Lime Green and Estrogen

Uploads and tomorrow's CHA preview

Just a note to let you know I have spent some time this morning uploading layouts to the blog. If you have been waiting for Dinosaur World, Aquarium, Love, Me and Grandma, or Cruise; they are now up. I have a few left of the Cruise kits, but the others are long gone or classes from last week.

CHA preview tomorrow! Hooray! Lexi and I have been going over the new catalogs and it's been fun to see if she agrees with everything I bought. I think I did pretty good so far. I think you guys will be the final judge. Also, we are busy figuring out our "pre-buy" specials. I KNOW you will like those! Yummy stuff at good prices.

See you tomorrow. We will have catalogs out, new product information as we know it, giveaways of BRAND NEW STUFF and refreshments! It's a PARTY! Don't miss it!

Jetlag and other semi-conscious thoughts

We arrived LATE last night, or early this morning depending on how you think about it. I LOVE the weather here in FL. Southern California was supposed to be warm year round, right? NOT! I froze my tushy off. It seems the only cure I found was alcohol and spicy mexican food. The only problem with that is that the cure lasts a short period of time and then the revenge sets in. Still had a ball and can't wait for next year. I will try and get some of our vacation photos up as soon as possible, Brad and I did some cool things.

I am at work this morning. Yawning and thinking about how soon I can go to sleep again. It seems that some new items arrived while I was in Cali. I have been walking the floor. It's neat to see what's new. We have some Best Creations glitter paper and chipbooks, all the new Clear Scraps, new Hampton Arts dollar stamps at the register, and I will let you know what else I see hanging out. We even have some custom made Super Bowl items- stickers, word albums and die cuts. Great for the NFL experience, your home parties and more.

Glad to be home. Looking forward to sharing all the new stuff on the blog and in person this Saturday. We will have the catalogs out, some good pre-order specials, refreshments and prizes. Hope you can make it. Starts at 10am.

Day Two- CHA

It's been a good show for me so far. I have seen (and bought) plenty of new product to make you happy. I have seen old friends, had fun and I love eating out every night. Not too shabby! Drew Carey was very funny the other night. He drops the "f bomb" WAY more than me. He told some funny jokes and then the rest of the show was "improv" style. Even Mimi from the Drew Carey show was there. How cool is that?

Anywho, I am still on east coast time and I am yawning. I am hoping to get a second wind because Brad wants to go bowling tonight. I'll let you know how that goes!

Don't forget that the CHA preview is this Saturday. I will have catalogs out with some samples, a giveaway or two, aprox arrival dates, and a pre-buy special or two. Stay tuned.

Wish you were here!

Mean it! I have been having a blast in SoCal. The weather has been "mostly" nice. A bit chilly for me but still warmer than Florida right now. We have seen and done so much, but the "work" starts today. I can't wait to see the new Creative Imaginations products. They licensed Star Wars and for a geek like me, that's awesome. I also can't wait to see the new SEI in person. It looks way yummy on the computer screen. Can't wait to love it and touch it and squeeze it in person.

I will try and keep you posted. I have a digital camera and should be able to take lots of photos. I will try and upload my SNOW photos too. That's right, I said snow. It's been 20 years since I have seen snow and there is a reason. It comes with cold weather which I hate. Brad and I drove up to 5500 feet yesterday to visit the 200 inch Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory. Brad said it wasn't cold, I disagree. The snow was not melted all the way, that means cold. I had on LOTS of layers, gloves, a hood, a vest and I was still freezing. What a wimp I am.

I am also still trying to get my sleep patterns adjusted. I have been up for hours and it's only 6:30am. I am going to see Drew Carey tonight at a comedy club at 10pm. It would be a shame if he made jokes about the sleeping lady in his audience if I was not awake to hear them. LOL.

Miss you guys.

Lucky Number 14

I randomly asked Lexi for a number tonight. She said 14. I counted to the 14th blog comment and Denise Morris is our lucky winner. We already have some preview product from Reminisce in the house. So stop by and pick up a pack of new Easter paper! Congrats Denise.

