It's Girl!

Congratulations are in order for our Saturday girl, Michelle. She and her husband Eric and their son Cole welcomed a new baby girl into their family on Dec. 26th!

Ava Marie was 7 lbs 11 oz and we are told has a head full of hair! Both mom and baby are doing well and expected to come home today. Our best wishes to the whole family!

Snow

The snow has really showed us down this weekend. Yes, it looks pretty; but being the last weekend before Christmas it has really taken its toll on our sales. We only have 3 more shopping days until Christmas (we are closed Christmas Eve)- so I hope you all have a chance to get in at the beginning of the week. Lots of men have been in for gift certificates but only a few have come in to fill Wish Lists; today would be a good time to remind them!

Holiday fun

The ladies in our ATC Group had a great time making these adorable snow people. These imaginative beings are recycled bottles!

As seen on TV

I was flipping through the channels on TV this morning while drinking my morning cup of tea and came across an infomercial for a product I recognized; the Top Score & Enveloper tools from Crafter's Companion. We have been carrying this product for months and I have been meaning to set up a demo day for it, but as usual I haven't had time. Anyway, it is a very cool tool and would make a great gift. Save yourself the shipping and handling and get it at The Inspiration Station.

More cats?

I have had a number of people asking about the kitties that I took in a few months ago, so I thought I would follow up.
Sasha & Tut are doing great. Tut is a big love- and when I say big, I mean it. He is at least twice the size of Sasha. He loves to be snuggled and tries to come in the house whenever he can. Sasha is so stinkin' cute but only allows me to hold her for a minute at most. She is an aerialist and loves to climb and jump. She is still quite tiny, especially in contrast to Tut.









Sasha









Here's the problem... apparently - Tut has spread the word among the feral cat community that I can be trusted and have invited several friends over to dinner! A few days ago I found Sasha & Tut hanging out with another kitty on the porch. The new kitty (I'm calling #3) looked a lot like Sasha but has a white chest and white feet. It appears to be the same age. I'm thinking it may be a sibling.

Last night when I went out to feed them, I met #4.
We have an enclosed greenhouse like room over our in ground pool and that is the new home to Sasha & Tut. It is cold, but out of the wind, rain and snow- so I made a nice warm bed for them and I can go out and feed them without having to go outside. There is a loose panel in one wall that allows the cats to come in and go out whenever they want. So when I went to feed them (in the dark) they were swirling around my legs and I heard another cat crying from the other end of the room. I turned on some lights and saw a different cat in the room. It was crying and obviously hungry and I am a sucker and couldn't shoo it away. It immediately came to the bowls and started eating. Sasha & Tut did not seem to mind. In fact, Tut walked away from the food and wanted me to pick him up.

This morning when I went to feed them, Sasha & Tut were curled up (yin - yan style) on the bed I made and #4 was not around. Of course, as soon as I poured the food in the dish, #4 popped in through the wall and came running. Again, Tut walked away to let it eat. I went in and got my camera to grab these shots.

So there are at least 2 more ferals in the yard, my husband says he's seen three- so it looks like I'll need too call Our Companions once again. I don't know whether these 2 are male or female and if I don't trap them I could be over run with kittens by spring...

2009 Bus Tour

Plans are underway for the 2009 Scrapbook Store Bus Tour. We had to make some changes to our initial plan due to scheduling conflicts, so as it stands right now the bus tour will be Sunday, March 15th. Mark your calendars! We will only have one tour in 2009 so you don't want to miss out. Details about registration and itinerary will be available sometime in January, but I wanted to give you a heads up so you can plan your schedules.

Tim's Tags

Donna and I spent some time playing on Wednesday trying to keep up with Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas. Here's what I've done so far.

I hope you have a chance to play along as well!

