END OF 2010 TIDINGS

Happy New Year! And the new year is starting to take shape. Fran, Debbie, Jan, and Priscilla are scheduling classes already. Swing by the store and review the class board.

Priscilla's first class of the year will be "Direct Ink to Paper Stamping Technique" Saturday, January 8th. Time: 2:00-4:00pm. Cost $20. You will learn an old technique of applying ink directly to paper and creating your own background. Then you can use stamps or stencils afterwards for a collage affect. I will post a sample as soon as possible. Supplies to bring: Basic Tool Kit, Double sided tape, and colored pencils.

Make and Take It Valentine: Sunday, January 9th. Time: 2:00-5:00 pm. Cost: Free (donate $1.00 to the jar for The Food Bank if you can).

Thursday, January 13th. Time: 6:30-8:30pm Class by Fran Kawakami. Details to follow.

Saturday, January 15th. New Year Lantern by Jan Kruger: Time: 1:00-4:00pm Cost: $25.00
Be sure and bring your Scor-Pal as this clever project requires a lot of folding. You will create a beautiful Chinese Lantern. Supplies to bring: Basic Tool Kit, Olive Green, Gold, and Plum colored ink pads. And a Scor-Pal.

Thursday, January 27th. Time: 6:30-8:30pm Class by Fran Kawakami. Details to follow.

Saturday, January 29th. "A Friend is a Gift Box" with Accordion Journal by Jan Kruger. Time: 1:00-3:00pm Cost: $25.00. You will create a box and make an accordion journal with Jan's heart warming passages. I'll post a photo as soon as possible. Supplies to bring: Basic Tool Kit, Scor-Pal, and Adhesive.

New items in the store:

First of all, we have the new Scor-Pal in stock. They have improved it's design with a new light blue color and a 1/4" grid pattern. You will find this to be a big improvement over the old 1/2" grid pattern.

Today we received the latest shipment of Dream Weaver embossing paste. For those of you that have been waiting, we now have all the colors in stock.

New in the store is Martha Stewart's ALL OVER THE PAGE PUNCH. This is one awesome punch that offers the crafter more flexibility than they've ever experienced before. Place the base of the punch anywhere on the page, attach the top to it's base and then punch. I'm amazed at how easy it works. Come on in and test it for yourself.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for updates.

See you tomorrow.

DECEMBER'S 2ND SUNDAY MAKE & TAKE

"I SEE SNOWFLAKES" is the title of this months Make and Take. As most of you that frequent the store know, every 2nd Sunday of the month we have a free Make and Take from 2:00 - 5:00pm. This coming Sunday, Dec. 12th, Priscilla has created a beautiful see-thru Christmas card for you to make and take. You will be introduced to a technique called Kirigami Paper Art. Hot Off the Press has a template that makes this process easy. I think you will have a ton of fun and perhaps learn something that you can use in the future. Priscilla will also be demonstrating "The Eclips" as a part of the make and take. We hope to see you all here. Maybe we will play a Christmas themed game. Hmmm. I'll have to think about that.

Don't forget, for those of you that bought the Reindeer Escapes Contest packet, we've extended the due date for submitting your entry to Sunday, December 12th.

See you tomorrow....

DECEMBER HAPPENINGS vol 2

Tis the season where everybody seems to very busy. So regarding our Reindeer Escapes Contest, we are extending the deadline for entries to be submitted to Sunday, December 12th. That also coincides with our 2nd Sunday Make and Take. Voting will occur from December 14th until December 31st. The winners will have a nice new years gift to use.

As promised in my last blog entry, the above photos show Priscilla giving a speech to a group of entrepreneurs from Japan. Masako Formals approached Priscilla to see if she would like to give a group of visitors from Japan some guidelines on opening a retail store. My job was easy. All I had to do was run the power point slide show. This was something I had never done before, but if can handle a company of Marines I can do this. Priscilla did an outstanding job and she had those in attendance taking notes and asking questions at the end of her talk. A couple of things were interesting to me. First, the age group of those in attendance were very young. I don't think anyone was over 30. Secondly, Priscilla had an interpreter to translate Priscilla's speech into Japanese. This is where I had to smile to myself because I felt like I was at one of Billy Graham crusades. Mieko, from Masako Formals, did a fantastic job and she did it without having to consult a copy of Priscilla's notes . As a part of the demonstration, those in attendance had to make a pre-cut box and then decorate it with a flower. Priscilla brought the Eclipse machine with her to cut out the flowers. This caused quite a reaction from the Japanese visitors. They had not seen a machine like this in action before. After the presentation was over, they came up to the table and asked for Priscilla to do further demos. One man was celebrating his birthday, so Priscilla had the Eclipse die cut happy birthday in a scroll font and also spell out his name. Needless to say he was very happy. As I said, Priscilla did a great job and we both felt pleased that perhaps we were able to help these young people in a small way. As we departed we wished them all the best in any future endeavors.

Debbie West had her Recipe and Cookie Exchange class last night. The ladies in attendance had a lot of fun making the ginger bread house. But I think the most fun was when they sampled the cookies and talked story afterwards. Priscilla brought in some vanilla ice cream to go with the cookies. A fun time was had by all. I am here to testify that all of the cookies were very tasty. I hope Priscilla does this again soon.

That's all for now. I've got to go and take inventory on the new arrival of Copic Markers and glitter pen sets. Don't forget to get your entries submitted for the Reindeer Escapes Contest. A $100.00 gift certificate is a nice prize.

See you tomorrow

DECEMBER HAPPENINGS

You can tell it's December in the store. The decorations are up, the Christmas lights are on, and I'm beginning to hum the carols I remember as a child. There's always a wistfulness about this time of the year. Perhaps it's because this season of the year reminds us of past memories that bring a smile to our faces. I guess it's true when they say that there exists a "little child" in all of us.

In addition to the decorations, there are some new arrivals in the store. Priscilla has brought in a new order of Copic Pens. You have over 50 new selections to chose from. In addition we have the "wallet" carrying case for your pen storage. In toal, there are 90 pens to choose from. Priscilla had to buy a new display case to display them all. Also back on the shelves from Copic, are the glitter pen sets, the single clear glitter pen, and the multi-liner pens in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8 sizes.

You will also find Christmas wrapping paper and paper tablets that have a "local" look. There are more items on the way, so stay tuned and I'll let you know when they arrive.

We are looking forward to the entries from our "Reindeer Escapes Contest". All but one of the contest packets were picked up and the entries that have come in early are really well done. Your going to have a fun time voting for your favorite. Entries will be on display beginning December 6th.

Don't forget Priscilla's Make and Take on Sunday, December 12th, from 2:00 - 5:00. As soon as I know what it will be I'll let you know. I'm sure it will be holiday themed.

That's all for now, I have Christmas ornaments to engrave before we open. I'll tell you about Priscilla's adventure into Honolulu and how it reminded me of a Billy Graham revival in the next blog entry.

See you tomorrow and may the Holiday Spirit be with you today and always.