Flashback Friday

Magic Card with Stella Stamper

This is a card that I made at a stamp club  when I lived in York - so it has to be over 10 years old!

What a great card for so many reasons! 

First of all, it features Stella Stamper - one of our earliest sets that addressed the stamp-a-holic syndrome! Don't you just love her? She has her Stampin' Up! Catalog in hand, several stamp supplies hanging out of her pockets and she's ready for and a long night of stamping in  her bunny slippers. Most of us can relate to that! LOL The only thing missing on Stella is "stamper's butt" - a lot of us suffer from that ailment - it comes from sitting too long stamping cards!

Second, it is a "magic" card.  It's not very often that we make one of these special cards! If you've never made one - it's the way you cut and fold the card stock so that you have an inner divider piece between a front and back panel. At first you see a plain image, which you stamp on a window sheet. When you pull up on the tab, the image magically becomes full of color! That's because you have stamped and colored the exact same image, which remains behind the divider panel until you pull up on the tab. 

The tutorial for magic card is still on  

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

under project tutorials.

But the third reason that this is such a great card really is the most special one.

My life has truly been enriched and has become more "colorful" since stamping has entered my life!

Back in 1996 I was on maternity leave from my teaching position. My neighbor (and dear friend) Carol had a Stampin' Up! party. I had never heard of it but after that night I was hooked! When I decided to stay home with my baby, (who is now a senior in high school!) and become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator ,I never imagined how important a role it would play in my life.

Stampin' Up! has been with me through many moves and a second child. I have traveled to many places attending conventions and leadership seminars (Salt Lake City, Orlando, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Las Vegas...). My family and I (and even my girlfriends) have had trips of a lifetime as I have earned cruises and incentive trips (Alaska, Hawaii, The Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera...). I have been able to make a go of it no matter what - when we moved, when I was sick, when I had a baby-  it just works.

But what really is magic (like this card) is the amount of special people that have come into my life over the years - my uplines, my downlines, my "stampin'" friends.

One of my dearest group of friends come from stamping. One of the best trips I ever had in my life was a cruise to the Mexican Riviera with them, through Stampin' Up! I will never forget that trip or the laughs we had! I cherish the times we still have together, and I am thankful that Stampin' Up! has brought us together!

There are so many people that are special in my life because of stamping. 

Last year when I had a stroke, I was overwhelmed by the people I heard from  that I know from stamping. People from Pennsylvania that I haven't seen in a very long time sent emails, cards, and visited the Caring Bridge site.

My stamping friends from Connecticut did the same, but they also visited me in the hospital, brought meals to my family, and visited me at my house. They came to stamp clubs and classes when my cards looked  like you-know-what because of my shaky hand. They are always there to support me when I need it. They continue to join clubs and I love spending time with them! In fact, I look forward to it. Nothing is better than spending time with them, getting  to know them, laughing, stamping, and lending support to one another.

They are my friends. I can drop the "stampin'". 

Thank you for bringing the "magic" to my life!