quilting and more. Our style has not evolved much as we continue to love the oldest decorations the most.
In a normal year, I've hosted Bible study brunches, Worship team dinners and brunches, card classes, friend hors d'oeuvre nights and lots of family Christmases. It was fun to decorate and share it with others but it's also fun to decorate when it's just us, like this year. I don't have an explanation but my husband and I pulled out all the stops again this year, this Covid-themed year, for no other reason than it makes us happy, reminds us of all the other years, brings back warm memories of my mom to me and reminds us that Christmas and the birth of Jesus shine above all the circumstances going on in our world. Since I can't invite you over, I want to spread some cheer with a glimpse of our home....
FAQ's
**How many tubs of storage? about 50, all mostly stored on shelves in the garage and a few other hidey holes
**How long does it take to set it up? a good weekend, more or less depending on if the kids are around to help us
**Where do you start? You start by taking down all your regular stuff - most everything! You need a blank canvas to decorate for Christmas!
**Do you put everything in the same place every year? Not really - mix it up a lot and if others are helping, I try to allow them their own opinions about where things should go ;)
**When do you put up and take down? Usually weekend of Thanksgiving it goes up and weekend around New Year's it goes down. Covid broke that protocol and we started in early November. Who knows when we will take it down - just may pretend it's Christmas all winter if things get really bad....
**Ever been tempted to skip a year? Yes but always glad I didn't. We have only put up about half the stuff a couple of years that we were going to be traveling but that was a rare exception.
**Favorite quirky decoration? My son has a Vikings (football team) nutcracker that he loves to hide for me to try to find but his favorite place to put it was amidst the nativity. We know there were no Vikings football players in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth but it still makes us laugh to see it there amongst the wisemen! Great memories....
**What's your husband's role? Easy, he does everything higher than about 5' from the ground because I can't reach any of it.
**What are your most cherished decorations? I have a Hummel nativity that my mom bought my grandparents when she was a college student, purchased when she was traveling in Europe. It's in our hutch, a place of honor. My second favorite thing are the traditional bulbs on the Christmas tree. These are exactly like what we had on my childhood Christmas tree and I refuse to jump on the LED train for Christmas tree lights - not going to happen.
**Did this decorating enthusiasm get passed on to your kids? You betcha! All of them decorate extensively and were decorated before we were this year! It's not a contest or a race, we just all love Christmas a lot!
Holly Jolly, Merry and Bright!
Sarah
Christmas 2020
Hi Stampin' Friends!
This time of year, I am torn what to post about in my blog! There are still so many great Christmas ideas that I have and it is still the first part of December, but, a new Catalog and Sale-A-Bration are just around the corner and I have all kinds of new stuff showing up at my house too! Did you know if you're a demonstrator with Stampin'Up! you are entitled to preorder opportunities and early peeks at what's coming down the road? It's one of my favorite perks and a great reason to consider becoming a demonstrator. More on that later....
So many of you are already big fans of Sale-A-Bration but in case you aren't familiar, it is a time to earn free products with every $50 increment purchase. This year they are doubling the fun! There will be two Sale-A-Bration seasons, the first in January-February and the second in July-August. Woohoo! More is more in this case! I wanted to share some initial ideas I've had with some of the new SAB products. For the Jan-Feb offering, the features are primarily stamps and paper, basics to our craft. What do you think of these ideas?
We are closing in on the end of 2020 and I think it's safe to say we've all had a tough year, some even more than others. When we are struggling, it's helpful to reach out to others and share the load. When someone we love is struggling, it's awesome to reach out and let them know we care. December's Paper Pumpkin kit will help you do just that in a beary comforting way! The kit includes everything you need to make 12 cards with envelopes and you can spread some joy and love the old-fashioned and no-tech way with a handmade greeting card. These kits are well designed for any level of crafting from experienced to never tried it before. You will love it!
If you are interested, sign up here for all the details! Paper Pumpkin is a all-inclusive kit that comes every month unless you stop or pause it, all for only $22 (includes shipping). Get your stamp on today!
Have a great day and stay healthy!
Sarah
Hi Stampin' Friends,
I finally got back to some stamping yesterday and tried an old technique that worked perfectly with a new bundle! Have you seen the "Gift Wrapped" stamps and coordinating punch on page 12 of the Aug-Dec Mini Catalog? It's a charming stamp set of bows with a coordinating punch that is perfect for Holiday cards and much more! The bow is perfectly tied, unlike many of mine in real life, haha! When I saw the stamps, I knew I wanted to try a blender pen technique that involves letting the stamped ink color bleed into the white space. I'll show you what I mean!
