My love of all things crafty started when I was a wee one just old enough to hold scissors, glitter and glue... (way before they were conveniently mixed in one tube!!)

My Mom used to set me down at the kitchen table and help me make handmade cards for relatives and friends. We used bits of string and lace, sequins, glue, glitter, stickers, and cut out pictures from recycled greeting cards. I had mastered the art of rhyming anything and everything with the “Roses are Red Violets are Blue” poem by the time I was five! Mom not only shared her love of crafting with me, but with many other children over the years, as she was a Brownie and Girl Scout Troop Leader. These times spent with her laughing and crafting are some of my fondest memories.

My Mom and I co-owned “Tinker's Inker's Stamps and Stuff” in Silver Creek, Wa. from 1993-2003. The business kept us busy in our small community, and was a great fun endeavor for almost 10 years. It was always our dream to have our own stamp line. That dream was short lived, as Mom was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2003. This was the second cancer battle for our family, as I had just lost my husband and childhood sweetheart, Jeff, to the illness in 2000.

The kids and I continue on, but not without their love and guidance! Their influence is with us in almost everything we do!

When presented with the opportunity to purchase “For Me and My House” rubber stamps in May of 2004, we jumped at the chance. We chose the name “High Hopes” for our company as it expressed our faith, and excitement in this new venture. We chose our logo to be the Ant carrying the over sized rubber tree plant as we felt it depicted perseverance, and conviction. The name and image felt so right for us, as I remember mom singing the song “High Hopes” to me when I would feel like a task in front of me was impossible, and I felt like giving up. To us the name is a tribute to both Mom and Jeff, as they had such faith in us, and would always encourage the kids and me to follow our dreams. As Jeff would always say “with God, all things are possible!”.

We are so pleased to share with you our line full of fun and whimsical designs! The emphasis with our images is the ability to CREATE and INSPIRE. Not just greeting cards, scrap book pages, gift cards, tags, and wrapping paper, but pins, ornaments, magnets, clothing, candy boxes/wrappers, and cake decorating! The uses for stamps are bound only by a lack of imagination. Our stamps are made from the highest quality natural red rubber, dense foam cushion and select hard wood. They are deep etch which allows the crafter to stamp on many mediums, not just paper.

Being the mom of seven (yes, SEVEN, all still at home), my imagination is always challenged! I love crafting special things for the kids to share. Valentine cards with candy are a yearly favorite stamping project that we start in early January. We will be sharing many of our projects on the gallery page, and hope to inspire you to create fun things to share with your loved ones!