Another Birthday!

I notice my last blog was on Jonathan's b'day and now today is my dear husband's special day.  We had a busy day yesterday.  First going to watch Jonathan play in a hockey tournament, which his team won, then the family all went out to dinner to celebrate both Jonathan and Ron's birthday.  We came home for cake and tea and opening of gifts.  It was funny to watch as the cards were opened and Jonathan was looking carefully to see what techniques had been used on his cards, lol.   Not many thirteen year olds would be concerned or even think to do that.  I don't have any of Jonathan's cards to show you, but I thought I'd show you some of the handmade cards that Ron was fortunate enough to  receive they may give you some inspiration.  We have a really talented family in both England and Canada.

Did you get into the store for the Christmas stamp sale?  There's not too many left now and Linda's putting it into the  newsletter for tomorrow, so hopefully the blog readers got the pick of the bunch.  Linda's also adding some Christmas  stickers and paper on sale too.

We have a date and venue now for the Crop Weekend as well as the all day Card Class.  The Mega Crop is on April 20,21 and 22 at the Turner Centre on Taylor road, we'll announce early bird registration soon now so clear your calendar.  The Card Class will be held on Saturday March 3rd at Gagnon's Independent Grocer.

I was supposed to be working today on some of the cards for the all day class, but I couldn't get the juices flowing so instead worked on my craft room...LOL.  The upper shelf and moulding were cut today ready for installation once I get the walls painted.  I had the paint mixed as well, it's taken me foreverrrrrrrrr to choose the colour, but I finally decided on a Baer paint and it's called Restful a pretty green.  I'm like Rachel (Linda's daughter)  in that I like green very much.

Speaking of Rachel, here's a page I just finished of her foray into sewing.  I tore the large heart from mulberry paper and machine sewed it along with the two  smaller pink dot hearts onto the page.  The dressmaking form and the title I cut from my Silhouette Cameo.  The form was a free shape from Silhouette some time ago and the font was a free font on my computer called MTF Stamping Rachel now how appropriate was that!  The yellow shell like border which is also machine stitched onto the page, I created with the EK Success Arched Scallop border punch, cutting the cardstock an inch wide and punching both sides of  it.  The scallop green borders were cut using  the Classic Scallop Edgeabilities die by Spellbinders and my Cuttlebug.  Also the scallop circle mats for her headshot were cut on the Cuttlebug with more Spellbinders dies.  I was after a different look to my page than I usually achieve, so had to change what I usually do.  One thing is the journalling.  You'll notice I hand journalled which is something I rarely if ever do and of course got to the very last few words and skipped a letter in "learning..got....learing".  So now what I said to myself!  It wasn't a difficult fix though, because I simply cut some of the paper away behind the large photo.  Chose, wrote out and raised particular words to focus on a "sub-title" from the journalling portion.  Now the overall effect is that it says...Rachel busy learning to sew like gamma.  I still don't like my hand journalling, but am pleased with the overall look. 

This was my inspiration page created by Danielle Flanders.  I kept quite close to it, but "busied" it up a good bit. 

I hope these samples will inspire you to get busy recording your life events again.

My friend Edie is happily making a Disney album of her daughter's recent family trip to see Mickey.  My niece Angela has just returned from a family trip there too, so we're looking forward to seeing lots of princess pages as she has two really girly girls.

I have another page on the go, but am stuck with just what I want to say in the journalling, so will show you that later.  I always tell people to just pretend that someone is standing beside them and describe to them the content of the page.  Hmmm....not working for me this time.

There should have been an order arrive at the store today, so will look forward to seeing if there's anything exciting in it, but I think it was pretty much a re-stocking order this time.  We are still busy doing some re-merchandising in the store, so our back room is pretty full and overflowing as we change-up the fixtures a little.  Some of it you won't even notice, but hopefully the overall effect will be more efficient.

Take time reading the newsletter tomorrow, because Linda has put some interesting "stuff" in it.

Lilian

Technique Class and Special Sale

Well it was good to get back into the rythm of our Technique Class tonight.  What a lovely group of ladies we have come out to class.  They love to learn and also love to put their own spin on what they are learning too which enables us to see something different.  Tonight we also had an extra teacher in that Rachel joined us at class tonight.  Some of the ladies were really anxious to know about her new sewing machine surprising Rachel that they knew about it before she did...LOL! 

