Here's a pic of the front of the Matchbook Birthday Album.
It is filled with birthday quotes and has room for lots of cute little pics. Isnt it the cutest thing?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Wednesday August 30th, 2006
Here's a pic of the front of the Matchbook Birthday Album.
It is filled with birthday quotes and has room for lots of cute little pics. Isnt it the cutest thing?
Wednesday August 30th, 2006
I am going to try and post some pics of upcoming classes. I am not the greatest computer guru so please bear with me :)One of the first classes we will be offering is an adorable matchbook birthday album. We will be making 8 little matchbooks and accenting them with chipboard, quotes, paints, stamps, ribbons & more. This is going to be offered on Tuesday September 19th from 7:00pm-8:30pm and the class fee is $15 including all the supplies and a GREAT instructor aka Veronica :)
Wednesday August 30th, 2006
I am sooooooooooo excited...I just received an email that my 1st Autumn Leaves order shipped today :) This is the one with all the paper collections, acrylic stamps and Type book. I also have 2 more orders shipping soon from them with more acrylic stamps, the Look book and a few other goodies....I got 4 more cases of acrylic trays so I am ready and waiting :) We have added several more classes just in the past day (the cutest "Boo" Witches Hat Album, and altered letter class for kids on Saturday 9-9-06, and altered clock class, and more :) I am still working on figuring out how to link and post everything on here. So hopefully soon I can share some pics of the samples and upcoming classes as well as the store. Speaking of samples and classes time for me to break away from my puter and get busy on some :)
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Tuesday August 29th, 2006
I can't believe it's been a whole week since I have posted here. Just last week I said that I was going to really get this blog going and keep it up to date. I have been working like crazy trying to decorate the store and getting class samples made. By the time I get home after 10-12 hours I just crash....Of course yesterday I didnt even wait until I got home ...I actually fell asleep sitting upfront on the sofa talking to Karen about classes and samples..One minute we were talking and the next I just layed my head on the back of the sofa and I was gone....(thankfully it didnt last long...what a sight that would have been)
I have had a ton of requests for adult classes as well as preteen classes both scrapping and altered items so I have been researching lots of projects and ideas. I have some terrific gals who are both friends from several years and new friends who are going to teach some awesome classes the next few months.
We already have 5 definate new classes planned, samples made,for several dates set and are working on a third sample, fourth, fifth and the count goes on and on...If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would LOVE to hear them :) I decided to turn the slatwalls behind the counters upfront into a class & crop wall. I altered some large wooden letters (9 inch or so) that say CLASSES & CROPS. So now we are busy filling that area in with samples for the classes.
One class is the cutest matchbook album for birthdays made with 8 little matchbooks, tags, chipboard, ribbons and more. It is a really cute keepsake or gift.
The other is a 2 page spread and a 1 page l/o for your favorite little
dog or kitty. Being the dog person I am I just love the doggy one made with Autumn Leaves Pet papers & products, die cut corner anchors and more. I will upload pics of both class pics as soon as I figure out how to navigate this blog. I also have ideas for a cute altered canvas for Halloween, one for Christmas, some great l/o classes, gift classes etc.
There is also a cute Family Themed Ribbon Tied File Folder Album and cute projects for baby boys and girls....
One thing I am bummed about this week is still no new product. I have been told by several big vendors that the average turn around for LSS is about 2 weeks and I am definately at the 2 weeks point. My Autumn Leaves Order of 3 paper collections, 6-8 styles of acrylic stamps including many CHA July releases, The TYPE book and more is suppose to ship out TOMMORROW!!!!!! So I am super excited. I expect it will be Tuesday before it arrives if it actually does leave tommorrow (Wed) since Monday is Labor Day. I still have orders out for K*I Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as Karen Fosters Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also Creative Imaginations. Not to mention more acrylic paper trays. Needless to say I have been anxiously awaiting "Mr Brown" every single day. I will most definately
make sure to post to the blog asap when anything ships or is received to let everyone know.
I also will be more than happy to pre-sell or take info over the phone to hold anything if anyone cant get into the store for a say or so.
After several customers suggesting the Technique Tuesday Line I decided to carry that also. So hopefully those goodies will be arriving soon :)
I still have ALOT of decorating to do. Still looking for another sofa for upfront or 2 over stuffed chairs and a table, just havent found them yet. I did pick up 2 lamps that I am going to alter and put on sofa tables behind the sofas someday soon...Still thinking on those...Also I ordered some
iron inspiration words that I am going to paint for the "coffee central" area ..create..ralax..enjoy... and I received the CUTEST altered clock yesterday from an online pal of many many years on the SB AOL boards. Leonore in Hawaii sent it to me and it is sooooo cute. I put it up in the store today. Which got me to thinking as I looked around the store and my office at the many swap items, secret pal gifts, and "store-warming" gifts how many WONDERFUL ladies I have met IRL & online thru my love of scrapping....I have my altered
letters from Sherri in MS from a year or so ago in my office the S for me/scrapping and the C for my little Cocoa (the cocker spaniel)...My EMI Caddy sitting at the register from Jen in TX, my altered clock from Leonore in Hawaii, my 12x12 Disney Frame from Donna Lee in Delaware, as well as altered flipflops from her and Leonore, items from pals probably in all 50 states from so many years of great swaps and secret pals. I truly treasure all of these ladies and feel so lucky to have them in my life :)
I guess I should end this post for tonight :) I really need to try and figure out how to post pics to my blog and if I cant I will go with plan B and ask DS Jonathan in the next day or so. :)
I have had a ton of requests for adult classes as well as preteen classes both scrapping and altered items so I have been researching lots of projects and ideas. I have some terrific gals who are both friends from several years and new friends who are going to teach some awesome classes the next few months.
