Hi Everyone,

We are writing to you from the cyber cafe on the convention floor at CHA. Woo Hoo! It has been a couple of very long days. Just so you don't panic, rest assured that Basic Grey has been ordered and we were guaranteed preferential treatment! Yeah right! Should be shipping on February 13th. All five lines including the new gorgeous ribbons. And 7 Gypsies, no problemo...got it. We have pictures, but, as I was afraid of...we can only get dial-up internet and it kicks us off before we could ever download pics. You'll just have to wait until we get home.

Big news...got the Tim Holtz personally authgraphed stamp plus picture! Yeah baby... We also got some great tips from him today during his demo, which of course prompted us to order more Ranger Ink supplies ( be quiet Chris :) We also talked to him about teaching a class in our store which will have to be next year due to his oh so busy schedule. Can you believe he's already booked for 2006? We have had a special connection with him since he did give Jennifer his bag of chips at CHA last year. LOL Do you think he even remembers that? Oops Jennifer just informed me that she DID remind him.

Seriously, we have had a wonderfully exhausting time. We have one more class tonight before we can head back to the hotel. And darn it, there are no slot machines in the Convention Center. I thought Vegas had slots everywhere! I guess they figure we are getting into enough trouble on the showroom floor.

So, I guess that's enough for now. We'll be heading back on Thursday. Come by the store if you can't wait to see the pictures. I'll get them on here as soon as I can!

TNT
Kim and Jennifer

We're off! We leave tomorrow morning for CHA!!! Not too excited huh? DH is getting so tired of hearing about it I bet he wishes we were leaving tonight! So, it's 9:30 and I am sitting here blogging. Doing laundry, packing, and waiting for DH to finish taking pics for e-bay so I can take the new (awsome) camera with me. That took some negotiating. Good pics are a must at CHA. Never know who you're gonna run in to.

Today was totally hectic. And I mean that in a good way. It's almost like someone turned the light bulb on in our store and now everybody can see us! Jennifer taught an awsome class today (she's so creative). It's so much fun to see everyone come out of the classroom energized and ready to be creative!

We have 2 new teachers joining us. Jenny Coombs (Memory Lane) is teaching a class in March. A definite "must do" for all of you 7 Gypsies people! And if you're not sure what a "7 Gypsies" person is, take the class and you'll be hooked. We also have Aubrey Perkins teaching a Teen class. Appropriate, since she is a teen. She has made the best pages for teens. Think about SASSY or Girls Night Out. They are awsome and totally TEEN! Call the store for info. or check the web site. Of course, you'll have to wait until we get back, since all I can do is blog and Jennifer has to update the web site! I am not web site savvy.

So, I think the dryer is done and I can finally finish packing. Packing will be light so I have plenty of room to bring home any and everything I can find at CHA!! We'll do our best to keep you updated while we are there (providing the laptop works). I'm off to pack!

TNT

Kim

O.K. Here's a shocker for those of you that know me~I stayed until 12:30 last night! Boy am I feelin' it today. I don't know how you guys do it. I did have a great time though and got alot accomplished.

Judy taught a fun class today. Everyone left energized and ready to go home and distress something. Keep watching for her altered board book class. She's working on her sample now. FYI it is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18th. I'll let you know more later.

We got another absolutely beautiful entry in the 7 Gypsies contest. This is going to be a very tough decision. I'm glad it's not me choosing the winner. Oh the stress!

7 days until CHA. You can't tell that we're anxious can you? I think an empty suitcase will be a necessity. As well as, good shoes, camera, pocket food, and the laptop. We've got a plan and we're stickin' to it, yeah right!

That's all my tired brain can come up with tonight. No wit, just the facts. How boring is that..

TNT

Kim

Woo Hoo! It's Friday night and we are having another fun night of chick flicks, food, chocolate (Oh, that's a food isn't it) and lots of cropping. Here I am at the computer, being unsociable, except to you blog heads. I promised you a preview of the new Basic Grey so here goes....

OH MY GOSH!!!! They have 5 (that's right FIVE) new lines. Of course, we loved them all. And I have to say, Jennifer really loved them, literally. Have you ever noticed that Jennifer pets (yes PETS) her paper. I think Nate (our new close and personal friend from Basic Grey) got a real eye opener!!

Now, back to the new lines...Like I said, there are 5. We wanted to take pictures but, Nate wouldn't go for that, so here's the new names. Just use your imagination and put it in Basic Grey mode...

Color Me Silly
Hang 10
Urban Couture
Oh Baby Boy
Oh Baby Girl

Plusssss, New Rub-ons, metal embellishments, and Ribbon (that's right baby, ribbon) that coordinates with the new papers as well as the beloved fibers.

