Class Content to be Determined . . .

Debbie Cosenza is one of the newest instructors at our store.  Like many of you, she has an interest in all things Tim Holtz.  So she designed a class inspired by this year’s version of Tim’s 12 Tags of Christmas, and I posted it online last night and in the store this morning.  Now some of you have already thought this -- “How does she know what tags she’s going to make when The 12 Tags of Christmas doesn’t start until December 1?”

She doesn’t – like you, she’ll see them one at a time over the next 12 days.  And as she designs the tags for the class, we’ll post them online and in the store.  I have seen samples from her other Tim Holtz classes over the past few months – they’ll be good.

As in past years, Tim did a video teaser – this year, it’s like a movie trailer.  Make sure you look at the “credits” at the end of the piece . . .

Black Friday Winners . . .

Friday and Saturday, we had our second annual Black Friday “Make Your Own Coupon” event in our store.  I went there this morning to take pictures.  Amazing how creative folks will become to get 30% off in-stock items . . .

These were some of the best entries.  Thankfully, the decision on prize winners was not mine – all I had to do was ask Karen, “Who won?”

First Prize winner was Nancy Galusha . . .

Second Prize went to Gloria Foust (outside and inside views shown here) . . .

Honorable Mention to Ginger Deaton (outside and inside views shown here) . . .

And Honorable Mention to Denise Landa . . .

 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

A note to those who ordered instructions and materials for Pat Adams’ Neverending Cards – I sent requests to Pat so she could prepare them, but I sent them to the wrong e-mail address.  Just figured it out this morning when I called her to see when they would be ready and learned that she never received the requests.  So it’s my fault.  Hopefully we’ll get them from her sometime next week and we’ll ship them as soon as they arrive.  Sorry about that . . .

Last Day . . .

Just in case you haven’t taken the time to sit down at your computer, a reminder that this is the last day of our 25% Off Sitewide Sale. You can save big on just about everything (just about means everything except classes, gift certificates and previous orders).  On our site it says that the sale will end at 11:59 p.m. PST, but since that’s the middle of the night for me, I won’t be shutting it off until I get up in the morning.  So go for it, night owls!

And stay tuned Wednesday or Thursday for a look at the winners of the “Make Your Own Coupon” sale in our store over the weekend . . .

Never EVER Try to be Sneaky Around Your Mother . . .

I walked into Mom & Dad’s place after church on Sunday with an envelope full of cards and e-mails for Mom that had come in over the past couple of weeks.  Mom took them to the back room to read, and Dad and I sat down to play cribbage.  A few minutes later, Mom walked out with that look on her face.  You know the one.

“I’ll get you for that picture you took of me.”

I had included a copy of the “How’s Your Mom” blog piece I wrote last week – that was the first time she had seen the shot I took while she was at the oncologist.  It was intended for my brother, but I knew when I used it in the blog that I would pay the price.  However, she was willing to allow a replacement . . .

Mom caught me off-guard when I walked in – it was at the end of a very busy day, and when I saw her new hat my first reaction was “I thought you had lost all of your hair.”  Silly me . . . the bangs are attached to the hat.  Still, I think it looks really nice!

Offering the “Neverending Cards” to the Masses

Back in September, I wrote a blog piece about Pat Adams’ upcoming class in our store making “Neverending Cards” – complete with lots of pictures and my first attempt at a YouTube video.  To jog your memory, here are the cards . . .

 

And here is the video . . .

Back in September, we heard from a lot of people who were interested in the class but weren’t close enough to Dayton to take it in person.  Pat promised me that once the class had been held, we could figure out a way to offer it to the masses.  This is our first attempt at this – so here goes . . .

Pat will prepare the materials and printed step-by-step instructions to make one, two, or all three cards . . .

Materials and instructions for one card -- $15.00 (choose the angels card, the tree, or the winter scene)
Materials and instructions for two cards -- $20.00
Materials and instructions for all three cards -- $25.00

If you’re interested, please e-mail me first at marcos@marcopaper.com with your preference, and then I’ll contact you to arrange for payment and we’ll send them to you.  Pat wants to plan how many sets of each card she’ll need.

If there is a demand for this, we’ll probably try it with other classes held here at Marco’s!

“How’s Your Mom?”

This weekend was our first show since I wrote the story announcing my mom’s lymphoma.  We have been overwhelmed by the support from all of you – we are grateful for your e-mails, notes, cards (Mom has read every one) and especially your prayers.  But I never considered what might happen once I saw some of you in person.

It started Thursday morning during setup, and continued all through the show during the weekend – a single question, repeated over and over . . .

“How’s Your Mom?”

Vendors walked up to me – customers greeted me as I passed out coupons in the line before the show started – and again when they were checking out in our booth.  Again, I am overwhelmed and grateful.

Here’s an update – Mom is doing well.  She had her second chemo treatment nine days ago and still hasn’t had the first bit of nausea.  Her white count dropped to a dangerously low level about two weeks after her first treatment, so she was “quarantined” at home except for doctor appointments until it came back up.  The second treatment was cut back a little in hopes that her white count will stay higher.

The lump is gone . . . and so is her hair.  But she has an assortment of doo rags that I think look really attractive.  And I have noticed that her personality is back – Mom is usually very bright and cheery, but for the past couple of months she has looked so tired.  I think part of it was worry, and part of it was the cancer affecting more of her than just her neck.