We already have 5 definate new classes planned, samples made,for several dates set and are working on a third sample, fourth, fifth and the count goes on and on...If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would LOVE to hear them :) I decided to turn the slatwalls behind the counters upfront into a class & crop wall. I altered some large wooden letters (9 inch or so) that say CLASSES & CROPS. So now we are busy filling that area in with samples for the classes.
One class is the cutest matchbook album for birthdays made with 8 little matchbooks, tags, chipboard, ribbons and more. It is a really cute keepsake or gift.
The other is a 2 page spread and a 1 page l/o for your favorite little
dog or kitty. Being the dog person I am I just love the doggy one made with Autumn Leaves Pet papers & products, die cut corner anchors and more. I will upload pics of both class pics as soon as I figure out how to navigate this blog. I also have ideas for a cute altered canvas for Halloween, one for Christmas, some great l/o classes, gift classes etc.
There is also a cute Family Themed Ribbon Tied File Folder Album and cute projects for baby boys and girls....
One thing I am bummed about this week is still no new product. I have been told by several big vendors that the average turn around for LSS is about 2 weeks and I am definately at the 2 weeks point. My Autumn Leaves Order of 3 paper collections, 6-8 styles of acrylic stamps including many CHA July releases, The TYPE book and more is suppose to ship out TOMMORROW!!!!!! So I am super excited. I expect it will be Tuesday before it arrives if it actually does leave tommorrow (Wed) since Monday is Labor Day. I still have orders out for K*I Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as Karen Fosters Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also Creative Imaginations. Not to mention more acrylic paper trays. Needless to say I have been anxiously awaiting "Mr Brown" every single day. I will most definately
make sure to post to the blog asap when anything ships or is received to let everyone know.
I also will be more than happy to pre-sell or take info over the phone to hold anything if anyone cant get into the store for a say or so.
After several customers suggesting the Technique Tuesday Line I decided to carry that also. So hopefully those goodies will be arriving soon :)
I still have ALOT of decorating to do. Still looking for another sofa for upfront or 2 over stuffed chairs and a table, just havent found them yet. I did pick up 2 lamps that I am going to alter and put on sofa tables behind the sofas someday soon...Still thinking on those...Also I ordered some
iron inspiration words that I am going to paint for the "coffee central" area ..create..ralax..enjoy... and I received the CUTEST altered clock yesterday from an online pal of many many years on the SB AOL boards. Leonore in Hawaii sent it to me and it is sooooo cute. I put it up in the store today. Which got me to thinking as I looked around the store and my office at the many swap items, secret pal gifts, and "store-warming" gifts how many WONDERFUL ladies I have met IRL & online thru my love of scrapping....I have my altered
letters from Sherri in MS from a year or so ago in my office the S for me/scrapping and the C for my little Cocoa (the cocker spaniel)...My EMI Caddy sitting at the register from Jen in TX, my altered clock from Leonore in Hawaii, my 12x12 Disney Frame from Donna Lee in Delaware, as well as altered flipflops from her and Leonore, items from pals probably in all 50 states from so many years of great swaps and secret pals. I truly treasure all of these ladies and feel so lucky to have them in my life :)
I guess I should end this post for tonight :) I really need to try and figure out how to post pics to my blog and if I cant I will go with plan B and ask DS Jonathan in the next day or so. :)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Monday August 21st, 2006
I can't believe it's been 4 days since I last updated my blog. I definately have to do better at keeping up with it and also figure how how to post some pics. (Maybe DS Jonathan can help with that when I get home)
We had a great weekend. Met lots of wonderful scrappers and a few DH's :)
We had 4 people at our Friday night crop and 9 gals, plus me & two good friends cropping Sat till 12-midnight. I had a great time at both crops... but Saturday was really alot of fun with all the ladies. We ended up re-arranging the tables to a long t-bar row instead of the original set up of 2 side by side all the way down. I really like to new way and it only loses 2 spots and if we need those 2 spots for a crop of 18-20 we can change them back :)
I hope everyone liked the snacks and dinner. It's hard to get a feel for the gals until you get to know their likes and dislikes for food. We had pizza, kickin chicken, breadsticks & sauce, cinnamon breadsticks, chips, chex mix, dip, all kinds of sodas & bottled water, coffee and of course chocolate.
