Scrappy Boutique

We're back and finally rested!! We had a blast and I can't wait to tell you about our trip. Ready? Drum roll please... seriously... drum roll... you know - tap your hands on the counter and make like a drum roll (it will be worth it - I promise).

Okay - here we go.

My mom and I set off to California - the important thing to know is that the two of us on a plane... not good! We put our fears aside, fell asleep watching the worst movie ever and arrived in California safe and sound.

Before I give you the details - let's talk trends. Here's what we think is going to be BIG and we REALLY look forward to these things to come.

First (and please don't groan). Number one hot trend - JOURNALING!! Hey - I heard you groan. Now I have always been one to tell you to journal in your own handwriting - and so I know that you are groaning! But really isn't that a large part of scrapbooking? Leave your legacy - let your family know how you felt - how they felt - the good, the bad and the ugly. Remind them of the "who, what, when, where and how". They will love reading it and they will love you for leaving them the nitty gritty of you, your family and all those that touched your life. The good news is all the cool stuff out to make telling your story more fun. Something we loved - Storybooks from Fancy Pants - perfect for telling your story.

Trend number 2 - Mini books! Mini books in all shapes, sizes and colors. Mini mini books, larger mini books, shaped mini books, shear mini books, acrylic mini books, black chipboard mini books (okay - is anyone else picturing the guy from Forest Gump talking about shrimp??) Our favorites?? EK Success books shaped as a cupcake, a bathtub, a pail and shovel and a castle. I will tell you right now that when we say we are doing a class - just sign up - because these are soooo stinkin' cute!

Maya Road shaped mini-book.

Trend number 3 - Acrylic and sheer, sheer and acrylic. If you can see through it or almost see through it - it is hot!! Our favorite? Well... Maya Road is our favorite for sheer and Tinkering Ink is our favorite for hybrid - they make a chipboard and acrylic peek-a-boo book that I can't wait to get my hands on.

Okay - last trend - BOYS, BOYS, BOYS. I am a frilly girly scrapper and I will tell you that my husband is going to be soooo happy to have his picture on a page that doesn't include pink! These new lines are all boy and all awesome. I don't know if I could pick a favorite and stick to it - but I am going to say Little Yellow Bicycle and Crate Paper are two that I love.

So here is how our trip was...

Day one - Friday - we got to our room at 1:00 am California time. That is 4:00 am our time. Good thing our beds were comfy!!

Day two - Saturday - the day before the show started we saw a few sneak peeks. We were SUPER excited with the sneak peek of the new items for Creative Cafe - a few new papers, and fun embellishments. But the coolest is called Creative Lifestyle. Keep your eyes out for our activities for the kids. These items are not shipping until June (BUMMER!!) but we will have a countdown because your kids are going to love what we have coming. Bracelets - headbands - journals - they are going to LOVE IT! And of course... I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of us adults doing these projects too! We also got to enjoy a nice lunch - mother daughter lunches are the best!

Day three - Sunday - We hit the floor running. I mean that LITERALLY!! Basic Grey does their shipping in order of bracelet number. So my mom and I made the mad dash with hundreds of other store owners to get our bracelet number. We were waiting in line when the doors opened - we already mapped out where Basic Grey was and we boogied right to it. The door opened at 9:00 on the dot - we were at Basic Grey by 9:03. So what was our number?? 856. Yup. 856. When we placed our order (oh - did we mention we ordered ALL of it) I asked what number they started with and she said 800. Phew! She said that we did good!!

(little picture of my mom... BIG map of CHA)

So - in case you missed it - we ordered ALL of Basic Grey and it is AMAZING!! For those of you that know me - you know I am a Basic Grey junkie. But I am telling you - this is over the top fantastic even for Basic Grey. They are shipping in March (and with our awesome number we will be in the first day of shipping). We will keep you updated because you are going to want to see it day one!!

Day four - Monday - we had still only made it through half the show. So we walked the rest of the show, gathered more catalogs and went back to the room to figure out our final orders.