I snuck this picture at the doctor’s office as she was getting her bloodwork done a couple of days before the second chemo treatment.  It’s not the most flattering shot (the front view really looked like she was wearing a hat), but I wanted a picture to text to my brother and I wasn’t sure she was ready to pose.  Someday soon, I’ll try to do better.

Again, thanks to all of you – this is truly an amazing community.

The Roofing Story Is More of a Dog’s Tale . . .

My “hectic day” story from last Saturday was intended to be a story in pictures of how I spent the morning filling orders for the Seasonal Distress Ink Sets while I waited for the temperature to climb . . . how I spent the afternoon painting cedar boards that the roofers were using as replacements on my house . . . how I spent the evening announcing our local high school’s playoff win.  But after a week of other items of more importance, I’ll just pare the story down to the only part of it that most of you really want to see . . .

. . . the pictures of the dog.  Zoe spent the morning with me in the house while I filled orders, and the afternoon with me in the yard while I painted.  We really weren’t sure how she would handle all of the commotion and strangers in the yard, but she was true to her training and stayed near me while I worked.  It was a full day, we accomplished a lot, and the football game in the evening was the icing on my cake.

More Pictures That Are (Still) Better Than a Roofing Story …

I am in Birch Run, Michigan this weekend for the annual Deer Widow’s show – if your significant other is out hunting this weekend, come and see us!  Thursday was setup day, and along the way I saw a couple of things that pushed themselves ahead of roofing on the blog story priority list.

Tish Ramsey helped me set up the booth yesterday.  She brought her lunch along in a blue cooler, and when she got ready to eat she pulled out a little Sesame Street towel.  I didn’t pay much attention until she told me she had chosen it especially to bring along to setup.  Take a look at the name of the little girl Muppet on the towel . . .

Setup was loooooooong yesterday.  By the time we finished, I was ready for some haute cuisine.  People who know me well know that haute cuisine usually comes with the question “Do you want fries with that?”   When I was getting my drink, I discovered that McDonald’s – at least here – is finally addressing one of my pet peeves . . .

I absolutely hate those stacks of cup lids out in the open.  I watch people rooting through them with grimy hands and I find myself getting mine from way back in the stack to try to avoid the germs.  This handy-dandy gadget dispenses one lid at a time when you pull on the cover.  Gotta love it!

We Interrupt This Weekend Tale . . .

Today was going to be the story of last weekend, and everything that happened at my house wrapped around the work on my roof.  But that can wait a couple of days.  While I was at our store yesterday gathering goodies for this weekend’s Deer Widow’s Weekend show in Birch Run, Michigan, a better opportunity presented itself . . .

These are two very special people in the Marco's family.  Walter White is Gary's 97-year-old father-in-law -- he still works a few afternoons a week in our back room.  And Bryden Ihle is Karen and David's six-month-old grandson.  This all started because Karen reminded me that I had not posted a shot of her grandbaby since he was a newborn.  Then Walter wandered past on his way to the front door just as I was switching my cell phone to camera mode.

I assume that you will agree that this is better than a story about roofing and shingles . . .

How I Spent My Weekend (Part One) . . .

This was such a busy weekend – my Saturday alone wore me out.  I realized about halfway through that I should be taking pictures along the way – sometimes, blog pieces just write themselves that way.  Even then, I still forgot to take pictures at some of the most important times.

But sometimes, others get shots that I might have missed . . .

This shot was taken from the stage at the Palace Theater in Columbus, OH on Thursday evening (follow the arrow to see that yes, that was actually me in the fourth row).  I was there to see an “a capella” group called Straight No Chaser – if you have not seen or heard them before, I think you would enjoy them.  As part of their act, they take pictures of the audience each night and post them on their Facebook page.  These are ten guys who started singing at Indiana University about 1996, then went on their separate ways after college until a video shot at one of their college performances was posted on YouTube and went viral . . .

I sang in lots of musical groups when I was in high school, and in a quartet with my dad and another father and son when I was in my 20s.  And I would have loved something like this.

The view from the fourth row.  And no worries about the copyright police – they encourage pictures and video.  Amazing how this worked out – I bought the tickets in May, then found out last Monday that Thursday was to be the first day the roofers would be at my house to start repairing and reshingling.  Would have been just exhausted when the time came to leave for Columbus (70 miles away).  But it rained – so the job didn’t start until Friday afternoon.

The roof is a whole ‘nother story – more on that tomorrow . . .

Winter Distress Colors (Finally) Announced . . .

The mystery has been solved – Ranger has finally announced the three colors that make up the Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Ink Winter Set  . . .

This description of the colors is theirs – I don’t think I could find words that are that “descriptive” when you take into account that it took me twenty years to finally accept that mauve is not pink . . . “a wintery mix of colors just right for the holiday season: Evergreen Bough (a beautiful green with a hint of blue), Festive Berries (a true Christmas red) and Iced Spruce (an incredible greyish blue).”

Need more info?  Here is Tim Holtz hizzownself with the video plug . . .

If all goes well, our first shipment should arrive tomorrow (November 2).  As always, we sill start shipping immediately . . .