Friday, February 26, 2010

Tim Holtz A Compendium of Curiosities

If you've not had a chance yet to get your hands on a copy of this book, you need to! Tim discusses his products, but also shows you how to use them! I am now all charged up about trying out some of these techniques! I do carry Ranger products and can also get a copy of this book for you; just email me to let me know. More on Tim Holtz in a future post.

I'm at Mammoth Mountain in California as I write this post after having read through this book in one sitting and, of course I can't scrapbook!

But the skiing is great!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Old tools are new again

I recently joined a stamper's club which a friend got me involved with and I have been feeling like I've been getting back to my roots.

Long before I became a scrapbooker, I was first a stamper. I took some stamping classes over 15 years ago at an unsuspecting local restaurant that happened to have a passion for unusual gifts and carried hundreds and hundreds of rubber stamps and stamping supplies. I learned basic stamping and then took it to the next level with embossing and flocking, using a heat gun, playing with glitter and glue, and playing with markers and different colored inks. I ended up buying a lot of the tools and vowed to make my own cards! Low and behold, time went by and, to my chagrin, I didn't make another card for years.

So, at a recent workshop that I attended for the stamping club, I stamped with embossing ink, added embossing powder, and picked up a heat gun again for the first time in a long time. I've since dug out the stamps that I've bought over the years, and have been spending some time today at Cool Crops in Andover, MA, cutting and mounting them so that I can get some cards made this weekend!

Next post will be about the Big Shot, from Sizzix, which I picked up recently as well after finding out about Tim Holtz' Alterations products!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Chinese New Year!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Valentine's Day to you and wish you a Happy Chinese New Year also! It's the Year of the Tiger and both my mother and husband were born during Tiger years, so I hope they will have a great year this year :-)

Friday, February 5, 2010

February 20 Just Scrappin' Crop, Sturbridge, MA

Hey there ladies! If you can't make it to Cool Crops the weekend of February 19 through 21, but can get away for just Saturday, February 20, join my partner, Siewleng Hiraldo, owner of Time 2 Scrap, at our monthly crop in Sturbridge, MA! Please contact me or Siewleng directly to register for the crop! Cost is $40 for the day which includes, lunch, dinner, snacks, a make n take, fun and games, and prizes! For each friend you bring who is new to us, we'll give you a $5 credit on your crop, with no limit! Hope you can join her there!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Celebrating 2010 and 5 Years in Business

So, I've been in the scrapbooking business now for almost 5 years (June 22 will mark the exact date) and I'm celebrating in 2010!

I first thought about starting my own business a few years prior to actually starting, after attending a scrapbooking workshop at a friend's house and having a great time. I flirted with joining that company (to be unnamed) for quite a while, but something just didn't feel right about it. I learned about I Remember When in 2004 when I attended the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Manchester, NH. I met Jennifer Grant, former Founder of I Remember When, and automatically drawn to her and her creative vision.

It took me a year and a half before I finally signed the paperwork and became a consultant with I Remember When (June 2005). One month later in July, Xyron took over ownership of the company.

In my first year, I struggled to find what would work for me, and tried a little of everything from having open houses, doing home shows, teaching classes, having monthly crops at home, to vendoring at crops and I even tried vendor fairs. I experienced the full spectrum of highs and lows emotionally, as I began to fill my calendar slowly with events. Some events would be full, while others would have no one. I expected every one of my scrapbooking friends to join my events, and was disappointed when my friends didn't participate. I was grateful to my I Remember When sisters for their support and loved the IRW leadership team of Jennifer Grant, Beth Kingston, and Amie Morgan who allowed us to run our businesses as we wanted to and were always there to provide support when we needed it the most.

Over the years that followed, slowly, but surely, over time, I came to find what I enjoyed most and seemed to be good at, and that was vendoring at crops and holding classes.

I came across another challenge in March 2009 when Xyron closed I Remember When's doors. It was a bit of a shock, but with the economy as it was, it was understandable. I was at a crossroads and needed to make a decision: do I close too?

After much deliberation, I decided to honor my commitments for 2009 and decided to have courage an continue on with my scrapbooking business, this time, as an independent retailer. And that's how The Crop Shop came to be and here we are!

So, to celebrate my 5 years of being in business, throughout 2010, anyone who spends $50 or more will receive a 5% discount off of their total purchase! Whoo hoo!

So that's my story and I thank you for reading about my history!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Seats Remaing for February Cool Crops

Hey everyone! There are still seats available for the February Cool Crops in Andover, MA the weekend of Feb 19 - 21! Check out http://www.coolcrops.com/ for more info! Just got back from Cool Crops at Seekonk, MA crop - we had a blast! Cris and Cara definitely know how to throw a crop :-) Get your seat in Andover today - you won't regret it!