Day five - Tuesday - Today we ran around and placed order after order after order after order (well - you get the hint!!). When we were done we were exhausted - we can't wait to show you what is headed our way.

Day six - Wednesday - We got back on the plane - again - not good (for those of you that hate to fly you know what I am talking about)!! We left California at 8:30 am and got to Orlando at 5:00 o'clock - just in time to get home, take Sophie to dance and get some much needed rest!

Now - I thank you for reading all about our trip. I will let you skip the drum roll (unless of course you want to do the drum roll - I can tell you that I am doing it) - but the moment you have all been waiting for - here is what we are eagerly awaiting for at Scrappy Boutique:

Basic Grey- all 5 lines - they are ALL amazing!

Maya Road - mini books, stamps, and ribbons, oh my!

Not only did we get sheer... but we got BLACK sheer, too!! We (and that includes you!) are going to have SOOO much fun playing with this stuff.

My Minds Eye - how can you go wrong?? They have 3 new lines: 29th Street Market, a new Wild Asparagus and Just Dreamy

Tinkering Ink - they have a line called Provincial Fare that is done in ALL blue. It is stunning! A tropical line that is BRIGHT (in a good way!). Not to mention they made my favorites list with their peekaboo albums.

Making Memories - I can't say more than OH MY!! Animal Crackers, Noteworthy and Passport.

Fancy Pants - We all know their papers are amazing - and their overlays and rubons and so on. If Fancy Pants has been too girly for you... wait till you see their Papa line and About A Boy lines. Yum! Ooh - I almost forgot - the Storybooks made my favorites list - and they have albums and glitter cuts and acrylic and we absolutely loved it all.

Crate Paper - they are back and they are YUMMY! Four new lines - each one beautiful!

Cosmo Cricket - bright, bold and all boy. Robots!! And black chipboard books!

EK Success - Disney, Jolees and the CUTEST chipboard albums. Angelia - get ready!!

Bazzill - awesome additions!

Prima - More bling, more flowers, more acrylic and if you loved the Paintables - how about Paintable Overlays!! Louise - these are for you!!

Love Elsie - sports and dogs... CUTE!

Piggy Tales - they are going Green and we love it!!! You won't notice a quality change... but the earth will!!

Reminisce - dance, tropical, graduation, jungle and more!

Bisous (bzoo) - Have you seen their PDQ papers? They are made for quick and easy layouts... without looking like they were quick or easy. Thanks, Beth for reminding me to check them out! We ordered 3 lines and can not select a favorite - they are all great.

Little Yellow Bicycle - a Deja Views exclusive for only independent retailers. (that means us little guys!!) Their boy line made our favorites list!

Bo-Bunny - WOW! 6 new lines, more double dot colors, more class kits, more word albums... we got it all!!

Can you believe this list keeps going?????

Heidi Swapp - she came out with paper lines and we could not resist. You love her embellishments - you are going to love her paper!

Tim Holtz is the man!! New grungeboard, new hardware - I don't even know where to begin except you are going to think outside the box - and you are going to love it.

Rusty Pickle - we were Lucky to select the Lucky line - it is gorgeous. We also can't wait for the Under the Stars line.

Creative Cafe - love the new additions. We cannot wait for the bracelets... your kids are going to LOVE them!!!! We also ordered more stamps from Hampton Art. We LOVE Creative Cafe!

Creative Imaginations - new Seaworld, new Disney and one of my favorite lines... Old Guys Rule!!

Already in stock - Technique Tuesday, American Craft, Crafter's Workshop.

I think I covered it all... OH WAIT... my FAVORITE item - Glue Dots on a tape runner. YUP - they are AWESOME! Okay that might just be it... maybe! We will keep you updated as items are on the way.

Thanks for waiting patiently for this blog... hope you liked it... let me know - post a comment!!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

So what has arrived??

Thursday, February 14, 2008

We're back from California and here's what we found!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Happy Hour Project starting February 13th

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Creative Cafe Happy Hour Project February 6, 2008