Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Big Sale Starts VERY Soon (and Then I Can Start Baking) . . .

It is the day before Thanksgiving . . . and I have been given a lengthy baking/preparing to-do list (cheeseball, chocolate mint cookies, gluten/dairy-free brownies, pumpkin cheesecake lasagna) that I need to accomplish between now and 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.  But first, I need to finish the work stuff – and as s0on as I do, the following will begin . . .

25off2015

I hope to have everything ready to go before I leave the mail center this afternoon.  So by 6:00 p.m. EST it should be official – if you see this graphic on our homepage, the sale is on! 

So please save a little time in your busy holiday weekend to browse our site and submit your orders.  From the experience of the past few years, I know that we’re going to be overwhelmed for a while – so please be patient with us and we’ll fill your orders just as fast as we can.  And if a portion of your order is for a holiday gift, please put a note in the comments section at checkout – we’ll do our best to make sure those go out promptly.  Thanks!

Friday, November 20, 2015

Fun and Frivolity at Home . . . and a Winter Wonderland (?) in Wisconsin

It’s a big weekend at our retail store in Dayton – they’re calling it the “Holly Jolly Holiday Affair” – the beginning of a week full of sale items, Make & Takes, and more.  And it begins tomorrow with two full days featuring Anthony Gilbert from Anthony’s Paper Craft – two classes and two Make & Takes – and he’s bringing a trunk show with his entire stamp line.

anthonybanner2

You can get more information about this weekend and all of this week by clicking on this link . . .

OOAKlogoNOWORDS

Meanwhile, I’m in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend for the One of a Kind Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook Show at the Alliant Energy Center – and it may just be a Winter Wonderland here.

Screenshot_2015-11-20-08-07-22

The weather weasels are predicting 6”-10” of the white stuff from Friday night into Saturday morning.  Now I realize two things – weather weasels are notoriously wrong, and the good folks of Wisconsin, Chicagoland, and all points around are quite used to getting around in winter weather.  But since this is the first predicted snowfall of the season here, I might tend to worry.

So I’m counting on all of you to gas up your snowmobiles and get out here tomorrow and prove my fears wrong . . .

Friday, November 13, 2015

I Am Completely Out of Style - and I Don’t Care . . .

During the day, I usually listen to sports talk radio – I became an old fogey on the music scene a long time ago, and most days “regular” talk radio is too controversial for my tastes.  Sports talk is like the toy store of life.  But the sports squawkers just hit my hot button . . .

21

They were making fun of jean shorts – or “jorts” as they are often called.  I have heard this for years, but no one has ever given one good reason why they are so uncool.  I wear jeans all winter long, and I have never heard a negative comment about them.  But the shorter version of the same thing during the summer is a social faux pas?

And then it got worse on the same radio segment – I am now told that cargo shorts are out of style.  I just bought my first couple of pairs of those (small side pockets, though – not the baggy ones) a few weeks ago – mostly to wear on golf courses that don’t allow denim.

I really don’t know – or care – who on the East and West Coasts makes these decisions (sorry, Middle America – we don’t get a vote) – but I suspect this has more to do with trying to shame us into throwing our entire wardrobes in the trash and buying whatever “they” say is in-style.

Sorry – I stopped playing that game a long time ago.  Probably not long after I escaped the ‘70s and leisure suits and really short shorts and socks that went up to my knees. 

The only people who get a vote on my wardrobe now are the person who looks back at me in the mirror, and the wife who has to put up with it.  If it’s comfortable, and I like it – I wear it.

And I really like jean shorts.

Now that my rant is out of my system, I will move on with my life. 

Thank you for indulging me – have a great weekend.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Happy Birthday, Karen . . .

Today is Karen’s birthday – and at the store any occasion such as that is a good excuse for a carry-in.  Today, it was a cake carry-in – there were three of them.  And I got a text this morning inviting me to come up and partake – so I did.

20151111_124615_resized

Karen wanted to know why I had my cell phone tilted – I was trying to get all three cakes into the picture.  But I failed.  So when everyone came back behind the classroom  to line up, I asked them to gather behind the table so I could climb up on a chair and get a shot of all of them with all three of the cakes, just before they sang to her.

20151111_124740_resized

I still missed half of one of the cakes.  I also missed all but the arm of the extraordinarily nice lady who moved the outlet box that hangs down from the ceiling.

20151111_124802_resized

I say “extraordinarily nice” because Marsha has put up with me for more than 30 years – she works at my optometrist’s office.  Marsha is a hoot – and her brand of sarcasm is almost a perfect match for mine.  When I learned that she enjoyed crafting, I urged her several times over the years to stop by our store – so I was surprised and delighted to see her there today.

Friday, November 6, 2015

November Distress Color . . . and a “Heads Up” for the Locals

If it’s the first Friday of the month, it must be time for another Distress Ink Color of the Month.  Is anyone else besides me wondering if this will continue into 2016?  As popular as it has been, wouldn’t it be nuts if it doesn’t?  That said, here it is . . .

luckyclover

Lucky Clover is the November Distress Color of the Month.  As always, you can order all six items for 20% off the MSRP with free shipping in the Continental U.S.

distressminis15a

While you’re at it, I also created an “item” on our site for Distress Minis Kit #15 – the last four colors of 2015 – which will be released at the same time as the December color on the first Friday of December.  You can order yours now, or wait and do both in December.

anthonybanner1

And here’s a “Plan Ahead Alert” for the locals – Marco’s “Holly Jolly Holiday Affair” begins in our store in Saturday, November 21 with two days of classes and make & takes with Anthony Gilbert from Anthony’s Paper Craft.  That’s just the beginning of a whole week of fun and frivolity (not to mention sales, classes, make and takes and more) including Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.  So click on the link or the graphic, clear your calendars, and plan to spend the week at our store.  You won’t need an absence excuse to spend Thanksgiving with your families, but other than that . . .