CHA Day 2

WOW!  If I see another cute jungle animal or woodland creature, I may scream.  But they are all (and that is a bunch!) adorable.   Today I ordered, and ordered, and ordered.  There are some wonderful things from Anna Griffin (with whom I had a lovely conversation in the ladies' room), KI Memories (um, cute jungle animals), Die Cuts with a View(cute jungle animals), Colorbok (yes, more cute jungle animals), Sassafras Lass (unbelievably cute), Sandylion, Impression Obsession  , PRIMA - WOW - wait till you see the glitter borders and the bonnet blossoms!!!, OH, Stamping Station- NEW SPORTS paper and stickers - really great, and they also have some special new patriotic paper honoring President Obama.  And some amazing camera bags and totes from MIMI for which part of the proceeds benefit an environmental cause 

(in guess what - jungle print!).

This isn't even the tip of the iceberg, but I'm brain-dead and can't think of everything.  I hit the floor at 7:30am tomorrow!  I'll try to take better notes so I can be more specific tomorrow night!  And, dare I say, there will probably be still more jungle animals to report.

Blessings,

Melissa

NEWS FROM CHA DAY 1

Hello to everyone from sunny....oh, no that's not right.  It is rainy, cold and overcast here in Orange County.  The convention center is frigid, but the new lines are HOT!  Yesterday (Saturday) was a day for classes, seminars, and "welcome parties".  I got some tips for "greening" our business - and plan to implement many of them in the near future!  Learned about some fantastic new techniques from Golden Art - how to make acrylic skins with different colors and textures that can actually be run through an inkjet printer!  Photos, images, whatever printed on all these different skins - it's a mixed-media/altered art treasure trove!   Definitely some classes coming up with those!  I also got to experience the new STAR WARS line from Creative Imaginations - as well as lots of other great stuff!  Cute new Disney Princess, adoption, beach, music, ....so many lines!  And SEI has a gorgeous new line called Mimosa.  SO pretty.  Great travel papers, too.

This morning I will hit the floor running, and will have lots more to report tonight!

Melissa

Inventory is complete!

We survived our inventory with only one major malfunction... I think that is pretty darn good. We are now ready to get back to "normal," whatever that may be. Don't forget that January is the month to redeem the Holly Dollars that you received in December.

Also, CHA is right around the corner and we are starting to see previews of new products :) This is just as exciting as Christmas morning (only it lasts a lot longer)!

We will resume our regular store hours beginning tomorrow morning at 9:30am. We hope to see you soon.

Our Christmas Message

With your support we have already received the greatest gift of all! Thank you for making us such a wonderful scrapbook store. We hope your holiday season is filled with much love and laughter. From our family to yours we want to wish you a very safe and Merry Christmas!

Let There Be Music

We are so excited- we now have our music system in place. We are still waiting our XM radio, but for now we have it hooked up through our old system. It is so nice to have all of the wonderful Christmas music playing through out the store in stereo.

We will close Wed. Dec. 24 at 2:00pm and re-open Mon. Dec. 29 at 9:30am.
We want to wish all of you a very safe and merry Christmas and happy holiday season.

Classes and Mini Classes

Whew! It is already the middle of November, where has the year gone??? We have been very busy little elves getting our classes up and running as fast as possible so everyone can get back to "normal" after Ike.

We wanted to remind ya'll of 2 upcoming classes and 4 mini classes -as well as give you a sneak peek at each:

Radiance Snow Angel Class-
Decorate your mantle or table with a beautiful glittery snow angel made with several great products from Creative Imaginations: the Bare Elements dress form, die cut glitter shaped papers, sticky2, and finished it off with a genuine Swarovski crystal. Please bring your adhesive. Price $27.50
Date: Sat. Nov. 22
Time: 10:00am-Noon

and again on:

Date: Tues. Dec. 2

Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm

Tabletop Calendar Class-
We have rescheduled the date for Saturday, December 6th, from 9:30am until 4:00pm. In this all-day class, we will make a beautiful 12x12 vertical calendar on a wooden stand. With a 12x12 page for each month, this will make a wonderful gift for Grandma, or a beautiful decorative item for your own home! Kits for the 12 companion pages will be available for sale, so you can have an entire book of double-page layouts at the end of the year!
Lunch will be provided.
Seating is limited, so call early! Cost: $80.00

The following are the Mini-Classes that we have scheduled for Saturday, November 29 (I will post times on the website calendar). Each class will be $5.00

We think all of these classes will fill up quick, so give us a call at the store to sign up (then you can say that you have already started Christmas shopping :) 281-992-3137

OH... FED-EX JUST BROUGHT THE NEW TIM HOLTZ DISTRESSED STICKLES, METALLIC PAINTS ETC. AND CLAUDINE HELLMUTH STUDIO ITEMS :)

From the Owner . . .

Thanks to all of you who took the time to make suggestions for the new and improved Novel Approach. I read--and enjoyed--all of them and will say more as time permits. Today’s topic is: The Crop Room. In summary, you want a wider, larger, less cluttered, better arranged, more user friendly room with more seating, more work space, more comfortable chairs, and refreshments.

We agree with it all! We improved our refreshment selections. M&Ms were, are and always will be on our “menu.” Canned soft drinks are still in the refrigerator, and there’s a fancy new coffee system. Please, help yourselves. We’ve changed some things we hope will reduce our clutter. As for the rest . . .

The crop room is about all it can be--there is no more space. (Several suggested we take over what was Toddler Town. That is a GREAT idea, except that I can’t afford the extra $3-to-5k rent, unless y’all want to contribute to the cause!!!)

We’ve had different table arrangements in the past, but what we have now is the best. It lets us seat more people, with an adequate amount of work space, than any of the others do. The crowding on the floor and on the tables is not under our control. We can’t do anything about it, but YOU can. You can bring less with you. Before you get upset, let me finish!

One night I watched a young woman struggle to bring in 3 large rolling totes, a luggage cart with 3 plastic crates strapped to it, and several tabletop totes. Since the crop time is usually less than 6 hours, I wondered how much of it she realistically could use? Think about what you usually bring and how much you actually use. Is there anything you can do without? If everyone brings even one less item, there will be a noticeable increase in table and walking space.

I am not saying you can’t bring as much as you want with you because you can. I’m simply saying what I’ve been thinking about. I hope you will consider my idea. If you like it, try it. If you don’t like it, don’t do it.

Mary Lou