And The Winners Are.....

Thanks to everyone who followed along and cheered us on our marathon class-taking and shopping trip! We are all back safe and, more or less, sound :-) Wild Hare and Marilynn arrived back Sunday night on one of the bumpiest and scariest flights they've ever had. Marilynn described their posture as that of one of those stuffed Garfield cats that hang with suction cups to the back of a car window. That's not a pretty picture. My flight back late last night was not bumpy, but the air conditioning was broken. So, it was hotter than H-E-Double hockey sticks. Anyway, we're back and now waiting anxiously for the boxes to start arriving!

But, on to more important matters. The winners of our Blog Candy contest are:
Leslie
Ingrid
Carol

Ladies, please contact me so that I know you will be in to pick up your prizes. I'll have them behind the counter with your names on them by late tomorrow afternoon. Congratulations!

Learn at Lunch

Jean is our Demo Queen, and we are so happy to have her back! During her time off, she had a chance to get a bit ahead with samples for her upcoming demos, so we thought we would share them with you! This week, her FREE Learn at Lunch demo (on March 31 from 12 - 2 PM) features the amazing variety of stamps offered by Cornish Heritage Farms. Jean added extra "pop" to the card by backing it with Memory Box paper to give it that starburst effect. Simply stunning! Join us and find out more!

Last Post - Probably :-)

We shopped like maniacs today. If I managed to keep accurate records, we ordered from 24 companies in 5 hours. We were moving! Poor Rory (Mr. UPS) better eat his Wheaties! One company that the rep group picked up at the last minute (they weren't actually here at the show they were so new) is Hanna Stamps. A couple of you have mentioned this company to me in passing, but I had never seen their stamps. They are totally cute! Meet Riley the Moose - he can do it all - waterskiing, knitting and even laundry! The images are rubber, but the set of "Things Riley Would Say" (like Sorry I Moosed Your Special Day) is clear. They have other designs as well, but the moose makes my day! Since they weren't really taking orders at the show, I thought it would be fun to bring the catalog home and let you all take a look at it. Perhaps you might find a couple of moose you just can't live without. Feel free to leave me your stamp orders, and I'll place the order after our friends from ArtLenz finish their workshops (which are this Wednesday and Thursday). I'll bring the catalog into the shop on Tuesday, and you can take a look and make your requests until the following Tuesday. I'll place the order on Wednesday, April 8. Tomorrow, I have my full day class with Jennifer McGuire and Hero Arts. Then it's a mad dash to the airport (through the Boston Big Dig during rush hour) to catch my flight. Wish me luck! I'll see you when I get back!

Ten Seconds of Metal

Both Marilynn and I took classes yesterday with Tim Holtz. Marilynn did extremely cool things with Microscope Slide jewelry, and I got to play with the new alcohol ink empty pens. One of the things we did with the inks was apply them to metal. But, first we put the 10 Second Studio metal tape over patterned grungeboard and embossed it. It was like "lazy man's" embossing. I thought it was totally cool! I'll be placing an order with 10 Second Studio today, and Donna will be demoing it at our Learn at Lunch series on May 19.

Claudine Hellmuth was here teaching classes as well. We didn't take those classes because she's going to come to our shop and teach them herself. That's way more fun! Her May is totally booked up with travel, so we're probably looking at summer. Just the thing to do on a hot summer day!

Make and Take Frenzy

Thank you, Cassi, for your suggestion to post a picture of the 3 of us. As you might imagine, after taking 5 classes in a day followed by a 3 hour make-and-take frenzy at night, we weren't feeling particularly photogenic. And, besides, Hare insists she's in the Witness Protection Program and can't be photographed. (I don't think you're supposed to tell people you're in the Witness Protection Program, but she is the "Wild Hare" after all....) Finally Marilynn agreed to "fall on the x-acto knife" (her words) and have her picture taken. She happened to be working with the lovely Jennifer McGuire of Hero Arts at the time, so we got her picture as well. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the shopping day. Hare and Marilynn will come back Sunday night, but I'm staying through Monday and taking a full-day class with Jennifer McGuire and Hero Arts. Stay tuned!

Flower Soft!

I don't think I was stamping back when Impression Obsession first started, but there is no mistaking their signature look. Yes, it's true! Their original artist has returned to make some new sketches for IO, and the focus of these new stamps is to use them with FFLOWER SOFT! I've been hearing about Flower Soft for a while now, but at first, it was only available from the UK. With a weak dollar and a high VAT tax, it's very expensive to get product in from the UK. But now, they have US distribution, so you can bet I am very actively pursuing getting this product into the store. What is it, you ask? It's similar to flock, but it really looks like flowers. (What is actually is is a very tightly held secret. I don't even know, so please don't employ torture methods to try to find out.) Be on the lookout in the shop for these new stamps from IO as well as lots of fun products from Flower Soft. We have lots of things planned with it. Jean's doing a Leart at Lunch demo with it on May 5 and we're also thinking of doing something fun with it at our Anniversary Open House on August 1. Yes, we really are planning that far ahead! Wahoo - much more fun ahead!