February classes

I can't believe it is already the 20th. There is so much going on today! I am busy packing for our CHA trade show. Brad and I are leaving tomorrow for some fun in San Diego before we BUY NEW STUFF! I checked in for my Southwest flight this morning. Nothing is worse than having a middle seat for a 4.5 hour flight. Today is also class sign up day as well as the presidential inauguration. So much to do!

In fact, so much to do that I have not yet emailed Tammy the class list and I am posting it here. You guys are always three steps ahead of me and I am sure you will check this after you check the calendar on the website. Anywho, give us a call at 10am with your class choices. Also, our crop club was a hit last month. We have another 4 "Crop Club" crops planned in February, so I think you want to hustle for this.

Sunday, February 1st- SUPERBOWL free crop. Get into the spirit here, or escape from it here! Your choice. LOL. Free crop from 12pm-6pm. We will be open a tad later today for our free crop. (Not part of our crop club in February. Free crop is first come first serve basis. Snacks and drinks provided)

Tuesday, February 3rd- Basketball layout class. 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

Thursday, February 5th. Cricut class. 6:30pm-8:30pm. Tammy will teach you the basics of your machine. Bring your machine and the George font or essentials cartridge if you have them. $15.00

Saturday, February 7th- Day Crop. 10am-6pm. Part of our crop club. Crop club is $20.00 and guarantees you a spot at each regular crop we host.

Sunday, February 8th- Pirate mini album with Miss Pat. A Pirate book great for Gasparilla or Treasure Hunt photos. This was a huge hit last year. 12pm-4pm. $20.00

Tuesday, February 10th- Gasparilla layout. 2 page layout for your pirate parade or invasion photos. 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

Thursday, February 12th- Valentine layout with Tammy. Tammy LOVES Valentines Day. 2 page layout. 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

Friday, February 13th- Crop at the Shoppe. 6pm-11pm. Part of our Crop Club in February.

Saturday, February 14th- WE "HEART" YOU! Fun things planned at the Shoppe. Gift with purchases, free make and take cards and more. Stop by and join the fun. 10am-6pm. *Gift with purchase are while supplies last.

Sunday, February 15th- SILENT AUCTION. Our annual fundraiser to benefit Ronald McDonald House. Come bid on previous samples from the Shoppe. This is a fun evening and you can go home with layouts ready to put photos on! 5pm-7pm.

Tuesday, February 17th- Birthday Card class with Donna. Make CUTE cards ready to give for birthdays! Please bring a scor-pal or scoring blade for your trimmer to class. 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

Friday, February 20th- Crop at the Shoppe. 6pm-11pm. Part of our Crop Club.

Saturday, February 21st- Crop at the Shoppe. 10am-6pm. Part of our Crop Club.

Sunday, February 22nd- Birthday "Cupcake" mini album with Donna. A cute chipboard mini album shaped like a cupcake witha cherry on top! 12pm-4pm. $20.00

Tuesday, February 24th- Technique class. Working with Acrylic. Tips and tricks for adhering, stamping and more with Acrylic. You will leave with sample tags and a handout from this class. 6:30pm-8:30pm.$15.00

Thursday, February 26th- Disney ride. The Great Movie Ride. I love this ride! I think it is because I love movies. Definitely a Hollywood theme page! 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

Saturday, February 28th- TAMPA BAY SCRAPBOOK TREASURE HUNT KICK OFF PARTY! If you ordered your tote from us, pick it up this day and have some fun getting ready for your treasure hunt. We will have a make and take, refreshments and a few pirate tricks up our sleeves! If you have not pre-purchased your tote, give us a call! The treasure hunt is a BLAST!

Thursday, February 19th- Spain layout. The next in our country layouts. 6:30pm-8:30pm. $15.00

More kits

Just a note to let you know I uploaded 2 more kits to the Kits for sale album to the left. The Joy kits is sold out. I have the Valentines layout (5) and the Friends layout (8). Call soon, they have been selling in a two days or less.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, it's pirate time again!

