Come and get it - It's FREE!

We've got 70 copies to give away, just come in and ask for it!

Sorry, we can't mail it out-no money in the budget for postage :)

All of our copies are now gone! Thanks for your interest. Be watching for the next issue due out in December.

Scrap Pink Ladies-

Our big 12 hour crop to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is this Saturday at the West Stafford Firehouse. We have our pink t-shirts ready to wear! Doors will open at 10am with lots of fun and excitement planned. Everyone who attends will receive a goodie bag from us; be sure to look inside for your very special discount coupon. Lunch, dinner and beverages will be provided but feel free to bring any special snacks that you like to munch on while cropping. Please advise us prior to Friday if you have any special dietary restrictions or food allergies. You are free to come and go whenever you wish during the 12 hours.

In addition to the fabulous door prizes and raffle items that we have for you, we will also have a Scrapbook Scavenger Hunt and a layout contest. The theme of the contest is “A woman who inspires me”. You can make your page ahead of time or work on it at the crop. Pages must be completed (with journaling) by 8:00pm and croppers will vote for their favorite.

For those of you unable to attend we have a great gift basket loaded with product that we are selling raffle tickets for. Tickets are available in the store until Saturday for $1 each or 12 for $10. The drawing will be held at the Scrap Pink Crop at 8:00pm and you do not need to be present to win. All of the money from this raffle will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

If you would like to join us for this fun-filled event you can call the store to register by Friday at noon. Cost is $35 per person and $10 of that fee goes directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Thank you for your support!

More New Stuff from Fancy Pants Designs!

Look at what arrived on Monday:

Two new acrylic stamp sets -

And an adorable new baby line of papers including these:

And this is just one of the great papers from the botanical line:

Wow, the tag sale was a success!

Lots of people came out and got some great deals. Several of our "vendors" sold well over $100 of their stuff and now have store credit to go on a shopping spree- How fun!

If you weren't able to take part this time, don't fret. I'm sure we'll do it again sometime, maybe in the spring, we'll see.

Help! I'm buried in Scrapbook stuff!!!!

As if our darling UPS man, Jay, hasn't been bringing us enough stuff that we do not have room for... Yesterday was the customer drop off day for our Tag Sale on Sunday. We had hoped to keep everything in the class room so we didn't have to deal with the weather and lugging it all outside and then back in at the end of the day - But NO WAY! These ladies have stashes that put me to shame! Two are former store owners, 4 are current or former SU or CTMH consultants, and at least two are former CM consultants, and all of them are admitted shopaholics.

If you are looking for anything unusual or retired you need to be here on Sunday. I just cannot believe how much stuff is here.

Oh, and we got some very nice NEW stuff too! Most of it is still stacked on the counter because we can't fit it any where else, but you are free to buy it off the counter! Maybe if it all sells we won't have to find a home for it!

Bus Tour Update

Well after a very brisk start to our registration, the dust has finally settled and we still have a few spots open for the Bus Tour on Oct.21st. Call or stop in if you'd like to join us. It's going to be a ton of fun. Check out the cool t-shirts we ordered. You can buy one when you sign up and wear it the day of the tour!

Isn't this cool?

This is what Adine has planned for her Spooky Stuff class in October. So Cool!

Morning Classes

Did you know we now have lots of morning classes scheduled? In fact, Donna's very popular card club has a class this coming Monday, September 10th. This class is a great bargain at only $28. You make 4 fabulous cards and you get to take home the featured stamp. This month we are featuring one from Hero Arts. There is still time to sign up- but you must call before Friday afternoon so Donna can prepare enough materials!

Upcoming class samples

Here are 2 of the classes Dawn is teaching at the store:

It's a Ruff Life - Sept. 17th

Crisp Autumn Days - October 27th

So much happening at The Inspiration Station

We are entering into the busiest time of the year here at The Inspiration Station. Our class calendar is bursting at the seams (so is our sales floor!) and we have a bunch of special events lined up.

This weekend, Labor Day weekend, we are having a sale. We will be closed on Monday though, so you need to get in soon. Next Saturday, in addition to two amazing classes that Dawn is teaching, we will begin the registration for the next Bus Tour. The 5 Store Scrapbook Tour will be held on Sunday, October 21st. We are working with the same stores as last trip and even though the bus company tried to raise the price again we were locked in months ago so we have been able to keep the cost to you the same.