Are you looking to save a ton of time and money for Christmas? Think personalized gifts for grandparents, teachers, family members… Just go to Stories by everyone, choose a book or calendar that you want to build, upload the photos, then add a little bit of journaling (or not) and you are done! It’s just that easy. Once ordered, your calendar or book will be mailed to you in as soon as 5-7 business days. Can you imagine giving a personalized calendar like this one to the people on your Christmas list? You only need to create one and then order enough for everyone on your list! How easy is that? Just be sure to enter our exclusive store code 43WCWYW6K9 when you check out! When you use my code, you have access to exclusive local-store-only designs, as well as the option to choose free shipping to the store.

Would you like to win a free calendar? Log on and help us win!
We are participating in a contest sponsored by Stories By Everyone. The stores blog with the most comments about the Stories By Everyone website will be chosen to give away a new brand
new calendar. Leave a comment about this post and on December 15, 2008, Stories By Everyone will choose the three blogs
with the most comments. If my blog wins, I will choose a winner at random. Just remember, you can only post once! So, tell
everyone you know and ask them to pass this message on to everyone they know.

He's doing it again!

Tim Holtz will be doing his 12 days of Christmas tags again starting December 1st. Last year's were so amazing and we learned lots of new techniques. I can't wait to see what he comes up with this year! Plus, we got in his new Christmas Stamps last week and the new Metallic Crackle paints arrived today...

The people have spoken

Apparently there are a lot of people who do NOT watch football on New Year's Day so they would rather come to crop! That's great! I'm looking forward to spending the day cropping with friends. We will have a New Year's Crop from 11am-5pm. Cost will be $20 per person and will include a lunch of pasta, bread and salad. Sign up early - judging from the response we've gotten this will sell out early.

New Tim Holtz stamps

Have you seen them? The new Christmas designs from Tim Holtz are awesome and we have them in stock! Check them out on his blog.

Good news- updated...

It looks like we are going to receive some of the the Lace Tree Cuttlebug folders. I got the invoice for them today so I should get the shipment in a day or so. We will fill requests in the order they were received. Thanks for your patience!

Updated 11/18 at 3:00pm
No- we did not get them. I re read the invoice and I was looking at the order column. It said, ordered 18, the next column said 0 shipped.... Sorry! I was really hoping they were coming.

Anyone interested?

Anyone interested in coming to a crop on New Year's Day?
We are normally closed that day but if there is enough interest in cropping/shopping I will come in and open the store. Email or comment here if you are interested so I can set up the January schedule. Thanks.

Quick update

No you didn't miss it; I did not send an email newsletter out this past week. Things were just too busy. Never fear, there will be one sent this Wednesday (or maybe Thursday:))-

Lots of stuff has been coming in each day, and we are trying to keep up with filling all of the special orders. We are having a very hard time getting the Cuttlebug Lace Tree back in stock, it is sold out through Provocraft and our distributor; so if you are waiting for that I'm sorry it is not in yet and honestly, I don't know if we will ever get it. The website that I usually access to find out availabilitly of PC products has been messed up for the last few days. The last tyime I checked they had some folder coming in on Nov 27th but I don't know if the Lace Tree was one of them.

The same is happening with the Martha Stewart Icicle punch. We had 12 on order and when the order came today the punches were not in it. I was told by my rep last week that they were out of stock and had no plans to re-order, but when I called Wilton to ask they would not confirm that. Keep your fingers crossed.

Everyone waiting for the Hero Arts stamps I used on my sample cards should have gotten a call today. That order came in this morning. Of course, by afternoon the extras I had ordered were also sold.

I think the problem this year is that many manufacturers were concerned that they may get stuck with products because of the economy so they cut back on production. Unfortunately, we are just starting into the holiday season and are already sold out of many seasonal items! My advice to you is if you see a product you want, don't wait! Once an item is out of production we can't get it again. That has never been a big problem in the past, but I think you will see it more now.

As for what HAS come in...
Cosmo Cricket Christmas line (it's gorgeous); Cloud 9 Finley's estate, Cat's Pajamas clear and wood stamps, Kaisercraft rhinestones and more. Come in and check it out.