Nate brought presents too! We now have a Basic Grey Notch Tool that you can come in and try out. It's always fun to try these tools before you buy them! We will also take preorders for anyone who is interested in reserving one. Can you tell, we had fun!

So, the CHA countdown is now 8 days. The store will be open while we're gone. We have Jessie and Ellen holding down the fort. We'll be back Thursday afternoon exhausted, excited, and extra happy I'm sure!

I hope this little preview satisfies your Basic Grey addiction for now, or at least until we get the product in our store!

TNT,

Kim

Hi Everyone,

I haven't posted anything for awhile. I can't even say why, except that by the time I get home from the store I'm just to darned tired. And while I'm at the store I'm just too darned busy...and that's nothin' to complain about! Boy have we been busy! Ellen is back at work. We missed her and we're glad her mom is o.k. and she can come back to WORK. We kept her busy putting out new Product! That's right...more new product. We got the board books we just ordered. I can't believe how fast they got here. These board books are ready for you to alter. Soooo cute! Especially the heart shaped ones. That's right Susan, they got here right after you left. Just in time for Valentines Day. And I'm pretty sure Jennifer is going to do a class with this book. Keep watching for that! We got a shipment from 7 Gypsies too. Some new rub-ons (cute heart ones) , stickers, and hardware, plus restocking everything that we ran out of so fast.

Susan Keuter came by today with the sign up sheets for her 100 Things I Love class. Stop by to pick one up or I can scan it and send it to you. You'll have to think of 100 Things you love about your subject, how much fun is that! It's easy to see on Susan's sample that she LOVES her Scrapbooking! And boy, is she good at it! She is such an inspiration.

FYI...This Friday nights Chick Flick Crop is sold out, as well as the Crop on the 27th. Call right away if you want to book one! Granted, our classroom can only hold so many people so it fills up fast, but we're working on that! We have some exciting news up our sleeve about that. We'll let you know more later..Heh,heh!

Here is an inside scoop for all of you...keep Saturday, February 11 free on you calendar. It is Free Family Fun Day in downtown Mesa. There are free concerts at the Mesa Art Center (if you haven't had the chance to see these beautiful buildings you'll be amazed). The Sirrine House is having free Valentines making classes (reservations are recommended) and the Desert Southwest Museum has some special things going on, and that's not even the good part! All of the merchants (o.k. maybe not all, but most) will be having something special in their stores. It is the 3rd annual Sweet Tooth Soirre. That means chocolate in every store, sales, entertainment, and horse and carriage rides. There will be everything from Harmonica Bands to an Elvis impersonating popcorn maker. Jazz ensembles and who knows what else. The best part of the Soiree is that we will have Chris Herrmann from Ranger Inc. with us all day doing free make and takes! Stop by and have some fun with this. She is an amazing educator and way too much fun! Just ask her if she's ODD when you see her... she'll crack-up.

Well, that's enough for now. Have an amazing day!

TNT

Kim

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! I am actually sitting here blogging during "Superstitious"
Chick Flick Friday. Mostly because the room is entirely too full of scrappin' chicks and this is the one time of the day where I have some peace and quiet in the store.

Boy, did we get some new product in today! Just think of Paris. Yep, that's right...more Paris stuff just to feed my addiction. The Brenda Walton Maison Metal Art and Metal Brads are here!!! They are gorgeous. Heck, the metal art piece of the Eiffel Tower is good enough to wear, let alone scrap with it. We also got some new K & Company paper that goes beautifully with the metal art and brads. We are now fully restocked with a full assortment of Life's Journey Kraft Scrapbooks. And...Creating Keepsakes TOP TEN issue is here. Lot's of layouts, ideas, and tips. For all of you Tim Holtz fans there is an article with his Top Tips To Try. Lots and lots of fun stuff in this issue.

As promised here is the picture for Susan Keuter's class on February 4th.

The class will be limited to 6 and the cost is $65. You will choose the "100 Things" you love and Susan will bring them to the class already printed and ready to go. If you have any questions or to sign up just call the store. This makes a great gift for that special person for Valentines Day. So much fun to sit and think of 100 things that you love about someone!






There is one spot left in Judy's class "Let's Do Tags" on January 21st. If you don't want to come alone we could probably squeeze one more person in!!

I gotta tell ya, I am so grateful to all of you that have helped our little store. We look back at where we started 1 1/2 years ago in just a tiny little corner of this store and compare it to where we are now and wow! Jennifer, Laurie, and myself would sit here on Friday nights and wonder if the classroom would ever fill up and now there's a room full of giggly scrappers back there eating, laughing, and oohing and ahhing over each others pictures. So fun!