Last night we had our initial Tampa Bay Scrapbook Treasure Hunt meeting. Lexi and I sat in the back and caused trouble! It was lots of fun and informative. You guys are going to LOVE the additions to the Hunt this year. The passport package alone left me giddy!

So here's the skinny-

First and foremost- can I call the Shoppe and reserve mine today? YES!!

Dates- Friday, March 6- Sunday, March 15

Times- Once again we will all be open the same hours. No surprises for you! We will all be open Monday-Thursday 10am-6pm, Fridays will be 10am-8pm, Saturdays 10pm-6pm and Sundays 12pm-5pm. This should give you LOTS of time to visit all of the stores.

Participating Stores- As it is shaping up, this could change a bit. The participating stores will be K2 Scrapbook Studio, Made for Memories. Whim So Doodle, Scrapbooking in Paradise, The Happy Scrapper, Ruban Rouge, Scrapbook Fanatic, Scrap and Sew, Scraporium, Scraptopia, Violettes and The Scrapbook Shoppe.

Passports packages- Passport packages this year will be $10.00 and SO WORTH IT! I am not giving away any secrets but we have gone above and beyond to put some cool stuff in there this year. The passport will require a stamp with a $5.00 purchase. When you completely fill up your passport, you will be eligible for the prizes! The grand prize will be a $100.00 gift certificate to each store. AMAZING! Other prizes include more gift certificates, donations from our favorite manufacturers and more.

Cover Contest- We will even be having a contest to cover your 6x6 Treasure Hunt album.

Make and Takes- We will all be providing a "make and take" or "take and make" for your 6x6 album. The theme this year is "The Search for Hidden Treasure". I am sure we will be doing some fun activities around this theme. A peel off Johnny Depp poster comes to mind!

Party Beads and Goody bags- Get ready for some fun tags for your Treasure Hunt beads! We are already thinking about your treats. I am pretty sure it will involve ice cream, chocolate or both!

Discount- You will get 10% off your purchases during the Treasure Hunt dates- Score!

Tell your friends! Do you have a newbie? someone who always says "I want to scrapbook, but"? Someone who just needs to get out and have a little fun? This is the event for them. Bring a friend that has not done the Treasure Hunt before. They will be happy they came. Our goal is have 1000 participants, help us out ladies!

Now, here's a change- our new website is www.scrapbooktreasurehunt.com. Check it out! Lots of information there, including a possible party bus!

Yesterday was a VERY good day!

So many good things happened yesterday, it was hard to keep count. I think this positive thing is working for me! Alexia and I took a little road trip to Orlando to visit with some store owners about a little event we have going. More about that later!

Then after a lovely 2 and a half hour lunch, we headed to Ikea. Did I mention we went to Ikea? We "heart" Ikea. The inspiration factor in this store is off the charts. The modern decor, the textiles, the apple cake. I bought a flip photo album in acrylic and new wood hangers. Not exciting, but I still had fun.

The best part of the day? Spring Training tickets went on sale yesterday. Brad and I will be going to the Yankees v. Rays in Tampa Feb 28. Then down to Port Charlotte for the Reds and Cardinals in March. It's baseball time. Hooray.

Advice? Door Number One or Two?

I am in a quandry (spell check Fran? I am not doing it tonight since I have you. LOL). I would like to know which door we should have as our entrance to the Shoppe. Since we rearranged, I am thinking it should be the double doors, but I am so accustomed to the other door and I think you are too. I would love to know your thoughts. One door is going to get the "use other door" sign, but I can't figure out which one?

Let's make it fun. How about a prize? I will randomly choose a response and bring home a CHA goody just for you. You will have to wait a few weeks, but that new paper smell will be oh so worth it. No guarantees on the company but it will be cool and new. Comment now! I need your wisdom.