Monthly Archives: February 2014

I Freakin’ Love You!!!

There is something fun and wonderful inside this vellum envelope that I am so excited to share with you, but first… isn’t this the prettiest envelope you’ve ever seen? I love how it quietly invites you to see what’s inside as it subtly hints of it’s contents.

Have you ever made a special card that didn’t fit into a standard envelope? Or just wanted your card to be encased in something a little extra special? The new Envelope Punch Board is a perfect solution! You can make any size envelope you need from any paper you desire. The Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum with tiny hearts found in the new “Celebrate The Everyday” Catalog was the perfect choice for my special card. I’ve also been thrilled with gold coming back into the lime light and used a number of gold products to add bling. I added a little extra touch of gold with the Gold Baker’s Twine and finished up with two items you can earn for FREE right now through our Sale-A-Bration Promotion ~ the Banner Blast Stamp set and Banner Punch.

Slipped out of the envelope you find a very unique and fun card. This was the card I made for “my true” this Valentines. See all the yummy gold! Including Hearts cut from our Gold Foil Sheets.

As it starts to reveal it’s true shape you begin to see why I feel in love with the design.

Isn’t this just sooooo FUN!!! The “Card in a Box” have been all the rage on Pinterest.

I just totally LOVE it so I thought it would make the perfect Valentine’s Day Card!!!!

From the top view you can see how the box has a couple of strips placed inside to hold the images that pop up. This fun polka dot paper called Sweet Sorbet is also one of the great SAB products you can earn for FREE.

I used one of my very favorite word sets “Yippee- Skippee!” How can you love love a set called that!

Another one of my favorite new products are the “Essentials Wooden Elements“. They come with lots of fun shapes. I used both the arrow and the heart on this card. My “True Love” is the most talented carpenter I know so the use of these little wood pieces was a must do for his card. We have been true loves for a long time… since jr. high school if you can believe that! I used to write this little symbol on everything… it not only meant “Todd Loves Anita” but also “True Love Always”… so I wrote it on the little heart I added to his card. <3 <3 <3

I can’t wait to make more Card in a Box projects! I’ll try and get a tutorial up you all so you can make your very own.

Me and my True! True Love Always! I’m so very blessed!

Don’t miss out on all the awesome FREE products you can earn during Sale-A-Bration. You can order directly from my online store and have it shipped directly to you!

OR… Have a Party and earn even more product for FREE! Who doesn’t love a party! Contact ME today to get on my schedule.

OR… if your wish list is long JOIN my team for continued discounts on all your favorite products. I’d love to share with you all the benefits of joining. Contact ME today!

Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Anita Haines

All The Lonely People { Part Two }

Welcome back for part two of “All The Lonely People”. You can read part one here.

This year my “ONE WORD” is { INTENTIONAL }.

I’ve decided I live way too much of my life on auto-pilot. A revelation that came to me while I attended Brave Girls Camp back in May of 2012. I was awaken to the fact that it’s hard to enjoy life when you’re on auto pilot. You miss out on all that it has for you. So this year I am focusing on living my life with intent. Intentional time with my Lord… with self care… with relationships… with inspiring, creating and sharing. This new Blog as a big part of that.

One thing that I’m going to be intentional with is sending out more cards. You may think that is a no-brainer since I’m a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator but I actually was better at that before I became a Demonstrator. I get so busy with the prepping of classes and events that I don’t take the time to make them for myself to give. Or worse, I actually do get them made but never manage to get them sent out. I have stacks of unmailed cards to prove it. Sad but true…

To continue from part one of “All The Lonely People” I am also going to be intentional with awareness of those around. Again it’s so easy to overlook others when you are operating on auto pilot. So many around us are hurting or lonely. I need to have my eyes open and we all need to be gentle with one another ~ Lives depend on it. My dear friend Melody Ross from Brave Girls Club shared in THIS incredible blog post about how it would be so propound if we could all wear a sign proclaiming what we were going through or what we needed. We are all so afraid of what others would think… our weaknesses would be exposed. So instead we tend to hide behind the pain, behind the loneliness, behind the screen and pretend everything is okay.

I’m working on being intentional with growing and my time with the Lord as well. I’m in the middle of Beth Moore’s “Sacred Secrets” Bible Study where she just shared with us that secrets manifest. We may think that what is going on in our lives is hidden but it will manifest itself one way or another.