As usual I worried about whether there was enough food and enough choices but everyone seemed really pleased. And there were actually some leftovers except all the chocolate was completely gone :)...So that saying about scrappers and chocolate still holds true :) There was enough food/snacks/drinks but I need to up the chocolate count next time :)
For goodie bags I used cute little painted tin buckets painted pale lavender and filled them with eyelets, brads, some samples of Crop & Glue adhesive, Autumn Leaves travel stickers, a few other goodies and Jitter Mugs (the coffee shop down the street gave me some chocolate bars with handmade wrappers offering discounted coffee drinks) I used the quickutz bread-tie die and cut little tags and put everyone's name on the handle of the bucket and had them setting out when the gals came in for the crop. I filled one of the Crop & Glue canvas totes with goodies and used it for a drawing at the end of the crop and everyone got to look under their chairs for a taped envelope with a surprise in it (brads, eyelets, labels etc)
Several ladies played with the Cricut quite a bit plus we had the Zip'e-Mate, Sizzix Machines, Quickutz, etc all out for everyone. A few ladies knew I was worried about what I had ordered from Autumn Leaves, K*I etc and shared lots of feedback and requests with me; for which I was really grateful. I actually did a pretty good job with the Autum Leaves items I ordered. I know retail well from having been with Michaels for so many years but ordering for a small store and trying to predict what my customers will like hasnt been easy for me. Also my plan is to refresh merchandise every 30-45 days after arrival in the store so I need to plan my ordering carefully. Hopefully as I get to know everyone more and more it will become easier.
I am getting alot of requests for classes especially for altered items (I really could use my online friend Jen for that...she shared some of the cutest ideas this weekend..she is one of the most talented gals I have known in the scrapping world there just happens to be 100's of miles between me in GA and her in TX) I have come up with alot of neat classes for September, October and November and well as some more themed crops. Since this area is a high homeschool area also I have had several requests for altered craft classes for preteens so I am working on that also.
There store still needs alot of decoration help. But it is coming along. I see progress daily and
many customers comment how it is changing every week. I finally found some ladder style shelves super clearanced from $29.99 to $9.00. I am putting these between the sections of slatwall to hold altered items etc. (my Michaels only had 4 and I currently have DS Jonathan on a shelf quest through-out Atlanta...he just checked in from Mall of Ga and got 2 more so we are at 6 and I need 8 so he is off to another Michaels :) They arent quite as tall as I would like (48 inches or so) and need to be painted white but for $9 I will take them :) I did find some really cute square ceramic planters with bright colors perfect to put in the middle of the tables to hold
Crop Price Tally Sheets, pencils, pens etc in clearance 90% at Michaels :) I still have alot to
get done...valances for the windows in the cropping studio, re-do the sewing machine cabinet,
put 2-3 more shelves back by the cricut, xyron, sewing machine area, decorate the coffee central area, find a sofa table for upfront by the idea lounge area, paint the words of inspiration along the border of the ceiling, make samples, and more samples , decorate the bathroom,
and clean my office which will probably NEVER get completely done. Even after 12-14 hour days the list just keeps growing :)
Speaking of things to do Karen just got back with 12x15 ziplocks for me to put the Kaleidscope items in as kits that I am marking down 1/2 off. They are part of an inventory that I bought and I need to go ahead and mark them down to make room for all the new stuff :)
I will definately do better posting and updating when new items arrive the next few weeks :)
And get DS to help load some pics to add some color to this blog :)
We had a great weekend. Met lots of wonderful scrappers and a few DH's :)
We had 4 people at our Friday night crop and 9 gals, plus me & two good friends cropping Sat till 12-midnight. I had a great time at both crops... but Saturday was really alot of fun with all the ladies. We ended up re-arranging the tables to a long t-bar row instead of the original set up of 2 side by side all the way down. I really like to new way and it only loses 2 spots and if we need those 2 spots for a crop of 18-20 we can change them back :)
I hope everyone liked the snacks and dinner. It's hard to get a feel for the gals until you get to know their likes and dislikes for food. We had pizza, kickin chicken, breadsticks & sauce, cinnamon breadsticks, chips, chex mix, dip, all kinds of sodas & bottled water, coffee and of course chocolate.
As usual I worried about whether there was enough food and enough choices but everyone seemed really pleased. And there were actually some leftovers except all the chocolate was completely gone :)...So that saying about scrappers and chocolate still holds true :) There was enough food/snacks/drinks but I need to up the chocolate count next time :)
For goodie bags I used cute little painted tin buckets painted pale lavender and filled them with eyelets, brads, some samples of Crop & Glue adhesive, Autumn Leaves travel stickers, a few other goodies and Jitter Mugs (the coffee shop down the street gave me some chocolate bars with handmade wrappers offering discounted coffee drinks) I used the quickutz bread-tie die and cut little tags and put everyone's name on the handle of the bucket and had them setting out when the gals came in for the crop. I filled one of the Crop & Glue canvas totes with goodies and used it for a drawing at the end of the crop and everyone got to look under their chairs for a taped envelope with a surprise in it (brads, eyelets, labels etc)
Several ladies played with the Cricut quite a bit plus we had the Zip'e-Mate, Sizzix Machines, Quickutz, etc all out for everyone. A few ladies knew I was worried about what I had ordered from Autumn Leaves, K*I etc and shared lots of feedback and requests with me; for which I was really grateful. I actually did a pretty good job with the Autum Leaves items I ordered. I know retail well from having been with Michaels for so many years but ordering for a small store and trying to predict what my customers will like hasnt been easy for me. Also my plan is to refresh merchandise every 30-45 days after arrival in the store so I need to plan my ordering carefully. Hopefully as I get to know everyone more and more it will become easier.
