09/19/2026
There’s a place at the table for everyone.
At the beginning of 2012, I was about six months removed from leaving a job that had drained a lot of the life out of me. It had consumed me for a couple of years, and somewhere along the way, I felt like I had lost a little bit of myself.
I had started a new job and was finally beginning to feel some relief and find joy in doing things again when a friend invited me to a “party.” We made handmade cards, and I loved it.
I had made cards before. I had even been to a party like this before. But this time was different.
I joined the “card lady’s” six-month card club and spent the next six months creating, shopping, laughing and looking forward to making cute cards every month. At the end I said, “I think I want to buy the Starter Kit so I can get my own stuff at a discount.”
And that was where it all started.
I had absolutely no intention of having a business. I had a full-time job. I just wanted to have fun.
But I quickly discovered that the thing I enjoyed most wasn’t just making cards. It was sharing my love of card making with other people.
It started with family, then friends, and eventually people I had never met before. I simply invited people over to craft. I charged a class fee, we made cards, and they came because they wanted to be there—not because they felt obligated to buy something.
I LOVED it.
Before I knew it, my hobby had turned into what my friend Hattie calls a “jobby.”
Over the last 14 years, the table I’ve invited people to has changed. It’s gotten bigger. It’s gone virtual. Today I have the privilege of shipping class kits to people all over the United States. There have been card classes and team gatherings, Facebook Lives and Zooms, weekend retreats and one-on-one Stampin’ 101 classes.
But one thing has never changed:
There is a place at the table for everyone.
Maybe that means so much to me because that is also what I have always felt from Stampin’ Up! There has been a place at the table for me.
Over 14 years, I’ve watched this company change, adapt and make some solid—and sometimes difficult—business decisions with the goal of remaining sustainable so demonstrators like me can continue to have this opportunity and this community. I’ve seen the heartbreak when representatives of other companies suddenly lost the businesses and communities they loved, and it has made me even more grateful for what we have.
I’m thankful for our CEO, Sara Douglass, for her heart for connection and her mission to help eradicate loneliness, and for the leadership it takes to navigate challenging economic times here in the United States and across our international markets.
Because when I look back at these pictures from throughout the years, I don’t just see cards.
I see people.
I see friendships that never would have happened otherwise. I see women who walked into a room not knowing anyone and became part of the family. I see laughter around tables, creative confidence growing, trips and experiences I never imagined having, and a community that has become an enormous part of my life.
And I see the girl who thought she was buying a Starter Kit for the discount.
She had no idea she was finding her place.
So whether it’s a seat at one of my card classes, a place on my team, a table for an entire weekend at one of my Creative Escape retreats, or sitting beside me for a one-on-one Stampin’ 101 class, there is a place for you.
Stampin’ Up! made a place for me.
And somewhere along the way, I found my place at the table. ❤️
