Ken Oliver coming back to The Inspiration Station

He's coming back! Mr. Ken Oliver will be returning to The Inspiration Station for the weekend of April 14 & 15. Still working out class details but you can expect a class on Saturday and demos all day Sunday during our Bus Tour! If you are not able to attend the bus tour but want to see Ken and his Unibind Photobook Creator in action on Sunday call us and we can tell you when the best time will be to come in (in between the buses).

 

Follow us on Pinterest

The Inspiration Station is now on Pinterest!  You can follow us by clicking the link in the sidebar or by clicking this Link.

I will be pinning ideas I find around the web as well as uploading photos (as time permits) from the past, like photos of The Inspiration Station over the years. Make sure to follow us if you are on Pinterest!

All Aboard....

Last call for our Spring Bus Tour.  As of Sunday morning we had only 5 seats left open on our bus.  We can't wait; it's always such a fun time.  It is a ton of work but it goes by so fast.  It is amazing to me how well we all work together that day moving things along.  After five years of bus tours we all seem to have found our niche and can run the event like clockwork - provided the toilet doesn't back up and the computer doesn't crash...  Anyway, if you have never been, you really need to go.  Donna is the tour guide on the bus and everyone raves about the fun they have.

In other news, we received some absolutely gorgeous new lines from My Mind's Eye yesterday:  Follow your Heart and Miss Caroline. Everything about these lines are beautiful, you are going to love them.  We also got in the This to That Charming line from Echo Park and it is a wonderful line for boys and men, but the shades of teal and brown will work for a lot more too.

















Here is a look a a page I made using the new LYB Saturdays line to show off my cousin's Baby boy.  Isn't he adorable?

Next up is an overdue layout from my daughter's graduation.  Other than the photos all I used on it were a few rhinestones and the new quote stickers from Reminisce that should be arriving soon.  I am so proud that I was able to get NINE photos on one layout and not have it look crowded!

2012 Bus Tour.

The buses for the Scrapbook Bus Tour are filling up fast. Wiggles & Giggles bus is already SOLD OUT and there are a limited number of seats left on ours, Papercraft Clubhouse and New England Scrapbook Co's. This will be the only bus tour this year so don't miss your chance to see what's new at all of the stores and leave the driving to Peter Pan.

Get on board on Sunday, April 15th for an entire day of shopping, learning and fun at the best scrapbooking stores around!  The fun begins at your host store at 8:00am with a delicious breakfast as well as time for a little learning and shopping.  At each store you’ll receive a free gift and discounted shopping while you discover the unique characteristics of the shops. There will be demonstrations and learning opportunities at each store. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are included.

• The Inspiration Station  (860) 684-2641
• Papercraft Clubhouse  (860) 339-4443
• Wiggles & Giggles (Sold Out)
• New England Scrapbook Co. (860) 693-9197

Tickets must be purchased in advance from your host store (this is the store you start at and return to at the end of the day).  The cost for all this fun, food and learning is only $69 per person.  The fee is due at registration and is non-refundable unless we can fill your seat from a wait list

 

Magenta Classes with Nathalie Metivier

Join us as we welcome Nathalie Metivier from Magenta Rubber Stamps to The Inspiration Station for her first visit.  Nathalie has prepared two different classes with fabulous techniques using some of the newest stamps from Magenta.

3 Techniques... Magenta Style

Monday, March 26  10am-1pm

Cost $35

Materials needed:

• Various colors of Adirondack Alcohol Ink

*since some persons need to copy as precisely as possible, the ones used on the tile were: Meadow, Terra Cotta and Wild Plum.
*of course colors can be different and it will be as nice! Dark ones better than light ones.

• Handle and Felt. Blending Solution and craft sheet are convenient too.
• Colored Pencils (ideally the Prismacolor Artist ones - not the Scholar ones which are too dry) -
• Pencil sharpener
• White pigment ink pad (like Frost White ColorBox)
• Few colors waterbased markers (like Tombow or Marvy)
• Small paintbrush and cup of water (or waterbrush)
• Small precise scissors
• Glossy Accents or similar
• Adhesive

Watercolor and more... Magenta Style

Monday, March 26^th    6pm-8pm

$35

Learn two unusual ways to create watercolor effect – without watercolor. Discover one of Magenta’s favorite, the Colored Pencils on black cardstock.

Material needed:

• Colored Pencils (ideally the Prismacolor Artist ones - not the Scholar ones which are too dry)
• Pencil sharpener
• Few colors of Distress ink pads: purple, blue, green, brown tones
• Small paintbrush and cup of water (or waterbrush)
• Craft sheet is always convenient
• Small precise scissors
• Adhesive

Classes must be pre-paid at the time of registration and are not refundable.  Space is limited, so sign up early.

Winter CHA Recap

Donna and I arrived home safe and sound on Tuesday night. We had a great trip with the most beautiful weather, lots of walking and lots of laughs. I still have not unpacked all of the stuff I brought home with me, but I did manage to throw a load of laundry in and start going through all of the samples. I had to leave behind a lot of the catalogs that I would like to have kept, but my luggage was way overweight and I ended up checking a second bag just to get products home.


As usual, Ranger and Sizzix were very generous in what they gave out in classes so we got lots of fun stuff.  We had to miss our class with Donna Downey at Prima's warehouse because the cost to get a shuttle to take us there was unreal; $138 each way!  Had I known, I could have rented a car for the day!  Oh well, that freed up our day on Saturday so we were able to get into Sizzix classes and a Vintaj class.  We also were able to take a couple of mixed media classes that we really enjoyed.


The CHA show itself was much quieter than I expected. It was nowhere near as crazy as the shows we had attended six or seven years ago when people lined up before the doors opened and stampeded for their favorite booths.  There was none of that this year. There were a few lines at the make and takes, but all of the booths had plenty of room to get around and talk to the vendors. I did get to see a few "celebrities" and meet an online friend who owns a store in San Diego.

Me with Mario Rossi and Tammy Tutterow

Simple Stories Year-o-logy

Simple Stories- AwesoME

Glitz

October Afternoon 9-5

Prima

Sizzix Dies

Sizzix Dies & Texture Fades

The best part of the show is always seeing what the designer do with the new product.  There are some amazing artists out there.  The samples we saw ran the gamut from simple and elegant, to cute and whimsical, to fun and funky, to amazing and drop dead gorgeous.  In the Prima booth I honestly spent more time admiring the artwork than looking at any of the products. It was like walking through a museum.

I did manage to spent a great deal of money buying new lines, however. Many lines are shipping in February so we should be seeing them soon and some others are scheduled for March.  We should be fully stocked with goodness for the Bus Tour on April 15th.  By the way, registration for the bus tour begins next Saturday, Feb. 11th at 10am.




Here is a sampling of some of the new lines you will be seeing at The Inspiration Station.


New Penny Black Stamps:

Graphic 45 Little Darlings

Teresa Collins Fabrications

Bo Bunny Weekend Market

MME Miss Caroline