I am getting alot of requests for classes especially for altered items (I really could use my online friend Jen for that...she shared some of the cutest ideas this weekend..she is one of the most talented gals I have known in the scrapping world there just happens to be 100's of miles between me in GA and her in TX) I have come up with alot of neat classes for September, October and November and well as some more themed crops. Since this area is a high homeschool area also I have had several requests for altered craft classes for preteens so I am working on that also.
There store still needs alot of decoration help. But it is coming along. I see progress daily and
many customers comment how it is changing every week. I finally found some ladder style shelves super clearanced from $29.99 to $9.00. I am putting these between the sections of slatwall to hold altered items etc. (my Michaels only had 4 and I currently have DS Jonathan on a shelf quest through-out Atlanta...he just checked in from Mall of Ga and got 2 more so we are at 6 and I need 8 so he is off to another Michaels :) They arent quite as tall as I would like (48 inches or so) and need to be painted white but for $9 I will take them :) I did find some really cute square ceramic planters with bright colors perfect to put in the middle of the tables to hold
Crop Price Tally Sheets, pencils, pens etc in clearance 90% at Michaels :) I still have alot to
get done...valances for the windows in the cropping studio, re-do the sewing machine cabinet,
put 2-3 more shelves back by the cricut, xyron, sewing machine area, decorate the coffee central area, find a sofa table for upfront by the idea lounge area, paint the words of inspiration along the border of the ceiling, make samples, and more samples , decorate the bathroom,
and clean my office which will probably NEVER get completely done. Even after 12-14 hour days the list just keeps growing :)
Speaking of things to do Karen just got back with 12x15 ziplocks for me to put the Kaleidscope items in as kits that I am marking down 1/2 off. They are part of an inventory that I bought and I need to go ahead and mark them down to make room for all the new stuff :)
I will definately do better posting and updating when new items arrive the next few weeks :)
And get DS to help load some pics to add some color to this blog :)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Thursday August 17th, 2006
Boy have the past 3 days been busy!
We still have alot to do but everyday I see more & more progress :)
This week we have been working on the September class calendar, making samples, ordering
more product, meeting with reps, adding more items to the die cut center and decorating a little here & there. We have a ton of cool classes and make & takes coming up September-December.
Today I picked up some really cute glass and metal accent containers (patio pizzazz items marked 70% off at Michaels). They are in nice bright tones of pink, orange and lime. I got 2 really cute ones for the coffee central area and 2 really cute mini 3 bottle metal holders for the shelves in the die cute center. I filled the ones in the die cut center with buttons for colorful accents. I still havent gotten the sewing machine/cricut area like I want it. Not sure what to
do back there. DS Jonathan won't believe that I may need yet more bookcases....
I have looked all over for the tall skinny shelves to go in between the sections of slatwall to
display altered samples but I cant find just what I want for that either. Tommorrow I am going to check out Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens and Things.
Our crops are really starting to take off. Saturday night we already have 6 presigned up for our 6-12mid dinner crop. Gotta figure out what to serve for dinner for that one. We had pizza last Saturday and I know alot of gals cropped at Archivers and has lasagna so I am thinking maybe
Zaxby's. Tommorrow night (Friday we have 3 and just a while ago a teacher stopped in and said she thought her and her daughter would be coming) I picked up some really cute tin buckets
at Hobby Lobby (super clearanced) to fill for goodie bags and we will give away another Crop&Glue canvas tote bag filled with goodies to one cropper.
Still no new CHA product in. I did talk to Autumn Leaves yesterday and they dont have the product in their warehouse yet and figure it will be 2 weeks from yesterday for shipping.
I have 3 complete lines coming, plus the TYPE book and some acrylic stamps that I am anxious to try ...They said the new LOOK book wont be out for about another month... Still waiting on Creative Imaginations, K*1, Sandylion, Bo Bunny and a few more companies also.
I am going to have another sale this Fri, Sat & Sun to clearance out more of the pattern papers
so we have more room for the new goodies. All pattern papers at the front of the store will be
10 sheets for $1.00......The albums remain 50% off retail and most everything else is 20%-50% off. The Kaleidoscope line in the spinner at the front of the store will be 50% off also.
Boy I just noticed the time. It's 7:05pm and we have been closed for an hour and there is still
a local teacher using the die cut machines...She is doing some serious cutting :)
Time for me to get things ready to close up and head home when she's done. Maybe I will stop by a few places on the way home and look for those shelves I want but I will have to make a pit stop for some Dunkin Donuts Coffee first... :)
We still have alot to do but everyday I see more & more progress :)
This week we have been working on the September class calendar, making samples, ordering
more product, meeting with reps, adding more items to the die cut center and decorating a little here & there. We have a ton of cool classes and make & takes coming up September-December.
