MARVELOUS MONDAY

Checking out the new collections by Bazzill is such a MARVELOUS way to start the week.

 Bazzill's Autumn Harvest collection has the richest colors

Both sides of the paper have these fabulous colors and patterns.  Plus, they have oak and maple leaves along with paper pumpkins for you to use for embellishments on your pages.

This is the "Nordic Pines" collection and features black, red, white and kraft.  

Again, both sides of the paper are fantastic.  Check out the white deer heads on that kraft paper and the black, kraft, red, and white rulers - LOVE those!

Cat also ordered in the coordinating paper flowers and snowflakes so we will have everything we need to make beautiful pages.

This is their fabulous "Countdown to Christmas" collection.  I love the Christmas tree paper - I can just see it being used to make fabulous Christmas cards!

Again, the back side of the paper is fabulous.  

We all need a little glitter on our pages and Bazzill has some glitter tape to fill that need.  In addition, they have a distressed red striped paper tape as well.  Lots of cool things can be done with these tapes!

Don't wait too long to pick up some of these wonderful collections from Bazzill.  I have a feeling they will be quite popular!  

SUNDAY INSPIRATION

Cat is in Houston at The Collins Show getting inspired with all kinds of classes from the different vendors.  Pictured above is a faux stained glass technique using the WOW embossing powders.

This is another project she made using the WOW embossing powders and all kinds of techniques.  Looks like a lot of fun!

Look who Cat ran into at the show - Joey from Bazzill.  

Of course they had to get goofy!

Joey taught a class where you use two sheets of paper and make this adorable box that you fill with 4" x 4" cards.

Look at this adorable card using one of their beautiful die cut snowflakes.

Another card - this one has some of their glitter tape on it.

And, another cute card.  The box and cards all use some of the Bazzill Christmas collection that we have in stock at the store.

Cat also took a mixed media class with Dyan Reaveley using her Dylusions brand of products.  They made these two tags featuring Dyan's inks, stencils, and stamps.  We are having problems keeping her Dylusions spray inks in stock - they are VERY popular!

Cat always comes back from The Collins Shows full of ideas for classes for the store.  So, be prepared to be WOWED!

IT'S A CAT-TASTIC CATURDAY

So, what are you hunting today?  We might have just what you are hunting for with all of the new product that has arrived in the past week.

Carta Bella's "So This is Christmas" is full of vintage beauty.  It features burgundy, muted shades of green, and shades of ivory and tan.  Carta Bella doesn't disappoint with this beautiful line of paper. 

There are collection packs, 6" paper pads, beautiful brads, chipboard, layered stickers, and a 12 x 12 sheet of stickers.  Lots of great embellishments for the fabulous layouts that you create with this collection.

Echo Park's "Tis the Season" features reds, greens, silvers, black, and white/ivory.  Lots of wonderful designs in this collection.

Even the back side of the papers is pretty!

Check out the candy cane alphabet stickers!  Adorable!!!  There are also collection packs, 12 x 12 sheet of stickers, brads, chipboard stickers, and layered stickers.  Everything you need to make beautiful Christmas layouts.

If you like the Reflections collections that Cat recently got in the store, then you will also like this Reflections Christmas collection.  Like the others, this features all kinds of vintage images on the papers.

It's hard to decide which side of the paper is your favorite on some of these - definitely would need to buy 4 of some of them!

There are two 12 x 12 sheets of stickers - one is alphabets and the other features designs.  In addition, there are collection packs, layered chipboard stickers, brads, chipboard stickers, and a 6 x 6 pad.  Again, they have made everything you need to create fabulous layouts.

Come by the store to pick up some of these beautiful paper collections.   There will be a group of ladies creating this wonderful hunting album that Cat designed.  See you there!

FRIDAY FUN WITH BOBUNNY CLASS AND RESTOCK

The store was filled with BoBunny happiness Wednesday night.  The BoBettes (Vicki and Liz) were in town and shared their joy and talent with us.  Above is a class photo, minus the three people who had already left.