Hope you are all having as much fun as we are tonight!

TNT

Kim

Did you guys notice the change?

Our blog has been officially Keuterized!! Susan Keuter came by yesterday with her super
fancy camera and took some pics of the store. She used one of them to make us a banner for the blog! So we're Keuterized!! Thanks so much Susan. On top of stopping by and using her camera skills, she has agreed to teach her famous "100 Things I Love" class on February 4th. Pictures will be posted on our web site shortly. Her own personal sample of "100 Things I Love" is also in the store on display. This is a super fun class and it makes a great gift for Valentines day or a little something for yourself! Call right away to sign-up.

Speaking of Valentines Day...I have ordered some of the cutest V-Day paper from
Bo-Bunny Press and heart shaped board books! I feel a class coming on...I'm sure Jennifer will come up with something fantastic. I'll keep you posted. We also have a super deal on stamps from Inkadinkado. All of their Valentines stamps are buy 2 get 1 FREE. This special will run until the end of February, perfect for making all your sweeties cards and gifts.

Todays new products! We got Roll On Love Transfers. That's right, Roll On! I can't wait to use these. We also have new soft charms for your pet pages and locket charms for your girly pages.

TillNextTime
Kim

Well, I thought I would escape the flu season unscathed but no such luck. I have been home for the last couple of days with hot tea, chicken soup, and two sympathetic dogs. Oh yeah, and my dear husband who brings me the tea and soup and grumbles about the dogs being in the way!

I heard that we had a wonderful new entry in the 7 Gypsies contest brought in. Can't wait to see it! We also got a new 7 Gypsies order in. We are now stocked with teeny weeny books, circle books, zig zag books, accordian books, and the plain books. We also got more 97% complete stickers and the obviously beloved library pockets.

Here's an inside tip for all of the Basic Grey fans. The new line for CHA includes 5 new papers. We are even getting a sneak peak of them before CHA! Seems they have a new VP in charge of marketing and he will be paying us a visit! Shhhhhhhh! It won't be for a week or so, so keep reading the blog!

Here's another inside tip...Jennifers Baby Book Bag class is filling up. Call soon to reserve your spot.

This Friday is Superstitious Chick Flick Friday. Fun movies, 13 prizes, dinner, and chocolate! We had soooo much fun last Friday, I even stayed for one whole movie, which if you know me, is really pushing the envelope. Maybe I'll actually catch up on all of the flicks I've missed. It will take two years worth of crops but there's hope.

We will be adding pictures of the store for those of you who have never been in or haven't been in for awhile to watch our transformation from very small to 1/2 of the store. Those antiques better watch out we're taking over! And (this is very exciting) Susan Keuter has offered to help me learn more about blogging. Hopefully we'll have a cute banner up on our page like she has. Thanks Susan!

Well, I hear a cup of tea calling my name so,

TNT (til next time)
Kim

Hi Everyone! I have to give a big thanks to Susan Keuter for introducing me to the world of blogging. I have been spending alot of time at my computer learning (or trying to learn) what this is all about. How much fun is it to be able to keep up on the creative lives of so many talented scrappers. My hope is, that with this blog we can keep everyone posted on a daily basis as to what new product has arrived, new classes added to the existing schedule, and photos of our teams creativity. Jennifer, Judy, and Chris are always coming up with wonderful creations.

There's only 20 days left until CHA! We are so excited to get there and see all of the new products. Since this is our second CHA Show I'm sure things will go much smoother. Did I mention that we flew into the wrong airport in Chicago? This time we actually have a plan. We have scheduled all of our classes for the morning or evening. That leaves us plenty of time on the floor to visit every booth and complete every make and take! Woo Hoo! We will try to keep you posted daily about our findings...if the laptop works...or if the computer person (yep, that's me) can work the computer.

Now, for Jennifer's most recent creations. Valentines Day has really inspired her!

These are samples of Judy's class on the 21st. There will actually be four tags that you will be making. There is one spot left, so if you are thinking about it call quick.

There's one more picture that I just have to share with you. This is a picture I took on New Years Day at the Phoenix Zoo of my grandson Dylan. Isn't he the cutest? This is a brand new camera that I am still learning to use, but I was really happy with this pic and it went perfect with the Danny O paper and rub-ons.

Oops, wrong picture!

Let's try this again...

That's it! Isn't he adorable!! No braggin goin on here!

Well, that's all for now. Jennifer is busy in the classroom being creative and this post has taken me entirely too long, but hey, I'm still learning!

TNT (till next time), Kim

A blog? We don't even think we are computer literate enough to post anything!

So this is a test to see if we are blog worthy. How does one become a blog head?
We'd like to know.

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