Today I picked up some really cute glass and metal accent containers (patio pizzazz items marked 70% off at Michaels). They are in nice bright tones of pink, orange and lime. I got 2 really cute ones for the coffee central area and 2 really cute mini 3 bottle metal holders for the shelves in the die cute center. I filled the ones in the die cut center with buttons for colorful accents. I still havent gotten the sewing machine/cricut area like I want it. Not sure what to
do back there. DS Jonathan won't believe that I may need yet more bookcases....
I have looked all over for the tall skinny shelves to go in between the sections of slatwall to
display altered samples but I cant find just what I want for that either. Tommorrow I am going to check out Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens and Things.
Our crops are really starting to take off. Saturday night we already have 6 presigned up for our 6-12mid dinner crop. Gotta figure out what to serve for dinner for that one. We had pizza last Saturday and I know alot of gals cropped at Archivers and has lasagna so I am thinking maybe
Zaxby's. Tommorrow night (Friday we have 3 and just a while ago a teacher stopped in and said she thought her and her daughter would be coming) I picked up some really cute tin buckets
at Hobby Lobby (super clearanced) to fill for goodie bags and we will give away another Crop&Glue canvas tote bag filled with goodies to one cropper.
Still no new CHA product in. I did talk to Autumn Leaves yesterday and they dont have the product in their warehouse yet and figure it will be 2 weeks from yesterday for shipping.
I have 3 complete lines coming, plus the TYPE book and some acrylic stamps that I am anxious to try ...They said the new LOOK book wont be out for about another month... Still waiting on Creative Imaginations, K*1, Sandylion, Bo Bunny and a few more companies also.
I am going to have another sale this Fri, Sat & Sun to clearance out more of the pattern papers
so we have more room for the new goodies. All pattern papers at the front of the store will be
10 sheets for $1.00......The albums remain 50% off retail and most everything else is 20%-50% off. The Kaleidoscope line in the spinner at the front of the store will be 50% off also.
Boy I just noticed the time. It's 7:05pm and we have been closed for an hour and there is still
a local teacher using the die cut machines...She is doing some serious cutting :)
Time for me to get things ready to close up and head home when she's done. Maybe I will stop by a few places on the way home and look for those shelves I want but I will have to make a pit stop for some Dunkin Donuts Coffee first... :)
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Sunday August 13th, 2006
I am at the store this afternoon trying to sort thru some catalogs and place some more orders.
I never realized how hard it was to predict what customers are going to want to buy. I know retail well from the Michael's end and the coordinating events end but that is soooooooooo
different than from a LSS owner end. Sometimes it is just over-whelming looking thru all these catalogs. I have been keeping notes of what customers comment on and what I over hear during crops. So hopefully I am making the right choices :)
We had another late night crop last night. We had 6 of us plus one of the ladies brought her
2 preteen kids who are making a scrapbook album as a gift and another mom brought her 9 year old son who was making pages also. I also got to meet someone off the 2-peas board a real sweet gal (Alecia). She made some gorgeous pages!!!!! I would steal a peek every once in a while but didnt want to interrupt her. (I know some people come to crops to really focus and work while others come to socialize) Which brings me to my next thought. How to handle the situation when customers ask if they can being their preteens/kids to a crop stating that they are coming to actually scrapbook. I know alot of gals like the night away from home to be away from the responsibilities of kids, the house etc. It's their night out. But then again I dont want to offend the customers that ask. I thought about maybe having Friday nights as gals night only or vice-versa with Sat and then accomodate the moms/kids on the opposite day. But then that wouldnt always work with everyone's schedule. So I am definately going to have to work on that. Everything went very well and the kids/preteens behaved wonderfully and made several pages but I just wonder what other gals without kids or kids at home would think. I do think everyone had fun last night. Its wasnt a themed crop this time just a regular ole pizza, sodas, chips, coffee and of course chocolate crop. We did a drawing for a canvas tote filled with goodies from Crop & Glue and everyone also got a goodie bag with some Crop & Glue samples, chipboard shapes, brads, eyelets, rub-on, ribbon etc. and everyone got a 10% discount.. When one gal was leaving she said she would be back to crop on Friday this week so I think she was happy.
Time to get those orders filled and work on some more crop themes etc for September.
