Sunday, January 8, 2012

Hello Again.....

Things have been more hectic than usual around the store since the end of October.  A lot has been going on (for more of an explanation see the end of this post).  We have been very busy taking in new products almost weekly.

More Silhouette CAMEO's are arriving.....  We sold the initial 15 Cameo's within the first 2 weeks and we received 12 more and sold those rather quickly as well.  We have 10 more arriving around the 15th of January.  Hurry in or call and reserve yours today, they are going fast. We still have 2 Silhouette SD's in stock for $249 but I don't expect these to last long either.

We have another Silhouette Class scheduled with Wanda for Saturday, January 21 at 6:30 pm, $10 fee.  She will be reviewing the Silhouette SD and Cameo and teaching from Beginner to Advanced steps with each.  I will give a brief demonstration with the vinyl and print-n-cut.  If you have a Silhouette or you are thinking of purchasing one, please come to this class.  I promise you will leave with at least one tip you didn't know.
We had a GREAT class with Angela and Jamie from Basically Bare and have a good supply of products in the store that you will love.  Basically Bare products are alterable, which means they can be customized by you to meet the artistic needs of your current project. Each pack of {Basically Embellies} comes in a variety of fun materials, including:

• Premium heavy-weight chipboard
• Flexible, embossable acrylic
• Natural 100% cotton unbleached canvas
• Double-Sided Corrugated Cardboard
• Premium stiffened felt

Each of these versatile materials can be distressed and altered, inked and dyed, misted and painted to your heart's content. The possibilities are only as endless as your creativity!  We hope to have these ladies back sometime in the spring. See Tanisha's instruction for the card above here using the DressForm Embellies Set


We have a terrific class set up for Saturday, January 14th with Sabrina from the Collins Group.  Many of you may remember her coming to demo the Luminarte products from Creative Imaginations.  This time she will be showing us how to use the Microfine Glitter Glitz from Elizabeth Crafts.  This stuff is amazing.  If you know anything about me, you know I dislike glitter because of the mess it leaves behind and it is constantly falling off your project, not this.  This feels like velvet after it is applied and will stay in place, no more worries.  And, you are going to go gaga over all of the color choices.  There is also a glitter clean up cloth that you have to try.  I am so excited about this product.  We have already had to place a reorder 3 times and we haven't even "officially" demo'd it yet.  Schedule your spot for the 10:30 or 3:30 class on the 14th of January and get a hands on feel for glitter.  The cost of the class is only $10 and you will make 4 card fronts using the glitter, shimmer sheets and more. I promise it will make you re-think your use of glitter.

Don't forget you still have a little time to sign up for the Basic Grey Page of the Month Class for 2012.  The new class with start in March.  This class is always the 4th Sunday of the month at 2:30 pm, unless there is a holiday conflict.  You have until January 24th to get your name on the list to receive the kit.  Unless there is a price increase that I have not been made aware of yet, class kits will remain $20 per kit.

We've moved our Card Classes from Tuesday evenings to Sundays to hopefully accommodate more people with scheduling conflicts through the week.  Card classes are $12 for 5 cards, inside and out and includes envelopes.  I hope you will decide to join us and get stocked up on those cards you always need but never have.

Please feel free to check out other classes scheduled at the left sidebar and pick one that suits you and join us. 

Now, on to new items in the store:


 
Just arrived are the Sew Stampers from We R Memory Keepers added to the already in stock Sew Ribbons and Sew Easy.  We also have received the WRMK Sweetheart Inkers.


 We've updated and expanded our Glitter Ritz Glitters and Shimmer Sheetz from Elizabeth Crafts as well as Glimmer Glaze and Glimmer Glam from Tattered Angels.

New lines just in time for Valentines include:


Basic Grey Kissing Booth

 Kaiser Craft Sweet Nothings


SEI Promise Me



JilliBean Hearty Barley Soup


 Echo Park Victoria Garden

Echo Park Yours Truly (Collection Kits only)


and MME Love Me (Collection Kit Only)

Also new to the store is:

Authentique Gatherings

Fab Scraps Timeless Travel

 Paper House Little Girl 


 and Little Man 

Tim Holtz Toolbox and Trinket Case

Grant Studio Taggles Stickers
We have a variety of these great for our "younger" scrapper group to add to
pages, cards or just to play dressup

October Afternoon Farmhouse Collection


Coming Soon: 12 New Colors from COPIC Markers; New Hero Arts Stamps and Custom Paper for Rossview Schools in Clarksville.  This is just a few of the many items arriving over the next few months.