The ladies had a great time playing with Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  Finding that although they all used the same colours, their finished cards were all unique according to how much water and how they applied that water to the ink.  Three different punches were used on the lacy border card, each giving a very different look too, as well as how the colours were layered.   The heart card had it's own opportunity for everyone to change it up both by  where the hearts were placed and also how the lines were drawn behind the hearts.  Here's a little of what we did tonight...jump on over to the Flickr site here to see more photos.

Can you imagine how, when there are 365 days in a year that one family can share so many birthdays?  Today was our Jonathan's birthday and he reached the milestone age of 13! However when I called him this morning he told me he wasn't 13 yet as his birth time was later in the day!  His dear aunt "Ninny" (Linda) told him again today as she does every year....I had a much better night's sleep last night than I did 13 (or whichever birthday it is) years ago.  She had gone over to stay with Jonathan's brother when his Mom and Dad went to the hospital for his birth.  Anyway, what I was going to tell you, was that my sister's family shares a number of birthdays with our family. Today was her granddaughter's 2nd birthday.  Her Daddy wasn't with her today as he's off training hoping once again to be on our Canadian Men's Eight rowing team in the 2012 Olympics in England.   In another four days, it will be my sister's son-in-law's birthday as well as my dear husbands special day too.  Happy Birthday to all four of these family members.

I mentioned in the opening title a Special Sale.  We have all in stock Christmas stamps are on sale for 30% off regular retail price starting tomorrow, so hurry in to get the best selection.

Lilian

A Fresh Start

I don't know about you, but I'm not a New Year Resolution kind of person.  It always seems to me that I set myself up for failure if I do that.  However, that said I'm going to try to be a better blogger for 2012.
Somehow from the fall of 2011 to now it has been really hard to find all the time I need in a day. 

Enough said on that though, Linda and I have been busy planning new classes and there's some nice stuff coming up. Have you signed up for the upcoming class this Thursday January 12th?  We think we've hit on a format that will enable us to present some nice cards and techniques within the two hour format of the class.

Did you see all the lovely stuff that Jonathan, Rachel and Emily made for Christmas gifts?  Linda put photos in the newsletter, but for those of you who may not have seen them, I'll put a few here too.
  
  These are the gifts that Emily made for her family.  The snowman jar held her Daddy's favourite bean salad that she made him herself, and she doesn't even like beans!  The scarves for Mommy and the reference book for Rachel, who was absolutely thrilled with it.

 

These are the gifts Rachel made for her family with her new found talents.  An apron for when Daddy is cooking, which is often.  Pyjama pants for Emily and herself, two pairs each no less, and a head wrap and bath mitt for Mommy.

These are the results of Jonathan's efforts.  Many people were lucky enough to receive both the glass blocks which he drilled holes into himself to insert the mini lights and also the hand cream that he mixed up.  It's really good and not greasy like many creams are.



We are still patiently, well maybe not patiently any more, waiting for the new scarf yarns to be restocked by our distributors.  The manufacturers were caught on the hop with the response to their lovely yarns, hence the wait.   We have many people asking us to call them when it comes in.  The scarves make up so fast and beautifully.

Linda and I have been doing some remerchandising in the store, so drop in to see the changes.  We encourage you to let us know if there is any product that you would like us to carry.  There is so much product available that it is hard to know if we are stocking what you would like.  We have many customers that come from great distances and encourage you if you know when you will be making a Bracebridge run, phone or email us to have us hold any product for you that you would like.  We want to provide you the best service we can and these little tips will help us to do that for you.

I realised that I hadn't put the December classes onto Flickr either, so have loaded them tonight for you to look at too.  So I think I'm now up to date and will strive to be so in the coming weeks and months.

Look forward to seeing you in the store soon, but until then, happy crafting!  Don't forget that you can subscribe to this blog and you will be notified by email when there is a new posting.  Just look down the right hand side of the blog to see where you need to put your email address in to "keep up by email."

Lilian

Busy Times Ahead.

Have you signed up for the upcoming classes yet?  Don't be disappointed as one customer was just recently.  She completely missed all the Christmas cardmaking classes due to the busyness of life.  Don't let that happen to you. 

We have another cardmaking class tomorrow, though of course that now is full.  We'll be making a Christmas card, a birthday card and two card fronts for your stash for those times when you get caught short.  Does that happen to you?  Funny isn't it how even though we know a birthday/anniversary falls on the same date every year, we suddenly realise the day before (if we're lucky) that this is the day! 