Thank you for voting

No matter who you voted for, I thank you for doing your part for our country. We had a tremendous turnout for our Election Day special so I know many of you went to the polls. Now that the election is over we can focus on the fun stuff... The Holidays!!!

Moving right along

WOW! I can't believe how fast the new Tim Holtz stuff has moved through here. Over the weekend we had several people come in and buy one of everything from the new release! Don't worry, I have already reordered the Distress Stickles (we still have a few left but they will most certainly be gone after Donna's Cuttlebug Christmas class tomorrow). I also have already sent in a reorder for the Basic Grey Wassail - several of the papers and the 6x6 pads flew out of here over the weekend; oh the glazed brads too.

My fourth Cricut class has sold out (who woulda thought?) so I am looking at possible dates for another. Any interest is doing a morning class? Most of the evenings are pretty much booked between now and the end of the year.

Yes!

The new Tim Holtz Distress Stickles have finally arrived!! The 12 new colors match up to some of Tim's favorite Distress ink colors. I think my favorite out of the box is Peeled Paint.

Also in the shipment were the fabulous new Holiday Grungeboard designs and the Nature Grungeboard, along with Tim Holtz masks. Click on the highlighted links above to see all the goodies on Tim's website.

Photo from Tim Holtz Blog.

A great time was had by all!

My mom & I had a great time at the "Fiska-Friendzy". This was not a trade event but an event for the people who are Fiskateers. It was a very diverse group of women. I was the only store owner, but there were several scrapbook teachers, certified demonstrators, and crafters in general. One girl was brand new to paper crafting and others had been doing it for years. The only requirement was that they be a registered Fiskateer (craft ambassador).

We started the day with a continental breakfast. While everyone arrived we chatted with everyone and started ogling the prizes (which were incredibly generous). Everyone received a goody bag with great stuff including a stamp press, a fingertip swivel knife, a tape runner, 2 Cloud 9 board books in a box, some clear stamps and an orange scarf that was embroidered with the fiskateers logo and a great lapel pin.

At noon we boarded the big yellow school bus, wearing our orange scarves, and drove to Yankee Candle for a fabulous buffet luncheon at Chandler's restaurant. The menu included Fresh Clam Chowder, Roasted Turkey, Baked Cod, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Squash and Cranberry jelly. For dessert we had homemade Apple Crisp. Then we had 2 hours to shop Yankee Candle (which itself is a treat).

When we got back to the hotel, our leading lady, Kelly Jo, started drawing prizes. Not just any prizes - Amazing prizes!! Like apple baskets with at least $100 worth of product (Mom won one of those!) and of a ton of clear stamps. One prize was a collection of ALL the new Scalloped punches.

Then we had the evening to crop, some ladies did demonstrations and there was a tag swap with some beautiful works of art. One of the Fiskars engineers, Doug, was there the whole evening and talked with us all as a group and individually about what products we thought they should work on. We all felt like he was genuinely interested in what we had to say.

Somewhere along the line pizza was brought in and there was more candy available than a 3rd grade class on Halloween. All of the ladies were wonderful and the event ran very smooth. We had a great time. We also saw a few of our customers there. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these events-jump on it!

New Basic Grey "Wassail" is in the house!

It just arrived this morning and Donna is unpacking it as I write. This one is so beautiful I'm already working on a re-order! This batch is NOT going to last.

Have you seen...

How much new stuff has come into the Inspiration Station in the last few weeks?
We have more Studio G $1 stamps than we know what to do with! They are on racks, in baskets, in boxes under the counter. It seems like a new series is released every week. There are fall styles (Halloween and Thanksgiving), Winter (Hannukah, Christmas, New Years and snow), and the latest batch are calendar sets - one for each of the 12 months plus misc. events. At just $1 a piece you can't go wrong!!