It may be that the disengaged or grouchy girl whose path you just crossed was up all night with a teething baby, or she has been taking care of her own mother who doesn’t remember who she is, or she just got the test results from the doctor, or someone she cares about deeply just tried to end their own life, or she lives with the memories of child abuse, or the father that she finally was able to forgive and build a relationship with is dying, or her husband is dealing with depression and she yearns for him to just and hold her tight, or maybe he just told her that his business is going under and they may lose everything they’ve worked so hard for, or her closest friend just betrayed her, or she has unfulfilled dreams and desires, or fear has paralyzed her, or she can’t remember what it’s like to not feel pain, or she is so very lonely.

Anyone of us could be that girl. I know because I’ve been that girl. We all need a little grace at times. We all need someone to really see us… to hear us. So many are screaming without uttering a word. Let’s look up from our screen and see past others eyes to find a soul. Intentional living matters… kindness matters… love matters most…

Casting Crown does a beautiful job reminding us of this in their song “Does Anyone Hear Her”.

{ We who have strong faith should help the weak with their problems. We should not please only ourselves. We should all please our neighbors. Let us do what is good for them. Let us build them up. ~Romans 15:1-2 }

If you are the one that is crying out and feel like you are not seen or heard please know that you are not alone. You are truly loved. God has not forgotten you. He sees you. He hears you when no one else does. I hope and pray that you can be brave enough to come out from behind your screen and ask for your deepest needs and desires. We were not meant to do this journey alone. Seek out a safe place of community where you can be encouraged, thrive and grow. The Lord has promised to never leave you. He has a plan for your life… a plan for an awesome and wonderfully fulfilled life even more than you can possibly dream or imagine.

{ 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. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 }

So now I’m off to getting some cards sent out… because it matters…

{ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ~ 1 Peter 5:7 }

{ My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. ~ Philippians 4:19 }

Blessings & Happy Stampin’
Anita Haines

All The Lonely People { Part One }

February is considered the month of “love” and most of us just finished celebrating the day of love “Valentine’s Day”. This can certainly be a day with mixed emotions. For some it’s a fun day filled with gifts or tokens of love from a “valentine”. But for others it’s a painful reminder that they are alone. Some have even coined the day as “Single Awareness Day”. We chuckle at this term, but for those who are struggling with loneliness it can really be a difficult time.

photo credit: Nicole C Haines

There is a huge difference between being alone and loneliness. As a mom of six children I have definitely appreciated my little bouts of alone time. At the same time, I will be completely honest with you… I’ve also experienced being in a room full of people and feeling incredibly alone. All of us have struggled at one time or another with loneliness. It’s when we find ourselves so isolated that we can’t seem to find our way out that it becomes a serious health risk.

photo credit: Nicole C Haines

Studies have shown isolation to be twice as dangerous as obesity. It can impair our immune system and can lead to depression, heart disease, diabetes and even suicide. In a time where social media is at an all time high we have become increasingly more socially isolated. We hide behind all our posts of a perceived perfect life. We find ourselves almost like an addiction coming back for more “friends” and “likes”. Let’s be honest here, it’s natural to want a positive response to what we post. I’ll admit I do.

photo credit: Nicole C Haines

But when we start to define our self worth by how many likes a post or photo gets we can easily become disillusioned. Don’t get me wrong. I love all the benefits and blessings of connecting and re-connecting with friends and family through social media and even now through this new Blog. But I find myself more and more yearning for real life face-to-face interaction with people. Some days I just need a real person with skin on to converse with or an authentic hug where you simply melt into someone… and my beloved MacBook or i-phone just don’t do it for me.

Using technology to connect is great and an answer to prayer for some. But it should not be the only connection you have with others. As a family we don’t allow phones at our dinner table so we can connect with one another. I am so saddened when I am out to eat and see a table full of people focused on their screens instead of one another. Life goes by too quickly to spend it in front of a screen all day. I need intentional time with a real person. Maybe it’s because all my kiddos are now in school full time, or because I work by myself from home, or maybe it’s just been this long winter and lack of sunshine we’ve had… but I can’t imagine that I’m alone on this.