Next thursday (24th) we have our calendar class.  We've almost got all the samples complete now, just one more month to go and then cutting of kits.  The ladies will be completing 12 mini pages (6 x 6) that will have space for one to two photos per month as well as the monthly calendar.  These pages will be hanging from a frame that can stand on your desk, counter or shelf.  Then next year you can take it, replace the calendar with another small photo and put these pages into a 6 x 6 album.  A gift that can conceivably cover two years.  Great to give to a Mom/Grandma who really doesn't want anything.

Then the following thursday, (Dec 1st) we have a quickie gift class.  There we will be making gifts that you can give as hostess, co-worker or teacher gifts.  Linda sent me a photo of the one she was making today...so darn cute!!!  There will be three in total, so not to be missed, make sure you call before the class is full.

Do you like to colour?  I hate it personally, but both Linda and my sister enjoy it.  I found these Mandella drawings that you can colour and have as a focal point on your card or even as a portion of your scrapbook page.  Head on over here where a very talented artist Thaneeya McArdle is sharing with anyone that wants to use her work for their personal use.

Did I tell you that I've been working on re-organising my craft room (hence not too much blogging)?  A year or two ago when Linda had her new kitchen put in, I inherited some of her old cabinets that she didn't want.  Though they gave me lots of storage, I never quite organised it, so I'm in the process now.  In doing that, I got rid of my old crafting desk and purchased a slab door for a desk.  I've hung it from the wall and the other end is on top of a small bookcase that we've had for years, making a long desk through the middle of the room from the window.   Works so much better because I can easily access the table from both sides.  It doesn't stop there though.  I've hung some other shelves on the wall for my scraps of cardstock.  I'll show you a photo of those, but you'll have to wait to see the complete revamp.  I want to paint everything to pull it together, but first have to paint the frames for the new windows we recently had installed. 

 
 I have 10 baskets in total, well actually 9 because the Dollar Store has no more white, so I'm hoping I'll be able to pick one up somewhere else.  The tags quickly show me what colour is in each basket.  I was inspired by paint chips to make the labels using my cardstock scraps in a badge holder.  They are  hung with elastic at the moment, but I'll change that to be the appropriate colour ribbon soon.  It has been really successful and looks quite neat too.

 

Last but not least, here's a look at the card I made for Linda's birthday last Monday.  Have another one to make for her husband's birthday on Friday.  Note I said another one to make.  It's not done yet!

Talk to you all later, if I don't see you in the store soon....

Lilian

Catching up - Slowly but surely

How does that saying go, slow and steady wins the race!  Well slowly but steadily we are getting caught up......however of course there are more classes in the planning stages!  So are we ever really caught up?  Never mind, it means that every day we have a task to perform, so that's good isn't it?  I've posted some more photos on Flickr tonight, so pop on over there to have a look.

In posting the October Thursday technique class I looked at this card again.   Made by stamping the oak leaves using the Tim Holtz Distress inks I really love the colours.  Need it be said that I'm a Fall colour person, born in the Fall of the year and now in the Fall of my life...LOL. 
With the Sizzix embossing folder behind the leaves, they look like they are swirling in the wind.

Did you enjoy the beautiful weekend we just had?  When we were outside yesterday, my husband pointed out that the temperature was a balmy 13 degrees Celsius.  (I can't not mention that as we were doing yardwork there were two ladies walking by who offered us pointers on how to work, but didn't stop to help!)  Then today Linda's husband was outside working dressed in shorts!  This November is one to enjoy and treasure as it shortens up the winter for us.  However after my granddaughter Rachel was at my home for a sewing lesson today after school, we realised that it had quickly become dark with the changing of the clocks this past weekend.

As I mentioned earlier in this posting, Linda and I have been busy planning and prepping some new classes for you, so be sure to check out the newsletter for dates.  Don't be slow in signing up and finding they are all full!

Here's a nice idea here if you are a sewer for making your own fabric storage boxes.  Though we don't sell fabric, we do sell the plastic canvas that was used between layers to stiffen the box.  Enjoy.

Lilian

I'm back......did you miss me?

No we didn't fall overboard whilst on our cruise.  It was just that when we came back we took off running.  With three all day Christmas card classes for 66 ladies, a scrapbooking weekend with 40 ladies, as well as some regular classes, there was no time to think let alone blog!!
It took an email from a concerned customer today as well as hosting the last Christmas card class yesterday to make me feel ready to sit down and blog again.  So here I am.