Cricut lovers: We have the new Deep Blade housing in stock so you can now cut chipboard and other thicker materials, even with the baby bug (original machine). Check out the cool Chipboard Word Book I made using the Baby Bug, Base Camp cartridge, and Design Studio software. I was inspired by a lady named Scraplynn's design.

A reminder that the next available Crafting with Cricut class is Wednesday, Nov. 5th and there are only 2 spots remaining. If this one fills again I will see about adding another next month.


And just in case you've ever wondered what my crafting workspace looks like- Here it is...It's not pretty, but it serves the purpose!

Free Online class from Jessica Sprague

I just registered for this Free Class - you can too! Just go to Jessica Sprague's website.

Autumn Passport Cricut winner

Congratulations to Christina St Pierre, the winner of the Cricut Expression from our Autumn Passport Program!
The winner of our store prize drawing was Ruby Bacon. Congratulations to both ladies!

Sasha wants to say "Hi!"

Yes, this is one of the kitty babies. No longer quite so "feral", she and her brother seem to be quite happy to be our outdoor cats.

Changes, Chaos and Construction

That pretty much sums up the last week for me!

We are doing a bit of construction (or is that DEstruction?) at the store so we have a bit of mess and chaos. For those who don't know, I own the building that the store is in and there is an apartment on the second floor. I used to rent it out but when the tenants moved out I decided to keep it for my own use and put my office and storage up there. It also comes in quite handy when we have big events because my mom uses the kitchen to store and prepare all the food. The only problem is that up until now the only access to the apartment was by way of the alley. Not such a great thing at night or in the winter when it becomes a skating rink. So for a long time I have wanted to re-open a long closed stairway that led from our closet in the store up to the apartment, but I have been unable to get a carpenter willing to do the job. I finally found one (waving "Hi" to Doug), and he started work last week.

As usual with old buildings-when you start ripping open walls you tend to find unexpected things. Thankfully we didn't find any bodies or anything - with this building's history, you just never know- but we did find another door behind the wall. Well, you know we couldn't just leave it there without exploring... It led down to a storage room, which is great because we were losing our closet to gain the stair access. The downside is that we now have another day or two added on to the construction since we need to insulate and reconstruct some walls. During all this time, everything that was stored in the closet is now piled up in the classroom which is not fun when we have classes going!

So I apologize for the mess in the classroom and the dust and noise in our stamp department!

Another change I made over the weekend is to my internet service provider. I have been using AOL for more years than I can remember, more than 15 definately; so that's pretty much all I know. I have rarely used internet explorer. Well, with these tough times I am looking to cut expenses where I can and don't know why I have been paying $25 a month for AOL when I pay for cable internet at home and at the store. So I cancelled AOL. I still kept my email address (inspirationsta@aol.com) but now I have to get used to a whole new way of finding my mail and my favorite places! So if you email me and I don't get right back to you, don't feel bad about calling or emailing again. It may take a while for this old dog to learn new tricks!

Lovin' this Background stamp

This is a Hero Arts stamp, isn't is beautiful? The other stamps are also Hero Arts. I'll be stocking up on these for sure!

This one uses two clear stamps from Inkadinkado.

Another Cricut Class added

The Crafting with Cricut class on October 29th is SOLD OUT. I have added another date on Wed., November 5th. Some people have requested a project based Cricut class and also a Cricut Design Studio class. I plan to work on that as soon as possible but do not expect to have them ready until after the holidays. Our class calendar is quite full all the way through Christmas so I'll be looking at dates in January.

Packing up for the CK Convention

Once again we are packing up boxes of product to take to the CK Convention. This time the show is in Hartford so we have less travel time. The only problem is that this is the first year CK has come to Hartford so no one really knows what to expect. We don't know how the room will be set up, whether we'll have electricity to run our register (or have to do everything by hand...). We have pretty much got it down when it comes to the New Hampshire show, well, except for that unfortunate incident in the parking garage :) - but his is a whole new ball game. I did speak with the Logistics Mgr at the Connecticut Convention Center and he was very helpful and very accomodating so I am hopeful that things will run smoothly.