The following weekend, Sunday September 16th, we will have our first ever Customer Tag Sale. Many of our customers have signed up to sell off their unused paper crafting products and that means great deals for you on things you might not be able to get elsewhere! The sale begins at 11am and ends at 4pm. If you are one of the people who will be selling at the Tag Sale, your labels are printed and ready for you to pick up.

A new start

Since the kids are back in school and making a fresh start, I thought it would be a good time to make a fresh start with my blog. I have been meaning to do it for a while but just sending out the weekly newsletter and updating the website takes up more time than I have. Thankfully, Dawn has taken over updating the website so that should free up some time for this.

The Inspiration Station

What is the Inspiration Station?
We are Northeastern Connecticut's source for Scrapbook Supplies, Rubberstamps and Paper Craft Supplies and Instruction.

Here at The Inspiration Station, our mission is to "inspire" you to create your own priceless heirlooms; whether that is in the form of Scrapbooks, Rubberstamped Greeting Cards, or Special Gift items. We are always bringing in new products to help you create your special projects. Stop in and see our selection of Cardstock, Pattern Papers, Rubberstamps, and Embellishments of all kinds and get inspired!!
Let our helpful staff inspire your creativity and show you how much fun papercrafting can be.We have been your source for Inspiration since 2002!

Where is The Inspiration Station?

13 Furnace Avenue
Stafford Springs, CT 06076
(just 4 miles off Interstate 84)

How can I contact The Inspiration Station?

By Phone: (860) 684-2641
Email: Inspirationsta@aol.com
Website: http://www.the-inspiration-station.com/

No time to blog

Wow, can it really be a month since I last posted? I really don't know how people manage to update theirs on a daily basis- I barely have time to get through all of my emails! Of course, If I didn't spend so much time lurking on the boards and reading other people's blogs(My favorite is: http://www.kellicrowe.typepad.com/), I would have more time to do it myself:)

I did get to wander around Borders Books for an hour or so yesterday. I needed time to let the Novacaine from the dentist wear off before I went back to work. Anyway, I went in for one book - Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Rosenthal, because the girls over at Big Picture Scrapbooking recommended it. An hour later I came out with 4 books and $70 less in my wallet - I really need to use the library more...

In addition to "Ordinary Life" I also came across the infamous "Bitch" book and had to grab it. I plan to tear it apart and use its pages in my Book of Me. The other books I picked up were, The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child and The Bipolar Child. I figure since my son is pretty stable right now (knock on wood), I could get some reasearch done and maybe be better prepared for the next "event". As a plus, my daughter is doing her Health class research paper on Bipolar Disorder, so she can use the books for reference. (Yes, honey, that bill was for school supplies for your daughter....)

We had our ATC group meeting last night. Some of the cards the ladies made were just fabulous - made mine look like crap compared to their's. Oh well, there's always next month.

We've had a ton of new papers arrive at the store in the last week. Yesterday was the new Scenic Route, which I love. We really have way too much inventory at the store but I can't seem to stop buying! We ran a paper sale over the weekend and on Saturday alone we sold 609 sheets of paper! It didn't even make a dent. The March EK stuff should arrive any day - who knows where that's gonna go. We packed up most of the beads to free up a display to put all of the Heidi Swapp stuff on; it looks good.

We managed to get all 275 class kits for the CK Convention packed up, now we have to ship them to Utah. We are doing a lot more with the convention this year and man, it's a lot of work! I sure hope it's worth it in the end. Only time will tell. So...who's going? I'm talking about the CK Convention in Manchester, NH May 18-20. Anyone?

New EK Stuff

OK I think I finally figured out how to add photos to this blog so here is a layout I created using some of the new EK Success products that we were given at EK Stravaganza. The epoxy title matched perfectly with the Baby Face line of papers.

I Feel Important

Today I was interviewed for a trade magazine, CraftTrends. They are doing an article in the February issue about stickers and how many independant stores are moving away from them. I know the author had interviewed other store owners so who knows how much of the article will include my thoughts but I think it's kinda cool. The guy writing the article was quite nice and we had a great time chatting.

Last year I had a bit part in an article about album merchandising that was in Scrapbook Retailer magazine but it was so small I almost missed it. I'm looking forward to seeing this one. It should be out around CHA (end of January).