Vickie showed our "newbies" how to use a scoring tool since one was needed for the class- and yes, they fell in love with it and purchased a scor-pal!

Joyce's beautiful daughter joined in the fun and made one of the albums too.

Patrice, Nanci, and Carole were hard at work making the spine and hinges for their album.

Liz walked around and showed everyone the finished album while Vicki got the class started.

Cat's friend, Cathy Hunt from the Outer Banks, flew in to take the class and to go to the Collins Show with Cat and the BoBettes.  It was great to get to meet Cathy after hearing so much about her.

Nancy had to overcome some obstacles to get to the class and arrived late, but Liz and Vicki caught her up with the class.

We all had so much fun with Vicki and Liz and hope that they will come back to teach another class soon.

Guess what Liz and Vicki got for us.....yes, a restock of Elf Magic and The Avenues.  These sold out at the Anniversary Retreat and there was none left for the store.  But, now we have it in stock at the store - YEAH!

The magical fun of the Elf Magic collection!  Such cute papers in this collection and designed especially for those "Elf on a Shelf" photos!

Wonderful embellishments for those Elf layouts.

The beautiful collection, "The Avenues" flew off the tables at the retreat, but are now on the tables at the store waiting for you.  This collection has birdcages, clocks, shutters, and doors gracing its pages.

Of course there are wonderful embellishments for this gorgeous collection.

Make sure that your weekend plans include a trip to the store to pick up some of these very popular BoBunny collections.  There are even more new products in the store that will be featured on the blog later.  

DESIGNER OF THE MONTH

Our first Designer of the Month was voted on by the September retreaters.  The winner was Sandy Trefger!  These are the projects she made for the competition:

One of the requirements was to make a project other than a layout or card, so Sandy made a treasure box.  Unfortunately, the projects of the entrants were damaged by a coffee spill, so the coffee stains are not part of the original entry.  Cat provided both of the entrants replacement paper so they could repair their projects.  

This is the inside of the treasure box and the two mini albums inside.

The entrants were required to make a card.  This is the card and envelope that Sandy made for the competition.  Love those pinwheels!

One-half of the two page layout they were required to make.  

Second half of the layout. Again, the coffee stains were not part of the design!

As you can see, Sandy is a very talented lady.  She is a regular teacher at the store and her classes are very popular.  I asked Sandy to share some information about herself:

I've been scrapbooking since 1995 and have all my old photos and my mother's photos safely archived in scrapbook albums.  I still scrapbook now and then but have since moved into creating mini albums for my current photos (though right now not many of them are in the mini albums just yet!)

Since I was no longer scrapbooking on 12x12 layouts because I was "caught up", I started making cards for Operation Write Home in 2011.  That is also when I started my blog:  www.sandyscraftycreations.blogspot.com  to share my cards and to participate in card challenges.  In June, 2012, I ventured into designing.  I guest designed for the We R Memory Keepers Facebook Page in June, 2012 by creating a two page layout. In June of that year I also applied to several Design Teams for challenge blogs.  I am currently designing for the following challenges:

Digi Haven  June 2012 - present
Seems A Little Sketchy June 2012 - present
Cards in Envy  February 2013 - present

In addition, I am the Winner Coordinator for Seems A Little Sketchy and the Hostess for Cards in Envy both on the blog and on their Facebook page.

I am a past designer for the following challenges:
Clear It Out Tuesday August 2012 - January 2013
Stamping Shack November 2012 - April 2013
Christmas Cards All Year Round  January 2013 - June 2013

I love crafting with pretty papers, which means I have a lot in my craft room and I love sharing what I learn with others. I have a Youtube channel where I post how to videos and tutorials.  You can find the links to the videos and tutorials on my blog.

Congratulations, Sandy and thanks for sharing this information with us.

It's DOUBLE PUNCH THURSDAY, so come to the store and pick up some of the AMAZING new products that have arrived at the store.  You get double punches all day long, so it is a great way to fill up your punch card to get $10 off of your next purchase.

