Hello folks, finally I am back to blogging.  So sorry for the delay - we have had a few “glitches” around here, but everything is fixed and we are ready to go again.  So, let’s not wait any longer ….. let’s get going!

Trudy (in the middle from Memories Wholesale) is going to be so excited that we have a much better picture of her to post ….. here she is with Mr. Lindsay and Julie from Cosmo Cricket.  Mr. Lindsay - he is exactly how you see and hear him on the Cosmo Cricket’s blog and in his videos - lots of fun, loves to laugh and loves to make you laugh.  Julie - she is awesome - she designs everything for Cosmo Cricket - her husband and her own the business.  How cool!

Let’s have a look at Cosmo’s new lines and some projects created with them.

Cosmo Cricket - Material Girl

Cosmo Cricket - Joy Ride

Layout using Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride.

Projects using Cosmo Cricket Joyride and Cosmo Cricket Early Bird.

Project using Cosmo Cricket Material Girl.

Project using Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety.

Close up of above project.

Project using Cosmo Cricket Material Girl.

Proect using Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety.

Project using Cosmo Cricket Material Girl.

Projects using Cosmo Cricket Material Girl.

Layout using Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety.

Cool new Cosmo Cricket chipboard alphas.

We had these in the store yesterday - the brown, green, black and blue ones - and we are now sold out!  They are FABULOUS!  YES, we will be re-stocking those, and the cream and red ones will be coming soon too!

We are very excited to announce that our *March/April kit matches the Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety perfectly.  Here is a sneak peek of our March/April kit - “Songs of Spring.”  I know it matches perfectly as Mr. Lindsay allowed me to take the Garden Variety chipboard and a couple of papers over to the My Mind’s Eye booth ….. Perfect match ….. “Uh huh!!!”

And before I continue, I will bring everyone up to date on our March kit - which we are now calling the March/April kit.  We like to have the latest products in our kits, and we usually have a few “glitches” right after CHA.  It’s no one’s fault, it’s just that with so many releases, sometimes there is a delay in products arriving.  So, to catch up - instead of running 2 kits so close together - the Creative Team and myself have decided to combine this awesome kit into a March/April kit release.  I will announce on the blog when the kit arrives and when it will be going on sale.  I assure you ….. it is worth the wait ….. it’s awesome!

The total show put on by Memories Wholesale was a great success.  When we needed entertained ….. we were entertained.  Julie joined Justin (”Uh huh”) from 7 Gypsies and performed a little line dance for us.  Not sure what Mr. Lindsay is doing in the background there, I don’t think he was “Line Dance Certified.”

Woo Hoo ..... You go Justin and Julie! "Uh huh"

Thanks for being patient with me in getting back to blogging, I assure you I have lots more to show you from the show, and will be posting on a regular basis.

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Upon arriving at the American Crafts booth we met Michael and Grant ….. these two guys were so much fun!

We had a quick little chat and a few giggles, and then they brought out the new Clothesline line to show us.  I honestly didn’t think I would like it - but it is fabulous.  After investigating through these papers, I asked if I could take a closer look at the things behind them.

Clothesline line

Gorgeous albums.

If I remember correctly, these things match the Clothesline line.

Cool embellishments.

New ink pads from American Crafts - these are SO smart. You know how we store our ink pads upside down? Well, these ones, the pad is actually in the lid, so they are really upside down when they are right side up. Fabulous colors, and I love that they are stacklabe and you can see what color they are when they are stacked.

The brads that he is holding - gorgeous! The new detailed layered embellies - love them - smaller packaging but oh so cool.

A closer look at the details embellies.

Now that American Crafts has taken over Pebbles, it's nice to see them keeping some of the favorites from Pebbles.

Love these new remarks.

Very cool new page protectors to put right on your scrapbook pages.

Next we got to the “Thickers” and I had a question for them.  “Why do companies put adhesive on the back of their product if it doesn’t always work?”  I explained that I am often asked this question about “Thickers” and many other “self-adhesive” products - not just “Thickers.”  It was so nice to get an answer that makes perfect sense.  I will try and explain.

When they cut the “Thickers” they are cut out of one big piece of adhesive backed chipboard, felt, etc.  The pieces that are in the centers of the letters and around the letters - are hand-picked out of the alphabet sets.  So really the adhesive is there to keep the letters in place on the packaging so we can see the individual letters instead of one solid piece.  (I hope I am making sense here).  They are self-adhesive, but they are not meant to be used without another adhesive.

Okay, I give them that - it makes sense - yes.  And to know that each package is individually done by someone - that was pretty amazing.  So, I did reply - that the packages and/or their description should state - yes, that they are self-adhesive - but it is advisable to use extra adhesive to adhere to your project.  That way, us - as consumers would be happy, and they would not get complaints that they do not stick.  They said that made sense too.