I never realized how hard it was to predict what customers are going to want to buy. I know retail well from the Michael's end and the coordinating events end but that is soooooooooo
different than from a LSS owner end. Sometimes it is just over-whelming looking thru all these catalogs. I have been keeping notes of what customers comment on and what I over hear during crops. So hopefully I am making the right choices :)
We had another late night crop last night. We had 6 of us plus one of the ladies brought her
2 preteen kids who are making a scrapbook album as a gift and another mom brought her 9 year old son who was making pages also. I also got to meet someone off the 2-peas board a real sweet gal (Alecia). She made some gorgeous pages!!!!! I would steal a peek every once in a while but didnt want to interrupt her. (I know some people come to crops to really focus and work while others come to socialize) Which brings me to my next thought. How to handle the situation when customers ask if they can being their preteens/kids to a crop stating that they are coming to actually scrapbook. I know alot of gals like the night away from home to be away from the responsibilities of kids, the house etc. It's their night out. But then again I dont want to offend the customers that ask. I thought about maybe having Friday nights as gals night only or vice-versa with Sat and then accomodate the moms/kids on the opposite day. But then that wouldnt always work with everyone's schedule. So I am definately going to have to work on that. Everything went very well and the kids/preteens behaved wonderfully and made several pages but I just wonder what other gals without kids or kids at home would think. I do think everyone had fun last night. Its wasnt a themed crop this time just a regular ole pizza, sodas, chips, coffee and of course chocolate crop. We did a drawing for a canvas tote filled with goodies from Crop & Glue and everyone also got a goodie bag with some Crop & Glue samples, chipboard shapes, brads, eyelets, rub-on, ribbon etc. and everyone got a 10% discount.. When one gal was leaving she said she would be back to crop on Friday this week so I think she was happy.
Time to get those orders filled and work on some more crop themes etc for September.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Friday August 11th, 2006
Boy what a busy day today was.... We had alot of visitors and a ton of phone calls about the cropping area. Several people commented that they love the table and all the toys. We have 6 definates for tommorrow night's dinner crop and 3 gals want to come but may have to call in and reserve later tommorrow afternoon if they can work it out. I added a few more zip'e'mate fonts to the cropping area shelves today and actually had to send poor Karen who works for me out to get 2 more shelves for the cropping area and 2 more for the office. I decided to add more foam stamp fonts back in the die center also :) I know so many people like to use them but just can buy and store all these toys at their homes. I just love asking her to go out shopping she comes back with all kinds of things we need. Today I sent her for the shelves and she calls and says she found a cute coffee table for upfront in the Idea Lounge Sofa area that will hold lots of idea mags and books...Then she found the individual table trash cans I wanted small..rectangle and skinny...Then the right stripe material for the window valances... and comes back with everything and a pick-me-up cup of coffee for me :) I am still trying to figure out the Cricut and sewing machine area to the side of the die cut counter..Just cant get it lined up how I want and I think I am gonna need 2 more shelves for it tommorrow.. hhgregg finally delivered the right frig today..I wanted a slim skinny one so that the Armoire would fit in the corner to hold all the crop snacks, coffee mugs etc. (putting the tv & dvd on top)...But the darn guy didnt level it correctly ..I tried but cant get the little disc things to budge...I should have known I was in trouble when they guy came in walked around and said what exactly did you order....I told him a skinny model frig...He thought I was getting a dryer :)there's a new concept a wash & fold LSS....No new shipments today....:( I am getting a little impatient.....Having been in retail for years and years I know how important new shipments are and how not having them so disappoints customers and possibly loses them :( But sure something will come in soon...I did receive and nice phone call and the a surprise package from a new local company. Crop & Glue...the owner had heard about the store and called me from his vacation in Hiltn Head. He was very nice and sent a rep over with cute canvas totes in lime and pink for giveaways for the preopening sale this weekend along with goodie bags of the different types of his products and some trial packs for us. It was such a wonderful treat and I really like the product and will be carrying it :) I am filling one of the totes with all kinds of goodies and having a draw at tommorrow nights crop...Karen was eyeing the lime green one and with everything that she has done for me thru all the construction etc (not to mention being a wonderful friend for many years) I told her she was my pre-pre-opening winner :) Well I have a ton of samples to plan...classes to plan ...work on the coffee make and takes for September...and maybe get a little sleep before I head out at 7am in the am.. so I will close this post for the night.... :)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Thursday August 10th, 2006
Phew.............I am just getting home after a long 15 hour day at the new store...(ok there was the side trip to the eye doctor and just around the corner from there Archivers....) I know... what an addiction I have ...to be an Event
Coordinator with Michaels....own/open a LSS and still go and spend $130 at Archivers today....But I am a mag/idea book junkie and there was really cute Daisy D Papers that I had to get to go ahead and make a gift for a friend since mine isnt here yet....Speaking of mags/books....You should see the book shelves going in the office at the store :)
It's amazing just how many a gal can have :)
I got alot done today at the new store...But still have soooo far to go....The frig is finally being delivered tommorrow after getting lost in hhgregg's computer system....Found some great bright stripe material for the valances over the windows in the cropping area...got a few orders placed...got 2 of the 5 Sizzix die cut display boards done for the walls above the die cutting counter..put 4 bookcases in the office.....Talked to a few reps....Worked on the Sept cal which I know should be out already but isnt..and most important met alot of great gals and a few really cute ballerinas :)
Tommorrow the list continues.....place a few more orders....after the frig comes..go shopping for treats for Sat crop...