Lots of other things are in the works as well. My mom and I are going to a Fiskars Regional event in Deerfield, MA on the 25th. If you are a Fiskateer and interested in attending the Fisk-a-friendzy, click here. Kelly Jo can get you more info- there are a few spots left and it sounds like loads of fun.

Then, in November, Terry & I are going to a Weekend Scrapbook retreat at Ridin' Hy Ranch in the Adirondacks. We booked our room yesterday. It sounds like a lot of fun and at $199 per person for 2 nights accomodations and 6 meals you cant beat the price. Check out their website if you are interested.

Oh, before I forget- The October store page kits are ready too. I can't believe it's the 1st of October already! Check out Terry's October layout class sample in the store, too- I think it's one of her best layouts yet.

Operation Successful!

I just wanted to let you know that I was able to trap both feral kittens on Thursday and took them to the vet on Friday. They both did well, although the female took a while to come completely out of the anesthesia, and I released them this morning. I was pleased that they did not run off although they did hide out for a bit. After a few hours I went out looking for them and they came out when I called them and followed me back to their "home" under the porch where they could be fed.

I want the thank Our Companions for helping me with these kitties and for the great services they provide. For more information about the Sterile Feral Program or any of the other services they offer please visit their website. http://www.ourcompanions.org/

I hope to have more photos up soon.

Some new cards for your "Inspiration"

I Love this Cuttlebug Snowflake Dots folder and check out the cool snowflake border punch along the bottom!

More coming when I finish playing...

We survived

The Tag Sale was amazing. We were swamped for the first couple of hours- lots of people walked away with tremendous deals. The people who brought their stuff in to sell earned a ton of store credit that they can use for brand new goodies.
This was our last Tag Sale for this year. Watch our newsletter for a date in the spring. One the weather warms up enough for us to set up the tents again we will plan another.

Good Golly that's a lot of stuff!

Ok for the past 2 day people have been dropping off their stuff for the Tag Sale tomorrow (Sunday 9/21). I cannot believe how much BRAND NEW stuff people are bringing in that they have never opened!!! C'mon people you have got to use the stuff you buy - otherwise you are not scrapbooking or stamping - you are collecting!

The sheer volume of paper is mind-boggling. Many package appear to be from conventions and places like QVC where you get 1 or 2 sheets of every paper in the line. I wanted to cry when I saw so many Basic Grey collections for only $5. I would buy them all myself except I already have them! And yes, I HAVE opened them and used some. Life is too short to save all the paper- use it - enjoy it. (Then you can buy more!)

It must be Thursday

'cause we got slammed with boxes of product today!

The new Fall $1 clear stamps from Studio G arrived (series 20); some stinkin' cute designs in there.

A huge box of new Fiskars products including Holiday Squeeze Punches.

Some new stickers and things from EK Success.

A restock order of the things we completely sold out of last weekend when we were demoing for the Autumn Passport- The Stamp Press, Non-stick Craft Mat, Perfect Pearls, and Versamark. We alos have been getting small batches of Cuttlebug folders in almost daily.

Our Companions Sterile Feral Program

For those of you who have been following my “Kitty” capers, I’d like to update you on Sasha and Tut. Unfortunately, I think I found them a little too late to be able to tame them. They come running each time I go out to feed them but they are still so jumpy. Every little noise or movement sends them scurrying. They love to pose for the camera though and after their bellies are full they like to relax and play close by. They are growing quite fast now that they are getting regular meals.

I called my vet to see about what programs they have for feral cats and they put me in touch with an organization called Our Companions. One of the many services they have to offer is called the Sterile Feral Program where they teach people how to trap feral cats and then provide a vet check up, vaccinations, treat for parasites and spay or neuter them. Then the cats are released back where they came from. All of this is coordinated by volunteers and the vet services are at a reduced fee. They have been very helpful and I will be meeting with someone from the organization very soon and hopefully Tut and Sasha will be able to get to the vet in the next week or two.