There were so many things in the past few weeks that made me think...I must put that on the blog, that you will be inundated in the next days/weeks with stuff!  Hopefully it will be stuff to make you happy and feel creative.

Linda finished a lovely paper Christmas tree today that may spark your creative juices for the coming season.  As well we had a card class tonight and the ladies made yet another Christmas card along with two decorative tags and a greeting card.  They were busy ladies tonight and the store reverberated with their happy laughter....it was fun.  I'll post those later on the Flickr site, though here's one tag to tease you and if you look closely you can see a corner of the other one.

Do you see that lovely green double sided satin ribbon bow and trim at the bottom?  Well from the time that tag was made to the time we went to cut the kits a whole roll of ribbon has gone missing in action!  We can't find it anywhere and unfortunately I have to 'fess up to being the one that likely lost it!  I'm notorious for having product in my hand and then going to help a customer and putting that which is in my hand down "somewhere" in the store.  Even today we were looking on the shelves for the roll of ribbon and couldn't find it, so the ladies at class had a similar colour but in grosgrain rather than satin...still it looked pretty.

Anyway I'm not going to make this a lengthy post tonight.  I will share a site with you that I found for some free fonts...never have enough of them and love them for cutting with my Silhouette for scrapbooking titles, gives me so much choice.  Click here to go and see them.   I really liked that Stampin Rachel font.

No I didn't forget to put the photo in of  the paper Christmas tree Linda made.  Here it is hope you enjoy.  I "bumped" the photo from my iphone to my ipad...ask me about that "app" sometime...it's really amazing technology.

So, to make the tree you have to go into your local scrapbooking and craft store, preferably the Craft Nook in Bracebridge. There you purchase a styrofoam cone, bell, sequin pins a small amount of braid trim and three papers of your choice.  We used two of one and one of another. The paper strips are cut at 4" x 1/2".  Easy peasy and done in very little time.  

Happy Crafting...

I'll be posting the cards that we did for the Christmas card classes onto the Flickr site in the next couple of days, so keep looking  for them.  Maybe they will offer you some inspiration too.


Lilian

Having Fun

Well I hope we are...confident that we are, but I'm writing this before we leave, so really don't know!  We've been hearing that we will be getting rain, but we'll make the best of it and sing and dance in the rain if we have to.  Suitcases are packed, now it's just a waiting game as we leave in the morning.

Thought I'd share some stuff with you though in our absence.  I found this great idea to re-use and re-cycle along with using up your scrappy scraps.  Take a look here, once it's made it could be a great storage place for all those little scraps.  Take it a step further and if you can find 12" boxes you could bind them together, cover them and store your full sheets in them.   Think about it and have fun.   Send us some photos if you make any storage boxes.

I also meant to put this into the blog earlier...I don't think it's expired yet.  You may have to sign up to the website to be able to download, but some pretty nice words and sayings that could be used on scrapbook pages or cards and the best part is they're free!

And one more thing.   If you like to decorate for Hallowe'en this will give you a head start.  You can make it simple as it is, or you could fancy it up some more.

So that should  help you not to be in withdrawal whilst we are away and there are no classes happening at the store.  Stop in and say hi to Lizette and Anita, we know they'll be doing an awesome job for you in our absence.

Oh, before I go here's a sneak peek at one of the Christmas cards we will be making in class.  Don't tell Linda I showed it to you...LOL.  Oh dear, is it too small to see much...sorry but it's worth coming to class to make.   Remember there are only a few spots left in the third and last Christmas card class on Wednesday November 2nd, so get your name down if you haven't already

Happy Crafting....

Lilian

Gosh I had no Idea!

Really I didn't realise how long it had been since I'd made an entry on the blog.  So much is going on in the background just now and quite honestly if you aren't a piece of cardstock, Christmas paper or patterned paper for a class, then you don't get much attention!   Linda and I have been steadily planning, cutting and prepping for all the classes that will come very quickly after our return from our cruise.