What would happen if we all were to be intentional and real with connecting with others? Maybe you will have to disconnect in order to connect? This past year a number of my girlfriends didn’t realize how much they were missing out on until they decided to take a temporary break from technology including social media and watching TV. I want to encourage and even challenge you {as well as myself} to just make an effort to reach out to someone else in some way.

You know… that friend you’ve been thinking about or always say you need to get together with. It won’t happen by accident… be intentional and take the first step. Go ahead and pick up the phone and give her a call, ask her to meet you for lunch, or sit down and write a letter or send a card with a note of encouragement ~ a hand stamped card with a hand written note inside is always a gift. Writing seems to be a lost art. I know I treasure anything I have with my mom’s hand writing on it. As soon as I see her handwriting I can see her face and hear her voice. Or go ahead and use technology and social media… send an encouraging text, email or message to lift someone up. You never know what a perfect blessing it will be at just the right time.

{ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11 }

Treasured hand written scriptures from my mom

“All The Lonely People” is continued in Part Two HERE.

Blessings, Hugs & Happy Stamping!
Anita Haines

Easy Button Please

Don’t you wish that “Easy Button” for life really existed sometimes? I know after days like today I do. I was up most of the night trying to get my blog up and running only to have it crash with one wrong click. I spent most of the day trying to get it back up. After countless attempts on my own I gave in and called Bluehost. The gentleman on the other end of the phone had my site up and running again in less than 2 minutes. You see, he had the easy button because he had the knowledge and tools to fix it in a matter of a few clicks.

What if you had the knowledge and tools to make creating easy? Our awesome “Simply Created Kits” not only have all the supplies you need they also have instructions to guide you along the way. Check out a few of my favorites.

Last month we celebrated Noah’s birthday and I was so glad I had the Celebrate Banner Kit on hand. It added just the right touch to help us celebrate his special day.

Those of you that know me well know that I literally made it right before he walked in the door. It honestly took just a few minutes to put together.

I had just made the banner for his special day, but I took this photo while I was at Stampin’ Up! Leadership of how the rest of the kit can be used. Isn’t this table fun!

Talk about “Easy Button”… our card kits answer the call! It’s always nice to have a hand stamped card on hand whenever you need it.

I will be also featuring kits in some upcoming classes. One will be the “Many Memories Kit”. A perfect gift for a teacher, a mom or a special friend.

And how can you not LOVE our Burlap and Blooms Wreath!!! These flowers were soooo fun to create and I can’t wait to share just how easy they are to make. Two class times to choose from – Wed. March 19th at 10am or Thur. March 20 at 6:30pm.

So push that EASY BUTTON with one of our kits today! You can order directly from my ONLINE STORE any time day or night and your kits will ship directly to your door. Now that’s easy!

Blessings & Happy Stampin’
Anita Haines

Trust the Journey…

Have you ever heard it said… “Years from now you will wish you would have begun the journey today.”

Well TODAY is the day!

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for years but always found a reason that it was just not the right time. If I was honest with myself I would have just admitted that it was FEAR that paralyzed me. I kept hearing that small yet loud VOICE inside me saying…

you don’t have time… you won’t be able to keep up with it… you are not techie enough… you are not creative enough… you are not a writer… you don’t have anything relevant to share… no one is going to read what you write… no one cares…

I could go on and on. But TODAY I choose to start on this journey… The simple step of beginning has been a journey in and of itself filled with some very special time with Brave woman from across the nation and I will share more about that at another time. But I was nudged most recently after reading Jo Ann Fore’s book “When a Woman Finds Her Voice”. I came to the realization that it’s not about me! Imagine that! It’s about sharing life together, sharing our stories, growing, learning, encouraging, creating and seeking true beauty together. I’m stepping out in FAITH… and admittedly stepping out in a bit of fear, but stepping out non the less. I am going to TRUST the journey as the Lord guides me along my given path. I am so excited to see where it leads and the friendships I will make along the way. So I welcome you to come along with me on this journey of living a creative life and I ask for grace as I learn something totally new to me while doing so. Blessings & Happy Journey! Anita Haines

Stamp With Anita

Create • Inspire • Share

Monthly Archives: February 2014

I Freakin’ Love You!!!

Easy Button Please

Trust the Journey…