I'm BACK!

I’m BACK!  I hope you haven’t given up on me.  I have spent the last three weeks cleaning the store from top to bottom.  The “back rooms” were full of 10 years of stuff, and the classroom storage area was crammed with inks, paints, adhesives and all kinds of stamping paraphernalia we use for classes.  Everything was pulled out, sorted, and either donated to several wonderful teachers and school counselors; donated to Goodwill; hauled to the dumpster; or kept.  Items that were kept were cleaned, sorted and labeled.  After that task was finished, I started on the store’s showrooms.  Those were also cleaned and merchandise was moved to new display areas.  During this process I also pulled hundreds and hundreds of items for a huge clearance sale.  This “spring cleaning” just about killed me because I have very bad knees and being on my feet for many hours a day is very painful, but now that it’s done, I am so happy with the results.  I have only one more huge task ahead – sorting hundreds of stamped samples!  Ugh! 

Sale, Sale, Sale

           As I mentioned, we are now having a huge clearance sale.  We have hundreds of stamps, papers, embellishments, and much, much more on 50% discount.  The sale will last until everything is sold, but hurry in soon for best selection.  There are plenty of really great bargains so come on in and take a look!

 

Thank You

I would like to say a quick thank you to all the wonderful stampers from out of town who visited the store over the holidays.  Ann from Minnesota found Dreamweaver Stencils she had never seen before; Cathy from Ohio loved the store and my technique using the Memento ink pads and jumbo foam daubers.  Judy from Phoenix discovered the Just Rite stampers which she had never seen before.  As I talked to these ladies and other from across the country, the recurrent theme was how they either had no local stamp store to teach them new techniques or their local store(s) were closed or closing.  If you value learning more about your hobby, please patronize your local stores.  In this very precarious economy, local stores need all the business they can get.  Take a class, shop for new stamps, and enjoy expressing yourself artistically!

Black and White Class

           Needless to say, I did no stamping during the cleaning spree.  And when I finally got back to it, I was very rusty!  My first efforts really disappointed me, but I persisted and thankfully things improved.  My class this weekend (Sat, Jan. 17 from 10am to noon) is “Black and White with a Splash of Red.”  I am using papers from Kaisercraft, several fun techniques and lots of embellishments from die cuts to felt flowers to stickers.  Let me show you the cards I made for the class.

      

 In the class you will learn an alcohol resist technique that I learned from Tim Holtz (see first card above); how to flock stickers (second card); how to emboss and die cut craft foil (first card, second row); and how to layer Nestabilities, use Cuttlebug borders and use ink over an embossed background (last card).  I hope you will join us!

 

Birthday Card Class

            Sat afternoon from 2 to 4pm, Felicity will be teaching a “Birthday Cards” class featuring the new Impression Obsession “Birthday Cakes” clear stamp set colored with Twinkling H2O’s.  Felicity will also demo the Layered Watercoloring technique that Dave Brethauer has on his blog at www.davebrethauer.typepad.com.  The small folded cards shown below are made with the largest Spellbinder Mega Scalloped Rectangle.  These small cards are great for gift enclosures, too!

    

     

Basic Grey Bittersweet Card Kit Class

            Another popular class coming up on Saturday, January 24 (2 to 4pm) or on Wednesday, January 28 from 6 to 8pm is the new Basic Grey Bittersweet Card Kit.  This wonderful card kit makes 8 darling Valentine cards using the new Bittersweet collection papers – which I love – and plenty of chipboard embellishments and stickers.  The cards are quite creative and I know you will enjoy making them!  Here’s a preview of the cards:

       

       

If you can't attend class you can buy the kit.  Please let me know and I will reserve one for you.

 

I have lots more to blog about this week so check back tomorrow.  Don't forget the sale plus I have lots more orders coming in.  The new Hero Arts release has some really great stamps and embellishments; we have new and very funny Valentines stamps from Deadbeat Design -- watch for an upcoming class using these stamps; new Outlines stamps are coming soon; plus new stamps from Stampendous and  Lockhart.  I have also reordered the Inchie stamps from Inkadinkado so if you want those let me know.  Harriet will be teaching an Inchies class on Sat, Feb 7 (I will show her samples later this week) and I will be teaching a Grid Stamping class on Sat, Feb 28.  Have a great day!