Stampin' Up! making a difference and my story

During 2013 Stampin' Up! will be celebrating it's 25th birthday.  If you search on the web for what this means you will no doubt come across articles and blogs showing what a difference Stampin' Up! has made in those 25 years?!

So today I'm sharing my personal story with Stampin' Up! and how this has expanded into making a difference elsewhere.  

When I first stumbled upon Stampin' Up! products at a craft show I was already a keen crafter; making my own cards and to sell to friends and family.  The Stampin' Up! products were a real game changer as the colour groups meant lots of things co-ordinated and inspiration was easy to find just by searching online for images of a particular stamp set or designer series paper (DSP). I was hooked!

After losing my partner suddenly, I found myself a little lost and living in an area where I didn't know many people. So I signed up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and got involved in get togethers and sharing my hobby with others. This progressed to running classes at my home, making use of the empty space. I think without having done this at that time of my life I could have ended up in a very different situation!  I have met many people and made some great new likeminded friends - Stampin' Up! really made a difference to my life!

I have also taken my Stampin' Up! supplies overseas and shared my love of crafting at a Children's Centre in Sri Lanka, as well as been involved in a number of charity events involving card making and other crafts.

In the coming weeks I will be embarking on my travels once more.  After quitting my job and renting out my house I will be heading off overseas again and hope to find opportunities along the way to volunteer and/or help local communities in some way.

At the end of last year I boxed up a lot of my craft stash and had a sale for charity in order to raise money to buy bits and pieces to take with me to donate to those in need, whilst on my travels.  You will be glad to hear that I have raised a small sum of money, but that there is also a reasonable amount of stuff left for which I would be happy to receive further donations for.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to stop by at my home (GU16) and take a look. Or why not come along to my next demo (see details here) and grab some bargains, all donations will be greatly received.

I will of course keep you updated with details of the cause that I decide to donate to so keep checking back in the coming weeks :).