I know that many of you are animal lovers and so I wanted to tell you a little about this organization that has a plan to build an animal sanctuary in Ashford for companion animals. They have a 43 acre site that they are working on and plan to build a unique facility to rescue and rehabilitate. I have provided a link here for you to learn more about it.

September card club

I just wanted to share a couple of the cards that Donna is doing in this months card club classes:

Congratulations

I just realized that I never posted the name of the winner of our $75 prize from the Passport to Summer. Our winner was Pamela Archangeli! Congratulations, Pam.

By popular demand-
I have added another date for the "Crafting with Cricut" Class. The new date is Wednesday, October 29th at 6pm. Class fee is $20. We already have some spots filled so if you want to get in to this one please call ASAP.

more updates

It never fails.
As soon as I hit send on the email, I have more information to share.
I hate that!

Anyway, a couple of more updates:

Sunday's Cricut class is completely SOLD OUT. If you are interested in taking this class on a Sunday, please email me and I will see if I can schedule a date.

The Cricut class for the 24th had only 1 spot left this morning. Again, if you areinterested in taking this class on a weeknight, please email me and I will see if I can schedule a date.

The September Store Page Kits are ready and in the store. They are first come, first served so get yours soon.

Autumn Passport Program (formerly the Shop Hop)

AUTUMN PASSPORT EVENT
Interested in the Shop Hop, but just can't make it on the 13th?
Well, read on ...
When you sign up for the Autumn Passport event,
you'll have one month to visit all five stores.

Here are the highlights:

Receive 20% off at each store. Visit all five stores and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a Cricut Expressions (retail value $499). Plus, each store will be raffling a prize package filled with $75 in scrapbooking supplies.


Your $25 registration gets you coupons, your passport and tag album. Register anytime!

Take your passport, coupons and album to the participating stores anytime between Saturday, September 13th and Monday, October 13th.

Each store will stamp your passport and at the last store you visit leave your completed passport for entry into the drawing for a Cricut Expression.

A Time for Memories - North Grafton, MA
Inspiration Station - Stafford Springs, CT
Life's Memories & More - Palmer, MA
Sturbridge Scrapping Corner - Sturbridge, MA
Times To Treasure - West Boylston, MA



At each store, receive 20% off your purchase with your coupon.

Receive a raffle ticket for every $10 purchased. Each store will be raffling a prize package filled with $75 in scrapbooking supplies.

Learn two techniques at each location! Each store will have make-and-takes throughout the month.


If you have previously registered for the Shop Hop, you are welcome to visit all five stores on Saturday, September 13th or spread your shopping out over the next four weeks.

Stop in the store and pick up your passport, coupons and tag book anytime.

Is it too early to decorate

for Halloween?

Donna says it's never too early for Halloween and we just got the greatest cling vinyl black silhouettes from Martha Stewart for the windows.... I really want to put them up! They are so cool I had to buy extra because I knew people would want them for their homes. Oh, and her Halloween punches are great too; there has been a lot of buzz on the internet about the "Drippy Goo" border punch. Get in early to get it beacuse it won't last!

Being productive

I finally got a chance to play with some paper and I feel like I was very productive. I made 2 page samples and 2 card samples. That's a lot for me in one day; I never have time to just be creative anymore. I will be at the store from 10am-2pm so if you need anything feel free to stop in for some retail therapy.

Update on the kitties

Now I know. The big one is male, the little one is female. We have named them Tut and Sasha. They are very cute, but still too cautious to let us catch them.

Labor Day

This Monday is Labor Day and although my girls will have the day off, I will be going in to open the store from 10am-2pm. I've got my little brain working overtime to come up with some "unadvertised" specials to offer that day to anyone who comes to visit.

