What's Up - September 8, 2014

Have you recovered from the shock of our blog post yet?!

Well, here's What's Up for the week!

We had a fantastic weekend - lots of customers coming in for the brand new Prima (Epiphany, Forever Green, Cigar Box Secrets, and Coffee Break); Kaisercraft (Teddy Bear's Picnic, Christmas Basecoat and Yuletide); and the gorgeous Dina Wakley stamps!

Friday Night Crop had a ton of creative ladies and lots of late night giggles and Bree's first Project Life Crop and Swap was a big hit too!  Bree has already picked the date for the next one and has some pretty awesome classes coming up too.

Classes this week - Jenn has a fantastic Advanced Lettering class on Thursday the 11th and Andrea's super popular Scrap A Pack is on Saturday from 10-10.  I love seeing everyone's layouts with the different papers!  Hopefully the ladies will let Andrea take some photos so we can post them!  I also have my Art Journal class on Sunday from 1-4...can't wait to play with the new Izinks!

And some sad news.... Michelle's last class with us will be this Wednesday the 10th (Stamp of the Month) :(  Michelle is such a fantastic instructor and we will miss her terribly but she is onto new opportunities so we wish her all the best!

Ivy and I went out shopping as we are heading to Canadian Scrapbooker's Carnival this weekend.  We wanted to find some awesome things for our booth and ....... we found the most incredible thing!!!  Hopefully you get a chance to pop into our booth and see it...if not, you never know when it may pop up again! 

Speaking of the Carnival, we are busy beavers around here making up a ton of kits to take with us!  We have layout kits, card kits, Project Life kits and product kits!  This will be our very first Carnival and we are so excited to join in the fun!  We are packing up a ton of goodies to bring with us - can't wait to see you!  

Let's Get on Track....

Our poor, sad and neglected blog...

Summer seemed to get us way off track so we sat down and thought about how to get back on track...

and short of hiring minions, we thought a schedule would be a great idea!!

We came up with some ideas...but if there's something you want us to blog about, we would love to hear it!

Our new blogging schedule:

Monday - What's Up - posts about what classes are happening this week, exciting things we are up to  and what product we are expecting.

Tuesday - Mixed Media Mania - we will highlight Mixed Media artists, products, companies...anything we can thing of that has joined and inspired the mixed media world!

Wednesday - Wordless Wednesday - it has been around forever in the blogging world.... No words in this post but photos that caught our attention!

Thursday - Happy Stampers - we will highlight all things stampy!  It may be the products to go along with your stamps, techniques, and stampers that make us smile!

Friday - Spark Your Inspiration - what better way to inspire you than to show your our top 5 Pinterest pins of the week?!

Tell us what you think!  And check back later for our first What's Up post!

Sometimes this industry........

Sometimes this industry can drive you crazy - trying to keep up with what's new, who's left which company, who's designing for who, what company is closing, yadda yadda yadda....

And then, sometimes this industry can remind you of all that's good in the world. 

You can spend two days in a room full of crafty people and be overwhelmed not only by talent but also by kindness, generosity and encouragement.

And so, we would like to thank Christy Tomlinson for two days filled with inspiration, laughter and creativity.

We would also like to thank the 40 women that came to our store and helped make the last two days such a success.  We were thrilled that the event sold out so fast,  but also so grateful to have met all of you and formed many new friendships!

Christy, we just can't say enough about you... you were so easy-going and honestly, a joy to host.  Your teaching style was so encouraging and you are one of the most genuine, kind, and caring souls we have ever had the privilege to meet in this industry.  We aren't kidding when we say our calendar will be cleared for you and Margie!  

Whether you traveled clear across the country to take the class, or if you were only a hop, skip and a jump away, thank you!  Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing more of you!

Here are some pictures from the fun!!

Inspiration Tuesday - Simple Stories Style

Happy Sunny Tuesday!

I am loving the nice warm weather and am counting down the days until school is done... I have been busy trying to get some last minute teacher gifts done and couldn't resist the fantastic new line from Simple Stories "Good Day Sunshine"!!  It is so fun, bright, colourful and just........happy!

Simple Stories has a fantastic way to share some inspiration using their "Good Day Sunshine" line with you - a FREE ebook with 20 pages of layouts, cards and much much more!!

Check out Vicki Boutin's super cute layout

And Lisa Swift's Super Cute Card

And speaking of Lisa Swift...if you need some AWESOME teacher gift ideas, you can check out her full list of some here 

My kids are working on these neat Teacher Notes

...I will post a picture when they are done!

What's That Class All About???

Hello scrappy friends!!  The nice weather is finally here and we are anxiously counting down the days till summer!  Our air conditioning decided it was wanted a break too so thankfully, we have someone up there getting it back to work!  

One of the most common things we get asked about is our classes...so I thought we would do a little blog post that will help tell you more about all the cool classes we offer here!

Every month, we feature the following classes:

1.  Art Journal - this is a class where the only rule is to have fun!  We play with a ton of different products like paints, sprays and stencils and create our own unique art.  Students can create in their art journal or even bring a canvas and create on it!  The ability to draw is absolutely unnecessary!!  Cori-Lyn teaches this class EVERY THIRD TUESDAY of the month and repeats again on a SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

2.  Stamp of the Month - Michelle teaches this class on the SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH.  With this class, you will complete 2 technique filled cards and take the stamp set home with you!  Michelle also creates a tag to put into a booklet so that you can remember how to do those techniques again.  Kits are available if you cannot make the class, with step by step photos and instructions.

