At last she returns.....Happy 2012!

Well, hello there.  Did you miss me?  I bet you have all been so busy yourselves that you have not noticed my lack of posts.  I felt like last week was my catch-up week.....a return to normal if you will.  The kids are back to school and I am back to my usual time in the store.  So do you want to hear what I have been up to....pull up a chair....this could take a while!

Scrapbooking Paper....Not just for albums anymore!

So this year, I had it set in my mind that Trev and I would give Julia a doll house this year for Christmas.  And you know me, not any old doll house would do.  I am not the type of girl who likes all those plastic-y toys that you can buy anywhere.  My doll house (or should I say Julia's!) had to be original.  I ordered a Melissa & Doug house from one of my distributors.  It was a gorgeous, build-it-yourself model in real wood.  Yes, I had to use real nails and a glue gun, etc.....this was hard-core.

And you all know me.....I ordered it in with lots of time to pull it together but what do you think happened???  Yes, I waited until a week before Christmas to assemble it!  And I think I spent too much time decorating and designing the interior that I didn't allow myself enough time for the actual construction!!!  Ooops!  But I must say "Just-In-Time" girl did it again.  This time I completed the project at  3am on CHRISTMAS EVE!!! Ah....honestly, why do I work this way?  It was a success though.....she LOVED it!  Here is a picture of my girl a couple of days after Christmas with it!

So I decorated the majority of the house in various lines from Crate Paper (one of my favourite companies ever).  Notice even the floors were covered in their "wood" paper.  And check out all the furniture.  All of this furniture was purchased from Ella Minnow Pea.  It is all made of real wood and I know this stuff will last for generations.  I have to say my favourite room has to be the kitchen!

An overall look at the house....I LOVE the stairs.  Actually I love EVERYTHING about it!

LOVE the kitchen.....BG & Crate Papers.  Kaiser Craft accessories

Nursery - MORE Crate Paper.  I have since reapplied PPA to the floor to seal it streak free.

Another Bedroom with Kaiser Craft  and Crate Paper

Living Room - Is that MME paper?  I think so.

So do I have you convinced to make one of your own?!?!  It was not hard.....just give yourself enough time!  I see Lesli at Ella Minnow Pea has a barn that would look awesome in our backyard.....hmmm....wonder how I can decorate that?!?  An Easter gift perhaps?  Ask me on Good Friday how it's going.

 Invitations:  We like to Do them BIG TIME

For the first week of 2012, I worked on one massive order for a local business.  I mean, over 200 pounds of invitations!  1,220 invitations to be exact.  I had set up shop in my dining room and literally glued from morning 'til night. Here is a look at my progress (about half way through the week).

I must say that my best friend in the process was ZIP DRY.  The product just sticks.  But what is great about it is that there is time to shift your paper if you have misplaced it.  Also, I love the fact that if a little bit oozes out the sides, you can just rub it, and it will be gone.  I did have a lot of little glue boogers on my floor but darn, did those invites look perfect!

My only warning about working with Zip Dry is to make sure you do not use too much.....a little really does go along way.  What happens if you use too much is that you run the risk of it absorbing through your paper and the paper becomes transparent.....seeing adhesive on a finished product is a no-no.  I learned this lesson about 4 years ago when we worked on our Christmas cards.  About 300 of my already stamped and coloured images were ruined because I really wanted to make sure the paper stuck!!  I knew this time not to make that mistake!!  I will show you guys the finished product once the event happens.  I was quite proud of the end product.

CHA....Here We Come?

So I have been debating or should I say dreaming about CHA in California this year.  Oh how I would love to go but who would watch the kiddies?  Maybe I can figure it out before the end of the month.  I have been checking out the various emails from suppliers and I must say that I am quite impressed so far with the new releases.

You will have to check out The Scrap Review and tell me what products you absolutely need (don't be afraid to email me!).  Joan told me about this site and I swear I spent an hour this morning jotting down notes and drooling over my favourite new products.  I must say that MME has done it again!  Still one of my #1 companies.

I also swooned over the new Tim Holtz dies and embossing folders.  Now don't tell anyone but I kind of have a crush on Tim Holtz......AND I have a little something in the works with him.  Let's just say that I did receive an email from him this weekend.  Hmmmm.....yes, I will keep you guessing.

Busy Ordering

And so yes, I have been busy catching up this past week.  One of my duties was ordering. Let me just tell you that I have pre-ordered ALL 12 new copic colours!  Let me know if you need any of this set aside (our price is still $6.49 per marker!).  Penny Black stamps (which have been long over due) are ordered and should be here in the next two weeks!  I have also ordered from Stampingbella, Hero Arts and Verses.

The super hot, SMASH products have all been ordered and are now back in stock.  I am hoping (and praying) that K&Co has a HUGE new release of SMASH stuff.  I have to admit that I did take a few breaks over the past two weeks to smash.....that's what Julia and I call it.  I will share in a future post I promise!

Classes

I will be posting some classes this Tuesday.  It may be a bit of a staggered listing but we will have some great new classes in the upcoming weeks.  Come into the store or check on line for these great projects!  I know you are all quite eager to get back into it!

So see.....I HAVE been busy even though I have not been on here.  I have made it one of my (late) new year's resolutions to get on here more often.  Maybe I will even do a weekly or bi-weekly post!?!?  Stranger things have been know to happen!  See ya soon!

K