It's getting to be quite exciting as the time draws near.  The children are beginning to ask questions regarding safety aspects of both the flight and cruise.  Makes you realise how much goes on in their heads that you don't really expect.  Like why do you have to have a muster station and run through of how to put on your life preserver on the ship if the ship is safe?  Sigh....answer that one now.  I received an email from my sister in England to say that it was only four more sleeps.  By the time she would have read my response, it was only three more sleeps for her.  She's excited too I could tell.  She's joining us in Fort Lauderdale and coming on the cruise with us.  We've chartered a large van to take us all to Miami where we sail from.  There's a total of ten in our family group.  You'll have to ask me sometime when you're in the store about the confusion we had in the beginning with our cabins...it's quite funny.

Because of all the prep work that's going on, I really don't have much to show you in the blog, but I did find this website that may be of interest to you if you're gathering fruit and veggies from your garden.  When I first came to Canada I couldn't understand why people spoke of doing their canning when in fact they were preserving in jars???  Anyway here's a website for printing some pretty labels to put on your jars, really nice when you are giving them as a gift. 
Don't limit your imagination to these alone though, design your own with the lovely background stamps from Impression Obsession if you own some.  You don't??? Drop into the store then and purchase a couple, they are so gorgeous.  There's not one that doesn't make you say WOW after you've stamped a piece of cardstock with it.  Here's one that I love to use with two or three colours of distress ink at the same time.
   Or combine two like these together to make a stunning background paper
               
Don't forget to look at the blog when we are away as I've got things lined up for you to enjoy still.

Lilian

So Nice to Receive

Linda and I strive constantly to give our very best to the customers that enter our store.  We try to remember that when they enter the front door we have no idea the stresses and concerns they bring with them.  With that in mind we endeavour to be upbeat and cheerful with each of you.  It was truly lovely to receive on Tuesday morning this comment from one of our customers, one that we don't know by name even.  Here's what she sent us......

You and your staff are amazing.  You are so helpful and cheerful.  I love visiting your shop and do so at every opportunity.

Thanks for all you help and the wonderful supply of goodies.  Soon I shall be able to open up my own shop.   I have that much STUFF.

Thanks again.

SS

Must admit we had a moment's concern when we read she would soon be able to open her own shop!

We are continuing to prepare for both the Mega Crop Weekend and the three Christmas Card Classes and they're coming along nicely.

The response to the Mega Crop Weekend was amazing with Wednesday bringing us to the point of me saying to Lizette...waiting list only now.   A number of croppers who aren't attending the whole weekend, have taken advantage of signing up for the class being offered.  Linda has the planning stages of the class well under control now along with some of the make and takes.

Thought I'd share these stylish rubber boots with you that I saw on a blog.  I really must remember to make note of the blogs I visit, but I surf and save so much without thinking I may share it later.  Don't they almost make you wish you lived in a rainy area!

                                                                      

Here's another interesting photo.  If we could only keep that perspective daily, what a much nicer world it would be.  Perhaps it's a design that could be incorporated into our home decor with the help of the Silhouette? 

And here's one last idea.  .Would be a great way to have a herb garden indoors don't you think.  A few mason jars, plumbing clamps and some boards and voila!  The only added thing I would do, with the help of my Silhouette, is label the jars

Have you taken advantage of the button on the right sidebar that enables you to receive our blog by email whenever something new is posted?  It's really easy to do.  Just enter your email address in the block under the 3/50 project button and submit it.  All new blog postings will come directly to your inbox then, save you having to remember to look at the blog and maybe miss an entry.

Lilian

Did You Register?

Today was registration day for the Mega Crop Weekend and true to form, there was a line up at the door when Linda arrived early.  She was planning on having them all registered and on their merry way before I arrived and then saying to me, wonder why no-one is registering this morning!  Naughty girl......I arrived early too and put an end to that idea...LOL!

It was lovely though to pull into the parking lot and see one of our customers who was thrilled to be first in the line to register.  She told us she had never been first for anything before.   She had her small daughter sitting on her lawn chair patiently waiting for one of us to arrive.  What was so lovely from my point of view though, was that she had aleady booked in to participate in a half marathon in Niagara Falls telling us just this week that she couldn't join us this year.   However the lovely part for me was that she had opted out of the marathon to join us and all the lovely ladies at the Mega Crop!  It wouldn't have been the same without you Birgit.

Another customer was backed up to the door with the back door of her van open so that her children could sit and play while she waited to be registered.  What great commitment, thanks Tara.

But that's just two stories, there were many others and each and every person registered is important to us.  We are now 3/4 full, so if you're thinking about joining us, don't wait too long.