Trade Show, Day Two

Today is the super busy day for the three of us. We each have a whopping 5 classes today and then tonight is the Make and Take Frenzy where most of the vendors have tables with make and takes set up in the big ballroom. To keep us going, there's a huge table in the middle of the room loaded down with awesome desserts. I'm going to try really hard to fit lots of blogging into that schedule, so check back often!

As promised yesterday, here is a picture of one of the Gift Card Holders I made in the Outlines class. (It's very difficult to get the full effect of Outlines online as you can't see all the layering). This card is done with basically one stamp (the "dad" stamp is separate). What you can't really see is that this is a "regular card" that opens with a nice sentiment inside. The front has a pocket where the gift card fits, and the "dad" is actually a tab that helps you pull the gift card out of the pocket. It's just awesome! The class I'm doing May 19 will feature stamps that are more "generic", so they could be used for virtually any occasion. I truly can't wait!

Magenta Class

This afternoon, the "Wild Hare" had a class with Magenta. Aren't these cards stunning? We actually have the bird and flower chipboard in the shop right now. They look totally different after ink has been applied - wow! The card below, Hare colored with pencils then covered with Glossy Accents. It's lovely too!

While Hare was working on her Magenta cards, I was playing with Outlines. Their new Gift Card Holders are CRAZY GOOD! I knew they would be, so I went ahead and scheduled to teach a class on May 19. I'll post some pictures of my class projects tomorrow, but my class will feature

different cards than the ones I post. I can't get over how versatile they are. You can use them as Gift Card Holders, frames, layered cards.... My problem will be narrowing down which ones I want to do in the class. Oh, and wait until you see their new layered collage stamps for cat and dog lovers!

Marilynn ended up having the afternoon off as October Afternoon cancelled their class at the last minute. She didn't waste any time, though. She went back to the Craft Connection booth and wrote an order for about 50 different colors, widths and types of ribbon. Just wait until you see!

I'm off to eat. We've worked up quite an appetite here :-)

Punch Samples

I am just crazy about these new punches with McGill! They are big, and they are button punches (not levers) so you may need a power punch to use them with thicker cardstock. But they are soooo worth it! How cute is this cupcake? It is several different pieces on the punch so you can put it together with lots of different paper combinations. The owner of Craft Connection was telling us how she stores all of her punches. She buys the super big lucite fames and puts her punches in them, then slides then under her couch. Brilliant!










These birds are all on one punch as well, and the wing is a separate piece - cute, cute, cute! Sorry the sample is a little blurry - there was a mad crush around it, and I didn't have Wild Hare as a bouncer at that moment. Let me know what you think! If you want some of these punches, leave me a comment so I order enough!

More later!

New Product

Our first stop this morning was with Craft Connection - a distributor of all accessories (except actual stamps). They showed us that there are new colors of Colorbox Chalks as well as the regular Colorbox pigment inks. One of the new colors is called "Wild Hare". It's the color in the lower right. Harriett (who prefers to be called "Hare") was into that color right away. She said, "It's perfect - I do have a brown belt in Karate after all." I did not know that, but I will now remember not to mess with the Wild Hare!











We also discovered the new Glue Dot dispenser. This will help those of us who absolutely refuse to believe that we can't pick up the dots with our fingers and expect them to come off. I'm very excited to give this a try. I did notice, however, that these cartridges are NOT refillable, so keep that in mind.

We'll keep on blogging as we see new things. Please keep your comments coming!

Let the Games Begin

We're here! We're up early, well fed and ready to stamp! My first class this morning is with Cat's Pajamas, Marilynn is playing with Dew Drops at the Robin's Nest class and Harriett is Rolling with Ribbon! We'll be posting throughout the day (and the rest of the weekend) with pictures of things we've made, new products we've seen, etc.

Follow along and chime in! We're having a blog candy contest during the weekend. Simply leave a comment on one of the posts, and you're entered. We'll choose three posters at random on Tuesday and post the winners' names on the blog. You'll need to come into the shop to pick up your prize.

Good luck, and I'll be back soon!

