Layouts galore!

Hey Bloggerettes,

I hope you enjoy the layouts that I posted. The pictures do not do them justice - but at least you can get some ideas from the paper and embellishment combinations.

We met a cool French paper vendor today - I personally own some of her papers that I ordered from France. Speaking of France, I was a tad surprised today to see a vendor that I had ordered through a French scrapbooking site was actually presenting their collections at CHA and they are an American company - how could I not tell them that I like to order their stuff through France - they suggested cutting out the overseas middle man! Who knew?????

A trend that we saw today was the use of fabric/canvas either as the base of the layout or sewn on. It is very nice. The "Vintage" look is very prevalent.

Very tired now -

CIAO
Lori

Day 1 of the Show

Hey Bloggerettes,

The much anticipated "Day 1" of CHA is over. I think Robin's "dogs are still barking" (her feet are killing her). You never know what kind of shoes to wear. They must be fashionable yet comfy - such a dilema! I opted for the studded black army type boot.

We saw some great stuff today, some new vendors, some new machines, some famous people in the industry (Tim Holtz, Melissa Frances, Donna Salazar, Teresa Collins, Aimee and family from Graphic 45),some new/old friends, and a whole lotta product!

The biggest trend seems to be FLOWERS that are hand made out of all kinds of things. All the different misting products are used on them to glitz them up. Jewellry is also popular - lots of metal everywhere. Of course I did my annual necklace at the Tim Holtz "make-and-take" - it's pretty cool. They always do very generous M&T's.

We are handing out the red woolen Olympic mittens to our reps. I have a whole carry-on suitcase full of them that I wheel around the show. It's funny because the California vendors are really appreciating them these days. They think it's cold out. For crying out loud, it's not even cold. I went all day without a jacket - but then again - I'm not very chilly these days if you know what I mean!

We had "Happy Hour" with some of the gals that we met at the Crafters Home event. The girl with the tape runner had polished off about 4 cocktails and then was off to a class - note she doesn't have any other tools with her. Aren't you glad you're not sitting beside her!!! Just kidding Trisha.

Oh ya, note the brown suitcase type item in Tim's photo. It's a prototype of a new cutting machine that is being manufactured. It cuts all of his Sizzix dies like an electronic Big Shot machine. Who wants one???????
Enjoy the pics.

CIAO
Lori

Busy "Beavers" at work!

Hey Bloggerettes,

We had an easier day today but covered a lot of ground. Robin slept in until 7:30 this morning - what's wrong with her???

I forgot to tell you a funny story about yesterday morning. Of course Robin was up early showered, dressed and headed out to breakfast. I got ready as quick as I could,considering it was barely daybreak - when I arrived at the restaurant to see if Robin was still there I noticed that I had the "Do not disturb" sign clutched in my hand along with my room keycard! I had only meant to hang it on the door outside so I carried it with me all day!

We surprised our rep at the Creative Imaginations pre-show gala today by dressing like Canadian Beavers. Their theme was "Wood" because they were introducing their latest product "wood sheets" that are used like paper. We were one of the 20 retailers able to buy it early. It's already in our store - check it out! They encouraged retailers to dress like lumberjacks - we thought beavers would be much more appropriate. We wore Canadian Olympic shirts, mitts and hoodies with our costumes. When we entered the ballroom in costume some American women thought we were woodchucks or chipmucks - what's with that???

Enjoy the pics.

CIAO
Lori

SCHWAG!!!

Hey Bloggerettes,

We've had our Tim fix and love all of the new stuff he has designed. There were even some surprises that he didn't mention on his blog. I can hardly wait to share it all - of course we're getting it ALL!! How many of you want it ALL?? We're bringing home some stamp pads, new metal buttons, grunge alphabets, metal charms, sizzix die and a Stampers Anonymous stamp set. That's just some of the "Schwag" that we have received so far from one vendor. I have a big box ready for UPS to ship back for us already and the show hasn't even started yet. I can't put any of it in my suitcase because when I left Calgary it already weighed 62lbs.

Advantus introduced a new designer, Margie Romney-Aslett, with her new collection called "The Girls' Paperie" (www.thegirlspaperie.com). Robin and Margie re-connected at the Crafter's Home Mania. They have known each other for years. Of course we're getting her collection too.

We also discovered another vendor "Shabby Green Door" (www.shabbygreendoor.com) who falls right into place with our "Shabby Chic" style of late. Their collection called "On the Wings of a Dream" is shipping ASAP.

Enjoy the pics!

CIAO
Lori

Who said "It Never Rains in California"????

Hey Bloggerettes,
There might not be snow but it's moisture of another color down here in California. I toughed it out and wore my sandals today anyway, almost fell a few times though - I may have hydroplaned once or twice! We were at an event today that had companies presenting their newest product to us "pre-show". It's tough to make a decision what to order before we see everything. Some stuff is too good to pass up - gotta have it! We saw the catalogue from Stampers Anonymous with all of Tim's new stamps in it. We even got a free set. My boyfriend will be presenting tomorrow representing Sizzix, Advantus (Ideaology stuff) and Ranger. I'm so nervous - what if he doesn't remember me?????? Hope everyone is looking after our store while we're gone.
CIAO
Lori

Greetings from the "Yard"

Hey Bloggerettes,

VK chastised me today for not keeping up with my blogging so here it is.......

We are still in the big sign dilema. Last week we put up a temporary sign but the management company had it taken down 5 days later. Today I spotted the guy who removed it so I ran outside and began my inquisition. We had it back in our store about an hour later with instructions not to put it up again. YIKES!

Robin and I leave on Wednesday for CHA. Hopefully we will be able to blog and send pics while we're away. Make sure you go shopping at our store while we're gone!

Robin and I are in the process of moving our craftrooms to different rooms in our houses. OMG I had no idea that I had so much fabulous stuff. For the last 3 years I have been amassing lime green bags full of product. I have not scrapbooked or made one single card in 3 years in my own home. You can imagine the thrill of looking in these bags. I think I have enough brads to pave Canyon Meadows Drive (but everybody knows I love brads). I have no intention of ceasing the collection! Speaking of collections, the attached photo is ONE pile of shoes that I had to take out of one room and set up in another. Can you guess how many shoes are in this pile??? Oh and by the way, how does one loose one shoe? When I set up the shoe gallery again I ended up with 3 single shoes. Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhh were could they be, do you not remove them both - oh maybe I lost them when I had a cast on my foot because Milo pulled me off a 7' ledge along Fish Creek into the river and I did not let go of the leash. That story requires a physical re-enactment.

Thanks for looking!
CIAO
Lori