For those not aware of our Custom Papers we currently carry all of Stewart County Schools: Stewart County High, Middle School, Dover Elementary and North Stewart Elementary; Henry County Schools: Henry Co. Patriots, Lakewood Eagles, Harrelson Hawks; Houston County Irish, Montgomery County Schools: Montgomery Central Indians, Northeast Eagles, Northwest Vikings, Clarksville High Wildcats and Clarksville Academy Cougars.  Please stop in and take a look at these custom papers and pick some up while supplies left.

Thank you for stopping in to see whats going on around Precious Scraps, I appreciate you. 

For those interested on more of a personal update, here goes:  Denise is still hanging in there.  She was finally diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer after going through two months of testing and being told several different diagnosis.  The cancer has already spread to her lymph nodes, bladder and bones.  She has begun Chemo treatments once a week at Vanderbilt Hospital.  They told her it would be 8 to 12 weeks and she could expect to start seeing hair lose.  She was by a few minutes earlier and unfortunately it has already started at week 3.  But Denise is taking it in stride trying to determine if she wants to be a blond or firary redhead.  Her oldest daughter Alecia had a beautiful baby girl, Zoey Elyse Powers, on November 22nd for which I got the honor of being a part of.  Denise called me on Monday morning and ask if I could do her a favor, she had been admitted that very morning to a different hospital than Alecia and couldn't be there for her.  Would I "mind"  stepping in for her was her request.  I so enjoyed helping Denise out and being there with Alecia and her younger sister Tina and will always have a special place in my heart for little Zoey. We've missed having Denise around the store but enjoy her impromptu visits when she feels up to it.

With Denise being gone from the store we have found the perfect person to step in.  It was definitely fate that brought Lois to us.  She happened in on two very "special" days that made her aware we were in need of help.  She found out we were hiring and quickly emailed me here resume.  After speaking to her on the phone and setting up a meeting I felt in my heart that she was going to be the answer to a prayer.  We met with Lois and spoke with her and decided to offer her the position on the spot and have her start right away.  She began training with Jessi and myself and within a week was left on her own.  She has been a blessing and fits right in to our little Precious Scraps family.  I hope that if you are in the area you have a chance to stop in and say hello to her and welcome her to the store.  Lois is married and is a mother and grandmother.  She has the most gorgeous grandson's that you will definitely be spotting in some of the samples around the store very soon.  She is from Indiana but has been living in Clarksville for a brief time.  She and her husband Ernie will be moving to Stewart County before long as they begin building a home on their land in the Indian Mound area.

I have decided to finally take that leap of faith and step away from my full time position at the dental office and only work part time there so I could devote more time to my family and to the store.  I am looking forward to only working 2 days at the office and having two complete days off from the office and the store.  Well, almost; until things get caught up at the store I will be spending my spare time there.  There have always been things that I've wanted to change about the store, such as the organization, more blog updates and newsletters.  I will be devoting more time to these projects over the next few months and hopefully will in turn make more time for family in the process.  As many of you know, we started a home renovation project back in July and have complete finished all the projects but I still have several boxes to unpack and have to re-organize my home crafting space since this became the "kitchen/storage room" during the reno.  I hope to post some pictures of the before and after very soon.  I hope as well to be able to spend more time with my husband Larry who has been a trooper through the building and growth of the store.  We have sacrificed all of our spare time to the store and hope to carve out a little time for us this summer for a short vacation, the first since the beginning of Precious Scraps.

As you can see the past couple of months have been very full and I truly appreciate your patience during this transition time and apologize for my lack of post and communication with everyone.  I have new goals set forth for the new year and look forward to checking each one off my list as they change from resolution to reality.  Again thank you for your support and friendship over the past year and I look forward to new and brighter things to come.  Beverly