So, we’ll see - do I expect American Crafts to change their “Thickers” packaging because of something I told them - no.  But - I do think it’s important that I could bring your concerns to them, and I was very pleased with their response.  I was also happy to know that whether there is adhesive on them or not - the price we pay would not change.

With that ….. check out the new “Thickers” and colors.

We had a lot of fun at this booth, and spent a lot of time there.  I really want to thank Michael and Grant for taking so much time to talk with us, listen to our concerns, and talk to us about their products.

And after seeing all of this, I said an awful lot more of these ….. “uh huh” “uh huh” “uh huh”

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We left Thursday the 18th - Bonnie and Sandy left earlier than me and arrived MUCH earlier than me.  Let’s not talk too much about my trip there - after a plane having mechanical problems and making an emergency landing - a 3 1/2 hour delay - not so good.  But, I made it, and a wonderful taxi driver pulled up, loaded my bags, and off we went to the hotel.  The driver was quite talkative, haha - so you know I would get along good with him - and as our conversation continued - it became very clear to me that he had driven Bonnie and Sandy to the hotel about 4 hours earlier.  Funny how he knew about the lady in Manitoba who was having so many troubles - and he told me they thought it was funny.   Funny eh?  (remember this “eh” - we’ll discuss this later)

I arrived at the hotel, tired, but excited that I was finally there.  It wasn’t quite as late as I thought it would be - 11pm Edmonton time - so I would have a little time to chat with Bonnie and Sandy in the room before hitting the hay.  We had an early appointment with Memories Wholesale - 7:30 am - and we were all looking so forward to this.

Arriving at Memories Wholesale - bright and early - we were excited to dive into the scrappy goodness we knew we would find.  I have never met any of the staff in person before, only chatted with them on the phone - so it was going to be very cool to finally meet them.  Bev (who’s in charge of the warehouse) was there to greet us - and we would like to thank her again for getting up so early to allow us to shop.  After walking into the warehouse it was very easy to see that Bev takes great pride in her work - there were rows and rows and rows of scrappy goodies - all so neat and organized - seriously, you could get lost in there for hours.

Needless to say, we had a fabulous time shopping and the staff and owners are fantastic - this is who we met that morning.

Garry (co-owner), Bev, Jen - and Candace (in the front)

It’s nice to see some of the people who package and ship the goodies off to us.  You will meet more of them as I post throughout the week.

Trudy (Garry’s wife) and co-owner - I cannot believe that this is the only picture we have of her.  Sorry Trudy, I guess I do talk too much.  *grin*

Registration wasn’t till 6:30 that evening, so after breakfast, we headed off to the West Edmonton Mall.  Sandy had been there before, but Bonnie and I had not.  The very first place that I had to stop - was Bath and Body Works - oh Yum, I spent quite a bit of time in there - Bonnie and Sandy were patiently waiting for me outside the door.  ;)  We browsed and ended up at the sea lion show.  What a cool job to have - working with these sea lions - I believe there was 3 different ones throughout the show.

We walked around, noted lots of cool and different things, but we did not even cover a third of the mall - it is very huge - and lots of neat things to see.  But alas, we were pooped and wanted to have an early supper before we registered and headed off to our classes.

Vicki Boutin taught our first class - a fabulous 7 Gypsies album - showcasing the new 97% complete Top Ten stickers and the new Avignon papers.  Poor Vicki arrived in Edmonton - but they sent her luggage to BC - and she was not going to get it before she left again on Saturday.  Sure hope she got it back by the time she arrived home.

Her class was awesome and she showcased the new 7 Gypsies products perfectly in this class.

At the 7Gypsies booth, Justin had lots to show me.  Now speaking of Justin, Canadian’s say “eh” -  but Justin and actually quite a few of the American reps - they say “uh huh.”  And I do believe they say “uh huh” a lot more than we say “eh.”  And, it’s very easy to pick up on, as we found that we began saying “uh huh” quite a bit throughout the weekend.  It was pretty easy when we saw some of their products.  Do you want to order this …. “uh huh”

4 x 6 picture/printer frames/trays - Awesome! "uh huh"

Cool new notepads. "uh huh"

7G book covers turned into an awesome mini album. "uh huh"

Revolving photo carousel "uh huh"

Photo stands and another view of the notebooks. "uh huh"

Vintage receipt holder. "uh huh"

Print trays. "uh huh"

Dangle paper clips. "uh huh"

Print tray. "uh huh"

Are you seeing how easy it was to pick up on the “uh huh” ….. *grin*

Over the next few days, I will be showing you more “droolworthy” products and more highlights from the show.

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