5 people so far :) .....make goodie bags....work on some altered samples...make a run to target and bed bath and beyond to pick up some things for the bathroom....finish the Sizzix die display boards....have wonderful helpful son
Jonathan go pick up 4 more bookcases for the office, figure out how to decorate the coffee lounge area, get in touch with the local artist to paint the words/quotes on the walls...and the list goes on...Sometimes I dont think I will ever get to the end of the list but it's fun trying :)
That's it for tonight ...my little furball who is recovering from major surgery last week is doing her ...come to bed Mom cry :)
Coordinator with Michaels....own/open a LSS and still go and spend $130 at Archivers today....But I am a mag/idea book junkie and there was really cute Daisy D Papers that I had to get to go ahead and make a gift for a friend since mine isnt here yet....Speaking of mags/books....You should see the book shelves going in the office at the store :)
It's amazing just how many a gal can have :)
I got alot done today at the new store...But still have soooo far to go....The frig is finally being delivered tommorrow after getting lost in hhgregg's computer system....Found some great bright stripe material for the valances over the windows in the cropping area...got a few orders placed...got 2 of the 5 Sizzix die cut display boards done for the walls above the die cutting counter..put 4 bookcases in the office.....Talked to a few reps....Worked on the Sept cal which I know should be out already but isnt..and most important met alot of great gals and a few really cute ballerinas :)
Tommorrow the list continues.....place a few more orders....after the frig comes..go shopping for treats for Sat crop...
5 people so far :) .....make goodie bags....work on some altered samples...make a run to target and bed bath and beyond to pick up some things for the bathroom....finish the Sizzix die display boards....have wonderful helpful son
Jonathan go pick up 4 more bookcases for the office, figure out how to decorate the coffee lounge area, get in touch with the local artist to paint the words/quotes on the walls...and the list goes on...Sometimes I dont think I will ever get to the end of the list but it's fun trying :)
That's it for tonight ...my little furball who is recovering from major surgery last week is doing her ...come to bed Mom cry :)
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Wednesday August 9th, 2006
A very good online friend (Jennifer in TX) suggested that I start a BLOG for the store so this is my first attempt at posting one.
It has been a very busy 8 weeks. We have gone from just a concrete slab building to a actual
scrapbook store and crop studio. This all started coming together Mother's Day weekend.
My husband who owns his own businesses wanted to give me a business to start from scratch and turn it into whatever I wanted. This resulted in "The Birth of a Scrapbook Store"
here in Cumming Georgia. We found a great location that is a little out of the ordinary for a storefront but the area is growing fast and we have some great neighbors (Sawnee Ballet,
JitterMugs Coffee Shop, A Community Church and more) We looked at several areas, shopping centers etc but this location kept our attention.
We signed the construction lease the middle of May. Found a store that had gone out of business in Ohio, purchased their remaining inventory, flew to Ohio, loaded it on Roadway
headed to Atlanta. Then the planning and blueprints were finalized and construction started.
My husband took a very active roll in the building of the store and cropping studio. He built
the office, 22 foot cropping counter, painted the floors, painted the bathroom, did the chair-rails,
installed the slatwalls, gondolas, counters etc. He poured his heart into getting everything done.
There were many weekends he would come in from out of town on Friday night or early Saturday and be at the store 10-12 hours. There were many nights he would insist I go home
while he stayed and got things done. A gal couldnt ask for a more caring husband.
I am on of those people if something can go wrong it will. Infact several friends say I should write a book about the stange things that happen to me. I am the person who came home 2 weeks ago Saturday to my own personal waterfall when the pipe broke under my kiddos
bathroom and above my entry way. All I could do was laugh. Well many things like that have
happened during the building of the store. Let's just say I will never drive by a building site
and say "that place has had a now coming sign up for 3 months ...I wonder if they are really opening..." I now know all the things that can and will go wrong. But evidentally it all comes together.
We are still in the pre-Grandopening stages but opened our doors last week and started hosting crops (7 scrappers our 1st night). I was a little afraid of the timing of the opening (back to school)
is such a busy mom and family time but everyone in the area has been so supportive and sweet.
They all understand that we are still working and planning things but are anxious to check us out. Already this week I have met some of the most wonderful creative ladies and even reconnected with some moms and children from past summer camps at Michaels.
I am still working on the idea lounge area upfront with the sofa and tables of idea books which I hope will be a daily gathering place for customers, friends & moms of the ballet students next door. I also have a coffee central alcove area in the works in the middle of the store. But again
everyone has been sooo complimentary about everything in the works.
Ok I just realized I am writting a novel (that's my downfall I love to talk and visit with people)
so I am going to wind down this first post. I have several orders to place, a few to check on
and classes, samples etc to plan.
Before I end I thought I would post just a little bit about me :)
I was born and raised here in Atlanta. I had 2 of the most wonderful parents a gal could have.
My father passed away a few years ago but my mother still lives in Tucker which is 45 minutes from the store and we see her weekly if not more. I have been married to my hubby for
22 years and have 2 kiddos DS Jonathan 19 in college and DD Jennifer 17 a senior this year.
Both kids have been very involved in the store working on anything from sorting papers and product to working on the website which is still under construction. I have one other kiddo
which is a Chocolate Cocker Spaniel (trust me she is just like a little kid ;) and then there's
the 2 rabbits but thats another story for another day.