Memory Box Contest

Hey everyone, guest blogger Laura here again. I know some of you follow the blog I write for Memory Box, so I wanted to remind you that if you are entering my current card contest, pictures must be uploaded by Saturday evening. For those of you who want more information about the contest, you can check it out here. It is definitely worth your while to enter seeing as the winner gets to pick out $100 worth of Memory Box products. Woohoo!

One of the stipulations of the contest is that you have to use at least one image from the Woodland Springtime stamp release. I restocked those images at Angela's tonight, so there are plenty to choose from if you want to participate in the contest. Good luck!

Spring Blooms!

Nothing gives me spring fever quite like flowers! And there is no easier way to achieve an explosion of flowers than with Rubber Stamp Tapestry's peg sets. If you've never tried to work with these little peg stamps before, come see how super easy they are (FREE all day Thursday, March 26)! We used the Accu-cut to cut out the frame and mat for this card, then filled it with flowers and a hint of bling.

Bargain Busters

In response to a challenging economy, some of our vendors have offered some special purchases to us. We, in turn, want to pass those fabulous savings along! Stop by this weekend and check out our Bargain Busters table - full of specially priced merchandise! For example, you'll love this 21 piece sparkly watercolor set - for only $6.00! We also have 4 different sizes and colors of board books in a box - regularly priced at $10.00 - now available at $6.00, a 40% discount! And, look at this amazing punch set! It retails for $52.50 - we have it for $30! That's only $2.50 per punch, and the carrying/storage case is free! These bargains are available while supplies last, and they cannot be combined with class or senior discounts.

Wish "shoe" could join us

...I know - it's corny. But if you have corns, I don't recommend wearing these shoes. (Sorry, every once in a while I channel my high school band teacher who was 2/3 of a pun..."p" "u".) Anyway, the first time we received this adorable shoe set from Hero Arts, it basically walked out the door. Now that it's back, we thought you might enjoy the opportunity to try it on for size at our next FREE make-and-take - all day Thursday, March 19.

Wall of Fame Contest

Have you entered our Wall of Fame contest for March yet? The theme for this month is "animals." At the end of the month we will draw one of the card entries out of a hat to win the prize pictured. It has a gorgeous floral stamp as well as a Memento ink pad and some notecards. Woohoo!

And now for the boring rules. One entry per person per month. You are welcome to use any stamps you wish for our contests, but we would love to have the chance to post your cards in the store as samples for the stamps/products we sell. Entries may be mailed into the store, but please know that if you win, you have to pick up your prize in person. Finally, all submissions become property of the store. Whew! I'm glad that part is over.

Need advance notice to plan for our card contests? Here are the contest themes for the rest of the year:

April- "I'm stuck on you" Cards featuring stickers.
May- Paper flower cards
June- Memory Box Stamps
July- "You're a Grand Old Flag" Cards using flags
August- Water Cards (ocean themed, water-colored, etc)
September- "Inch by Inch" Cards featuring inchies
October- "Scared Silly"
November- "Thanks So Much" Blessing and Thank You cards
December- Happy Holidays

Good Luck! We love when our customers share their creations with us and look forward to seeing your entries.

Spring is coming!

With the intermittent days of warmth, the change to daylight savings time, and the robins I see flitting about the yard - can there be any doubt spring is on the way? And so quick on the heels of our last good snow?!

This week's FREE make and take celebrates the hope of spring. Featuring the Spring Blossoms stamp from Memory Box and a swatch from the Sweetbay 6x6 collection pack of paper, this card will put a spring in your step.

Hooray for Hero Arts

Today's FREE make-and-take card features one of the newer collage shadow stamps from Hero Arts. I love that the hard work, the collage composition, is already done. Just a hint of chalk makes for a very elegant presentation. Stop in any time between 10 and 9 on Thursday, March 5 and try one for yourself. Also, check out the newest product from Hero Arts which, as luck would have it, arrived today! We have new clear, unmounted sets in a new 6 x 8 size, the new super popular What's Cooking set, new wood-mounted stamps in spring and Easter themes, and several new Ink ' Stamp sets featuring 18 smalls stamps in a convenient tub in themes like birds, animals, floral, sweets and more!

Be the Next Winner!

It's time for us to give some more stuff away! Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, we have a lovely Bo Bunny green tote just stuffed with goodies! I haven't done the math, but I feel confident there's at least $200 worth of stamping heaven in this bag - it's pretty heavy! How do you get a part of this action, you ask? Simply stop in between now and 4 PM, Saturday, March 14 and make a $35.00 purchase. You can buy items on sale, items on hold, class registrations - whatever! For every $35 you spend, you'll get an entry into the drawing. The drawing takes place at 4 PM on Saturday, March 14, and you do not have to be present to win. Good luck!