Half way to 2019!
Newsletter
Hi there everyone;
Holy cow...I can't believe this year is already half gone. The first half what great, and also had some disappointments. Business has been terrific, and 2018 Stamp Escape was the best ever! But on the disappointment side, shipping from some vendors has been less than stellar. Some of the orders I placed at the trade show in January in Phoenix are still in limbo. I finally heard that at least some of the Tim Holtz Glass Mats I ordered have been shipped. It is very frustrating to wait this long when we have special orders for them. If you hve asked for one, we will contact you as soon as we have them in our hands and know that they are in good condition. I hope that will be in the next day or two. I think the only other order that is still coming in dribs and drabs is from Spellbinders. Actually that order came in so many small shipments, I have no idea if there is anything outstanding. At least there are no special orders waiting...only items for stock. I hope next year my orders are shipped in a more timely manner. I also want to give a shout out to some vendors that ship like the speed of light!!!!!! Taylored Experessions, Impression Obsession, and Hero Arts have been amazing and we love them for it!
I was hoping to have registration for the 2019 Great Yosemite Stamp Escape open by today. Getting teachers organized is taking a bit longer than hoped and we always want to get the best mix of talent we can fine. Bear with us and watch for an email announcing that registration is open. We do know that this year, we will have to raise registration fees to $300. I do have a three year contract with The Pines, but they have the option to raise certain prices by a percentage each year. Of course we know that the dates are April 26, 27, and 28..the last week in April. Because our block is set for the chalets and suites, reservations can be made in "The Cat's Meow Block". As you know this event fills up fast and we definitely limit attendance to 100, so make sure you act fast once registration notification is sent (to this email list) and posted on the website.
Yesterday we did a fun thing....instead of a stamping or card-making class, I did a string painting class. It was definitely out of the box for those who "must have everything just like the teacher". Since no two pieces are alike when you use this very abstract method, that is an impossibility. There was hesitation at first, lots of trial and error....if there can be error, and lots of discussion about the things we "saw" in the designs. It was fun to laugh and not worry about everything being perfect. I will look for another "out of the box" class topic to do down the road!
We do have some fun classes planned for July including the first in a new series of wood projects. Melissa loves doing the home decor projects and the series we did last year was well received. This time the project is a "wooden barrel" that is filled with different seasonal wood pieces each month. The first class will start with your barrel and it will be filled with sea creatures! That class will be $30. Following classes that will only have the seasonal pieces such as Apples in August for your September Barrel...and a coordinating card. The class fee will be $20. If you can't come to the July class, you can always purchase your barrel later on and catch up.
Sadly fire season has started and many areas in California and other states are really suffering. Last Thursday, we had a scare at our (under construction) animal shelter. Evidently a vehicle with a trailer dragging a safety chain started three fires along the road on shelter property. Out contractor who lives nearby, heard about it and took off to see what he could do. Half way there he realized he was in Bermuda Shorts and flip-flops.....not exactly fire fighting attire. He and his son with shovels and water from our big storage tank fought the fire until the fire department could get there. Fortunately no real damage was done, but the potential was certainly there. With the Independence Day holiday coming Wednesday it looks like celebrating may last a week. We are already seeing more needless traffic accidents in our area, too. I hope that wherever your are, you stay safe and will have a great 4th!
What's New?
Wow...lots of new goodies....not a lot of new papers just a couple of new 6x6 pad collections. We do have a lot of new stamps and dies, though.....
When we ordered from Impression Obsession we went nuts over the adorable mermaid themed stamps. We love Lindsay Ostrom's clever...kind of irreverent...sayings, too. We were definitely in the summer mood.
We placed a "sight unseen" order from Hero Arts.....It was kind of fun.....we had faith that we would love what they chose for us...and we do. There is a good assortment of stamps and dies with themes that go all the way through Christmas. We will have two make and take Mondays this month using some of the images and dies. Both cards will be Christmas/Winter themed to get you in the mood! Stop by during business hours (9-5) Monday, July 9th and Monday, July 23rd to make a quick card!
We are happy that we are now able to purchase from Birch Press, a division of Memory Box. We love the layering dies from Birch Press. They are a bundle of three that an be used together or separately as great backgrounds, but the magic really occurs when you layer them! By purchasing them in the bundle you save $6, too. I quickly cut the three layers of the Butterfly Garden set and layered them on white so you can see them better in a photo.It is also fun to get so many nice butterflies for other projects and this is only some of them.
We have three different layering sets from Birch Press (another on back order). We also re-stocked the great Memory Box Stitched Ovals, Stitched Rectangles, Rectangles and Circles. You really get a lot of pieces for the money and the dies are nice and sturdy and don't warp with lots of use. We also received several nice clear stamp sets and other fun dies from Birch Press. We will try to get samples made for inspiration!
It seems we are in a bit of a bug theme for July classes...well all except for Robin whose class is a bird and feather theme.....of course (Robin, get it?) Melissa and I are doing two entirely different takes on butterflies, and Kathy is featuring her much-loved dragonflies! Definitely no snow themes this month! Be sure to check out the classes at www.catsmeowstamps.com/classes
We also have bar magnets back in stock for your Misti's. I also ordered the "Misti Mouse Pads" in mini and original sizes...these take the place of the grid paper pads and wipe clean. We also have the paper pads in both sizes for those who prefer them.
Melissa was looking for a tool that she could safely use in place of an exacto knife....not that she is prone to cutting herself or anything....so we ordered this very cool Precision Cutter with a ceramic blade. It is pretty slick! You can poke your finger with it and not bleed! You might need this!
Be sure to stop in to scout out all of the little goodies that have also come in. Every time a box arrives there are new items, and fill-in items. Sometimes an entire line from a company, sometimes we pick and chose....always with you in mind!
See you soon!