WOW WEDNESDAY

Congratulations to our WOW Wednesday winner:  LUCKY #6, Valerie on Cassandra's blog.   Just a reminder that I am not counted when counting for the winning #.  Congratulations, Valerie, contact Cat at the store (940-327-0713) for your prize.

If it's the second or fourth Wednesday of the month, then it is time for our WOW Wednesday linky party. We made a few changes to WOW Wednesday a few weeks ago:

• It is the second and fourth Wednesday of the month.
• You have TWO WEEKS to participate.  I will be reminding you along the way that there is still time to participate.
• The winner will be announced on the next WOW Wednesday post.

Other than that, it is the same:

• To be considered for the blog candy, you must post a project that you have created. WOW Wednesday must also be mentioned in your post and be sure to let your blog readers know that there is blog candy being given away to a random participant or commenter.  Would you like to participate, but do not have a blog?You do not have to have a blog to participate. You can find the directions on how to link up your creations that you have in a gallery here.

I hope you will share your fabulous creations with us. If you didn't have time to create anything, I hope you will share some love on everyone else's creations--we all love that positive reinforcement
Just a reminder that I am not considered for the blog candy, but anyone who comments on my blog IS in the running. Thank you to everyone who participates, either by posting some work or commenting on the blogs.

Just a reminder:  If for some reason the link-up tool doesn't work, add your link in a comment.

TUESDAY TEMPTATIONS

BoBunny paper is nearly always a huge hit and the "Elf Magic" collection definitely was a HIT!  Cat revealed it at the anniversary retreat and only had a few sheets of paper left to bring back to the store.  If you loved this collection, then you don't want to miss out on the class Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. taught by the "BoBettes" from BoBunny.

Check out this adorable tag book!  It will be great to capture those Christmas memories this year or from years past.  I have it on good authority (from Cat) that you don't want to miss a class taught by the BoBettes - they are a BLAST!  I can't wait!  This class is only $30, so call Cat at the store to see if there is still room for you.

The Avenues was as popular at the anniversary retreat as Elf Magic.  There were only a few sheets of paper that made it to the store.  I know I was guilty of buying quite a lot of this collection - it is GORGEOUS!

After the Elf Magic class, the BoBettes are teaching this beautiful layout class.  For $15 you can create this layout, or if you take the Elf Magic class you get it for $10!  So, for $40 you can spend the whole evening creating fabulous projects with BoBunny paper and the fun BoBettes!  I can't wait to create this beautiful layout with my favorite collection.  I love the layered clocks!

So, if you missed out on these two collections, this is a way for you to get projects made with them without having to wait for the reorder!   Plus, you will get to have a lot of fun in the process.  So, join us at the store for a fun, creative evening with the BoBettes!

MARVELOUS MONDAY RETREAT MEMORIES

....and so began another of Cat's fantastic retreats.  There were quite a few who arrived promptly at 1:00 p.m. so that they could enjoy every minute of the retreat.

Patrice was so happy to be retreating this weekend!

Of course, some people have very neat tables;

others....not so much!  LOL!

The crop room was buzzing with creativity!

Of course, we sometimes have problems with people getting bucked out of their chairs!  Yes, Vickie was OK...took her a while to get up because she was laughing so hard!

We were treated to some fabulous food from Cat and Ray, Golden Chick, and Mesquite Pit.

We enjoyed eating the delicious meals out on the patio.

When the "elephant dung" doesn't arrive like it was supposed to, what do you do?  

If you are Cat, you treat your retreaters to a 75% off sale....you didn't hear anyone complaining....just rushing to get their hands on the bargains!

What's a retreat without pajama raids...they are so popular and so much fun!

We had so much fun and hated for it to end.  If you missed this retreat, there will be another one November 7-10.   It will have an added treat of optional classes to help you with that Christmas list.  Join us for our Old Fashioned Country Christmas affair. If you miss it you will be ever so sad you weren't there.    Call the store to reserve your spot.