3.  Sketch of the Month - formerly called Scrapbook 101, we discovered that even seasoned scrapbookers were loving this class!  You get to pick out the patterned paper that you want to use and Andrea will guide you through the process using the Sketch of the Month!  Such a great way to scrap those photos you are stuck on!  This month, Andrea is taking it even further and created a Scrap A Pack where you pick out a paper pack of your choice and create 10 layouts with it!!!  Join Andrea for this fabulous class on Saturday June 7th from 10am-4pm!

4.  Advanced Copics - Once you have taken a beginners class with Cori-Lyn, come and play an awesome group of ladies who love to colour!  We try to alternate between colouring people and nature with a focus on different techniques each month.  This class runs THE 4TH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

5.  Christmas Cards - yep, you read that right!  Each month we run a Christmas card class!!  Go home with 4 Christmas cards and be ready before December gets here!  This class runs THE 4th WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

6.  Project Life - Join Bree as she helps you figure out exactly what Project Life is all about.  Project Life provides an ultra-simple solution that helps us get those pictures into albums without draining our time, energy, and wallets. The idea is simple: Photos + memorabilia + journaling together in an album - everything slips into pockets. Bree helps you kick it up a notch and shows you awesome and unique ways to document your pages!  Rumor has it Bree is also working on a Project Life mini album perfect for a tropical vacation!!

7.  KitBuilders - Fitting this in when we can, KitBuilders has been a huge hit!  Basically, we purchase a commercial licence for a unique project and provide you with coloured photocopies that include step by step directions.  Each person provides their own supplies and builds at their own pace...and the end results are incredible!!  This class runs on a FRIDAY TIL 10 PM and the FOLLOWING SATURDAY TIL 10PM

8.  Teens and Tweens Mixed Media - Geared for kids aged 8 and up, this class is a fun and messy time!!  We create in our Art Journals, on canvases, and even on cupboard doors!!  This class runs on a SUNDAY FROM 1PM - 4PM

Those are just our every month classes - be sure to check out our calendar for other awesome classes every month!!!  If you click on the dates, pictures are also included :)

Inspiration Tuesday - Sunshine Edition!

Happy Tuesday!

We are finally enjoying some nice weather...so I thought we should do a bright and happy Inspiration post!

We are expecting a large shipment tomorrow with some new lines that have beautiful summery designs...

Lemonlush by Studio Calico

Good Day Sunshine by Simple Stories

The Story Of Us by Simple Stories

Studio Calico has been one of our best selling lines - they have a TON of awesome embellishments!  The bright colours in this line make it so fun to create!

Check out Nicole Samuels' super fun layout with Lemon Lush!

Every summer, Simple Stories designs such a gorgeous line...and this year, Good Day Sunshine is one of their best!!!  Such beautiful colours and patterns...check out Kim Kesti's cute card!

And Vicki Boutin's fun layout

And the last new line doesn't have bright colours...but is perfect for documenting a summer wedding!!  We are always on the lookout for unique wedding lines instead of the same old stuff and this one caught our eye right away!!

Check out the beautiful layout and Project Life page I found on Simple Stories' blog featuring The Story Of Us

For a TON more ideas with this gorgeous paper, check out their Pinterest Board!

There is a ton more goodies expected tomorrow - last week we didn't even get any of the Mirabelle collection on the floor before it sold out so we reordered it; restock in the beautiful Prima Time Traveller and Sea Shore;and........ GELATOS (finally...lol)

Have a great week!

Inspiration Tuesday - Prima Style

Happy Morning!

The sun is shining and it looks like Spring is trying to stay!  We are expecting a huge order to arrive on Friday which includes two of Prima's brand new lines...so I thought it would be a good time to check out some Prima Inspiration!

One of the new lines coming is Seashore... soft beautiful colours, and all the embellishments that Prima is so well known for.  Check out design team member, Olga Vasilieva's beautiful layout!

The other new line on its way is called Time Traveler's Memories and is simply stunning!!  This is Kelly Foster's amazing layout!

And we are so excited that Prima's Bloom Sprays are on their way too!!!  We thought we had enough sprays in the store...but then we played with them at CHA and just had to have them!!

Cari Fennell just taught this gorgeous layout last week at Art Venture with Prima - using both the Seashore papers and the Bloom Sprays!

Prima's latest release, Stationer's Desk,  has been selling like hotcakes here - I am finishing up our Kit Builders birdhouse and used it...one of my favourite lines!

This is Keren Temir's unique clipboard

And Jennifer Snyder's unique mantle clock!

Prima's Something Blue is technically a wedding line but is so diverse it can be used for so much more!

I love how Erin Blegen used such soft and pretty colours for a boy's layout!

Prima's Cartographer line is full of nice neutrals that works perfectly for masculine layouts but also allows itself to be altered in wonderful ways!

This is Frank Garcia's signature style - a ton of layers and beautiful work!

But check out how Kelly Foster changed such a neutral paper!!

Wishing you all a fantastic week - stay tuned for order details!!