It is a very bitter sweet time for me. While SheetLoad of Cards was a HUGE JOY in my life, it was also adding to my heaping pile of 'to-dos'. Something had to give, and it couldn't be my family. The decision was made to close down ShortCuts and finish out the year at SheetLoad.
When the first issue of SheetLoad of Cards was posted on my personal blog, Call Me {Crafty} Al, I had no idea that 2 years later it would have grown to what it is today.
I always enjoyed using sketches and once I found one I liked, I usually stuck with it for (quite) a few cards. When I found my first One Sheet Wonders template on SCS, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. The first issue of SheetLoad of Cards was a combination of both of these.
Debuting in August of 2007, the first issue featured a sketch by Carla Peicheff. I had met Carla on a (now-defunct) card-making magazine message board and was thrilled when she allowed me to use her sketch for my little experiment. This issue included four total samples photos - all created by me.
It wasn't long before I was recruiting family and friends to join me in creating samples. What had originally been thrown together 'for fun', was now being 'published' monthly and more than just a few crafters were downloading it.
January '08 brought a NEW look and a NEW home to SheetLoad of Cards. Our readership and design team had both grown by this time, so I decided to make it 'official' by spiffing up the layout and starting a dedicated blog. This issue included six total samples, from the same amount of artists, and an Advertiser Directory!
I really didn't think things could get any better/bigger with the magazine. We had a design team, a blog and paying advertisers. Was I ever wrong... SheetLoad continued to grow and in March of 2008 we had our first sponsored issue and a celebrity sketch!!!
Not only were we thrilled to work with gg designs' stamps, but we got to create cards based upon a card sketch provided to us by THE Becky Fleck - of PageMaps fame. To this day it is one of our most downloaded issues ever!
SheetLoad's design team and readership have grown consistenly since the beginning. We were thrilled each month when new readers found us and previous readers returned for the new issue. We were honored to be able to use products from so many great sponsors.
Along the way we changed our look, and the faces on our design team, but our main goal was always the same...
To help you build your on-hand card stash using one great sketch, a few sheets of paper and a little bit of time.
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I TRULY could not have done this alone. Over the years I have worked with some amazing people and would like to send out a HUGE THANKS to the wonderful artists below. Without their time and talent SheetLoad would not be what it is today.
Current Artists:
Alma Olhava since Aug. '09 • Alicia Ekermans since Aug. '07 • Ann Seleshanko since July '08 • Barbara DeBose since Dec.'07 • Denise Wallace since Jan. '08 • Heather Strenzwilk since Jan. '08 • Jessica George since Aug. '09 • Katie Skiff since Jan. '09 • Kelly Landers since Aug. '09 • Kim Beinschroth since Aug. '09 • Linda Bowman since Oct. 07 • Melissa Machado since Jan. '08 • Nicole Anderson since Aug. '08 • Nikki Tanner since Aug. '09
Past Artists:
Carla Peicheff • Florence "Flossie" Savarese • Gloria Jewett • Jennifer R • Lindsay S • Lisa McDowell • Liz Weber • Marlene Lo • Michelle Dobbyn • Shannon Schafer • Teri Berrios
Guest Artists:
Jeannean Marshall • Joy Stagg • Kurtis Amundson • Melyssa Connolly • Paula Bloom • Riley Fitzgerald • Sarah Bigelow • Heidi
Each of the artists above helped us spread the word about SheetLoad. Without their hard work, time and promotion, we would have never been blessed with so many sponsored issues. Thanks to the following companies for allowing us to showcase your product in our eZine...
Sponsored Issues:
gg designs • Lisa McDowell, Stampin' Up! • Stamping Bella • My Favorite Things • High Hopes Rubber Stamps • ShortCuts • Shawna Renville, The Angel Company • Paper Pretties • CC Designs • Unity Stamp Company • Melissa Machado, Close To My Heart • The Greeting Farm • There She Goes • Shawna Renville, The Angel Company • Squigglefly • Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps • JessicaLynnOriginal • DRS Designs • Doodle Palace
And last, but definitely not least, thank you to all of you, our wonderful readers!! Without each of you, there wouldn't have been such a great audience for our eZine each month!!
All is not lost, though, the archive of all past issues will be available until at least May 2010. This will give you plenty of time to download any missing issues and if some new readers find their way here, they will still be available.
I look forward to finishing out the year strong, here on the blog. We have some challenges coming up, our monthly Simple Special Stunning and a 'spotlight' on our last sponsor - Doodle Palace.
(If you made it through the whole post - thanks. It was a long one...)
13 comments:
I know it's already been said, but I'm really sad to see that the end is coming for Sheetload. We understand the reasons, but we do love you and Sheetload! Thanks for all the hard work and time commitment you've put into this eZine through the years. I am thankful to have found you last Spring. Wishing you good luck in all you do! :)
I completely missed the "final" in final issue. I only looked at the sketch and that was it. I'm sorry to hear it's the last sheetload. I didn't participate every month but I always looked at the sketch and the DT projects. But I'm sure it's not a decision taken lightly. I wish you all the best and I'll give this month's challenge a try.
Eveline.
Thanks for everything alicia! I'm going to make sure I have all the sheetloads saved in my binder.
I'm really going to miss Sheetload, but I do understand that it was taking up a lot of time. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Thanks for the walk and reminding us of the growth and changes for sheetload. I will miss the monthly issue but glad that you will have more time for family.
Sorry to hear this will be the end but understand that family comes first. Best wishes to all of those involved. I've downloaded all of the files and will still reference you all when I use the designs.
I will completly miss "my" Sheetload... but I totally understand your choice and I do respect it. I have to thank you for all the fun. I know it was a lot of work to share this all with us! Thanks again!
I'm going to miss Sheetload a ton! You've put together a great magazine each month...I'd totally pay for a subscription, and to have offered it free of charge all these years is a great service to the crafting community. Thank you for the tremendous amount of work that it's easy to see went into every issue. I'm just glad that the archives are available so I can at least *pretend* it's still being published for a while since I only started reading it a year or so ago. :)
Thanks for all the hard work. You did a great job.
Thanks for sharing and for all the hard work that has gone into Sheetload- you've provided a bunch of inspiration for me in the last couple of years & will be missed! I'm actually crossing my fingers that someone will jump up and offer to take it over from you ;)
Thank you for all you did! I really enjoyed this publication and I'm truly sad to see it go. When I first discovered it, I thought I had found a gold mine (and still do!). I have shared it with my downline and even trained some beginner cardmakers using the sketches. I understand that family comes first and the decision was hard to do. However, I remain hopeful that Sheetload will return one day, even for just once a year or just for fun in the future. I enjoyed it that much and looked forward to all the new ezine releases. Very sorry to see it go. Best wishes to you!
Wow -- it's amazing to see the evolution of SheetLoads in such a short period of time!
I'll definitely miss the excitement of a new issue each month!!
Thank you! Your blog post will be advertised on the DigiFree Blog Printable Freebie search engine today (look for timestamp: 19 Dec [LA 02:29pm, NY 05:29pm, UK 10:29pm] - 20 Dec [OZ 09:29am]).
Alicia, I have never commented, but I have loved and used your Sheetload e-zine lots! Thank you so much for all the effort you did take to produce this! You are a very talented woman whose creativity is amazing. Best of luck in everything and remember us over at Cuppas and Cards!
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