One of the registrants has told us that she has a spare bedroom if any of you "out of towners" need a place to stay and don't mind a short drive to her cottage.  Contact us if that would be helpful to you, we will link you together.

This afternoon Linda and I were deep into more of the planning for the Mega Crop Weekend as well as the Christmas Card Class.  Both are coming together well and we're sure you'll be happy with the content we will present to you.

On a totally different note, I'd like to share some photos with you that my sister sent to me last night.  If you know our family at all, you'll know we are very proud of Brian who represented Canada in the 2008 Olympics and brought home a GOLD medal for Canada.  He is now on the journey again hoping to bring another medal home to Canada in 2012. 

                             

Presently he is in Slovenia at the 2011 Worlds Championship and yesterday the team was on the podium having come in third.  Not a bad placement at all given that they were less than three seconds behind the first place winners and with almost a year to go lots of time to improve and come together as a team. 

Brian is the short one on the team and is the coxswain.  His job is to direct and encourage the rowers.   

We often don't think about the athletes that represent our country as they train for many months and years prior to their few minutes of competition.  My sister keeps our family up to date as Brian and his team mates train and compete all over the world.   Many other athletes are striving toward the same goal in their chosen sport, keep them in mind now and again as they maybe are caused to spend time away from their families and home.  Brian has a lovely wife Robbi who keeps the home fires burning in Victoria B.C. for their two beautiful girls, Brianna and Peyton.

Now for all the children as they return to school, we wish you a happy and succesful year in whichever academic level you are at.  For those going away to other cities, we urge you to remember your roots.  Stay grounded in the values your parents have instilled in you.  For the parents, don't jump up and down for joy too much as your children leave the family home, you may break a bone!

For all of you, but particularly the younger ones, we encourage you to read.  We are a family of readers.  I can recall Rachel (Linda's oldest daughter) walking around the house with her book in her hand reading.  Our family all have our e-readers, be they Kindles or Kobo's or ipods with books downloaded to make for easy reading (have to get them loaded for our vacation).  For those children that want to keep a record of the books they've read, I found this free printable reading kit that can be downloaded here.  Enjoy!

Lilian

Busy Week

We haven't been blogging much this week, but that doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything.  We've got our feet down and running as we prepare for the Christmas Card Classes and the Mega Crop Weekend.  Lots of work happens behind the scenes as we research, plan and prepare for these events, and that's what we've been doing this past week in order to make sure that each event flows smoothly for those that have chosen to join us.

We've got about a third of the cards planned out and some samples made for the Christmas class.  Linda is very excited about the class we will be presenting at the Mega Crop.  We aren't sharing exactly what the class is, but you'll be able to make a complete album of the year's events in a very short time.  This class will be free to the first fifteen people who sign up for the crop.  However it is still open to others at the crop or even if you aren't attending the Mega Crop Weekend you can join us in this class for the small fee of $20.00.  Really worth the time and money, it's a pretty neat way of getting a complete album done.  Enough said about that, be sure to watch your newsletter for the registration of the Mega Crop coming soon.

We had another great card class last week, although by hosting it on Tuesday rather than Thursday, it seemed my whole week was mixed up.  Did you see the cards we made?  They're posted on our Flickr site HERE.  We worked with vellum, distress inks, masking, stitching and punches.  Many of these techniques were quite new to some of the ladies. Here's a peek at one of the cards, but be sure to hop over to Flickr to see the others.

We are so grateful for all the lovely comments we get from customers about the cards we make here at the store.  Many "out of towners" tell us they wish they lived nearer, or that we would open a store near them.   I'm still not ready for cyberspace classes yet, although I did share one last night with my sister in England with the help of our Skype program as I stepped her through some issues with her scanner and taught her some more steps to use on her photo editing program.

Linda and I are thankful for the support that we receive from all of our customers, local and long distance.    We are always open to suggestions that we receive from you and if there is anything that you would like us to look at to offer in the future, please let us know.  No suggestion is put aside without careful consideration first.  Many of our own thoughts and ideas will be on the back burner for months before they come to fruition.  We are hoping to present a calendar class in the fall that has been on my mind for a couple of years now, so if you approach us with an idea that doesn't seem to be used immediately, please keep this in mind.

