Who knew?

I brought home a ton of catalogs from CHA - some of the companies we ordered from and some we did not. One of companies that I did order from was Glitz. You have to check them out at www.glitzitnow.com. Their stuff is very bold and edgy. I was not sure the girls back at the store were going to fall in love with it but I placed an order anyway because, well, I love it and I thought that other people out there would too! Well I was wrong! They loved it! I was floored! They were looking through the catalog, "Did you get this? What about this? Oh, this so cute!" So, needless to say, we will be placing another order! Check it out online and tell us what you think we should get!

Let's Go Clubbing!

Earlier this year I started a new club at The Crafting Cottage. I am happy to say that the ScrapKit Club really took off! The idea behind the club was that we would meet once a month, learn a technique, distribute kits, share what we made from the previous kit, chat, shop… it was nice, relaxed, and we shared tons of ideas. Most importantly, there are fabulous people! And who does not want to hang out with fabulous people who share the same passion for creating and getting our memories (while they are still fresh!) into beautifully decorated books?

That is a lot of fun to be had so why just ONCE a month? Here is what I am offering:

The ScrapKit Club (revised) – The way I see it even the best of ideas have room for improvement! So, after consulting my “advisors” (thank you L and S!), I have decided that rather than pick up the kits at the meeting, we will actually start working on them at the meeting. This will serve a couple of purposes – we can get to work right away while we are inspired and we can solicit the help of others. We can look through each other’s books and at magazines and get tons of ideas…this will give us the chance to get our layouts started, if not completed! We will still meet once a month and the prices of the kits will vary (up to $10) depending on what is included. This is basically a drop in club - no sign ups, no commitments. It is great to know who is coming so if you can, shoot me an email or give the store a call so I can have enough kits for everyone. 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Next…

Scrapaholics – Some women join book clubs, some may even have poker nights – I scrapbook - but it isn’t really social and it gets kind of lonely! Also, it just never turns out that I have enough time or when there is some spare time I think of a million other things that I could/should do. I sometimes find it easier to leave my house to get anything done! Anyone relate? Scrapaholics would basically give us the time and space we need. This is your night to work on what you want! We will have the coffee brewing and there is sure to be great conversation, inspiration, and creativity galore as you use the die cut machines, stamps, and other fun tools to add that special something to your layouts! Scrapbooking is of course very personal but why can’t it be social too? Come and meet some great people and get some scrapbooking done while you are at it! Cost: $20 up front and $5 each night you attend or $10 drop in fee. 1st Thursday of each month – September 2008 to May 2009 from 5:00pm – 10:00pm

Finally…

Calendar Club – Have you ever taken your calendar down in December and found yourself flipping through the pages reliving some of the events and happenings of the past year? “Oh, remember in April when we went to Chicago and saw our cousins?” Or, looking back at pictures from the past year and realizing how much your kids have grown? I actually did a calendar scrapbook of a year and my family loves it! It is really neat to see everything laid out and remember all the fun (and ear infections)! This club will meet once a month starting at the end of January and will continue for an entire year. We will create scrapbook pages each month. It will be a great way to “keep up” (if there is such a thing) and will really give each person a feeling of accomplishment, and completion. I will bring my scrapbook to the store so that you can all get an idea of what your finished product may look like. Cost: $20 up front fee and $3 each month OR $50 for the full year and a coupon for 25% off any scrapbook. Last Thursday of every month - January 2009 to December 2009 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Post a comment, email me...let me know what you think!

Digital anyone?

I admit it, if you had asked me exactly 9 days ago if I was interested in scrapbooking digitally, I would have said, "No, thank you." (Just ask Georgiana!) Then I went to CHA. And although the industry has been telling retailers for years that digital was here to stay, we at The Crafting Cottage just could not get our heads or hands around it. What about the "touchy feely" aspect? Well, I am here to say that I have tried it, and this is good stuff! Take it from me, this is something you really have to see and try with your own hands before you decide either way. Luckily for you, I will be setting something up at East Corning so you can try it out, create a layout, play around. It is seriously addicting. During CHA I went to the Lasting Impressions booth to order brass stencils for the store. I left buying digital software and, sorry Cheryl, no brass stencils! When I brought my husband by the booth to get his "technological opinion" he was impressed. He even fooled around with it a little and added buttons and stitching to a layout! If any of you are wary of digital because you just are not comfortable around computers or just feel like it is too overwhelming to learn (that was me) have no fear. I will let you know as soon as we are set up and invite all of you to come and play with me! Just be prepared, it is addicting!

Happy Scrapping!

I'm back...

posting again and back from Chicago where I attended CHA! Almost 350 vendors and so much fun stuff! I placed plenty of orders and I am happy to say that I only placed 2 orders with companies that we already do business with... the rest are new! Check out Glitz, Dream Street Papers, and Cosmo Cricket to start out! And for those of you who love the die cuts that we make using our Pazzle machine, wait until you see what Pazzle has to offer you in terms of a great machine that you can have hooked up to your computer at home! My husband and I will debrief the gang back at the store and then you will not want to miss Pazzle Night that we will have in August! Amazing stuff! This is not just a scrapbookers tool! More later!

It's gone...

The felt made it's way to the Market Street store before I got my hands on it! So, instead I filled some of the space on my son's birthday layout with stamped images (of the number 5 - From a Hero Arts Clear Set). I really like how it turned out. With the hats that I made and the bright colors of the kid's clothes, I had a hard time finding a paper that included all of the colors and did not make the layout too busy - so I opted for a simple polka dot here and there, but otherwise, the background paper is white. I also used some of the sute tickets from Jenni Bowlin and chipboard letters from Scenic Route.

Not Quite....

I was working on a layout ofmy son's birthday party and it was just missing something...Then this morning I walked into the store and the Queen and Company FELT had arrived! I am so excited! I will try to post the layout when I finish it. The felt is so cute and self-adhesive! Yeah!

It's official...

no one has been able to leave the store without a new paper in hand! And now the new HERO ARTS stamps have arrived! I made tons of samples when I was in Boston using the stamps so you will have to stop by and see them! Along with the clear and wood mount stamps, we also received clear note cards, flowers (very cute!) and acrylic tags. If you have seen a Hero Arts stamp that you just love and have to have, but we do not have it, stop by the store on Saturday morning... we are going to take special orders for Hero Arts stamps! This will be on Saturday, April 26th only! And you may want to come early as we have a bus load of ladies from Binghamton invading our store in the afternoon! See you soon!