This is the last chance to sign up for a spot at our Customer Tag Sale. Participants can pick up their labels any time Friday, Sept. 5th. Tag sale goods must be dropped off on Friday, Sept. 19th and unsold items must be picked up by Tuesday, Sept. 23rd. Anything not picked up by that date will be donated.

Dawn & Donna have added some awesome new classes to the schedule, you should check them out. Dawn will be doing a monthly class that focuses on using up your scraps! Donna, of course, will be doing fun stuff for Halloween with a Halloween Treats class and a separate Halloween Card Class. Both of my Cricut classes are just about full so I will look to see about adding another one in the future. If you are interested, let me know whether you prefer weekend or weeknight.

New Friends

I've mentioned before that I live on a farm; not that we actually raise anything- but still it's a farm with an enormous barn. Next door is another farm with another enormous barn and lots of horses. Horses come with flies (lots of them!); and barns come with stray cats (unfortunately lots of them too).

Last fall I was able to rescue a little bitty kitty I named Boo from our barn. We don't have animals in the barn therefore there is no feed to attract mice so no cats (except in the winter when they are desparate for shelter). Most of the cats around here are extremely skittish and impossible to get a hold of. I would like to be able to get them so we can have them spayed and nuetered but unfortunately we can't. It doesn't help that there are plenty living in the barn next door. Anyway, Boo's mom was an exception. She wouldn't come to us- but she wouldn't run and hide either. She hid under our deck and got into our garbage and after she had Boo she let me take the kitten without any fight. Unfortunately I was not able to catch her to get her spayed she disappeared for the winter and this spring she was back in our garbage and pregnant again.

This week, these two little guys showed up outside my bedroom door to the porch. Mom is long gone and they were very hungry. I'm guessing they are about 12-14 weeks old. They have made their home under our deck and although they run every time we approach, they do come close when I bring them food and they are getting more comfortable with me and my daughter. They hang around and play after they've eaten. They still will not let us pet them or hold them. I haven't been able to figure out whether they are male or female or a combination. One is quite a bit bigger than the other and judging from the way he/she pushes the little one out of the way when I bring food I'm guessing that's the dominate one. My hope is that I can get them to trust me enough to pet and hold them so I can get them to the vet. We'll see. It will take some time I'm sure.

New Papers

OK, so the new Graphic 45 papers flew off the shelves this week (we are re-ordering just be patient); but we also received the cutest line of Christmas papers from Dream Street, and finally found some paper for Bermuda and Aruba! The Halloween lines have been moving very quickly and it's not even September yet; guess I'll need to re-order a few of those too.

This week - August 18-23

WOW, what a day we had Saturday for our 3rd annual parking lot sale. We had great weather and a fabulous turn out. The people who came got some great bargain (one even called me to thank us for the sale!!), and we cleared out a lot of older stock.

Never content to sit idle, we have already started planning for the next event, our Customer Tag Sale. This time YOU have a chance to clear out your older stock! Yep, for just $5 you can rent a space at the Tag Sale to move out your old supplies. Every penny you sell will be given to you in the form of Craft Currency so you can spend it on brand new stuff here at the Inspiration Station. It's a win-win for everybody! Last tag sale some people sold over $200! Space is limited so register now.

Kids Kamp is done for the summer and we are revamping it for the fall. Beginning with our next Kamp (Columbus Day), we will split the class into two groups; one for ages 7-10 and one for 11+. This will allow us to offer more advanced projects to the older kids without overwhelming the younger ones.

New Cuttlebug folders for Fall

They're here! The awesome new Fall/Halloween and Winter/Christmas cuttle bug folders arrived Thursday. Get 'em while you can, they are sure to sell out fast!

Also new on Thursday, is a great selection of new stamps from Impression Obsession. Those cute little pink Baby Scrapcans from Croppin Cuties are finally back in stock too.

What's new this week (August 12th)

Donna is back from vacation and apparently the UPS & Fedex drivers really missed her! They were both so glad she's back that they have been in every day to see her!

