Are we back to normal yet?
I hope everyone is getting back to their 'somewhat normal' routine. I am starting to see people who seem a bit more relaxed and are once again enjoying life. I have to tell you something I thought was funny. As you know, I am involved with our local SPCA. We have a shelter under construction, We have had a long period of downtime while we worked on securing additional funding. I had worked with one particular person at the bank but had never met him. I made arrangements to meet with him and our contractor at the shelter. The contractor and I arrived early (no masks). I had thoughts of the person from the bank being concerned about us not wearing masks but at that point, there was nothing we could do. We heard a noise and looked out to see a young man on a very nice motorcycle, removing his helmet.....no mask! We were quite relieved. The funny part was when he came in with a big smile, introduced himself, and extended his hand to shake hands with each of us. Never in my life did I think it would seem weird to shake hands! That was definitely the most 'normal' moment I have had in over a year. It felt like a turning point for me. I hope you have also had a few of those normal moments in your life, too.
Things are starting to get back to normal in product deliveries. We are gradually seeing the times between ordering and receiving getting shorter for most of our vendors. We still have a few companies that are having problems getting products out but at least I am seeing progress. I am also seeing some price increases :( Many of the materials that are used in our products are petroleum-based and those prices are creeping up. Because of this, I have decided to purchase our basic adhesives directly from the manufacturer (in the US). I will be able to provide you with a hand-tear tape in several widths, foam tape in white and black, and pop-dots in white and black....all at a great price. We are calling our selection of private-label adhesives "Sticky Paws". Get it? We should be receiving our shipments over the next few weeks. I got really positive comments from the ladies at classes who tested the products for me. I haven't had any private label merchandise in quite a while, but with prices increasing this is a way I can help you keep your crafting costs down.
Don't forget, Julie Kelly will be here the weekend of August 14th and 15th. I should have samples from Julie soon. (Julie are you reading this????) I hope those of you who usually attend Julie's classes will plan to join us......it will be a celebration!
Melissa and I will be participating in another "mini trade show" in a couple of weeks. This one will feature Spellbinders, Altenew, Echo Park, Pinkfresh, Lawn Fawn, and Hero Arts. We are looking forward to seeing all of the fun new goodies! In another month or so, we will participate in a show put together by one of our rep companies. Stay tuned!
Be sure to check out the classes on our website and like us on Facebook.
See you soon!
What's New?
We received some great Organizer Boxes from ArtBin. They are sturdy, well designed, come with eight dividers to help you organize your stamps and dies. They are also stackable so they can take less room on your table. They have been flying out of here! When it comes to storage, we should have our new order of the Stamp and Store magnet sheets in a few days. They will work perfectly in your new ArtBin storage boxes!
We have some new stamps and dies from Impression Obsession. You will want to check out the dies from designer Anna Wight. (She will be one of our teachers at Stamp Escape 2022...thanks for hanging in there, Anna). There are a couple of great background stamps (stars and birdie footprints) that will be great for summer stamping.
Melissa and I have been attending Spellbinders Glimmer Bootcamp so we can provide proper guidance to those who purchase the Glimmer Machine. We know there are some tricks and will want to share them with anyone who purchases a machine. We think taking an extra minute when running a plate through is well worth it when you get a perfectly foiled background, image or words. Melissa had everyone glimmer a background on one of their cards at class Saturday and they all turned out perfect! We have machines and Glimmer Plates and have more plates on the way!
We ordered the new Graphic 45 Halloween Collection, Midnight Tales. This is the best Halloween paper collection I have seen in years. That is saying something as I am not really a Halloween fan, but I love this paper! They also have a new Well Groomed collection. At first, I thought it was just doggie paper but it actually has vintage dog and cat images and some really pretty florals....there are also the obligatory paw prints! You will see both in the store soon.
We liked the 4th of July release from Taylored Expressions. They shipped our order today so we should have it no later than the first of the week. We also ordered some fun red/white/blue embellishments from Buttons Galore that will really make a great addition to your Independance Day cards.
