Sara's Blog

Thank you to everyone who emailed your responses telling me what you think of Paper Wishes. We totally appreciate your feedback, comments, questions and suggestions. It helps us do the best possible job delivering creativity to you.

I promised you all that I would select one lucky person to get a free stamp set from Paper Wishes, so I enlisted my husband to randomly pull a name. He stopped to take a break from installing the light fixtures in our just-a-bit-too-high ceiling (in retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best time to interrupt) and said grumpily, “You must have a million of those stamp things around here. Why don’t you pick a couple of people?”

(Did I mention we just moved? And carried about a million “stamp things” across town?)

Anyway, point taken: Instead of choosing one person, we (well, he) picked three lucky winners. So Ann Marie M., Natalie W., and Pat J., I’ll be emailing you to see which stamp set you’d like me to send you. Of course you’ll get a nice new set, not one of my “million” used stamps. (By the way, I do not have a million…just feels like it when you’re moving.)

A big thank-you to all who emailed me. And yes, I will post photos of the new place…once we get the rest of the light fixtures installed—and I find that camera charger…

And to my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the holiday, and the time with friends and family. I’ll be back from Ideal World just in time to get Mr. Handyman and head off to friends’ for dinner!

What, Friday the 13th? More than being spooked by the date, I’m spooked that November is almost halfway over…

If you’re in the UK, please be sure to tune into Create & Craft this month—I’ll be on November 22 at 10pm and November 23 at 2pm, with tons of gorgeous kits that are piled haphazardly on my dining room table as we speak. Think glitter papers, stamps, embellies and such a great deal on a Vintage Ladies set (paper, stamps, stickers) that I’ve double-checked the math about 6 times and called the office to make sure this price is right! (Super good deal!)

In the midst of this, we’re also moving house…not far, just a few miles away, to a ground-floor apartment with a small garden. I love the new place but it’s tricky having some stuff in one apartment and some in another. (For example, my camera is here, and of course the charger is there.) And moving by bicycle—in the rain—is no treat, ha! Good thing we don’t have furniture…

Okay, I have a question for you all, though—many of us are dedicated Paper Wishers so I can imagine how you’ll answer, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on why you shop with Paper Wishes, and how you feel about Paper Wishes. And if you don’t shop with Paper Wishes, I’d like to hear that too. Please feel free to email me directly at snaumann@hotp.com and I’ll select one lucky person to get a free stamp set from Paper Wishes—your choice!

Thanks!

I think this is so amazing, I have to share.

Susanna Tobias is one of my colleagues in the craft industry; she works for CardMaker magazine. Last summer, she traveled to Thailand and Cambodia on a volunteer project, to teach crafts to girls aged 8-15—all of whom had at one point been considered at risk of being sold into prostitution. Yes, sold. As in slavery. Aged 8-15. Just think about that for a minute and try not to get furious.

Susanna was kind enough to share not only her time and energy working with these girls, but also generous enough to share her story here. Take a look at her photos and the newspaper article…

It’s actions like these that make me hopeful in our busy (and sometimes selfish) world. So, thank you Susanna—not only for your generous spirit in helping these girls, but also in sharing your story.

On a totally different note, don’t forget—this weekend is the CKC show in Bellevue, Washington November 5-7. Paulette will be there with tons of fabulous Hot Off The Press goodies. Check out the Creating Keepsakes website for more details and to get your tickets. Hope you can join in!

 
 

A big thank-you to all who joined me at the Aquila classes in South Africa! I had a great time and loved meeting everyone—Antoinette, Henriette, Elmi, Wilna, Barbara…it was so nice to spend time with you all. And of course a big thank-you to Hennie and Erika for organizing the event.

After the weekend of classes, I took a few days to visit the Ezulwini Game Reserve in Hoedspruit, just an hour’s flight from Johannesburg. It was the perfect way to relax after so many busy classes, and I can’t recommend the reserve highly enough! (Even with the 5am wake-up call for the morning game drives…) We were lucky to see a lot of animals on the drives—lions, giraffe, zebra, and even a leopard cub!

 
  

And if you live in or around Seattle, Washington, please be sure to stop by the CKC show in Bellevue on November 5-7. Paulette will be there with tons of fabulous Hot Off The Press goodies. Check out the Creating Keepsakes website for more details and to get your tickets. Hope you can join in!