This week we have received the new Scenic Route Sonoma line (that I made my Family page with) along with a bunch of super cool, and affordable chipboard. New Halloween stamps (yes, more) from Inkadinkado came in. Some of the new Cuttlebug embossing folders and the Cricut Storybook cartridge arrived yesterday. The Graphically Speaking cartridge came in too, but it's sold out already! We are expecting the Cosmo Cricket Halloween line on Thursday and some new $1 clear stamps from Studio G should be arriving any day.

Our 3rd annual Parking Lot Sale is scheduled for this Saturday, August 16. Please pray that we don't have rain that day! We do not have a rain date planned so if it rains we will be bringing everything inside...and it gets really crowded when that happens! The sale is on from 11am-5pm. This is the time that we sell off our old samples, overstocks and more. Prices are below cost on most items and all sales are final.

Wanna know a secret?

Thursday is our busiest day for receiving new merchandise. Since we are closed on Wednesday, we always get a TON of stuff delivered on Thursday. So if you are looking for the latest and greatest or want to get things before anyone else - come in on a Thursday afternoon or Friday! If you wait for the weekend you could miss out. We have people come from all of the area on Saturday and Sunday and they scoop up all of the goodies. This is especially true for those hard to find items like the new Cuttlebug folders or the new Jumbo scalloped punches from EK. We are on our second shipment of those already!

Adorable new stamps

Remember our friend, Changito the Monkey? He's back!!!
He's all dressed up for Halloween trick or treating along with his friend Fluffles the cat. No tinto Halloween? Wait until you see what he is doing for the winter holidays- Shoveling snow, drinking cocoa, delivering packages... Oh, and it you are fan of Pirates; he's also dressed up a a peg-leg pirate! Too much fun!

Crafting with Cricut

I know many of you have purchased the Cricut in the past year and many of you have not even taken it out of the box!! Shame on you! Let that bug out and put him to work. Everyday I answer questions from Cricut owners on how to use their machine; so in September I will offer a class in "Crafting with Cricut". You will bring your machine, cutting mat and one cartridge and I will walk you through the basics (like setting the proper pressure and depth) and then we will check out some of the extra features that really make this a fabulous machine. This class is for the original Cricut or the Cricut Expression.

Sunday, September 7th
1pm-3pm
Cost: $20

By request, I am looking to add an evening class in as well. What the newsletter for updated information.

Here is a layout I did using the new Scenic Route papers I have on order (love it when reps give me samples ahead of time!).

I scraplifted the layout from BH&G scrapbooks etc. magazine and used the Sonoma line, some prima flowers and my cricut home accents cart to cut the title.

Summer CHA orders

Following the Summer Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show I have been meeting with the sales reps from all of our current vendors and a couple of
new ones. Curious about what I have ordered?

Here is a sneak peek:

The Sonoma Line from Scenic Route >










Melissa Frances Christmas










New Stickles colors from Designers, Tim Holtz and Suze Weinberg.

New Metallic & White Distress Crackle paints from Tim Holtz.

Free Issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today

We have 100 copies of the Summer issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today to give away. Just come on in and ask for it! While supplies last- one per customer, please.

Fun new stamps from Inkadinkado

With a name like Inkadinkado you know the stamps will be fun! I know it's early, but the Halloween stamps are just too cute. We also got in a few Autumn styles and Christmas/Winter - all in affordable clear sets.

A special guest from the Passport Program

Meet Jake. Jake joined in our Kids Kamp class last Tuesday when he stopped in on the Passport to Summer. While he did a little stamping his owner, Judi, shopped and then he was good enough to pick up the tab!

He is a very large doberman, but honestly could not have been a sweeter dog. He is a FEMA certified service dog who is trained in disaster relief. He came to visit us all the way from New Jersey and has been to stores in several states along the East coast. His visit came as quite a surprise, but his personality won us over!