Did you notice I've added something new to the side bar of the blog recently?  You can now get an email notification when I add a new posting to the blog so you don't have to miss a thing!  It's just below our proud to display 3/50 badge.  Have out ever checked out the mindset of the 3/50 program?  It's really grass roots thinking, and given that here are many papercrafting stores that have closed of late, with another closing at the end of September in Barrie, worth some consideration.  Click HERE to read more about it. They now offer an app for your phone (click on the badge on our side bar) so that when you're travelling you don't have to miss out on your local papercrafting stores.   Hmmmm wonder if there will be any around as we cruise later next month....well maybe when we are in Fort Lauderdale for a day or two.

In closing, don't forget to read your news letter tomorrow if you want to be one of the early birds registering for the Mega Crop Weekend.  As always, we will look after customers in the store first, then phone customers and finally email customers. 

Lilian

Lesson Learned!

Well if I hadn't figured it out before, I know it for sure now....I raised a pretty smart daughter it seems.  Before she left on vacation Linda merrily ordered product and guess when it shipped in?  You've got it ... while she's been away.  Pretty smart don't ya think?

She's been away basking in the sunshine, playing in the water and I've been slogging in the heat and dripping with perspiration....well not quite, but you get the picture.

However, with the help of my grandson Jonathan and of course our Anita, two general orders are now out on the shelves and one more of beading is underway.  So drop into the store to see the beautiful new Fall and Christmas papers, they're a treat.  Also a few new Christmas stamps are in.

The signup for the Christmas card classes are moving along nicely, so if you want to get in on the early classes, don't delay in contacting us.  Remember the early bird catches the worm.  The dates are Saturday October 15th and October 29th at Nippissing University, and November 2nd at The Independent Grocers.

Still some Basic Grey to be picked up too.

I think there's only one more spot in the Tuesday night card class if you're thinking about that, again don't delay.

I didn't forget about putting on the photo of the Blog Challenge prize that Angela won, here it is.  Keep looking for the next challenge to come your way.  I really liked how some of you stepped outside your comfort zone and created different ideas this time.  That's what the word challenge means doesn't it.

I was thinking today how fast summer is coming to a close and how soon the long winter will be upon us.  With winter of course comes all those wet boots and mittens.  Well while surfing for a while tonight, I came upon this sign and thought it would be perfect for some of our papercrafting customers to copy using their cutting machines to cut the letters.  If you don't have a Silhouette or Cricut, then we have lots of alphabet sticker for you to use.  I can't tell you where it came from unfortunately, because when I clicked on the image Explorer couldn't find the page.  So enjoy and have a chuckle.

                                  

And finally, my man's back home again.  He flew out to Winnipeg early Wednesday morning, and then by coach to Kenora where he picked up a bus that he drove back to Bracebridge. 

Now remember, I love this man, but he has to be crazy to find any pleasure in that! 

He does however get great pleasure from driving and he always comes home with a story or two. 

This time he told me about being held up on the highway for an hour and a half after an aircraft in Marathon hit a car on the highway. Thankfully Ron was about a km away and no-one was hurt.    Do I miss him when he's away.  He brings me tea in bed in the mornings and spoils me in other ways too.  Yes I miss him, but here's the picture I had on our iPad to look at each time I turned it on.

Lilian

All the Entries for the Blog Challenge.

Ain't they sweet!   I never tire of seeing the creativity of our customers.  Today I was privy to some photos of work done by a gentleman who, with his wife, owns a Silhouette.  They've even revamped their office space because they give the machine such a work out.  I've asked him if he would send some photos of his work that I could share with you, so hopefully he won't forget.   Amazing, spectacular are just some of the adjectives that come to my mind and so outside the box of what most people use their Silhouette for. 

That's enough tease for the moment though, here to titillate your senses are the blog entries all in one place.  We had an entry today, so don't miss your first look at that one also.  It was from Madison. 

Here again is the Home Decor sample that I made.

1.Diane                                                                  2.  Lisa                                                              

    

3. Lisa                                                                          4.  Angela        

       

                  

 5.  Lisa                                                                6. Christine



7. Bernice                                                                                 8. Bev 

                                                                                       

                                                                                                       

9.  Madison                                                                       10.  Tammy

                                                         

And the Winner is.........................

True Random Number Generator

Min: Max:

  Result: 4

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HEY....it's Angela!!!

Congratulations Angela.  Drop into the store to pick up your prize.

I'll post a photo of the prize in the next day or two.

*****

Once again thank you to everyone

for playing along and sharing the fun with us. 

It only works when you participate.

Lilian