Field Trip

Thursday was a first . . . at least from my recollection.  We have had classes at Marco’s before, but never a class at Marco’s – Mrs. Carpenter’s fifth grade class walked to our store from Dr. John Hole Elementary School down the street.

This was the view from the front door as 18 students, 2 volunteers, and 1 teacher approached.  They had even made arrangements to have a sheriff’s deputy present to escort them across the street into our parking lot.

Joanne greeted them as they entered, and sent them back the main aisle to the classroom . . .

Where she introduced everyone to Tammie, who had created a special project just for them.

Soon there were 20 people hard at work creating an ornament and a holiday card designed for a member of the military.

One of the perks of having volunteers – Mrs. Carpenter got to sit down and create along with her students!

Amazing what you can do with a plate of shaving cream, paper, stickers, ribbon, and an expired Starbucks gift card . . .

A little cleanup was necessary after the shaving cream phase, so Joanne and one of the volunteers (who was also taking pictures) roamed the perimeter with paper towels.

The finished products – if I understood correctly, the students were taking them back to class to put special messages inside before sending them away to brighten the holidays for those who keep us safe.  Thanks for coming!

Winners . . .

Karen and David have spoken!  Here are the winners of the Thanksgiving “Create Your Own Coupon” contest in our store over the weekend.  Thanks to all who participated!

First Place ($25 Marco’s Gift Certificate) – Lynn Brown (read the “fine print” -- “Thanks 4 giving us 30% off)

Honorable Mentions ($5 or $10 Marco’s Gift Certificate – I can’t remember) – left to right, Mary Larry, Terry Hunsaker, Terri Chase

And here are some of the best of the rest – they are all posted on a board in the store if you get a chance to stop by!

“The 12 Tags of Christmas” Starts Tomorrow . . .

This is pretty cool – and it gives me a chance to insert a video in this blog, which I have only tried once before.  We got a note this morning that Tim Holtz’ annual “12 Tags of Christmas” starts tomorrow – one tag a day will be posted on his blog at www.timholtz.typepad.com

And here’s the video to give you some inspiration . . .

When you’re ready, of course you know where you can find just about all things Tim Holtz (and several of them are on sale).  But just in case, click here and you’ll go directly to them . . .

And we’re still offering Free Shipping with a $30 purchase for at least another couple of weeks.  So if you can’t stop by our store in Dayton, please go to www.marcopaper.com

Enjoy the tags!

I’ve Lost My Right to Vote . . .

We had another “Create Your Own Coupon” event in our store Friday and Saturday.  Just like the one we had for Halloween, minus the costumes.  The best coupon will win a $25 Marco’s Gift Certificate.  But Karen called me yesterday and said I would not be permitted to vote on the winner.  Here’s why . . .

I love it!  The first few times I looked at it, I saw something different.  I think Terry Hunsaker is Zoe’s new favorite customer . . .

Return of the Deer Widows . . .

We are in Birch Run, Michigan for Deer Widows’ Weekend.  The show schedule changed this year, so instead of a few hours on Friday evening, we were here from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.  That’s a looooooong day, and I am tired.  Still, there were sights to be seen . . .

This sight greeted the customers as they came into the show.  I titled it Revenge of Bambi.  Gotta love the crime scene tape.

Even on Friday, our booth was a busy place early in the day.  And we had a new twist – two clear plastic bins filled with paper crafting packs for $1.00 each.  This is the latest product brought to life by Gary’s 96-year-old father-in-law in our back room.

Sue Rothamel was in England doing the British version of QVC, so her Gal Friday, Crystal Copperstone, assumed the big chair in the USArtQuest corner.  I sent Sue an e-mail at the end of the day passing on the customers’ praise of Crystal’s talent – and her response brought the unfortunate news that my application for knighthood had been denied.

Here is one reason why I’m not a fan of long sale hours on a weekday – this was the entire crowd for the giveaway an hour before the show ended . . .

Were you one of those who went home early?  One of these tickets may have been yours – each would have been a winner if the holder of the other half had been present.  Reminder – it never pays to leave a show before it closes.

Winners

The response to Halloween Madness in our store was much more than we anticipated (especially with only two days’ notice).  We had handmade coupons galore and more than a few costumes.  Following are some of the highlights and the gift certificate winners . . .

Costumes

The winner was Diane Harvey (top left) – anyone who camouflages herself well enough that a good friend can’t recognize her deserves a prize (in this case, a $25 Marco’s Gift Certificate).

Coupons . . .

There were probably twice as many as this, but these were some of the most creative.  The winner ($25 Marco’s Gift Certificate) was Ramona Downing – her entry is the one in the upper left.  But Gary was so impressed that we decided to award three honorable mentions ($5 Gift Certificate each) to the other three entries in the top row – from left, Jeanette Alley, Lynn Brown, and Nancy Galusha)

Thanks to all who participated!  And due to popular demand, it looks like we’re going to do another coupon contest in about three weeks with a Thanksgiving theme – so you can start creating now!

A Very Marco’s Halloween . . .

Gary came into the mail center late on Wednesday afternoon, and told me that Mary and Karen decided that we simply had to do something special in the store for Halloween.  They wanted to dress up, and I was supposed to spread the word.  So Thursday morning, I put a note on our Facebook page and send out an e-mail to the local list.  This morning, Zoe and I wandered up that way to see if anyone chose to participate . . .

. . . and this is what we found!  Mary was the first one I saw, and my first thought was “A little fire, Scarecrow?”  Apparently, Karen’s outfit was supposed to be Hawaiian, but I’ll bet I’m not the only one who was reminded of Cousin Itt . . .

The customers were also encouraged to dress up – amazing what people will do to try to win a gift certificate.  This was one of the first getups I saw – what better props to wear into a craft store?  I told her if she really wanted to set the outfit off, she should go get some funky teeth . . .

This lady did such a good job that one of her best friends didn’t recognize her . . .

We also had an in-store coupon sale – but customers had to make their own coupons.  These were some of the efforts that had been collected when Zoe and I were there.  No doubt by Monday there will be more pictures to share . . .