I have been an Event Coordinator with Michaels Arts & Crafts Chain for years. Infact we just got thru with our 10 week summer camp program I do which had +2000 children come. I am actually on vacation this week working on getting things done at the scrapbook store. I have tried many crafts/hobbies but my passion has always been scrapping. Infact my kids laugh
that I cant go anywhere without picking up something and thinking about using it in or for
scrapping, altered crafts or something.
I have been very active on the AOL Scrapbooking Board for about 9 years joining in atleast 200 swaps and even meeting a few gals as they come thru Atlanta. I am soooo looking forward to meeting several more as they come thru Atlanta in the next few months and stop by the store.
Ok time for me to get busy with store things and get ready for our 1st big sale tommorrow
thru Saturday. I have decided to mark several items down and take an additional 10% off everything in the store to make room for all the new items coming in post CHA. I hope this post works....Here I go..................
It has been a very busy 8 weeks. We have gone from just a concrete slab building to a actual
scrapbook store and crop studio. This all started coming together Mother's Day weekend.
My husband who owns his own businesses wanted to give me a business to start from scratch and turn it into whatever I wanted. This resulted in "The Birth of a Scrapbook Store"
here in Cumming Georgia. We found a great location that is a little out of the ordinary for a storefront but the area is growing fast and we have some great neighbors (Sawnee Ballet,
JitterMugs Coffee Shop, A Community Church and more) We looked at several areas, shopping centers etc but this location kept our attention.
We signed the construction lease the middle of May. Found a store that had gone out of business in Ohio, purchased their remaining inventory, flew to Ohio, loaded it on Roadway
headed to Atlanta. Then the planning and blueprints were finalized and construction started.
My husband took a very active roll in the building of the store and cropping studio. He built
the office, 22 foot cropping counter, painted the floors, painted the bathroom, did the chair-rails,
installed the slatwalls, gondolas, counters etc. He poured his heart into getting everything done.
There were many weekends he would come in from out of town on Friday night or early Saturday and be at the store 10-12 hours. There were many nights he would insist I go home
while he stayed and got things done. A gal couldnt ask for a more caring husband.
I am on of those people if something can go wrong it will. Infact several friends say I should write a book about the stange things that happen to me. I am the person who came home 2 weeks ago Saturday to my own personal waterfall when the pipe broke under my kiddos
bathroom and above my entry way. All I could do was laugh. Well many things like that have
happened during the building of the store. Let's just say I will never drive by a building site
and say "that place has had a now coming sign up for 3 months ...I wonder if they are really opening..." I now know all the things that can and will go wrong. But evidentally it all comes together.
We are still in the pre-Grandopening stages but opened our doors last week and started hosting crops (7 scrappers our 1st night). I was a little afraid of the timing of the opening (back to school)
is such a busy mom and family time but everyone in the area has been so supportive and sweet.
They all understand that we are still working and planning things but are anxious to check us out. Already this week I have met some of the most wonderful creative ladies and even reconnected with some moms and children from past summer camps at Michaels.
I am still working on the idea lounge area upfront with the sofa and tables of idea books which I hope will be a daily gathering place for customers, friends & moms of the ballet students next door. I also have a coffee central alcove area in the works in the middle of the store. But again
everyone has been sooo complimentary about everything in the works.
Ok I just realized I am writting a novel (that's my downfall I love to talk and visit with people)
so I am going to wind down this first post. I have several orders to place, a few to check on
and classes, samples etc to plan.
Before I end I thought I would post just a little bit about me :)
I was born and raised here in Atlanta. I had 2 of the most wonderful parents a gal could have.
My father passed away a few years ago but my mother still lives in Tucker which is 45 minutes from the store and we see her weekly if not more. I have been married to my hubby for
22 years and have 2 kiddos DS Jonathan 19 in college and DD Jennifer 17 a senior this year.
Both kids have been very involved in the store working on anything from sorting papers and product to working on the website which is still under construction. I have one other kiddo
which is a Chocolate Cocker Spaniel (trust me she is just like a little kid ;) and then there's
the 2 rabbits but thats another story for another day.
I have been an Event Coordinator with Michaels Arts & Crafts Chain for years. Infact we just got thru with our 10 week summer camp program I do which had +2000 children come. I am actually on vacation this week working on getting things done at the scrapbook store. I have tried many crafts/hobbies but my passion has always been scrapping. Infact my kids laugh
that I cant go anywhere without picking up something and thinking about using it in or for
scrapping, altered crafts or something.
I have been very active on the AOL Scrapbooking Board for about 9 years joining in atleast 200 swaps and even meeting a few gals as they come thru Atlanta. I am soooo looking forward to meeting several more as they come thru Atlanta in the next few months and stop by the store.
Ok time for me to get busy with store things and get ready for our 1st big sale tommorrow
thru Saturday. I have decided to mark several items down and take an additional 10% off everything in the store to make room for all the new items coming in post CHA. I hope this post works....Here I go..................
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