Thursday Make & Take - February 7

Spring is on its way!

This is the last in our Memory Box "What's in the Box" series. And what a sweet ending it is.

The store seems to have caught spring fever as well. We have the new spring-themed patterned papers from Doodlebug Design, Imaginisce, Basic Grey plus fun new stamps including a bunch of groundhog images. If only we could count on these guys not seeing their shadows - it would be spring already!

This Just In

It's a whole new Angela's.

The dust has cleared (because we dusted), the boxes have disappeared (because we unpacked them) and the fixtures have found their permanent home (because Hare was on a mission). There are new discoveries to be made every day.

We've unpacked the Elzybells Friendship release, new stamps from Basic Grey and the Doodlebug Design Valentine's collection. There's paper from Crate, My Mind's Eye, the cutest spring paper from Imaginisce, new paintables from Prima and a ton of colors from Bazzill. Everything is so neatly displayed and easy to find - it's like a dream.

Oh! And check out these samples Angela made. We just received an American Art Stamps shipment featuring the super-cute Stick Chicks by Karen Stolper. These girls are so much fun to color. This is a perfect time to whip out your Copics and go to town.

For the first card, Angela used the new 6x6 papers from Memory Box on one of their pink cards because - you guessed it - we got in the Memory Box cards in every color imaginable...even brown, which I am loving because there's nothing more delicious than chocolate; can I get a witness?

Favorite Product of the Week

Laura's Favorite Product - The Bow Easy

I use the Bow Easy all the time to help me make cute little bows to embellish my cards. I am not too bad at tying larger bows by hand, but perfect tiny bows are really hard to make without a template. I always recommend tying about 20 bows after you learn how to use the Bow Easy so that you don't forget how it works.

If you would like to see a tutorial, go to Laura's blog.

Thursday Make & Take - Jan. 31

Memory Box! Again! As Angela would say, "wahoo"!

This is the second in a series of 3 cards designed by Memory Box using the stamps from their 2008 What's in the Box release. The pictures don't really do these cards justice - the shimmer and lighter inks are lost. I didn't get to the store last week and, when I finally saw the make & take from th 24th, I was blown away! Dave Brethauer is a genius with color and people are loving this prettier, softer side of Memory Box. Come check it out and make the card while supplies last.

And stay tuned, Dave will be back at Angela's in 2008 to teach.

Thursday Make & Take - Jan 24

Memory Box 2008. The new stamps are here and they're cool. This Thursday we're featuring a card using the bird silhouette and one of the many flourishes from this release. It's simplicity at its finest.

We're open from 10am-9pm on Thursday. Come in any time to make the free card. They sent us a ton of card samples: so many beautiful cards and great ideas. When you're checking out the samples - which are posted above the new stamps - notice the color palette that they used. Memory Box designed a slew of cards using the same set of ink pads - Versamagic Gingerbread, Cornucopia, Pixie Dust and Tea Leaves; Versafine Spanish Moss; and Brilliance Pearlescent Poppy and Pearlescent Chocolate. Luckily we just restocked the ink pads so you're sure to find these colors in both the full size and the dew drop.

ATC Purse - Show Off Your Style

What better way to show off your art than to wear it? We just got these customizable purses and they're like a portable gallery. They have so much potential. The pockets are made to hold Artist Trading Cards. You can curate your own walking exhibit by displaying your cards or cards you've collected, and you can carry extras for impromptu trades. The bottom line - let the world see your passion for your art!

Bad pun for the week*: "Wear your art on your sleeve."

*Leave a comment if you just had to roll your eyes at that one or if you have an even better bad pun.

Pardon Our Dust
Boxes and racks and fixtures, oh my! Don't be shocked - we're not moving. We're not depleting our stock. We're making room for more, more, more. We just unpacked Memory Box "What's in the Box" stamps. It was jam-packed with new clear sets, flowers, flourishes, a fox(!), and tons of birds. The Imaginisce boxes were full of $1.00 clear stamps that coordinate with cute easter, spring and valentines papers plus ribbon sets and rub-ons. And we've got boxes arriving every day. The new Elzybells will be in any minute; we'll have new stamps from Rosie's Roadshow - Angela has suprises delivered daily.


CHA Ribbon Challenge
Shindo, a gorgeous ribbon company, asked Angela to create some cards that will be displayed at their booth at the upcoming CHA show. You'll find the ribbons on the top shelf of the ribbon rack. You can add ribbons with eyelets, brads, glue, glue dots; the possibilities are endless. The first card, by Chrisi Rogers, is one of the quickest ways to add that finishing touch to your creations. Take a coordinating color tie it around the front of the card and voila -a beautiful card that anyone would be so excited to receive.



The second example is a bookmark. It's done with a ribbon weaving technique that uses a fancy punch and the Personal Power Punch. The Power Punch helps you line up the punch perfectly and depresses the punch without shifting the paper. You get this intricate design that you can weave your ribbon through. The end result is amazing and it looks like a lot more work than it actually is.

Click on the pictures to get a close-up of the ribbon details.

Win a Bo Bunny Bag

Our next drawing has started. One happy stamper will win this cute pink shoulder bag stuffed full of stamping goodies! The picture doesn't really do it justice: you really need to come in and feel how heavy it is!

What you need to do to win: Simply spend $50 between now and Saturday, February 2 at 4 PM. For each additional $50 you spend, you will get one more entry. Your receipts can be combined during that time period, so hold on to them. And, all purchases qualify...classes, sale items, etc. We will select the lucky winner at 4 PM on February 2, and you do not have to be present to win.

Thursday Make & Take - Jan 17

The last 2008 Hero Arts Make & Take.
This is the final Make & Take in our Hero Arts series. It feels like an era is coming to a close - but it's really not. We'll still have fun surprises from Hero Arts throughout the year. And we still have a bunch of the new releases in stock. If you haven't seen the clear stamps yet, it's worth a trip. Laura will be using them in an upcoming class.

There's a lot of activity at the store at the moment. We just got lots of new paper racks and we'll be getting in some exciting paper companies like Cosmo Cricket, My Minds Eye and Doodlebug Design in the next few weeks. We also received a shipment of Stamping Bellas. Plus there are tons of boxes just waiting to be unpacked. Hope to see you soon.

Marilynn's Go-To Product

"I love Versafine ink pads. They are the "energizer bunny" of all inks...they just keep going and going and going. I've never had one wear out. (And that's a good thing because the manufacturer doesn't make reinkers for them). I think these inks stamp the cleanest of any pad - especially on very detailed images or words. They come in 10 colors, in both a full size and 1 inch square pad."

In other Hero Arts news...they will display their entire New Products Debut
to the public on HeroArts.com with a sample for every stamp! Wow!
We also have the catalog for sale in the store if you prefer hands-on
browsing (or if you have dial-up).

Thursday Make & Take - Jan. 10

This is the third free card in our 2008 Hero Arts series.

These make and takes are pretty special. We're using the new collection of Hero Arts cards (which are sold in multiple colors! so exciting!). There are a limited number of supplies so come early if you can. And remember, one card per customer.

We just received another shipment of the 2008 Hero Arts collection and they're going fast. We got more clear stamps and mounted sets and - the current favorite - more owls and penguins. We also have black rhinestones and flower- and heart-shaped gems. They're the perfect finishing touch. See you Thursday!